Colleges and universities in Texas attempting to prevent students from bringing guns on campus would likely run afoul of new gun laws, the state’s top lawyer said Monday.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a letter this week that legislation taking effect in August shouldn’t be interpreted in a manner that keeps students from storing firearms in campus housing.
The bill, passed in May, paved the way for Texas to soon become the eighth state in the country to allow concealed handguns in classrooms and other buildings across public and private colleges.
“If a public institution of higher education placed a prohibition on handguns in the institution’s campus residential facilities, it would effectively prohibit license holders in those facilities from carrying concealed handguns on campus, in violation of the express terms of Senate Bill 11,” Mr. Paxton said in a nonbinding opinion sent to the bill’s author, state Sen. Brian Birdwell, a Republican representing District 22.
Once in effect, the law will allow licensed gun owners 21 and older to have concealed firearms on campus. Schools will be given limited leeway in delegating certain classrooms and facilities as being gun-free, Mr. Paxton said.
Educators have raised questions about the bill, however, with University of Texas-Austin President Greg Fenves having expressed “deep concerns” over the law and its impact on campus safety.
“My goal is to develop a campus carry policy that both reflects the needs of our campus and follows the intent of the law,” he told faculty in a letter sent out at the time. “We are looking at many issues, including those surrounding handguns in specific areas on campus such as dormitories and classrooms.”
As of Monday, the attorney general said a court will likely object to any effort to keep campus housing gun-free because “rules, regulations or other provisions concerning the storage of handguns in dormitories presupposes their presence in dormitories.”
“An individual whose legal rights have been infringed due to a president or chief executive officer of a public institution adopting regulations that exceed the authority granted in Senate Bill 11 would likely have standing to bring an ultra vires cause of action against the president or chief executive officer,” Mr. Paxton added.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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