Appeals Court allows guns on Missouri campuses, with a catch

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — University of Missouri System employees may bring guns to campus but they cannot fire the gun or bring explosives or other weapons to campus, the Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The appeals court considered whether a university rule prohibiting weapons on campuses, except for employees such as campus police, conflicted with a Missouri law that said state employees cannot be prohibited from having a gun on state property if the firearm is in a locked vehicle and cannot be seen.

The case began in 2015 when Royce Barondes, a law professor on the Columbia campus, sued because he wanted to keep a firearm in his locked vehicle. The state brought a parallel case in 2016 arguing that the university rule was unconstitutional. Tuesday’s ruling applied to both cases.

Boone County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Harris ruled in 2019 that the university rule prohibiting guns on campus did not conflict with state law. The appeals court reversed that ruling, sending it back to the circuit court, The Columbia Daily Tribune reported.

The appeals court upheld part of Harris’ ruling that the university rule was constitutional.