Texas is eighth state to allow guns on campuses

CHICAGO: Texas became 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, 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.” On Monday, Texas joins seven other states which also allow concealed guns on university campuses, including Oregon, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Eighteen states specifically ban the practice.

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,” Yasmin wrote.

Proponents argue that allowing concealed weapons on campuses makes students and teachers safer, because potential shooting attacks can be halted more quickly.

— AP Volatile law: university of texas at Austin anthropology professor Pauline strong posting a sign prohibiting guns at her office on the first day of the new campus-carry law.