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University Cannot Ban Guns
By Gwendolyn Bradley
The University of Utah cannot ban guns on its campus, the Utah Supreme Court ruled in September. The university had been banning guns in defiance of state law since 2004, when state legislators voted to prohibit government agencies from restricting the possession of firearms.
Citing concern for student safety and pointing out that the practice of prohibiting guns on campus is widespread, the university argued that the law interfered with academic freedom and that its institutional autonomy under the state constitution allowed it to impose the ban. The court disagreed. The university has temporarily suspended the ban while it seeks a compromise with state legislators. The case was initially filed in federal court, and the university said in a statement after the ruling that “federal constitutional issues remain”; however, a spokesperson said that no decision has been made on whether or not to take the issue back to federal court.
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