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College Republicans welcome Koster filing on campus carry

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster’s Tuesday filing asking for the University of Missouri System to reevaluate its campus carry regulations received some cautious cheers from the Missouri Federation of College Republicans.

Rob Twitchell, vice chair of the statewide group representing college-aged Republicans, welcomed the filing as an initial step forward.

“Even if it is Chris Koster, a Democrat, we’re all in favor of responsible protections on our college campuses,” he said. “Even if it’s not a full step towards responsible campus carry, just the ability for college professors to have their guns closer at hand to protect themselves and the student body is a meaningful step forward.”

The filing came as a parallel response to a lawsuit filed nearly a year ago by University of Missouri law professor Royce Barondes. He challenged university system regulations prohibiting the possession of firearms on campus “except in regularly approved programs or by university agents or employees in the line of duty.”

His case is still pending. But Koster’s filing asked for a declaratory judgement to give the University System up to 90 days to rewrite its regulations to comply with state law.

In his filing, Koster argued that under the Missouri constitution, state employees with a proper concealed carry permit have the right to bring their firearms onto state property and store them in their car trunk before entering an area where they are prohibited. He also argues they have a right to briefly display their weapon while moving it from the passenger area of the car to the trunk.

Despite the University System of Missouri regulations, Koster argued that those “local” laws are overruled by state law. Currently, the constitution requires strict interpretation of the law.

While groups like the Missouri Federation of College Republicans supported Koster’s filing, some members of his own party rejected it.