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