In Virginia it is illegal to carry a gun within a 1000 feet of a school. Is it then illegal to drive past a school with a gun if the road is withing 1000 feet of the school?
If you have a license to carry the gun, keep it safely contained, and all else being legal, you should be ok. If you are just keeping about your business and otherwise do not display the gun or unholster it, who’s going to know?
What if I am speeding and get pulled over, am I screwed if I have a gun in the car?
Sounds like you’re kinda screwed if you LIVE within 1000 feet of a school…
Cite?
I’ve just spent the last 30 minutes reviewing the Virgina Statutes and I cannot find this assertion.
That because I was wrong, sorry.
It might be a differnet state.
Can this thread please be closed. Thank you.
*Originally posted by Major Kong *
It might be a differnet state.
Can this thread please be closed. Thank you. **
Not so fast there, Grasshopper!
It is unlawful to possess a firearm on a school campus during regular school hours or on a school bus. It is also unlawful to possess a firearm on one’s person: on school property, at a school sponsored function, in a firearm-free zone, on a school campus, or on school transportation, or within 1000 feet of a school campus. These prohibitions do not apply to: the possession of a firearm occurring within 1,000 feet of school property and entirely on private property, entirely within a private residence, or in accordance with a concealed handgun permit; or any constitutionally protected activity which cannot be regulated by the state, such as a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle.
(Louisiana) Source: http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws.asp?FormMode=Detail&R=LA
Almost half of all states, including the District of Columbia (DC), have enacted some form of general prohibition against weapon possession on school grounds. Some of these prohibitions are very broad and extend to parents and visitors. The DC provision assigns criminal liability to any person under 18 years of age possessing a firearm within 1000 feet of a school facility, day care center, public pool or playground, or youth center. A similar Montana law extends liability to a parent or guardian that permits the juvenile to possess a weapon on school property.
Source: http://www.ncsl.org/programs/cyf/CFFCArticle.htm
However, …
U.S. v. Lopez
In the Gun Free School Zones Act of 1990, Congress made it a federal offense “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.” 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(1)(A) (1988 ed., Supp. V). The Act neither regulates a commercial activity nor contains a requirement that the possession be connected in any way to interstate commerce. We hold that the Act exceeds the authority of Congress “[t]o regulate Commerce . . . among the several States . . . .” U. S. Const., Art. I, §8, cl. 3.
Source: United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Fifth Circuit’s decision and said that “the possession of a gun in a local school zone is in no sense an economic activity” that might have an effect on interstate commerce. The Court said that to accept the view that Congress may regulate all activities that might lead to violent crime would"convert congressional authority under the Commerce Clause to a general police power of the sort retained by the States."
The Supreme Court’s decision does not affect criminal laws passed in more than 40 states outlawing possession of firearms on or near school grounds. In California, Penal Code section 626.9, enacted during the 1994 legislative session bans possession of a gun within 1,000 feet of a school.
Source: MCN: Mendocino Community Network
