Universities in the Central Texas area have finalized their policies for campus carry, which takes effect Aug. 1. The state law, known as Senate Bill 11, permits concealed carrying of handguns on college campuses and requires public institutions to allow guns on parts of their campuses with exceptions.
SB 11 takes effect Aug. 1 for four-year institutions and Aug. 1, 2017, for community colleges. Open carry, also known as House Bill 910, which allows license holders to openly carry holstered handguns in public spaces, is still prohibited at all colleges.
Local universities
The University of Texas system’s presidents have put weapons policies into place for their respective campus locations, said Robert Harkins, associate vice president for campus safety and security at The University of Texas at Austin.
“The law allows for a university president to exclude handguns based on the uniqueness of the campus and safety,” Harkins said. “[At UT-Austin], we’ve approached things differently—our definition of how we exclude [concealed handguns] in labs, our take on the sole occupant office issue [to permit handguns or not] and [our] residence hall policy.”
About 380 of the 1,800 labs on campus are exempt from the concealed carry requirement because they involve highly hazardous materials, he said. Concealed handguns may be excluded in individual—not shared—faculty and staff offices if the occupant decides to prohibit the weapons and orally states his or her policy such as informing a class of students that handguns will not be accepted during an office visit, he said. Concealed guns are not permitted to be stored in residence halls overnight, although guests can conceal carry while visiting residents, and guns can be concealed in cars parked in university lots, he said.
Recently, the university ruled that chambered rounds are permitted in a concealed carry situation.
Harkins said he does not believe the new law will prompt greater violent acts on campus.
“I think it’s going to be like it was in Colorado—a lot of angst until [the new law] has been enacted,” he said. “Once it has been enacted, we’ll get back to the process of learning and teaching.”
Harkins said that because SB 11 concerns only concealed carry, students will not notice a difference on campus since they cannot see the handgun that an individual may be carrying.
“If you see a gun [on campus], call 911 and we’ll sort it out,” Harkins advises students and personnel.
Texas State University decided its policy for both its San Marcos and Round Rock campuses after taking input from public forums as well as a task force created in October of staff, faculty and administrators, Director of Media Relations Jayme Blaschke said. Although the school permits concealed carry in its classrooms, labs and dormitories, university policy provides that sporting venues for intercollegiate events and ticketed programs as well as health facilities are areas identified as being gun-free.
“Texas State’s motivating effort was to comply with state law as best as possible while also respecting the opinions of individuals on campus,” Blaschke said.
Private institutions can opt out of campus carry. Concordia, Huston-Tillotson, St. Edward’s and Southwestern universities have decided to not put SB 11 into effect on their Central Texas campuses.
Austin Community College system
Community colleges have another year to implement campus carry. The Austin Community College system is watching how four-year institutions’ policies are received before crafting its own.
“ACC’s process for developing policies and procedures implementing this law will begin in 2017, so that we can have the latest information on how four-year institutions have adjusted their policies and how those policies have worked,” Vice President of External Affairs Molly Beth Malcolm said.
