Texas Professors Told They'll Face Punishment if They Ban Guns From Classrooms

Three University of Texas professors were given a clear warning on Monday: Ban students from carrying guns in class and there will be consequences.

That's because, under a new state law that took effect last week, students attending the university who are 21 and older and who have a concealed carry permit are now legally allowed to carry in most buildings on campus, as TheBlaze previously reported.

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But in July, three UT professors, Mia Carter, Jennifer Glass and Lisa Moore, sued to overturn the state's new law, which they referred to as “dangerously-experimental gun policies.” Attorneys for the University of Texas-Austin and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, however, filed a legal brief Monday warning the trio of what could happen should they choose to go against the newly implemented law.

"Faculty members are aware that state law provides that guns can be carried on campus, and that the president has not made a rule excluding them from classrooms. As a result, any individual professor who attempts to establish such prohibition is subject to discipline," the brief stated, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The lawyers then asked the court to throw out the professors' case. The academics, however, asked that the court temporarily block the law for one semester to allow time for experts to decide whether campus carry violates their right to free speech and equal protection.

The professors went on to say in a legal brief that there is nothing in the Texas campus carry law that specifically prohibits them from excepting their own classrooms. The state, however, pointed out that the law gives each campus president the right to establish "gun free zones on their campuses, which do not already include classrooms."

U.S. District Court Judge Lee Yeakel is expected to issue his ruling on whether professors can ban students from carrying in their classrooms by the end of this week.

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