Campus Carry and UT Austin
A federal judge in Austin has thrown out a lawsuit by three professors who tried to stop concealed carry on campus. The trio teach English, liberal arts and feminist and LGBT literature. The professors argued that campus carry in a classroom impedes their ability to “create a daring, intellectual active, mutually supportive, and engaging community of thinkers.”
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel wasn’t having any of it. He said a “chill” was not enough to give the professors standing to bring the lawsuit.
I find the professors argument interesting in that when campus carry was being debated two years ago by the Texas Legislature, one professor, speaking anonymously, was reported as saying he didn’t dare openly support campus carry for fear of being blackballed.
The bad news is that the professors are likely to appeal. The good news is that the Fifth Circuit is the most conservative of the nation’s appeals courts.
