FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept.12, 2005
Full contact info at end
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Where does Judge Roberts stand on guns?
Why did Sen. Feinstein support this law at the Judiciary Committee hearings?
MOST PRIVATE GUN POSSESSION
BANNED--
Gun-Free School Zones Impact
Greater Than Expected
New maps disclose unexpected result of 1,000-foot bans
Complete summary page and links
Federal law makes it a crime to possess a firearm off your property and within
1,000 feet of a school, with a few narrow exceptions. When all gun-free zones
were recently plotted for schools in two major cities (Phoenix and Cleveland),
using computer mapping, it became apparent that virtually all public travel
with firearms is now a violation of law.
The study was included as part of a ten-year review of all federal gun law by
gunlaws.com, for the Tenth Anniversary edition of Gun Laws of America, the unabridged guide to federal gun law. Published
by Phoenix-based Bloomfield Press, it has just been released.
Without realizing it, and by an unexpected route, anti-gun-rights advocates
have achieved their primary goal -- gun possession is effectively banned by
federal law. A five-year federal prison sentence attaches to every crossing
into a school zone, and the zones overlap virtually citywide. The public commits
countless millions of gun violations by simply moving around. No effect on crime
has been reported.
Members of Congress and even the NRA are on record calling for strict enforcement
of current federal gun laws. How that policy and the school zones measure can
co-exist is not clear. Additional maps and the dataset are posted at gunlaws.com
"This near-total gun ban is simply unenforceable, and was never intended
to criminalize everyone who bears arms," said Alan
Korwin, author of Gun Laws of America. "We would have to place
half the public in prison to comply with this law. It shows the folly of such
legislation, perhaps the most ineffectual feel-good gun law ever enacted, and
it needs to be repealed," he said, adding that it must be humiliating to
the bill's original sponsors. "Where would Justice Roberts stand on this issue, and what was Sen. Feinstein really asking?" Many
politicians are quietly aware of the ban.
The simple act of buying a gun and bringing it home, taking one to the range,
going hunting, or carrying one for personal safety would subject most people
to arrest and a permanent criminal record under this law, originally enacted
by President Bush's father, President Bush, in 1990.
The Gun-Free School Zones law was struck down in 1995 by the U.S. Supreme Court,
in the now-famous Lopez case, referred to today by Sen. Feinstein, a staunch
anti-gun-rights advocate. For the first time in decades the Court ruled that
Congress had overstepped its powers to regulate states under the Commerce Clause.
There were more than 121,000 local schools at the time. Congress responded by
swiftly reenacting the entire law, under President Clinton in 1996, with a
few small changes it believed bypassed the Court's concerns. No new case
has been brought to test the new version, so it stands.
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[Backgrounder: Bloomfield Press is the largest publisher and distributor of
gun law books in the country, founded in 1988. Our website, gunlaws.com, features
a free national directory to gun laws and relevant contacts in all states and
federally, along with our unique line of related books and DVDs. Supreme
Court Gun Cases for news media review is available on request, call
1-800-707-4020. Authors are available for interview, call us to schedule. Call
for cogent positions on gun issues, informed analysis on proposed laws, talk
radio that lights up the switchboard, fact sheets and position papers. As we
always say, "It doesn't make sense to own a gun and not know the rules."]
Contact:
Alan Korwin
BLOOMFIELD PRESS
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
602-996-4020 Phone
602-494-0679 FAX
1-800-707-4020 Orders
https://www.gunlaws.com
alan@gunlaws.com
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