U.S. | Mon Aug 22, 2016 8:34pm EDT

U.S. judge denies Texas professors who sought gun ban in their classrooms

By Jon Herskovitz | AUSTIN, TEXAS

A U.S. district judge on Monday denied a motion from three University of Texas professors who wanted to ban guns in their classroom after the state gave some students that right under a law then went into effect this month.

The professors had argued academic freedom could be chilled under the so-called "campus carry" law backed by the state's Republican political leaders. The law allows concealed handgun license holders aged 21 and older to bring handguns into classrooms and other university facilities.

But U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel said the professors "have failed to establish a substantial likelihood of ultimate success on the merits of their asserted claims," and denied a motion for an injunction to ban guns.

"It appears to the court that neither the Texas Legislature nor the (university's) Board of Regents has overstepped its legitimate power to determine where a licensed individual may carry a concealed handgun in an academic setting," Yeakel said.

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