UPDATE 11/6/09 2:55 P.M.
U.S. District Judge Terry R. Means late Friday issued a temporary restraining order against TCC, allowing students to participate in an “empty holster protest” next week on NE Campus.
“This decision means that at least for next week, students on TCC’s campus will be able to freely exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, in a statement.
Two NE Campus students asked a federal court late Tuesday to stop the district from enforcing its policy limiting student demonstrations to free speech zones.The lawsuit filed by students Clayton Smith and John Schwertz Jr., along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, challenges the district’s decision to prohibit an “empty holster” protest supporting concealed weapons on campus.
The demonstrations, according to the organization Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, were scheduled for Nov. 9-13 on campuses nationwide.
Gary Cumbie, interim executive assistant to the chancellor, said the college would not comment on the lawsuit.
“Because it is in litigation, we would need our attorney to make any comments,” he said.
The lawsuit said TCC has denied the organization’s requests to demonstrate on campus wearing symbolic empty holsters for the last two years.
However, the college would allow the group only to hand out brochures and leaflets in designated free speech zones.
“TCC would like to portray the tiny spots on campus that they have designated for public forums as ‘free speech zones,’ but what they have really done is made their campuses into censorship zones,” said Lisa Graybill, legal director of the ACLU of Texas, in a statement. “Colleges and universities thrive on the free exchange of ideas, and these students have a right to express their ideas in a non-disruptive way on the public areas of a campus.”
Smith said in a statement that he is concerned the college would suspend him from school if he violated the restrictions regarding protests.
“TCC has no reason to believe that our action would cause any problems on campus,” the statement said. “All we want to do is wear empty holsters to express our political views. We have held similar events on the campuses of the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of North Texas without incident.”
Smith’s attorney Karin Cagle said the lawsuit also challenges the college’s policy requiring 24 hours notice prior to a demonstration.
“Our clients and all TCC students have the right to make their views known through peaceful demonstrations in the common public areas of the campuses, including distributing flyers, wearing symbols of the cause and speaking to others, without having to get permission from the college by filing a request 24 hours in advance,” she said.