The Colorado Supreme Court sided Monday with opponents of a campus gun ban who claimed the prohibition is illegal because it was not approved by the Legislature.Opponents of the gun ban said the University of Colorado rule was challenged as part of a nationwide effort to standardize rules on the issue.
"We don't feel some campuses should allow it and others ban it," said David Burnett, spokesman for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, a nationwide student advocacy group that filed the lawsuit.
The ruling covers about 30 public universities, colleges and community colleges in Colorado.
Burnett said about 220 campuses in other states, including Mississippi, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, have laws that provide limited authority for students to carry guns on campuses, and Oregon is considering the issue.
The Colorado high court cited widespread inconsistencies among jurisdictions as one of the reasons for its ruling.
Kyle Hybl, chairman of the Board of Regents, said the ruling stripped the university of its right to make its own rules.
"We have constitutional and statutory authority to protect the health, welfare and safety of students," Hybl said after Monday's ruling. "This case was less about firearms than the constitutional and statutory rights of the Board of Regents."
| 1) The Board of Regents is subject to state law. 2) The Board of Regents also obeys the Constitution. Comes as a surprise, huh? |
A gun ban didn't stop the gunman, did it?
Opponents said armed students might have prevented the massacre.
| Likely not but that doesn't change one's constitutional rights. Remember, when it comes to responding to a situation like a gunman bursting into a classroom, 99% of us are, to use Bill Whittle's terminology, sheep. |