Remember a few months back when college students were carrying dildos to class in the "Cocks Not Glocks" protest of a new state law allowing guns on campus? Well, let's just say the sex toys did not win this one.
Even the awesome power of rubber penises couldn't prevent the University of Texas at Austin from officially announcing today that it will allow people to carry handguns in the university's classrooms, local ABC affiliate KTRK reports.
University President Greg Fenves said that even though he's personally against the idea of guns on campus, the university will allow concealed weapons permit holders to pack heat in accordance with state law that requires it. Last year, the governor of Texas signed a law that says people must be allowed to carry their guns on campus by Aug. 1.
NBC News quoted Fenves as saying it was the "hardest decision of my career."
The majority of people in Texas favor pro-gun policies—it's a state where women pose for loving photos at home with their trusty sidearms—but that's not necessarily the case in Austin, which is a left-leaning pocket surrounded by red state.
Those supporting the law allowing guns on campus make the case that they want students and teachers to be armed in case of a mass shooting. They even tried to make their point by staging a not-at-all-traumatizing fake mass shooting on campus last year (though more anti-gun protesters actually showed up).
There will be some restrictions on carrying guns at the university: Guns have to be concealed completely at all times, residence halls on campus, sports facilities, and science labs are still off limits, and guns can't go into businesses that sell alcohol.
