DOWNTOWN AUSTIN-UT, TX -- Nobel Prize laureate Steven Weinberg--arguably the most famous person at the University of Texas at Austin campus--leaves no room for doubt as to where he stands on the "campus carry" law that will soon allow gun owners to walk around freely with holstered firearms.

He's very much against the measure. "I will put it into my syllabus that the class is not open to students carrying guns," he said during a recent meeting of UT's Faculty Council covered by the Austin American-Statesman newspaper. "I may wind up in court; I'm willing to accept that responsibility."

As the date nears for the August implementation of the new law to which public universities must adhere, a growing number of professors are voicing their opposition to the law that's soon to take effect. Late last year, nearly 300 faculty members signed a petition declaring their opposition to having guns on campus. Senate Bill 11 was signed into law last year, expanding campus carry rights for licensed gun owners to carry their concealed handguns. The measure is commonly known as "campus carry."



A broader measure dubbed "open carry" took effect Jan. 1, and allows gun owners to walk around with holstered guns in plain view in the public realm. In mid-December, faculty members joined students in an off-campus protest over the new measure. They descended onto a spot where pro-gun forces had scheduled a mock mass shooting, purportedly to dramatize what they perceive to be a need for people to be armed for self-defense purposes.



A growing list of business establishments have effectively opted out of the open carry law, availing themselves of that option by posting specifically worded signs prohibiting firearms on their premises.



Similarly, a growing number of private universities have opted out, declaring their campuses to be gun-free zones. St. Edward's University in South Austin was the latest campus to opt out last week.



But public universities that receive state money will be forced to comply come August. UT President Gregory L. Fenves previously aired something of a compromise, proposing adherence to the law throughout campus except in dormitories. But the state's attorney general shot the idea down in a non-binding legal opinion, saying a firearms ban solely in dorm areas is tantamount to a general prohibition given the inconvenience of such piecemeal bans.

