Citizens Protection Act of 2011

[PegLeg45]

The Citizens Protection Act of 2011 Would End Gun-Free School Zones

Are gun-free zones targets for terrorists, thieves, rapists and the other subspecies of the criminal element?

Representative Ron Paul (Texas) believes that they are.  He once stated in an interview with the Weekly Standard that “Gun control makes people demonstrably less safe--as any honest examination of criminal statistics reveals. It is no coincidence that violent crime flourishes in the nation’s capital, where the individual’s right to self-defense has been most severely curtailed.”

Last week, Congressman Paul acted on his long-held beliefs and introduced HR 2613, aka “The Citizens Protection Act of 2011.”  The purpose of the act is to “repeal the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 and amendments to that Act, which makes it a federal crime “for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.”  In other words, due to the regulatory power of the federal government via the Commerce Clause individuals who carry firearms into gun-free zones or school zones are subject to hefty fines (up to $5,000) and prison time, not to exceed five years.


The implications and reach of the Gun-Free School Zones Act are manifested in a number of ways, all of which are said to restrict the rights of gun owners.  According to legal analysts, the Gun-Free School Zones Act makes unlicensed carry and transport exceptionally difficult, it undermines interstate concealed carry reciprocity arrangements, and it prohibits the discharge of a firearm on school property even in instances of self-defense.

http://www.guns.com/the-citizens-protection-act-of-2011.html

[fightingquaker13]

That's all well and good, but that law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1995 in US v Lopez. Here the Court held (for the first time since the New Deal) that Congress' powers under the Interstate Commerce Clause did have limits. Policing schools exceeded those. Better late to the party than never I suppose.
FQ13

[PegLeg45]

That's all well and good, but that law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1995 in US v Lopez. Here the Court held (for the first time since the New Deal) that Congress' powers under the Interstate Commerce Clause did have limits. Policing schools exceeded those. Better late to the party than never I suppose.
FQ13

Gun Free School Zones Act—as reenacted
Originally enacted in 1990 (P.L. 101-647, Sec. 1702(b)(1))

Overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, April 26, 1995
Re: Federalism; Congress exceeded its authority under Commerce Clause.
(U.S. v. Lopez, 514 US 549)

Reenacted by Congress, Sep. 30, 1996
*With amendments.

http://www.gunlaws.com/Gun_Free_School_Zones_Act.pdf

http://www.gunlaws.com/Gun_Free_School_Zones.htm

[fightingquaker13]

Turn away for 5 minutes and the bastards are on you again. And this was with a GOP Congress and Senate? WTF? I mean seriously, what good is a Republican if he won't stand for federalism and the 2A? Newt has some 'splainin' to do.
FQ13

[PegLeg45]

Actually, there are provisions for licensed CCW's to be unaffected by the gun-free BS....but it leaves too much vagueness in some other areas of the Act with respect to what is state and what is federal.


Actually, Georgia's CCW law parrots the following very closely with regards to how firearms may be carried in a school zone.

(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.
(B) Sub paragraph (A) shall 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 obtain s 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) which that is—
(I) not loaded; and
(II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack which 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.

[Sponsor]

[alfsauve]

It's so bad we had one of the flag corps girls in the band detained for her wooden replica of a rifle.   The kind they twirl and spin.  Mostly it looks like a stock and it was wrapped in friction tape.   The principal at one point issued letters to all the girls authorizing them to have the replicas.   Still the girls were shaken by the experience and <tounge in cheek> we all felt so much safer after that </tic>