Facebook Twitter

A review of the guns-on-campus controversy

SHARE A review of the guns-on-campus controversy

November 2001: Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff issues an opinion that the University of Utah's ban on guns on campus violates state law.

March 2002: The university files a federal lawsuit challenging Shurtleff's opinion, raising federal and state legal claims.

March 2003: U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball says state legal claims must be resolved in the state court system.

May 2003: The university files a claim in Utah's 3rd District Court.

September 2003: Third District Judge Robert Hilder issues a ruling stating the university did not break state law, but the judge does not rule on state constitutional claims. The attorney general then files an appeal.

February 2004: The Legislature amends the firearms law to make clear that the university's no-guns-on-campus ban is not legal.

September 2006: The Utah Supreme Court issues a ruling against the university. School officials, meanwhile, vow to continue to fight in federal court to keep their no-guns-on-campus policy and claim that it will stay in place until the litigation is resolved.