Interesting.
If a “gun free” school zone extends an arbitrary number of feet (500’ or 1000’), do citizens that live in that zone lose their Second Amendment rights?
Is there a grandfather clause enabled?
If an imminent threat to property, to limb or to life is occurring, are citizens within the zone barred from self defense of some, or of any kind?
I don’t care if the threat does not have a gun (but they certainly can have a gun - they are already violating multiple laws), is our only defense to call the police and wait 7 - 15 minutes? Even Seven minutes of me verses a tire iron does not look very favorable to me.
Any idea how this is handled in other jurisdictions, or is this the first case to make it this far in the courts?
A very interesting case.
The Gun Free School Zone Act was found to be unconstitutional in 1994, in USA v Lopez.
President Clinton and Janet Reno pushed to have a few words in the law changed, claiming those words cured the Constitutional defect in the law.
The law has been challenged by criminal defendants several times since then. Five circuits currently have ruled the Clinton word change cures the Constitutional defect; three circuits have ruled the word change does not cure the Constitutional defect.
Gabe Metcalf is the first person, which I can find, who was charged only with the federal charge of possessing a firearm in Gun Free School Zone, without other associated crimes.