Judge dismisses lawsuit over CU gun ban

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn a ban against carrying concealed weapons on University of Colorado campuses.

In a five-page decision issued on April 30, 4th Judicial District Judge G. David Miller dismissed the suit filed Dec. 11 by Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.

Miller's decision upheld a rule set by the Colorado Board of Regents, which prohibited the possession of weapons on CU campus in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder, with exceptions for law enforcement.

The suit was filed by three students, John Davis, a UCCS senior who spent 12 years in the military and is a sergeant in the Army Reserves; Eric Mote, an engineer who graduated in May from UCCS; and Martha Altman, a student at CU's Denver campus.

They sought strict enforcement of the Colorado Concealed Carry Act, which created uniform standards statewide for laws governing the carrying of concealed weapons.

They also argued that the regents' weapons ban runs contrary to the Colorado Constitution's language on the right to bear arms.

When the regents adopted their policy in 1994, they held that firearms on campus are not only inconsistent with the academic mission of the university, but also seriously undermine it.

In his ruling, Miller noted that "reasonable minds" could certainly differ on the conclusions that the regents reached when they adopted the policy.

He also stated that "any right-thinking person" could not be insensitive to the argument that a well-placed concealed weapon among the student or faculty might have averted some killing sprees on college campuses.

However, Miller found that the students incorrectly described the regents as a local government affected by the state's concealed carry law. Rather, the regents are a statewide authority with their legislative powers.

He also found nothing in the state constitution that would prohibit the regents from enacting a gun ban on campus.

A CU spokesman welcomed Miller's decision.

"The judge's decision reiterates what we maintained all along: that the Board of Regents have the authority and the responsibility to set policies for the University of Colorado's campuses in regard to weapons," said University of Colorado spokesman Ken McConnellogue.

Miller's ruling also drew praise from the president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"The University of Colorado has chosen wisely and appropriately to protect students' safety by banning armed students," said Paul Helmke, president of the Washington, D.C.-based group.

A message left for Mote on Tuesday was not returned.