EVENT: The Campus Carry Policy Working Group is holding two public forums to gather comments about campus carry legislation (SB 11).
WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7-9 p.m., and Monday, Oct. 5, 3-5 p.m.
WHERE: Shirley Bird Perry Ballroom, Texas Union, Room 3.202
WHO MAY ATTEND: The forums are open to all UT Austin students, employees, alumni and members of the larger community. News media are also invited to cover the forums.
Both forums will be live-streamed at: www.ustream.tv/channel/utaustin
BACKGROUND: This past spring, the Texas Legislature passed SB 11, which provides that licensed gun holders may carry a concealed handgun throughout university campuses starting Aug. 1, 2016. The law gives universities some limited discretion to regulate campus carry.
SB 11 provides that after consulting with students, staffers and faculty members regarding “the nature of the student population, specific safety considerations and the uniqueness of the campus environment,” the university may enact reasonable rules and regulations regarding:
- carrying of concealed handguns by license holders on campus; and
- storage of handguns in dormitories or other residential facilities.
The law stipulates, however, that these rules and regulations may not either “generally prohibit” or “have the effect of generally prohibiting” license holders from carrying concealed handguns on campus.
President Gregory L. Fenves has created the Campus Carry Policy Working Group and asked the group to make recommendations to him regarding the implementation of SB 11. His charge to the group emphasizes that campus safety is of the utmost importance. “I want to make clear my goal is to promote safety and security for all members of the campus in a way that is fully compliant with the law.”
IF YOU WISH TO SPEAK AT THE FORUM: All persons who wish to speak at a forum will be asked to sign up in person beginning 30 minutes before the forum starts. Sign-up for the Sept. 30 forum is from 6:30 to 7 p.m.; sign-up for the Oct. 5 forum is from 2:30 to 3 p.m. To allow the maximum number of speakers in the allotted time, comments will be limited to two minutes.
Parking for the forums will be available in the San Antonio Garage, 2420 San Antonio St., or in any of the other university parking garages. Please visit http://www.utexas.edu/parking/visitor/ for details about parking on The University of Texas at Austin campus.
