Texas has become the eighth US state to allow guns on campuses, a controversial decision that comes on the 50th anniversary of a deadly sniper rampage at a university.
The law, which was passed last year, from Monday requires public universities in Texas to permit concealed weapons in campus buildings, although schools can impose limits on where guns are allowed.
At the University of Texas at Austin, where a mass shooting in 1966 claimed 14 lives, the institution’s president Gregory Fenves said the emotionally charged issue would likely be little noticed on campus.
“We have a very safe campus,” Fenves said, “And I think that will continue.” Texas joins seven other states which also allow concealed guns on university campuses. Eighteen states specifically ban the practice.
Critics of the law include three UT Austin professors who have sued, claiming their free speech rights would be violated, because students with guns would create a fearful atmosphere and stifle the open expression of ideas. In an opinion piece published last week in The Dallas Morning News, Seema Yasmin, who teaches at a public university in Dallas, echoed that theme.
I’m not scared of guns. I’m scared of this combination: term exam stress, undiagnosed mental illness and the ability to carry guns in university buildings.Seema Yasmin
Proponents argue that allowing concealed weapons on campuses makes students and teachers safer, because any potential shooting attacks can be halted more quickly by armed citizens.
As the new law went into effect on August 1, 2016, UT Austin dedicated a new sculpture on its campus grounds to the victims of the 1966 massacre.
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