Virginia Supreme Court Upholds George Mason Gun Ban

A George Mason University policy barring the carrying of guns in campus facilities and at campus events does not violate the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment or the Virginia Constitution, the state's Supreme Court ruled Thursday. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by a state resident who uses the suburban Washington university's library, among other facilities, and it upheld a state judge's earlier decision. "The regulation does not impose a total ban of weapons on campus," the Supreme Court said. "Rather, the regulation is tailored, restricting weapons only in those places where people congregate and are most vulnerable -- inside campus buildings and at campus events. Individuals may still carry or possess weapons on the open grounds of GMU, and in other places on campus not enumerated in the regulation. We hold that GMU is a sensitive place and that [the policy] is constitutional."