Missouri Supreme Court refuses to hear guns on campus case

MISSOURI — The Missouri Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by Attorney General Eric Schmitt of an appeals court ruling that said University of Missouri employees who bring guns onto campus must keep them locked in their cars and out of sight.

The ruling puts an end to a long battle over the issue of guns on campus that began in 2015 when a law professor at Mizzou sued because he wanted to keep a firearm in his locked vehicle. At the time, the University’s rule on the matter prohibited guns on campus in all cases except for employees like campus police.

State law, however, said that employees could possess guns on campus as long as they were locked in a vehicle and out of view. The state also sued the following year, arguing that the university rule was unconstitutional.

Boone County Circuit 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 but sided with the part of Harris’s ruling that the university rule was constitutional.

The appeals court ruled that University employees can take a gun to campus, but it must follow the state law regarding keeping it locked and out of sight.

Attorney General Eric Schmitt appealed that ruling to the state Supreme Court, which Tuesday refused to hear it.