Judge rules against MU professor who wants to bring his gun to campus

Hey, Mizzou law professor, for now you have to leave your gun at home.

Circuit Court Judge Jeff Harris this week ruled against University of Missouri law professor Royce Barondes, who challenged the school’s rule prohibiting concealed guns on campus — even if they’re locked in a personal car.

Missouri’s concealed gun statute allows state employees to keep a licensed firearm out of sight and locked away in their vehicles while they’re parked on state property. But the university prohibits guns on campus, “except in regularly approved programs or by university agents or employees in the line of duty.”

Barondes, who has worked at MU since 2002 and teaches a course on firearms law, sued the university in 2015, challenging its gun prohibition. He sought no monetary payment.

The judge ruled that the university policy does not conflict with the state statute.

“We are pleased with the court ruling on the state statute issue,” said Christian Basi, MU spokesman.

But Wednesday’s ruling only represents a partial victory for the university.

The judge also has been asked to consider whether the MU gun policy is constitutional, a completely different question than whether it violates state statute.

A decision on the constitutionality of the policy is still pending. The university is now preparing oral arguments.

Eddie Greim, the attorney for Barondes, said he is pleased the court will look at whether the no-guns-on-campus policy goes against the state constitution.

He intends to argue in court that the university has been selective in enforcing the policy. “It will be interesting to see how the curators try to justify selective enforcement of an absolute firearms ban,” Greim said.

If the judge finds that the MU gun prohibition policy is unconstitutional, that ruling could supersede this week’s decision.

That would mean that pending a university appeal, Barondes could be toting a concealed gun on campus.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 12:58 PM.