The judge said the zoo argued it fits the state law’s definition of a “gun-free zone” in that it is both an educational facility and a gated amusement park as defined by the state’s open-carry statute.

Moriarty’s ruling said the zoo’s gun ban does not violate the constitutional rights of gun owners because it is “narrowly tailored to support a reasonable government purpose” and would survive “strict scrutiny” as stipulated in a 2014 gun rights amendment to the Missouri Constitution.

The zoo had argued in court that its gun ban is legal because the 90-acre campus, which has on-site preschool and children’s education programs, constitutes a classroom. The zoo said it also believes its campus meets the state’s definition of a gated amusement park. More than 486,000 students participated in the zoo’s educational programs in 2015.

Smith could not be reached for comment Thursday.

In the decision, the three-judge panel said the judge skipped a step in determining that guns should be barred from the facility and ordered a new round of hearings to address the problem.

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