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take action!, updates

Get armed…with reason, what you can do now

Concealed carry permits do not decrease crime: There is no statistically significant correlation between changes in concealed carry licensing and crime rates. Armed citizens rarely successfully defend themselves in mass shootings or during other crimes; instead, in a number of mass shooting events, an armed citizen nearly endangered other bystanders. (Phillips 2015, Journal of Criminology; everytown.org)

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among young people ages 15 to 24. But college student suicide rates have actually been lower than the general population since 1960 because firearms were effectively banned from campuses. (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; Schwartz 2006, Journal of American College Health)

The majority of Texans are opposed to Campus Carry: 63% are opposed to allowing college students to carry concealed handguns onto college campuses. 72% are opposed to allowing college students to bring concealed handguns into the classroom. (March 2015 SurveyUSA News Poll)

The High Costs of Campus Carry: The UT System says it will pay more than $39 million to further train campus police, add personnel, build gun storage facilities, purchase equipment and signage, and update security systems. (Houston Chronicle, Feb 2015)

Guns have a chilling effect on the free speech and free discourse that are the core of UT’s mission. Students must feel comfortable asking questions and discussing complex, charged topics. Faculty and staff must be able to challenge students to engage with difficult subjects. Family members need to be confident that UT is protecting their loved ones. Guns in classrooms and offices erode the foundation of higher education.

We are already seeing the fallout from the impending implementation of SB11. The Dean of our nationally celebrated UT School of Architecture stepped down, as have several professors, all citing campus carry as a reason for their departure. Numerous top academic hires and outstanding graduate students have turned down offers from UT-Austin or withdrawn from consideration because of campus carry. More than a few out-of-state students are transferring, while greater numbers are choosing not to apply. Even in-state families are seeking other options.

Losing even one professor or student because of campus carry is one too many.

What you can do:

●  Join more than 1,700 faculty members and thousands of staff, students, parents and alumni who have signed petitions against guns on our campus at  gunfreeut.org
●  Add your name to our mailing list to receive updates at: tinyurl.com/gunfreeut-list
●  Tell us your story of how an experience you’ve had on campus could have turned dangerous or deadly if someone had had a gun at: tinyurl.com/gunfreeconcerns
●  Connect with us on Facebook (Gun-Free UT) and  Twitter (@gunfreeut)

education, event, press release, take action!, updates

Gun-Free UT Teach-in

Let’s start the new semester by continuing the conversation on Campus Carry with a Teach-In!

WHEN:   Friday, January 22, 2-5 pm
WHERE:  Glickman Conference Center, CLA 1.302B

Download printable flyer

Confirmed speakers include:

Matt Valentine, Plan II coordinator and contributor tor The Atlantic and other publications

Cole Hutchison, Associate Professor of English and member of the Campus Carry Working Group

Becky Bigler, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Child Research Lab

Matt Richardson, Associate Professor of English and African and African Diaspora Studies

Danielle Vabner, student

Yasmiyn Irizarry, Assistant Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies

George Schorn, author of Smile at Strangers and expert on women’s self-defense

Kate Catterall, Associate Professor of Design and teacher of a course on Campus Carry and design

Kevin Foster, Associate Professor of African and African Diaspora Studies

Schedule:

2:00-2:15   Opening Remarks and Introductions:   Ann Cvetkovich with Matt Richardson
2:15-3:30  What We Need to Know About Gun Culture:  Becky Bigler, Matt Valentine, Cole Hutchison, Yasmiyn Irizarry
3:30-3:40  Break
3:40-3:45  Introductions:  Lisa Moore with Danielle Vabner
3:45-4:45 What We Can Do About Gun Culture:  George Schorn, Kate Catterall, Kevin Foster
4:45-5:15  General Discussion

What is Campus Carry?
Do you have questions about the law?
How will campus carry affect you and your friends?
Will guns make you safer or less safe?
How can you defend yourself without guns?

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March for Gun-Free Campuses, January 8

MLA v.2

MARCH FOR GUN-FREE CAMPUSES

DATE: Friday, January 8, 2016
PLACE:  1:30pm Gather in Griffin Hall on the 2nd floor of the JW Marriott, 110 E. 2nd Street
1:45pm March from JW Marriott to Capitol Steps South
3:00pm Book Building and Rally on Capitol Steps South

PURPOSE: Send a message to the Texas State Legislature and UT Administration: Keep guns out of our campuses. All who oppose the carrying of guns in campus buildings are  welcome.

Facebook Event Page
Download Flyer
Contact the organizers

Support Gun Free UT! Buy a T-Shirt to Wear To the March!

BACKGROUND

In June 2015, the Texas state legislature passed Senate Bill 11, which threatens to force public colleges and universities in Texas to allow concealed handguns in campus buildings. The UT Campus Carry Working Group, which was charged with making policy recommendations to UT-Austin President Fenves, has concluded that under S. B. 11, UT must allow concealed handguns in the classroom. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has publicized his opinion that under S. B. 11 it will be illegal to ban handguns from student dorms.

