Tipsheet

Virginia Returning Students' Right to Self Defense

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is returning Second Amendment rights to University of Virginia students with concealed weapons permits, saying university policy does not trump the legal rights of permit holders.

People with concealed carry permits are not subject to a University of Virginia policy prohibiting individuals from bringing guns into school facilities without permission, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli recently concluded in legal advice to a legislator.

In a written response to Republican state Sen. Emmett Hanger, Cuccinelli reasoned that while the university may restrict people from openly carrying weapons, it lacks authority to supersede the legal rights of permit holders.

The Supreme Court of Virginia earlier this year upheld a George Mason University campus gun ban, but Cuccinelli sees a key difference between the GMU "regulation" that has the force of law and a U.Va. "policy" that isn't as binding.

Thanks to Cuccinelli, these students will no longer be sitting ducks.