April 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 38

LAW REVIEW continued from page 35

§ 35-60-20 violates Article I, § 13 of the
Constitution of Virginia and the Second
and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. " Specifically, DiGiacinto characterized 8 VAC § 35-60-20

as " effectually a total ban " on the right to
bear arms on GMU's campus. In so doing, DiGiacinto argued that " the regulation is not narrowly tailored and violates
the historic understanding of the right to

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bear arms. "
In response, GMU argued that " the
right to keep and bear arms is not an
absolute right. " Citing Heller, GMU contended " the Second Amendment does
not prevent the government from prohibiting firearms in sensitive places, which
includes GMU's university buildings and
widely attended university events. " Moreover, GMU claimed 8 VAC § 35-60-20
was " narrowly tailored because it allows
individuals to lawfully carry firearms on
the open grounds of GMU's campus. "
As cited by the state supreme court,
the Second Amendment provides: " A well
regulated Militia, being necessary to the
security of a free State, the right of the
people to keep and bear Arms, shall not
be infringed. " Similar to the United States
Constitution, the court noted further that
the Constitution of Virginia also protects
the right to bear arms:
That a well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people,
trained to arms, is the proper, natural,
and safe defense of a free state, therefore, the right of the people to keep and
bear arms shall not be infringed; that
standing armies, in time of peace,
should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military
should be under strict subordination to,
and governed by, the civil power. (Va.
Const. art. I, § 13)

According to the state supreme court,
the language in Article I, § 13 concerning the right to bear arms is " substantially
identical to the rights founded in the Second Amendment. " As a result, the court
agreed with GMU's contention that " the
rights are co-extensive " and should " be
afforded the same meaning. "
Distinguishing the scope and applicability of the Heller opinion, the state supreme court noted that " [t]he Supreme
Court of the United States has held that
the Second Amendment protects the
right to carry and possess handguns in
the home for self-defense. " Moreover,
in Heller, the Supreme Court had found
individual self-defense is " the central

April 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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