Why the Gun-Free School Zones Act Fails Twice Over
“Because schools are scattered throughout communities across the country, those zones cover a lot of territory..."
“Because schools are scattered throughout communities across the country, those zones cover a lot of territory…”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) last week reintroduced a bill that would repeal the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act, which he says jeopardizes student and teacher safety by prohibiting armed defense against violent intruders.
As I explain in my new book “Beyond Control,” that law is also problematic for two constitutional reasons.
The GFSZA, which Congress originally enacted in 1990, makes it a felony to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school.
In 1995, the Supreme Court said the law was not a valid exercise of the federal government’s power to regulate interstate commerce.
“The Act neither regulates a commercial activity nor contains a requirement that the possession be connected in any way to interstate commerce,” Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote. “If we were to accept the Government’s arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate.”
Rehnquist also noted that the law “contains no jurisdictional element which would ensure, through case-by-case inquiry, that the firearm possession in question affects interstate commerce.” The following year, Congress sought to address that concern by amending the GFSZA so that it applied only to…
I still believe teachers who are combat veterans and NOT members of a teachers' union should be armed to protect our best resource, our children. Better yet, children need to be homeschooled by their parents. History, civics, math, and survival skills are the main focus.
https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/supreme-court-case-library/printz-v-united-states