Ban on Firearm Possession in School Zones

• Title 18 of the United States Code section 922(q) contains the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1995, which prohibits the possession of a firearm at a place that the individual knows, or has reason to believe, is a school zone. The statute defines a school zone as the grounds of a public, parochial or private elementary or secondary school, or within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a public, parochial or private elementary or secondary school. The ban on firearm possession does not apply: (a) if the possession is on on private property outside the school grounds; (b) if the firearm is properly licensed; (c) if the firearm is unloaded and in a locked container or on a locked firearms rack mounted on a vehicle; (d) if possession of the firearm is for use in a program approved by the school; (d) if possession of the firearm is in connection with a contract between the school and the possessor or his employer; (e) if the possession is by a law enforcement officer on official duty; or (f) if the firearm is unloaded and the person in possession is traveling through the school zone to gain access to public or private hunting lands.
  
  

Ban on Firearm Discharge in School Zones

• Title 18 of the United States Code section 922(q) also prohibits any person from knowingly or recklessly discharging or attempting to discharge a firearm in a school zone. The ban on discharging a firearm in a school zone does not apply: (a) if the discharge is on private property outside school grounds; (b) if the discharge is by a participant in, and part of, a program approved by the school; (c) if the discharge is pursuant to a contract between the school and the shooter or his employer; or (d) if the discharge is by a law enforcement officer acting in an official capacity. Thus, the GFSZA prohibits discharge of firearms in school zones under any circumstance, except for law on-duty enforcement officers, contracted school security guards and participants in approved school programs.
  
  

Penalty for Violation of GFSZA

• The penalty for violating the GFSZA of 1995 is either imprisonment for up to 5 years or a fine of up to $5,000 -- or both. An individual convicted under the GFSZA of 1995 is designated a "prohibited person" under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which will prevent him for life from from legally owning firearms.
  
  

Impact of GFSZA

• Since the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995 makes it a federal crime for an individual to possess an unlicensed firearm within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school, this makes it challenging for an individual to travel within most metropolitan areas without breaking the law. Another interesting result of passage of the GFSZA of 1995 is that because it requires the firearm possession permit to be issued by the state in which the school is located, it is effectively impossible for gun permit holders to avoid violating the GFSZA when traveling outside their home states with licensed firearms.