Texas AG Says Banning Guns in Campus Dorms Violates New Law

State universities would be in violation of an upcoming “campus carry” law if they decide to ban guns in dormitories, the state’s attorney general said in a legal opinion filed Monday afternoon.

State universities are poised to adapt to the new campus carry law taking effect in August, enabling registered gun owners to walk around campus with unfettered access to firearms. University of Texas at Austin officials had expressed concerns over the looming campus carry law and issued a list of recommendations devised by a task force.

Monday’s non-binding opinion by the state’s top legal counsel goes against those recommendations, reports the Texas Tribune. In reluctantly accepting campus carry and devising recommendation in its implementation earlier this month, UT-Austin President Gregory L. Fenves suggested a ban on guns in dormitories would still be in effect regardless.

Despite imminently taking effect, campus carry does grant some flexibility to public universities forced to adapt; they’re allowed to deem some buildings off-limits to guns, for example. But in its wording, the law states that such gun-free zones shouldn’t have the net effect of banning guns throughout campus, meaning that gun-free zones shouldn’t make it impractical -- or all but impossible -- to carry a handgun.

In his legal opinion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argues that banning guns in dorms would have that effect. It would make it impossible to carry a handgun on campus with dorm restrictions in place, he argued.

Fervently pro-gun, the GOP-led Legislature has cashed in its political capital to ensure passage of laws resonating with Texas gun owners. In addition to campus carry set to take effect this summer across public universities, the companion “open carry” allowing gun-owning members of the general public to openly carry firearms, is taking effect Jan. 1.

But despite the government’s strident defense of openly carrying weapons, not everyone’s on board. Several private universities—immune from the new campus carry law—have already opted to continue banning guns on campus.

In early December, Texas Lutheran University in Seguin joined the growing ranks of private institutions of higher learning to opt out of the new campus carry law.

Other private universities keeping gun bans in place despite the new law include Rice University in Houston; Texas Christian University in Fort Worth; and the University of the Incarnate Word and St. Mary’s University, both in San Antonio.

Officials from another five private schools have said they also expect to opt out of the new law: Trinity University in San Antonio; Baylor University in Waco; Austin College in Sherman; Southern Methodist University and Paul Quinn College, both in Dallas.

Yet allowances are being made even at public universities like UT-Austin, allowing them leeway in drafting their own internal protocols under campus carry--including a gun ban in dorms. But as the Aug. 1 date for implementation nears, it’s likely the state would respond with legal challenges.

Whatever the outcome of this latest skirmish, one thing is clear: In a state known for its wide open spaces, pioneering spirit and generational gun culture, the stage is now set for a legal showdown.