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by ELB
Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:25 pm
Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
Topic: Concealed carry in a school parking lot
Replies: 18
Views: 7382

Re: Concealed carry in a school parking lot

One further technical quibble:
Keith B wrote:IF you have a resident CHL from the state you live in, you are exempt from the GFSZA...
Actually, the exception in the GFSZA says possession of a firearm is not illegal:
(ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located ...
Thus it appears you do not need to be a resident of the state, but rather you must have a license issued by the same state (or political subdivision thereof) that the school is in. If you have Utah license, and you are in a school zone in Utah, it appears being a Texas resident would not matter.
by ELB
Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:53 pm
Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
Topic: Concealed carry in a school parking lot
Replies: 18
Views: 7382

Re: Concealed carry in a school parking lot

srothstein wrote: ...In real life, the new version of the federal law has not been challenged and possibly not even used...
A technical quibble. The "new improved" GFSZA has indeed been used and challenged, on the grounds that Congress exceeded its authority under the commerce clause. None of the challenges I know of have made it past the Federal Circuit courts -- all have unanimously ruled that that little "jurisdictional element" that congress added to the original GFSZA cured its constitutional defects. I summarized a couple of these, with links, in another thread around here someplace.

In general, feds have charged GFSZA violations as add-ons to something else. There is one case where a CHL holder (in Alabama) was charged with having a gun within 1000' of an Alabama school under the GFSZA, and the circuit court overturned his conviction because he did have a valid CHL (or whatever Alabama calls it). That did not "overturn" the GFSZA; it confirmed it, because one of the exceptions is for a person who has a CHL from the same state that the school is in.

Basically, if Congress mumbles something about "used in interstate commerce" in a law, commerce clause restrictions go away. Congress's ability to regulate anything is pretty much unchecked.

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