Ban on guns in dorms would violate law, AG says

Gun activists march close to The University of Texas campus December 12, 2015 in Austin, Texas. In addition to the event put on by DontComply.com, a gun activist organization, the group also held an open carry walk earlier in the day. less Gun activists march close to The University of Texas campus December 12, 2015 in Austin, Texas. In addition to the event put on by DontComply.com, a gun activist organization, the group also held an open carry ... more Photo: Drew Anthony Smith, Getty Images Photo: Drew Anthony Smith, Getty Images Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Ban on guns in dorms would violate law, AG says 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

A ban on guns at university dormitories, as a working group at the University of Texas at Austin has recommended, would violate state law, Attorney General Ken Paxton ruled Monday.

The law will allow some Texans to carry concealed handguns throughout college campuses, but it leaves some leeway for universities to carve out gun-free zones. A group of faculty at UT, tasked with recommending such zones to the university's president, included residence halls among the areas where guns should be banned.

RELATED: UT releases campus carry recommendations

"If a public institution of higher education placed a prohibition on handguns in the institution's campus residential facilities, it would effectively prohibit license holders in those facilities from carrying concealed handguns on campus, in violation of the express terms of Senate Bill 11," Paxton's ruling states.

Universities across the state are working to determine what areas of campus can be made gun-free. Paxton's ruling provides some guidance.

Schools can't ban guns from a "substantial" number of classrooms or delegate the authority to ban them to individual professors, he said.

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UT's working group assumed that was the case. Its recommendations do not include making classrooms gun-free zones.

"Excluding handguns from classrooms would have the effect of generally prohibiting license holders from carrying their handguns and so would violate (the campus carry bill)," the report from UT-Austin's 19-member campus carry working group said. "The only possible way to avoid this result would be for the University to provide gun lockers at strategic points around campus. We believe this would be extremely ill-advised for several reasons."