Many Utah residents are at odds with the state's highest court over whether concealed guns should be allowed on university campuses, and state leaders may try to appease both sides during this year's Legislature.

Although the Utah Supreme Court struck down a University of Utah gun ban this fall, a new statewide poll shows the majority of 400 respondents think concealed weapons permit holders should not be allowed to carry guns on campus, particularly in residence halls and sports arenas.

The Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll shows 64 percent of those surveyed think guns should definitely or probably not be allowed on campus. That's compared to 36 percent who think concealed weapon permit holders should be allowed to carry guns.

The poll, conducted by Dan Jones and Associates on Jan. 2-4, has a 5 percent margin of error.

"There's a long-standing tradition that institutions of higher education have not had guns on campus. I'm not surprised that the general public feels that way," said Kim Wirthlin, vice president for government relations at the U.

The school's five-year court battle ended in September when the Utah Supreme Court struck down the gun ban at the state's flagship university, saying the school had no authority to make laws contrary to state statute.

Although school leaders initially said they would continue with a federal case, U. leaders have now decided to try to work through the Legislature.

Wirthlin is working with a group of higher education leaders and legislators to try to reach a compromise on the issue during the upcoming legislative session, although no formal bills have been written.

Specifically, Wirthlin said she hopes the group can come up with a systemwide ban on guns in areas such as residence halls, sports arenas, classrooms, professors' offices and hospitals.

Those areas are also of special concern to Utah residents surveyed in the Deseret Morning News poll. Eighty-three percent of those surveyed said guns should definitely or probably be prohibited in sports arenas, with classrooms ranking a close second with 80 percent saying guns should not be allowed there.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents said guns should not be allowed in residence halls, and 66 percent said guns should not be allowed anywhere on campus.

"We think in those kinds of areas where you have lots of people and situations that can get out of control that it's safer not to have guns," Wirthlin said. "We'd love to have no weapons on campus, but that's certainly not what the Legislature would like to have happen."