There are a lot of judges who believe that the Second Amendment confers an individual  right to bear arms. There are judges like Justice Thomas who believe that a strict scrutiny test applies to any gun restrictions. And then there are a whole lot of judges who simply do not see courthouses as the right places for people to be carrying loaded firearms. So we put up metal detectors and keep the guns out. Seems simple enough. Well, perhaps not in Mississippi:

Last week, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that a lower court had unconstitutionally banned residents with enhanced concealed-carry licenses from bringing their weapons into courthouses.

A 2011 amendment allowed “enhanced concealed-carry licensees the privilege of carrying a concealed firearm in the courthouses of this state, save for courtrooms, which the Legislature left within the province of judges.” However, local judges “issued a court order prohibiting enhanced concealed carry licensees from possessing a firearm in and around courthouse buildings.”

The Mississippi Supreme Court found that “The Mississippi Constitution vests only the Legislature with the authority to regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons. The orders at issue usurp that power.” While the court acknowledged that the judges’ fear for their safety was “well-founded,” the majority concluded that the judges’ “personal fears and opinions do not trump, and cannot negate, constitutional guarantees.”

Two justices dissented, finding the ban constitutional, and two justices dissented in part, finding that a more narrow order could be constitutional.