Gun Free School Zone Act Passage

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  • jpk1md

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 13, 2007
    11,313
    Folks, Not sure how many of you understand just how badly you can be screwed by the Gun Free School Zone Act 0f 1995 but you all should be aware of it particularly if you have an out of state permit or are a resident of a free state.

    Just as important is to be aware of HOW we got screwed and WHO screwed us so here's a brief synopsis of how the bill got passed and links at the bottom to the final votes in the House and Senate.

    That bill was sponsored by Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.). The bill ultimately got included in an appropriations bill and was passed as part of H.R. 3610: Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997 which a steamy pile of turd big gov RINO's (and Dems) voted for including Sen Judd Gregg, Lieberman, McCain, Lugar, Grassley, McConnell, Snowe, Mikulski, Lott, Reid, Domenici. Inhofe, Santorum and other familiar names.

    How any of these people have good ratings from the NRA is beyond comprehension.....unless the NRA didn't oppose the bill :rolleyes:

    http://www.nraila.org/Issues/factsheets/read.aspx?ID=62

    http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h104-3610

    http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=s1996-200

    http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h1996-247

    Edit ("And Dems" added to make Mark happy)
     

    Norton

    NRA Endowment Member, Rifleman
    Staff member
    Admin
    Moderator
    May 22, 2005
    122,847
    I'm going to give this a stick for the time being because it's a topic that affects gun owners regardless of where they live or travel.
     

    jpk1md

    Ultimate Member
    Jan 13, 2007
    11,313
    I'm going to give this a stick for the time being because it's a topic that affects gun owners regardless of where they live or travel.

    Can I request that the thread be treated as a reference instead of a three ring circus and that posts that have little or nothing to do with GFSZA be deleted with extreme predjudice?
     

    EL1227

    R.I.P.
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 14, 2010
    20,274
    But, but, but ...

    "It's for the children" ... I hear ya "Mr. and Mrs. Progressive", but let's see how effective it's been.

    School shootings 1995 to 2005

    School Shootings

    The School Shootings Report

    School shootings are not a simple issue with a single solution. This violence is rooted in psychological imbalances within the students themselves, poor parenting and a decay in significance of traditional institutions along with the guilt forces they rely on for effectiveness - to name a just a few.

    I guess assault and robbery is ok every now and then but a shooting isn’t, or perhaps it’s just because the news media has picked up on it in a thinly veiled effort to extenuate a gun control agenda? The last one seems the most likely because gang violence using guns, knives and clubs is so common in urban areas that it doesn’t even illicit news coverage, but it is certainly no less deadly.

    The MONEY quote ...
     

    Pushrod

    Master Blaster
    Aug 8, 2007
    2,979
    WV High Country
    Discipline Definitions: This statute makes it a federal crime to possess a gun within 1000 feet of
    any school—public, private, or parochial. Punishment for violations of this criminal law may be
    up to five years imprisonment and up to $5000 fine. (18 U.S.C. Sec. 924 (a)(4)).

    The Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995, as an amendment to Title 18 of the U.S. Code. The amendment ensures that the
    prohibitions against guns in school zones have the requisite nexus with interstate or foreign
    commerce. Language in this legislation, similar to the original act of 1990, states “It shall be
    unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm…at a place that the individual
    knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.” The legislation further states “…it
    shall be unlawful for any person…to discharge or attempt to discharge a firearm…at a place that
    the person knows is a school zone.”

    So, is this saying that if I am legally CCWing and I am pulled over for some reason and it happens to be on a road that travels through a school zone, and the stop is within that zone, I can be charged with a felony under this act, even though I had no intent to enter the school grounds?

    A thousand feet parameter around every school would make it damn near impossible to CCW legally while on the road.
     

    suptier

    Member
    Feb 2, 2012
    45
    I purchased a gun last sunday and waiting for it. But here is my question, I live more or less 1000 feet from a school. Am I not allowed to have it at home and carry to shooting range? if so I am screwed for $250 bucks that I did put as advance.
     

    tc617

    USN Sub Vet
    Jan 12, 2012
    2,287
    Yuma, Arizona
    In Charles County, Metro Gun Club is a 1/4 mile down Popular Hill Road from Malcom Elementary School. If you make a left turn leaving their driveway it puts you right into a school zone. When my kids attended school there I've overheard parents complain about the gun range being so close to the school and being able to hear gun fire from the parking lot. The county police regularly run radar in that area because the speed limit drops from 40 to 30mph in the school zone. I wonder what could happen if they pulled you over in the school zone and you have firearms in your vehicle? The front entrance of the school isn't but 150' from the road.
     

    teratos

    My hair is amazing
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 22, 2009
    59,775
    Bel Air
    I can't get out of my neighborhood without passing within 1000' of a school. I carry daily. I will have to petition the county to build me a new road, since this law infringes on my fundamental right.
     

    rglrguy

    Active Member
    Dec 15, 2010
    526
    Harford
    I purchased a gun last sunday and waiting for it. But here is my question, I live more or less 1000 feet from a school. Am I not allowed to have it at home and carry to shooting range? if so I am screwed for $250 bucks that I did put as advance.

    I also live within that 1000 feet from a school. :(

    In Charles County, Metro Gun Club is a 1/4 mile down Popular Hill Road from Malcom Elementary School. If you make a left turn leaving their driveway it puts you right into a school zone. When my kids attended school there I've overheard parents complain about the gun range being so close to the school and being able to hear gun fire from the parking lot. The county police regularly run radar in that area because the speed limit drops from 40 to 30mph in the school zone. I wonder what could happen if they pulled you over in the school zone and you have firearms in your vehicle? The front entrance of the school isn't but 150' from the road.

    There is a provision in the law making private property exempt and transporting unloaded exempt.

    18 USC 922:q said:
    (B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a
    firearm -
    (i) on private property not part of school grounds;
    (ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do
    so by the State in which the school zone is located or a
    political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or
    political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains
    such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or
    political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified
    under law to receive the license;

    (iii) that is -
    (I) not loaded; and
    (II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is
    on a motor vehicle
    ;
    (iv) by an individual for use in a program approved by a school
    in the school zone;
    (v) by an individual in accordance with a contract entered into
    between a school in the school zone and the individual or an
    employer of the individual;
    (vi) by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official
    capacity; or
    (vii) that is unloaded and is possessed by an individual while
    traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to
    public or private lands open to hunting, if the entry on school
    premises is authorized by school authorities.
     

    2ndCharter

    Based dude w/ lovin' hands
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 19, 2011
    4,794
    Eastern Shore
    The Maryland version is the one that will get you if you have a permit as there is no exception for permit holders.
     

    RAJay

    Member
    Mar 8, 2011
    51
    The Dena
    Thanks, I hadn't gotten a chance to find the actual wording. It makes me feel a little better, but this still seems crazy.
     

    gamer_jim

    Podcaster
    Feb 12, 2008
    13,233
    Hanover, PA
    I thought the Federal 1000' "school zone" bill was overturned by SCOTUS? School grounds are fair game by state and local by law though, there is no federal 1000' rule anymore.
     

    swinokur

    In a State of Bliss
    Patriot Picket
    Apr 15, 2009
    55,394
    Westminster USA
    Rewritten and passed in 1995. It remains unchallenged constitutionally.

    CCW holders of the state the school is in are exempt. BATFE says it needs to be issued bu the state the school is in but that is also up for interpretation.

    BATFE ruling attached. Effectively negates any reciprocity
     

    Attachments

    • batf_school_zone_ruling.pdf
      635.9 KB · Views: 543
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