<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<font size="+1"><font face="Comic Sans MS"><br>
And in our neighboring state . . .<br>
<br>
<b><font face="Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif"><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/09/oregon_court_of_appeals_reject.html">http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/09/oregon_court_of_appeals_reject.html</a></font></b><br>
</font></font>
<h1 class="entry-title">Oregon Court of Appeals rejects university
system's ban on guns on campus</h1>
<h5><big><b>Published: Wednesday, September 28, 2011, 8:44 PM
Updated: <span class="updated" title="2011-09-29T07:07:13Z">Thursday,
September 29, 2011, 12:07 AM</span></b></big></h5>
<div class="author_info"> <a
href="http://connect.oregonlive.com/user/bgraves/index.html"> <img
original="http://media.oregonlive.com//avatars/11/14.png"
src="cid:part1.01070706.00010703@charter.net" alt="Bill
Graves, The Oregonian" height="40" width="40"> </a> <span
class="author_byline"> <big><big>By </big></big><span
class="author vcard"><a class="fn"
href="http://connect.oregonlive.com/user/bgraves/index.html"><big><big>
Bill Graves, The Oregonian</big></big>
</a></span> <a onclick="followPopUp(this, 'Bill Graves, The
Oregonian', '1114');" class="follow"></a></span></div>
<br>
<div id="asset-10090780" class="entry_widget_large
entry_widget_left"><span class="adv-photo-large"><span
class="photo-data"><span class="byline"><big>Bill Graves/The
Oregonian</big></span><big><span class="caption">The
library on the campus of Portland State University, where
it will be legal for students with permits to carry
concealed guns under a state court ruling Wednesday.</span></big></span><big><span
class="photo-bottom-left"></span><span
class="photo-bottom-right"></span></big></span></div>
<big><br>
Students and faculty with permits will be allowed to carry
concealed guns on Oregon's seven public university campuses – at
least for now – as the result of a<a
href="http://www.publications.ojd.state.or.us/A142974.pdf">
court ruling </a>Wednesday. <br>
<br>
A three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals said that an<a
href="http://www.ous.edu/"> Oregon University System </a>ban on
guns exceeds its authority and is invalid. <br>
<br>
That means people with permits can pack concealed guns, said Di
Saunders, spokeswoman for the university system. <br>
<br>
"We don't have the authority to kick them off campus unless they
show the weapons," she said. <br>
<br>
But anyone brandishing a gun on campus would be approached
immediately by security, she said. <br>
<br>
Kevin Starrett, executive director of the <a
href="http://ofef.org/">Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation</a>
that filed the suit challenging the gun ban, said as a practical
matter the ruling does not change much. <br>
<br>
"There are students and staff and visitors carrying guns on every
campus of every college in this state every day," said Starrett,
whose nonprofit group fights for Second Amendment constitutional
rights. "My interest is having people who have power over other
people conform to the same rules that everyone else is expected to
conform to and not use their bureaucratic position as a way to
harass, intimidate and humiliate people who are doing nothing
wrong." <br>
<br>
University officials have not decided whether they will appeal the
decision, seek new legislation or take other action, but they will
be looking for a way to ban all guns from campus, even those
carried by people with permits, Saunders said. <br>
<br>
One possible option would be to require students to sign a
statement agreeing not to carry a gun before allowing them to
enter classroom buildings, sports events or their dormitories, she
said. <br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon </a>students
will urge the university system to appeal what they see as a
"flawed" and "dangerous decision," said Ben Eckstein, 21, a
senior and student body president. <br>
<br>
"Students feel our college campus should be a place where we can
learn safely, engage safely," he said. "When anybody brings a
lethal weapon on campus, it threatens our ability to learn
safely." <br>
<br>
The lawsuit grew out of a controversy in early 2009 over <a
href="http://www.wou.edu/">Western Oregon University's </a>suspension
of a student for packing a handgun, even though he had a permit. <br>
<br>
The court ruled that while the State Board of Higher Education has
authority to control and manage its property and to enact
administrative rules, it cannot override a state law that says
only the Legislature can regulate the use, sale and possession of
firearms. <br>
<br>
The university system rule that bans guns on university property
"exceeds the agency's authority," the court wrote. The gun ban was
developed in the 1970s and modified in 1991. <br>
<br>
<a href="http://gov.oregonlive.com/legislators/Kim-Thatcher/">Rep.
Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer,</a> supported the firearms foundation
in its suit and called the ruling a vindication for gun owners.
She said she was concerned both about the university system's
restrictions on guns and its overstepping its authority. <br>
<br>
"How many other agencies are out there making up rules outside the
law?" she asked. "I don't have a problem with someone carrying a
gun on campus. That should make it safer to be on campus, to have
a law-abiding citizen carrying a gun." <br>
<br>
The university system, however, will be looking for other ways to
keep guns off campus, Saunders said. <br>
<br>
"This does not erase all the safety protections we have on
campus," she said. "It invalidates one Oregon administrative rule,
but it doesn't invalidate our mission to keep students safe." </big><br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:bgraves@oregonian.com">– Bill Graves</a><br>
</body>
</html>