Friday, July 15, 2016

TX: UT Finalizes Rules for Campus Carry



Public universities have been dragged into restoring limited Second Amendment rights on campust in Texas.  The University of Texas finalized rules for campus carry to comply with a law passed by the Texas legislature last year. From kxan.com:
At Wednesday’s meeting, the board determined licensed gun owners can have a round in the chamber of semiautomatic weapons on campus, which is different than what the University of Texas at Austin president recommended. The regents also decided to let professors ban guns from their personal offices. The professors will be allowed to let people know via a sign or verbally.
(snip)
License holders can carry in dorm common areas, but not in the dorm rooms. They can carry in classrooms, but not in some offices. Some faculty and staff can ban guns in their offices with a sign or verbally.
It is hard to justify the ban on firearms in campus dorms.  Those are the residences of many students, and the Supreme Court ruled that keeping a loaded handgun in your residence for self defense is at the core of Second Amendment rights.

It is a little more understandable that the University would cater to the hoplophobic fears of faculty.  University faculty are notorious for their irrational fear of firearms.  But it is hard to see how a sign or verbal request will be enforceable; the firearms are required to be concealed.  The situation will not have changed much in practice than it was before the law.  Those who are carrying illegally on campus will continue to do so.  Now, people who are scrupulously obeying the law will be allowed to carry with their carry permits.

Above all, the tender sensibilities of political correctness will be observed.  The strong, political statements of open carry in support of the Second Amendment will not be allowed on campus. Because...guns.

Over a hundred other universities have had campus carry for years.  There have been no problems. 

 ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Link to Gun Watch

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the issue of open carry or concealed carry is just down right ignorant. it is your gun carry any way you damn well please. People that do not like to see guns can turn their head. where in the second amendment is the words carry permit? How many of these college professors are elected legislators? what is wrong with suing some of them for denial of civil rights?

Anonymous said...

"The regents also decided to let professors ban guns from their personal offices."


So the regents have the power to hand out the ability to deny Constitutional Rights to professors. How very despotic of them.

Anonymous said...

Maybe those regents need a close encounter to change their minds