The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that Circuit Judge Jeff Harris’s ruling on Wednesday rejected arguments that the ban violates a law protecting state employees from prosecution for having concealed guns in their parked cars while on state property. But Harris left open whether the ban violates the Missouri Constitution.
Law professor Royce Barondes has a concealed weapons permit. He filed the lawsuit in 2015 and then-Attorney General Chris Koster filed a companion lawsuit in 2016.
Harris also rejected the university’s arguments that it’s not subject to the same constitutional scrutiny that applies to statutes regulating firearms. Missouri passed an amendment in 2014 that says future restrictions on gun rights are subject to strict scrutiny.
