University Michigan gun ban remains after court denies hearing appeal

A ban on guns at the University of Michigan will stand after the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a man who said the policy violates the Constitution.

The 4-2 order Friday means a 2023 Michigan Court of Appeals decision in favor of the university stands.

The appeals court was asked to look at the university's 2001 gun ban, after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 expanded gun rights.

"The efficacy of gun bans as a public safety measure is a matter of debate," the appeals court said. "However, because the university is a school, and thus a sensitive place, it is up to the policy-maker — the university in this case — to determine how to address that public safety concern."

The Michigan Supreme Court's most conservative members, justices David Viviano and Brian Zahra, wanted to take the case. They said the appeals court wrongly analyzed it, leaving a "near total ban of firearms on a large section of Ann Arbor."