Young also had a daughter at the U.S. Air Force Academy, and one year, she had an M-16 in her locker that had been rigged to not shoot bullets. The next year he visited, Young said he discovered it had been dipped in rubber because, as his daughter informed him, some students had learned how to shoot pencils out of their weapons and were hurting people.

Young joked that if the Air Force Academy considered something like this a problem, it certainly was a legitimate concern for the University of Utah.

He said he was not aware of any situation where a student had asked permission to bring a firearm on campus, and he said there had not been any gun-related incidents since the university adopted its policy.

If a student was caught with a gun on campus, the university would explain the policy. If there were repeat incidents, a range of disciplinary actions could be taken, with expulsion being the last resort.

In the past, the Utah Legislature has heard some of the concerns by university officials. Utah law forbids weapons during disciplinary hearings on public campuses. The law also bans guns in courthouses, prisons, jails, buses and airport terminals.

It remains a question whether the U.'s gun-ban policy will remain in effect as the case works its way through the federal courts.

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Contributing: Associated Press

E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com; lindat@desnews.com