Encourage LBJ Professors to Speak Up Against Guns in the Classroom

Help us send a meaningful letter to LBJ faculty urging them to oppose guns in class. Read the letter below and sign the petition if you agree with us. We will deliver the letter with your signatures to the faculty next week.

To the Faculty of the LBJ School of Public Affairs:

As you are aware, the Texas legislature passed S.B. 11 (Campus Carry) in the last legislative session. We now face the distinct possibility that guns may be allowed in the classroom at higher education institutions across the state, including at the LBJ School. As students, we strongly oppose such weapons being allowed in our places of learning. We hope, for the following reasons, that you join us and add your name to a growing list of UT Austin faculty who oppose allowing guns in the classroom:

First, we believe guns have the potential to introduce an element of intimidation that may prevent open academic discussions. Universities must be safe places for people of all views and backgrounds to express their opinions without fear of reprisal. Introducing guns into the classroom undercuts open scholarship by creating an environment more conducive to fear and intimidation. Regardless of whether incidents of active intimidation occur, the very possibility of their presence will cause a negative impact in classrooms by undermining fruitful discussions.

Second, allowing guns in the classroom violates our deeply held belief that the classroom should be treated as a sanctuary. As students - and presumably for you as well as professors - we grew up expecting that, regardless of our family, social, or economic backgrounds, we could come to the classroom and be in a safe, nurturing environment. With guns in the classroom, we will inevitably redirect our focus from the education promoted by a peaceful environment to fears about potential violence in our learning space.

Finally, we believe that our collective right to safety should supersede the right of a gun owner to bring a weapon to class. We feel our nation’s conversation surrounding the Second Amendment has overridden an equally important discussion of our right to safety and, more fundamentally, our right to life. We feel that allowing guns in the classroom infringes these rights, and in general we consider undemocratic the notion that we must surrender them in order to cater to the freedoms of gun owners, in what should be a place open to discussion and devoted to community building.

The evidence is also on our side. Some Campus Carry proponents argue that concealed handguns in the classroom will make for a safer environment. However, according to a study by Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health recently published in the Journal of Criminology, issuing more concealed handgun licenses has no effect on reducing crime. Additionally, we cannot point to any anecdotal evidence of tragedy being averted because of guns in the classroom.

We understand that gun ownership is a complicated and often times emotional issue. But as our nation grapples with an epidemic of gun violence that takes over 30,000 lives nationwide each year (almost 3,000 of whom are Texans), we think it is simply bad policy to allow guns in the classroom. We believe that the LBJ school, its faculty, and students should be very active participating in and shaping the discussion about campus carry. As such, we encourage you to take measures, on behalf of our safety and yours, by adding your name to the list of faculty who have expressed opposition to allowing guns in the classroom. That petition can be found here, and if you want to be added to the list you can email neuberger@austin.utexas.edu, palomadiazlobos@gmail.com or spirovich@gmail.com.

If you are interested in knowing more about other campus initiatives (both student and faculty-led) regarding this issue, please email jonathan.brandt@utexas.edu or martha.bohrt@utexas.edu.

Thank you for preserving the safety of our classrooms.