Repeal of the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act

This is a petition calling on the United States Congress to repeal Title 18 USC 922(q) known as "The Federal Gun Free School Zones Act."
This act was signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton, and makes it a federal offense, punishable by five years in federal prison, for a person possessing a functional firearm to travel on public sidewalks, roads, or highways that pass within 1000 feet of the property line of any kindergarten through twelfth grade school in the nation. Although the current law exempts permit holders in the state that physically issued their permit, it does not exempt out-of-state permit holders who are visiting a state that legally recognizes their permit through reciprocity agreements. This is made clear in the attached letter from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. In addition, the current law also fails to make provisions for individuals that carry legally under state law without a permit, such as off-duty police officers, or individuals that live in states that allow "constitutional carry."


1. The 1,000 foot arbitrary zone around a school is an unreasonably large area that can't be reasonably avoided by law abiding citizens.
The large number of schools in populated areas make it impossible for a citizen to travel any reasonable distance without entering one of these zones. Please note, repealing this federal law does NOT affect any state laws banning the possession of firearms on school property or other prohibited locations. Repealing this federal law is necessary to address a serious conflict that currently exists where an individual is unable to carry in compliance of state law without being in violation of federal law.

2. The carrying of firearms has traditionally been regulated by the individual states, and this right to regulate carry should not be usurped by the federal government. We believe the state legislatures in each of the fifty states are in the best position to determine what laws are appropriate for the individual circumstances that exist in their state.

3. The Federal Gun Free School Zones Act Title 18 USC 922(q) was originally enacted as part of the "Crime Control Act of 1990" and was subsequently struck down by the US Supreme Court in "United States v Lopez," because Congress had forgotten to include the necessary jurisdictional element used in all federal laws. Following the Lopez decision, the GFSZA was amended to include this jurisdictional element, and it was reenacted in 1996 as part of "The Omnibus Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997." The addition of this jurisdictional element has been reviewed and upheld by every court since the law's reenactment.

4. The enactment of the current law as part of the "Omnibus
Appropriations bill for fiscal year 1997" was a backdoor
legislative tactic used to enact the gun free school zones act as part of an unrelated funding bill without it ever being seen or discussed by the whole of Congress. We believe the enactment of this sweeping legislation in such a covert manner is an affront to our liberty and the democratic process which should be justification for immediate repeal.