Gun Advocates Plan Mock Shooting At University Of Texas In Austin

Gun rights advocates plan to stage a mock shooting on Saturday at the University of Texas at Austin to protest the campus’s gun-free zones.

Dozens of demonstrators using cardboard cutouts of firearms and fake blood are expected to pretend to be shooters, victims and armed rescuers. A bullhorn will produce sounds of gunfire, according to the Austin American-Statesman, which first reported on the protest.

Two groups staging the event believe that staff and students would be safer from potential attacks like the kind seen in San Bernardino, California, last week if guns were permitted everywhere at the state’s flagship campus.

“In the wake of yet another mass shooting one thing is clear, Gun Free Zones are killing us,” said the website of DontComply.com, one of the event organizers. “These target rich environments are letting our children be murdered by evil people.” The other group behind the protest is Come and Take It Texas.

Those licensed to carry a handgun may currently carry their concealed weapons in some university areas, like sidewalks and parking lots. A new law taking effect in August expands the area these people will be able to take their concealed weapons to places like dormitories and classrooms.

The Austin university was the site of the first mass shooting on an American college campus. Charles Whitman a Marine sniper, killed 16 people in 1966 by opening fire from UT’s iconic tower on passerby.

Before Saturday’s fake shooting , armed demonstrators will march through Austin with rifles and pistols.

Gun Free UT, a group seeking a campus ban on weapons, did not immediately return requests for comment. Professors, who reportedly make up a considerable amount of the group’s members, have threatened to sue to keep weapons off campus.