Texas has allowed licensed concealed handguns in public since 1995 but had previously made college buildings off limits. Allowing guns in their classrooms, they say, violates their rights to free speech, due process and equal protection.
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Dr. Jennifer Lynn Glass, Dr. Lisa Moore and Dr. Mia Carter are seeking “the option of maintaining their academic classrooms as gun-free zones when classes start again on August 24, 2016”, the lawsuit stated.
A new law has come into effect in the U.S. state of Texas on Monday allowing students to bring guns on campus. Whitman was killed by police after a 90-minute stand-off. A mass shooting there in 1966 had claimed 14 lives, when Marine-trained sniper Charles Whitman had randomly shot at passers-by from the university’s iconic tower.
Texas has more than 1 million concealed handgun license holders.
“Our job means we sometimes have to confront students about uncomfortable issues”, Vickery said, adding “If a student feels the need to bring a gun into my office, I do not know how else to interpret that other than they view me as a threat”. There are also restrictions on convicted felons, people charged with felonies and high-level misdemeanors or people with a history of mental illness.
Texas is one of eight states that allows students to carry guns into college buildings, including those on the University of Texas system, which includes almost 215,000 students.
Under the previous gun law signed in 1995, students with concealed carry permits were allowed to carry weapons on campus sidewalks, streets and parking lots.
In an odd coincidence, a Texas law that expands gun rights on college campuses took effect Monday, just as victims of a horrifying act of gun violence were being remembered.
As John Burnett reports, the law passed last summer, “presumably to stop campus shooters” with the backing of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but has been “bitterly” opposed by students and faculty at most universities. Guns are allowed at dorms of Texas A&M University, Texas State University, the University of North Texas, Stephen F. Austin State University, and Sam Houston State University. State law still bans weapons from some campus areas, such as hospitals and sporting events. The drumbeat played on over the years, including the murder of 10 and injuring of 9 at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon.
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33-year-old Jacqueline Vickery, an assistant professor of the University of North Texas, has joined other teachers warning that the new law could infringe on their ability to teach.
