Court affirms that schools can bar teacher's gun

Text Size: A | A | A

Print this Article Email this Article

An English teacher who was denied permission to take her handgun to South Medford High School has lost her appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The court opinion, issued today by Judge Jack Landau, upheld a November 2007 decision by the Jackson County Circuit Court that affirmed the Medford School District's authority to prohibit employees from carrying firearms on school grounds.

Teacher Shirley Katz had argued that state law allows people with concealed weapon permits to carry firearms in public buildings, including public schools, and that only the state Legislature has the authority to change that.

The Jackson County court concluded in its 2007 decision that the school district's employee policy forbidding employees from carrying guns on campuses was not subject to the state law that bars cities and other local governments from regulating guns because an employee policy doesn't amount to an ordinance.

Katz appealed the ruling, and the case was argued again in April before the Court of Appeals.

Katz had said she wanted to carry her Glock 9 mm handgun to protect herself against threats from her ex-husband during their divorce in 2004. The ex-husband denied the allegations, but a judge granted a restraining order against him that expired prior to Katz's suit. Katz had a concealed weapon permit issued by the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

— Paris Achen

Print this Article Email this Article