Florida 1st District Ct. of Appeals Holds that Universities can Prohibit Guns in all Campus Housing

1st District Court of Appeals upholds lower court’s decision 
allowing Florida’s colleges and universities to prohibit firearms in all campus housing

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2015

Tallahassee, FL: Earlier today, the 1st District Court of Appeals rendered its decision in the case  (Florida Carry, Inc. vs. University of Florida, Case # 1D14-4614). The lawsuit filed by Florida Carry proposed that residents of housing owned or leased by the University of Florida have a legal right to possess firearms on property governed by the university.  An Alachua County circuit judge last year sided with the University of Florida in rejecting claims brought by the gun rights group.

The Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus issued the following statement in response to the Court’s decision:

“We applaud the decision released today by the 1st District Court of Appeals in Florida, holding that state law bars the possession of guns on school property, including college and university campuses. The District Court of Appeals’ decision follows the Alachua County circuit court ruling, which ruled for the University of Florida, but was appealed by Florida Carry.

As many Floridians know, for the last few years, the Florida gun lobby has actively sought to force colleges and universities to allow the carrying of loaded, concealed firearms on campus via a two-pronged attack through the legislature and the courts.   While we cannot say if Florida Carry will appeal the judicial decision, we do know that the gun lobby will redouble their efforts to pass guns on campus legislation in Tallahassee.  Case in point is how quickly new guns on campus legislation, introduced before the start of the 2016 session, is currently moving through committee hearings in both the House and Senate.

We believe that the Board of Governors of the State University System of Florida has the legal authority, among other things, to regulate campus safety, which includes prohibiting all firearms on campus.  In addition, we do not believe that the Supreme Court’s decision in Heller, though stating that the 2nd Amendment protects the possession of firearms for self-defense within the traditional home, extends to university housing. In fact, the Supreme Court specifically stated its decision should not call into constitutional question longstanding bans on firearms in schools – bans that have always extended to housing provided by public universities.”

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