Posted on 03/05/2012 10:58:35 AM PST by Second Amendment First
The Colorado Supreme Court today ruled that University of Colorado students and employees with concealed carry permits are able to carry their weapons on campus.
Colorado's highest court sided with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a gun-rights group that sued CU and argued that a 1994 university policy banning concealed weapons from its campuses violates state gun laws.
"It's a great victory for gun rights, and civil rights in general," said James Manley, the attorney with Mountain States Legal Foundation who represented the gun-rights group. "CU will now have to fall in line and follow the state law."
In his arguments, Manley pointed to the Concealed Carry Act of 2003, a state law that prohibits local Colorado Supreme Court Ruling: Regents of the University of Colorado v. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Ruling: Regents of the University of Colorado v. Students for Concealed Carry on Campus The Concealed Carry Act s comprehensive statewide purpose, broad language, and narrow exclusions show that the General Assembly intended to divest the Board of Regents of its authority to regulate concealed handgun possession on campus. governments from adopting an ordinance to limit state concealed-carry rights.
“The supreme court holds that the Concealed Carry Act's comprehensive statewide purpose, broad language, and narrow exclusions show that the General Assembly intended to divest the Board of Regents of its authority to regulate concealed handgun possession on campus,” the court said in its ruling.
CU had argued that the regents are best fit to govern CU's campuses and that the act applies to cities and counties – not CU's campuses.
In reaction to today's ruling, Board of Regents chairman Kyle Hybl, R-Colorado Springs, said the heart of the case was about the board's authority to govern CU.
"The university is disappointed its constitutional and statutory autonomy was not upheld in this instance," Hybl said.
Hybl said the board will get a briefing from legal counsel at its next meeting.
The law allows for those who are 21 years or older and who possess a concealed-carry permit to carry a weapon anywhere on the CU-Boulder campus. CU's police department estimates that less than 1 percent of CU faculty, staff and students have concealed-carry permits.
It will be at least two weeks before guns are allowed on CU's campuses, according to university officials.
The CU Board of Regents banned weapons in 1970 and, in 1994, strengthened the policy requiring that students be expelled and employees be fired if found guilty of using a weapon to "intimidate, harass, injure or otherwise interfere with the learning and working environment of the university."
In 2010, CU regents voted 5-4 to appeal to the state's highest court in an effort to overturn a Colorado Court of Appeals decision that the university violated state law by banning concealed weapons from its campuses.
A slim majority of regents, at that time, said guns have no place on a college campus. Tillie Bishop, R-Grand Junction, sided with Democrats on the board in directing the school to appeal because he said the case goes beyond the issue of guns on campus and is about regents' authority when it comes to setting rules for CU's campuses.
March should become 2nd Amendment Rights Month !
They should make murder illegal.
Good.
This is good news, identical to what happened in Oregon. I expect the Universities to follow the Oregon University response, which is not good:
http://www.care2.com/causes/oregon-bans-guns-on-state-university-campuses.html
Holy Civil Rights Batman!
Statutory autonomy? Reminds me of Peter Griffin of "Family Guy" declaring his property a sovereign country.
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