EUGENE - A policy that bans firearms on the state's seven public university campuses is facing a legal challenge from a lawsuit filed Thursday by a University of Oregon graduate student.

Brian Stubbs claims that Oregon law allows people who hold concealed-weapons licenses to possess firearms in all public places except state and municipal courtrooms.

Stubbs, 25, also says the law forbids government entities, except the Legislature, from regulating "any aspect of firearm possession."

Although a policy banning guns from Oregon campuses has been in place for several decades, "tradition does not have force of law," said Stubbs' lawyer, Kristian Roggendorf of Portland. "The only thing that matters is what the law says. We want to see the university stay within its bounds."

Stubbs' suit seeks to keep the Oregon University System and the state Board of Higher Education from imposing sanctions against concealed-handgun license holders who carry a firearm on property administered by the university system.

Ben Rawlins, general counsel for the Oregon University System, declined to comment specifically about the case Wednesday. But he said board members are very concerned about the safety of students on the state's public campuses.

"And as a result of that concern, the board has promulgated rules prohibiting the possession of weapons on campus," Rawlins said. "The board has examined its position and feels it has the appropriate authority to so regulate weapons."

About 35 states have laws that say concealed-weapons permits must be granted to applicants who meet specified criteria and cannot be denied arbitrarily, said Kevin Starrett, director of the Oregon Firearms Federation and the Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation, which is paying Stubbs' legal fees.

To get a concealed-handgun license in Oregon, an applicant must be 21 or older, have no misdemeanors in the previous four years and never have committed a felony. An applicant also must be trained in handgun use.

According to the Alliance for Justice, a Washington, D.C.-based social issues group that supports zero tolerance for guns on college campuses, 19 states that have passed concealed-weapons laws have made no exceptions regarding college campuses.