Alphecca: Civil Rights Victory for U of U Students

September 09, 2006

Civil Rights Victory for U of U Students

A state college in Utah does not have the right to ban students of legal age from protecting themselves. From the Daily Herald of Utah:

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Supreme Court struck down a ban on guns at the University of Utah on Friday, saying campus officials cannot adopt a policy that runs counter to state law.

The university had argued that it had autonomous authority under the state Constitution.

"The university's claim is unsupported by the text of our state's Constitution, its historical context or the prior decision of this court," the Supreme Court said in a 4-1 ruling. "The university is subject to Utah law."

Utah law prevents state and local agencies from restricting possession or use of firearms on public or private property.

University President Michael Young said the ban will remain in place while the school pursues the issue in federal court.

Don't you just love how Young says he'll now flout the law by ignoring the court's decision? Properly, the university ought to be rescinding the ban until -- and only until -- a higher court rules otherwise. I would think that the Tenth Circuit Court in Colorado, which has jurisdiction, would not overrule the Utah Supreme Court but who knows?

Note that the situation would probably be different if this concerned a private college such as Brigham Young which also prohibits firearms on campus (with certain exceptions but concealed carry by students is a no-no). I believe that even if the ruling could be extended to a private college, BYU could still get around it by claiming they are a religious institution. Not sure about that as I'm not a lawyer...

You'll say to me, "...But the court said 'public and private property'...". Well, yes but they're referring to properties administered by state or local agencies, not ones privately run; the University of Utah is a State University. That's why a privately owned supermarket could also prohibit CCW.

If I'm wrong, I'm sure you'll let me know!

Posted by Jeff Soyer at September 9, 2006 08:50 AM

Comments

Are you sure the next jurisdiction is the 10th Circuit Court? Admittedly, I haven't had a civics course in 15 years, but I thought that a state supreme court could only be overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Could they just gin up a completely different federal justification and start at the bottom rung?

Posted by: Robert at September 9, 2006 11:36 AM

If this is the case I remember, I think they already have a federal case in progress - on First Amendment grounds, if you can believe. Apparently, they are asserting that allowing guns would "hamper the free exchange of ideas", thus violating their right to free speech.

Posted by: Dave at September 9, 2006 04:31 PM

I posted on this, and as David Codrea pointed out, they are using the First and Fourteenth Amendments to essentially counter the Second Amendment, without actually saying that. But absent from much of the legal debate is THE SECOND AMENDMENT. Because the State Legislature passed a law reiterating the Second Amendment -barring state agencies from banning guns.

But the University's argument won't hold water, the Ninth Amendment and Article VI of the Constitution clearly render that argument useless.

Posted by: Stan at September 10, 2006 02:23 AM

Should they leave the ban in place, they should face arrest and prosecution under the law as it now stands. That is the law. Period. Not questionable, not unclear, violation of law is a crime.

If convicted perhaps they would encourage the state to hold them in jail until that particular appeal was heard. I mean, if they are so sure that law doesn't apply while they fight it, they should understand the recession of habeus corpus pending appeal. Right? And they would only be violating their own rights and not those of thousands of other citizens.

Somehow, I don't think they have the guts for it.

Posted by: straightarrow at September 13, 2006 10:30 PM

Jake Garn went into space, too bad his mind didn't come back with him.

Posted by: straightarrow at September 13, 2006 10:31 PM

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September 09, 2006

Civil Rights Victory for U of U Students

By Golly, you're reading an archived post. Click Here to head to the main page and read current stuff...

Check it out:

My group sci-fi blog novel:

Colony: Alchibah