DENVER—Opponents of a campus gun ban at the University of Colorado told the state Supreme Court on Wednesday the ban is illegal because it was not approved by the Legislature.
Jim Manley, representing a group of students promoting concealed carry of firearms on campus, said lawmakers would have listed universities as exceptions in a law passed in 2003 if they wanted guns banned on campus.
The Concealed Carry Act prohibits local governments from limiting concealed carry rights, with the only exceptions being K-12 schools, places where federal law bans it, public buildings with metal detectors and private property where owners object to concealed weapons.
Manley told the seven-member court the law was designed to fix a patchwork of confusing local laws.
“Clearly the Legislature wanted to create one statewide rule,” Manley said.
Patrick O’Rourke, representing the University of Colorado, told the court the Board of Regents has a duty to protect students.
The Legislature “has explicitly acknowledged the regents’ authority to enact laws,” O’Rourke told the court. He said the rules were necessary to protect the safety of students, citing a shooting at Virginia Tech where a gunman killed 32 people and wounded 23 before killing himself in 2007.
The court is expected to rule on the case by the end of the summer.
Regents spokesman Ken McConnellogue said the issue is not whether guns should be allowed on campus but whether the Board of Regents has the power to set school policies.
“We’ve always maintained that this case is not about whether guns on campus is a good thing or bad thing; it’s about the regents’ authority,” he said after Wednesday’s hearing.
Attorney Richard Westfall, representing the National Rifle Association, said the Concealed Carry Act applies statewide, with few exceptions.
“All of the state means all of the state,” he said.
The Colorado Court of Appeals in April ruled in favor of a gun-rights group that sued the University of Colorado, arguing that a 1994 university policy banning concealed weapons violates state gun laws.
The appeals court sided with Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which said the CU policy violated Colorado’s 2003 Concealed Carry Act, which prohibits local governments from limiting concealed carry rights.
CU left its concealed weapons ban in place. In June, the school’s Board of Regents decided to fight the appellate court’s decision.
