In response to a July statement released by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, Old Dominion University began drafting a regulation this week which seeks to ban all non-law enforcement personnel from carrying guns in school buildings and at sporting events.
Cuccinelli wrote that University policy prohibiting students, faculty and staff from carrying guns does not extend to non-affiliated visitors with concealed-carry permits. Cuccinelli established the distinction between university policies and regulations: policies carry no legal weight, while regulations require a formal public disclosure process, which imparts a regulation with the force of law.
"In reviewing the legality of the policies, I express no opinion about their wisdom," Cuccinelli stated in his opinion. "It certainly can be argued that such policies are ineffectual because persons who wish to perpetuate violence will ignore them, and that net effect of such policies is to leave defenseless the law-abiding citizens who follow these policies."\nOld Dominion modeled its proposal on a similar regulation at George Mason University recently upheld in the state Supreme Court. Like Old Dominion's proposal, the George Mason regulation prohibited the possession or carrying of any weapon by any person, except a police officer, in school buildings or sporting events.
"We decided to embark on the regulatory process because of the attorney general's opinion," Old Dominion spokesperson Jennifer Mullen said. "This decision wasn't triggered by anything else."\nMullen said Old Dominion has always enforced a policy banning guns or other weapons on campus, and this policy extended to campus visitors not affiliated with the university.
The attorney general's office will review Old Dominion's proposal and possibly recommend revisions to the regulation. Mullen said Old Dominion modeled their proposal on the George Mason regulation because of the latter's success in the state Supreme Court.
University spokesperson Carol Wood said in an email that the University is currently in the process of reviewing the attorney general's recent opinion.
"We need to understand the full impact that this opinion could have on our community before making any decisions on next steps," she said.
Wood said the University will take into account the safety and the security of more than 20,000 students and 10,000 employees - in addition to the safety of the more than 10,000 patients and visitors who come to the University each day
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