University Of Texas Outlines Guidelines On Carrying Guns On Campus

Austin, TX -- Ahead of the controversial "campus carry" law taking effect Aug. 1, University of Texas regents on Wednesday outlined protocol related to people bringing concealed handguns on campus.

Despite broad opposition, Senate Bill 11 -- otherwise known as "campus carry" -- championed by GOP lawmakers as a way for people to express their 2nd Amendment rights was passed last year. Conservative legislators also passed what's known as an "open carry" law that allows gun owners to walk around in public freely with their holstered guns in tow.

As reported by the Texas Tribune and other media organizations, the regents on Wednesday outlined the manner in which the university system will regulate concealed handguns allowance at its 14 campuses. In the discussion, a vocal effort to ban faculty and staff from keeping handguns in their offices was defeated.

Many have opposed the idea of "campus carry," leading to a dean to resign as a result and two professors to sue to block its implementation. Virtually all private universities -- not dependent on public money from the state government for their subsistence -- have opted out of the law, keeping gun bans intact on their property (as have numerous businesses opting out of "open carry").

But public universities are forced to comply, given their partial state funding. UT President Gregory L. Fenves joined a long list of detractors of the new law, but reluctantly issued a set of guidelines related to compliance. Fenves previously also called for a chambered round provision that would've banned gun-bearing people from keeping a bullet in the chamber to avoid an accidental firing.

On behalf of the conservative-led Legislature that fought for passage, the state's attorney general has been unbending in making allowances -- such as university officials' hopes to limit guns in some parts of campus -- saying a partial ban is tantamount to a total one since it complicates gun owners' freedom of movement.

Under the regents' concealed handguns will be banned in sensitive areas such as laboratories where there are chemicals, child daycare facilities and at ticketed sporting events, the Texas Tribune reported. But regents insist guns won't be allowed at dorms at UT Austin and other campuses, according to their set of guidelines.

Read the full story at Texas Tribune >>