Posted on 05/24/2012 11:22:51 PM PDT by marktwain
Frankfort, Ky --(Ammoland.com)- In April 2009 Michael Mitchell was at work, doing his job as an anesthesia tech at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.
Michael was at that time also a graduate student doing his pre-med work in preparation for medical school. But a comment to a friend about a firearm that was overheard by a co-worker was reported erroneously to his supervisor, and he ended up having his locker searched for a gun that wasn’t there. Then, in an effort to be honest and helpful, Michael told them that he did have a gun, but that it was in his car in the parking lot at Commonwealth Stadium over 1/4 mile away, securely locked up.
He was then taken to his car, his handgun was seized illegally by UK police and he was sent home. He was subsequently fired from his job.
He approached KC3 for advice on the law and assistance in bringing legal action against UKMC.
The board of directors voted to assist him and referred him to our attorney, Christopher Hunt of Lexington. With the financial support of KC3 they brought suit against UKMC in Fayette circuit court, where it was dismissed. After consultations following the dismissal, the decision was made to appeal directly to the Supreme Court of Kentucky.
The rest, as they say, is history! In April of this year, the court issued its ruling and unanimously struck down the lower court’s ruling, and remanded it to the circuit court for trial! Here’s the opening of the ruling from the court:
OPINION OF THE COURT BY JUSTICE SCHRODER REVERSING AND REMANDING
Appellant Michael Mitchell appeals from an order of the Fayette Circuit Court granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees, the University of Kentucky and several of its employees and entities (collectively “UK”), in a suit where Mitchell claimed UK terminated his employment in violation of public policy.We conclude that Mitchell’s discharge was contrary to a fundamental and well-defined public policy, i.e., the right to bear arms as evidenced by the Kentucky Revised Statutes. We further conclude that an explicit legislative statement prohibited Mitchell’s discharge, and that the reason for his discharge was his exercise of a right conferred by well-established legislative enactments Therefore, UK was not entitled to summary judgment, and we remand for further proceedings.
While it’s a certainty that UK will continue to engage in legal chicanery to avoid responsibility for paying the restitution and damages that Michael is entitled to, the language of the opinion makes it plain that all of their arguments to date were found to be lacking and insufficient.
The importance of this decision to Kentucky’s gun owners can’t be overstated. Prior to this, the colleges and universities had relied on a specious interpretation of one section of the statutes to justify their blanket ban on firearms in vehicles anywhere on their campuses, including glove boxes. Efforts to have this changed in the legislature failed in the last two sessions, despite support for the bills both from grass roots groups in Kentucky and from national gun rights groups such as the NRA and GOA. The universities thumbed their noses at CCDW permit holders despite the fact that in every other area of the statutes it was plain that the possession of a firearm IN YOUR CAR, and not removed or brandished, was LEGAL.
Now the colleges are going to be forced to revise their regulations in recognition of your right to bear arms, and to acknowledge that they have no special privileges that allow them to deny your right to self-defense.
KC3 is pleased to have been able to give Michael Mitchell the support that he needed to bring this suit and see it through to the end. We applaud him for his courage and perseverance. We also applaud Christopher Hunt for the excellence of his preparation for the appeal, and his conduct during the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, where his demeanor and bearing made the attorney for UK look shrill and weak.
We’ve waited a long time for a big win like this one, but now that it’s here it’s oh so sweet!
For the link to the full text of the decision, see our blog at http://kc3blog.blogspot.com. The decision is also printed there in its entirety.
About Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed: Since 1994, Kentucky Coalition to Carry Concealed, Inc., has worked on behalf of Kentucky citizens to secure a concealed carry law that would permit law abiding citizens to have the means to defend themselves from criminal attack when traveling outside their homes. Visit: www.kc3.com
Looks like Pennsyltucky is off my short list.
My mistake.
It’s late. Pennsyltucky remains on my short list
Seized illegally by UK police? For a moment I thought this was a story from England;)
That's understandable. What I question is the ability of a school to have it's own police force. Doesn't that create a wall of separation between the school and the community that it sits within?
Well, it does give the University the option to deal with the 'indiscretions' of major donor's children without any police record, and it permits them to present a clean face when asked about on-campus crime which may or may not accurately reflect reality.
In short, the University decides what will be reported and what the statistics will reflect.
Quite so.
Obvious examples include their disregard of court rulings concerning racial quotas and laws concerning ROTC on campus. Is not just that they hate following the Constitution, they arrogantly evade the Constitution and the laws made pursuant to the Constitution.
"Tenure" should not mean sovereign immunity.
The University of KY is as liberal as they get. However, their faculty and administration does not reflect the views of true Kentuckyians. The Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper, likewise, is extremely liberal. Local radio negates some of the extremism. Gay rights stories were were favored for the front page before Obama came out for same sex marriage. Look at how KY votes in Presidential elections and you will get a view of where the REAL people are. Many Democrats in KY haven’t voted that way in a Presidential election for years. Kentucky is a great place and is not like Pennsylvania at all. Closest friends often disagree politically but still remain close in KY because they know where that line is drawn, unlike the viciousness we see on the large fringe of the Northeast and California. Thank God, in KY, the highest court still practices law.
“While it’s a certainty that UK will continue to engage in legal chicanery to avoid responsibility for paying the restitution and damages that Michael is entitled to, the language of the opinion makes it plain that all of their arguments to date were found to be lacking and insufficient.”
Let’s hope Mitchell comes in for a big payday, courtesy of UK.
My wife works for a State entity in MS. They recently passed out rules about having weapons on the property - not allowed. She has a CCW and protested that, in order to follow their rules, she would necessarily have to leave herself unprotected going to and leaving work. She asked if they would accept responsibility if she were hurt or killed on the way to/from work because they insisted she could not exercise her rights under the law to defend herself. Surprisingly, they modified it to allow weapons to be stored in one’s car while on their property (in line with MS’s definition of your vehicle being an extension of your home, and you can carry a weapon openly or concealed in the vehicle, because they charge property taxes on top of the vehicle’s license).
Bump to read the decision later
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