Colorado Court of Appeals Revives Campus Gun Ban Case

The Colorado Court of Appeals has sided with a group of students fighting against a gun ban on their college campus.

The ruling revives a lawsuit that a judge tossed out, when the Students for Concealed Carry on Campus argued in 1994 that University of Colorado's policy banning concealed violates state gun laws, the Associated Press reports.

Students with concealed gun permits say they have a right to carry their weapons on campus. They say the university's policy violates the Concealed Carry Act of 2003. 

University officials say they are disappointed by the ruling. The ruling by the panel reverses the original decision.

Now, the university is deciding whether to appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

As previously discussed, guns on campus and the 2nd Amendment have been under renewed debate.

Recently, Arizona began legally permitting those licensed to carry concealed weapons the right to keep loaded guns in locked cars at work and on state college campuses.

In Colorado, Judge Robert Hawthorne wrote in his decision that the language of the statue does not specify public universities as an exception. In addition, if the legislature wanted to exempt universities, it knew how to do so.

The Colorado Court of Appeals rejected all of CU's arguments.

Jim Manley of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, who represented Students for Concealed Carry says the court's decision is a victory for the right to keep and bear arms and a victory for the rule of law.

• More Guns on Campus? (Newsweek)
• Guns on Campus and the 2nd Amendment: a Renewed Debate (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life)
• Gun Laws (FindLaw)