Oct 23, 2014 10:41 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Anita Sarkeesian's cancelled speaking engagement at Utah State University (USU) has sparked a conversation among faculty members about the school's policy on guns.

However, USU's administration has no choice but to allow guns on campus because of the state's law on carrying firearms. In the same way, the school had no choice but to deny Sarkeesian's request to have guns banned from her guest lecture even though she had received a mass shooting threat.

According to the Associated Press, about 200 USU faculty members and students signed a letter expressing concern about the firearm policy, arguing that it had been exposed as a detriment to the First Amendment right to free speech.

A well-known feminist and blogger, Sarkeesian was scheduled to speak about sexism in the video game industry. Sarkeesian wrote on Twitter that a group called Gamer Gate was behind the threat at USU. Gamer Gate has harassed Sarkeesian before with harsh anti-feminist remarks and threats of violence.

"There are a lot of us that aren't happy to teach at a university that allows guns on campus," Jennifer Sinor, an English professor at USU and a co-signer of the letter, told the AP.

USU President Stan Albrecht and Provost Noelle Cockett responded in an open letter to the school community last week, defending how they handled the situation.

"The safety of our students, staff and USU community is paramount to us. USU police were contacted immediately, as were state and federal agencies, including the Utah Statewide Information and Analysis Center, the FBI Cyber Terrorism Task Force, and the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit," read the statement. "Prior to the threat, USU police were already making preparations for security as Ms. Sarkeesian had received threats in the past. After receiving the email, USU police added heightened security measures, including securing the Taggart Student Center auditorium far in advance, ensuring her safety to and from the event, and bringing in additional uniformed and plain-clothed police officers."

Sinor said that the open carry law, combined with several campus shootings and threats in the past year or so, has discouraged USU teachers from broaching controversial topics in the classroom.

Ultimately, she said the students are "the ones that lose."

See Now: Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit