Lawmaker wants University of Utah gun ban shot down
By: Administrative Account | Source: Deseret News
January 30, 2004 12:30PM EST

By Jennifer Dobner and Angie Welling
Deseret Morning News

      As expected, lawmakers this year will get a chance to clarify what many thought was already clear — the Utah Legislature, and no one else, has the absolute right to enact gun laws throughout the state.
      Sponsored by Sen. Michael Waddoups, SB48 responds to a state court ruling that said the University of Utah could enforce a decades-old ban of concealed weapons on its campus.
      Under SB48, no local authority or state entity could establish or enforce a rule prohibiting concealed weapons permit-holders from carrying their guns. The bill specifically applies to public school districts, public schools and state institutions of higher education, Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said. It would not apply to private colleges or universities such as Brigham Young University.
      "My intention is that this bill makes it very clear that the University of Utah is part of the state of Utah and that they are going to have to adhere to the state law regarding concealed weapons on their campus," said Waddoups.
      University officials were not pleased to hear about Waddoups' proposal.
      "We're sorry to see that this issue has come up again," said Fred Esplin, the U.'s vice president of university relations. "When we prevailed in state court, we hoped that would have been the end."
      Should the bill pass, the U. would be the only public institution in the country without a campus gun ban, he said.
      In 1996, legislators passed a concealed-carry law, allowing Utah's 50,000-plus permit-holders to carry weapons without restriction except in designated secure areas. Those areas include airports, courthouses, jails and prisons, all of which provide security protection for the public.
      Waddoups said he did not know how the university could not understand the 1996 law, which was designed to protect law-abiding citizens and target criminals.
      "Now we have the University of Utah restricting law-abiding citizens and doing nothing to protect them from criminals," he said. "You have to allow people to protect themselves on your campus, unless you have a way to protect them."
      He suggested the U. could become a secure facility by placing magnetometers at the entrances to buildings or by encircling the campus with a fence.
      That would be both unrealistic and cost prohibitive to any institution, Esplin said.
      "The University of Utah has had a policy for over 30 years of keeping guns out of classrooms, dormitories and libraries, and we've had a good record of safety," he said.
      In his August 2003 ruling, 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder said Utah's current gun laws "do not reach either the university's relations with its students, faculty or staff or prohibit them from making regulations." He noted the school's obligation "to provide a safe place" and said lawmakers would have to pass a law specifically taking away the university's ability to meet that obligation.
      The U. first sued Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff in federal court in March 2002, after Shurtleff noted in a written opinion that the U. was in violation of state law by enforcing a campus gun ban.
      U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball dismissed the suit and the university refiled in state court. There, university officials got a firm declaration that the policy does not violate the state's concealed weapons law.
      Shurtleff has appealed to the Utah Supreme Court, and his initial appellate brief was filed Thursday. He has said he will dismiss the challenge if Waddoups' bill passes.
      Esplin said the prevailing sentiment on campus "would be to keep guns out of the classroom."
      But Waddoups said he has been asked by teachers and staff from all areas of the public school system to protect their constitutional gun rights.
      "If you can't protect yourself, you have to rely on the person that's taking away your right to personal protection," said Waddoups. "The only way that I know of and the Legislature has found so far is to make those areas secure. The University of Utah is not taking that on."

Email this Article

Printer Friendly Version