Texas colleges and universities overwhelmingly oppose this law. Private colleges and universities are allowed to ‘opt out’ of S.B. 11, and most have. Over 1500 UT faculty and over 1800 UT graduate students have signed petitions against allowing guns in classrooms. UT’s Campus Carry Working Group state in their own report that not one of their members thinks guns should be allowed in college classrooms.

Nationwide, academic institutions and organizations agree. On November 30, the Modern Language Association (MLA)–the primary professional organization for American college and university faculty who teach modern languages & literatures–joined 28 other American scholarly societies in a public statement opposing campus carry laws on the grounds that they pose a threat to freedom of expression and to campus safety.

The Modern Language Association holds its annual convention in Austin from January 7-10, 2016. Gun-Free UT, with the co-sponsorship of the MLA, has organized the March Against Gun-Free Campuses in conjunction with the convention. Before UT-Austin President Fenves acts on the Campus Carry Working Group’s recommendations, and before S. B. 11 takes effect on August 1, 2016, we invite all MLA convention attendees, all those who work and study in Texas’s colleges and universities, and all concerned citizens to come together to defend the public’s right to a gun-free university.

DETAILS

All who believe that guns do not belong on college and university campuses are welcome to participate in the March for Gun-Free Campuses. You need not be affiliated with a university or a member of MLA.

Participants will gather at 1:30pm on Friday, January 8, 2016 in Griffin Hall on the second floor of the JW Marriott (110 E. 2nd street, Austin TX), where the president of the Modern Language Association, Professor Roland Greene of Stanford University, will speak about campus carry from a national perspective. At 1:45, we will leave the Marriott and parade down Congress Avenue carrying books. When we reach the Capitol steps, we will use these books to build a symbolic gun exclusion zone. If you have a spare book that you would like to use to build the zone, please bring it with you. Make sure it is a book you can afford to lose. Given our limited time at the Capitol, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reunite all the books used to build the Zone with their individual owners.

From inside the zone, speakers will read from texts that they have discussed in a classroom, and speak about why these texts must be taught in a gun-free environment.

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

Click this link to pre-order a Gun-Free UT T-shirt, which can be picked up at Griffin Hall prior to the march. “No Campus Carry” buttons will be available for free at the MLA convention and in Griffin Hall. We invite participants in the March for Gun-Free Campuses to wear orange (the color adopted by Everytown For Gun Safety and Moms Demand Gun Sense in America), or one of the orange armbands available in Griffin Hall.

If you would like to get involved with the march, or if you have questions about it, please contact the organizers at marchforgunfreecampuses@gmail.com .

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Dec. 13 — Austin Wear Orange Walk – Newtown Remembrance

December 13, 2015
3 PM
Texas State Capitol South Steps

Join supporters of Moms Demand Action, Texas Gun Sense, and Gun-Free UT for a Wear Orange Walk. We will walk from the South Steps of the Capitol down Congress to commemorate the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy and honor all victims and survivors of gun violence. Speeches by local gun violence survivors and community leaders to follow.

Together, we acknowledge that one of the best ways we can honor the victims and survivors of gun violence is to keep moving forward, keep making progress, keep being visible, and never give up.

Don’t forget to wear orange – the color of the gun violence prevention movement!

Everytown Event page
Facebook Event page

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Actions You Can Take Right Now

Send your comments to the UT Austin Campus Carry Working Group ASAP.  Submit your comments here.  The working group will submit their recommendations in December, so get your comments in now.

Sign a Petition.  Find our petitions

Make a public statement with you department, office or organization in opposition to allowing guns in classrooms, offices and dorms.  Examples of the many groups that have already made public statements are  here

Let the media know what you think  Write letters to the press and post messages on blogs, discussion threads, Facebook and Twitter

Post a “No Guns Allowed” sign outside any space that you manage on campus.This is legal until the date the law takes effect: August 1, 2016.  Find examples here

Write Letters:

Continue reading Actions You Can Take Right Now →

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Rally Tuesday November 10th

We had a great turn-out. You can read all about it in the Media Coverage section of this website.

Mia Carter’s speech is published here.

Pictures coming soon

 

Tuesday, November 10, noon-1
The Free Speech Area at West Mall, UT Campus

Here’s hoping to see a HUGE turn-out tomorrow on West Mall. The  Free Speech area is right next to the  side of the Tower that faces Guadalupe at UT.

We’ve got a sweet line up of students speaking, including the sister of one of the Newton kids who died at Sandy Hook Elementary.
Wear your ORANGE Gun-Free UT t-shirt if you got one, if you don’t you can get one there $10, $6 for students

It’s time to pushback against gun violence!

The eyes of the world are on Texas — Let’s show them UT students, staff, parents and faculty say NO to guns on campus!

Facebook Event for the Rally