American Scholarly Societies Joint Statement on "Campus Carry" Legislation

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
John F. Stephens, Executive Director
asamedia@theasa.net

The American Studies Association joins our colleagues in 29 other scholarly societies in opposing legislation designed to facilitate the carrying of guns on college campuses.  We encourage our members in any state considering such legislation to bring the perspective of American studies scholars, teachers, writers, administrators and activists to the debate.

From the American Scholarly Societies Joint Statement on “Campus Carry” Legislation

The undersigned learned societies are deeply concerned about the impact of Texas’s new Campus Carry law on freedom of expression in Texas universities. The law, which was passed earlier this year and takes effect in 2016, allows licensed handgun carriers to bring concealed handguns into buildings on Texas campuses. Our societies are concerned that the Campus Carry law and similar laws in other states introduce serious safety threats on college campuses with a resulting harmful effect on students and professors.

American Academy of Religion
American Anthropological Association
American Antiquarian Society
American Association for the History of Medicine
American Folklore Society
American Historical Association
American Musicological Society 
American Philosophical Association 
American Political Science Association
American Studies Association
American Society for Aesthetics
American Society for Environmental History 
American Sociological Association
Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Association of American Geographers
College Art Association
Latin American Studies Association
Law and Society Association
Medieval Academy of America 
Middle East Studies Association
Modern Language Association
National Communication Association
National Council on Public History
Oral History Association
Society for American Music
Society of Architectural Historians
Society of Biblical Literature
Society for Ethnomusicology
World History Association

AAUP Opposes Campus Carry Laws

In a recent statement, the AAUP, American Federation of Teachers, Association of American Colleges and Universities, and Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, also “strongly support efforts to make college campuses as safe and weapon-free as possible for students, faculty, staff, parents, and community members. We oppose efforts to enact “campus carry” laws and call for their repeal where they already exist. We encourage colleges and universities to embrace critical incident planning that includes faculty and staff and to advise all faculty and staff of these plans. We further call on these institutions to rely on trained and equipped professional law-enforcement personnel to respond to emergency incidents. State legislative bodies must refrain from interfering with decisions that are properly the responsibility of the academic community.”