University of Florida

Florida Carry has been active in holding state universities in Florida to the letter and spirit of the law regarding weapons restrictions on campus. Florida has state preemption on firearms issues but many municipalities and other governmental units want to go their own way. This would include the University of Florida in Gainesville. As a result, Florida Carry is suing them in state court. Unfortunately, a circuit court judge (and loyal alumnus) ignored a higher court ruling and granted summary judgment to the University of Florida. Florida Carry will be appealing to the 1st District Court of Appeals where they won an earlier case against the University of North Florida.


From Florida Carry:

Florida Carry case against University of Florida gun ban regulations moving to the First District Court of Appeal

On January 10th, 2014 Florida Carry, Inc. filed a lawsuit against the University Florida (UF),
seeking a permanent injunction to protect the rights of students,
faculty, and the public from the university’s illegal and
unconstitutional regulations prohibiting or severely restricting
firearms and weapons on all university property including in student’s
personal vehicles and in university managed housing.

Since 1987
the Florida Legislature has preempted firearms law and issued state-wide
licenses to carry concealed for self-defense. In December Florida
Carry won a similar case against the University of North Florida (UNF).
In Florida Carry v. UNF
the First District Court of Appeal ruled that “The legislature’s
primacy in firearms regulation derives directly from the Florida
Constitution… Indeed, the legislature has reserved for itself the
whole field of firearms regulation in section 790.33(1)…” No public
college or university has any authority to prevent students and the
public from having a functional firearm in places that are
constitutionally protected or permitted under state law.

The
University of Florida has failed to comply with the court’s ruling by
doing nothing more than adding an “Intent” footnote to only one of its
illegal policies.

In 2008 the United States Supreme Court ruled
that the right to keeps arms in the home is at the very core of the
Second Amendment.

Today, (Wednesday July 30th, 2014) Circuit Court Judge Toby S. Monaco granted motions to dismiss and for summary judgement in favor of his alma mater and granted sovereign immunity to UF President Manchen.
The lower court Judge ignored the plain language of multiple Florida
firearms laws, multiple binding court cases from Florida and the US
Supreme Court, turned to blind eye to university policies that are
promulgated in continued violation, and refused to conduct any analysis
of the right to keep and bear arms.

This is the same failure to
follow the law and protect the fundamental right to keep and bear arms
that we saw from another lower court in our case against the University
of North Florida. Prior to winning the landmark Florida Carry v. UNF
case that secured the right of students to store firearms in their cars
parked on campus in the First District Court of Appeals late last year,
another Florida Circuit Court Judge entered a similarly poorly reasoned
decision.

“It’s disappointing but this type of ruling is exactly what we have come to expect from far too many intellectually dishonest lower court judges at this phase of any Second Amendment case.” said Florida Carry Executive Director Sean Caranna “Once again, we’ll appeal to the First DCA… and once again, we’ll win.”