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2005 IS THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF

Gun Laws of America

 


Edition 5, Copyright 2005

Release date July 2005.
Among more than 100 changes —



Undetectable Firearm Act Renewal
Deputizing Cargo and Passenger Pilots Against Terrorism
Assault Weapon Law Expiration (The "Clinton-19")
National Concealed Carry for Cops - HR 218
Aliens Admitted Under Nonimmigrant Visas 18 USC 922(y)
BATF becomes BATFE, moved from Treasury to Justice
Arms Control and Disarmament Agency Abolished
Civilian Marksmanship Program Re-Tooled
Homeland Security, Transportation Security, Patriot Act
Numerous New Federal "Police Forces"


All previous changes have been integrated into the main text.
Every marginal and technical change has been included.
A special new appendix has been added for "Statutes-at-Large."

_____________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end
6/17/05 thru 8/4/05, more expected shortly

PR1: FEDERAL GUN LAWS INCREASE BY 17%

But Ten-Year Review Shows Mixed Result
"Assault-Weapon" Expiration Killed 4,800 words

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

The tenth anniversary edition of Gun Laws of America, the unabridged guide to federal gun law, shows both increases and decreases depending on how you count the laws, says Alan Korwin, publisher of Bloomfield Press, which has produced the book since 1995. The completely revised edition is due out in July.

"Some gun laws have been repealed, the assault-weapon law expired, and many new gun laws have been enacted by Congress," Korwin notes. "All told, we have 40 more statutes, for a total of 271 federal gun laws, a 17% increase in the past decade." That is the true measure, Korwin says.

The word count however has dropped slightly, by 979 words or about 1%, to a total of 93,354 words of federal gun law. The assault-weapon law expiration removed 1,105 words, but it also eliminated the 3,710-word list of "good guns," those declared to not be assault weapons. That list was included at the insistence of the NRA, who had feared the law might expand to include regular guns widely owned in America.

Among the significant repeals, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, formed during the Cold War, was abolished, with its primary functions rolled into the State Department. The Civilian Marksmanship Program, designed to teach the general public to shoot and handle firearms safely, was repealed from the Armed Services laws, and expanded and rewritten into the Patriotic Societies laws.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was removed from the Treasury Dept., where it had been a tax bureau since its inception, and now operates under the Attorney General, with Explosives added to its name and an implicit Justice Dept. law-enforcement focus.

The most dramatic word losses occurred during "codification," a little-known process managed behind the scenes by federal workers. This takes bills passed by Congress and converts them into the numbered statutes of law called U.S. Code. For example, Congress enacted 39 words to extend the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act, which was about to expire. After codification, the statute simply expires in "25 years," not "15 years," a significant change but with no difference in the word count. Earlier measurements of the size of federal law included the congressionally passed laws.

Surprisingly, some parts of congressional acts are never codified at all. This also lowers the final word counts. Those so-called "statutes-at-large," if related to arms, are included in Gun Laws of America as an appendix. They are not counted in the official statutory total, but do contain another 4,354 words of federal gun law. Review copies of the book are available to the news media on request.

The large repeal, expiration and codification losses were offset by scores of new gun laws. Many were enacted with no public attention and little noise from usually loud pro-gun-rights and anti-gun-rights lobbies. Some new gun laws, instead of affecting citizens, expanded federal powers.

For example, at least six new federal police forces were created, with broad powers to keep and bear arms in cases where the public is banned from keeping arms. This includes a new Federal Reserve Board police force, the Inspectors General police, plus more visible changes such as Homeland Security forces and armed Transportation Security agents. Two armed-pilot programs, for passenger and cargo pilots, allow pilots to be deputized as federal agents and then carry arms while deputized (pilots per se cannot be armed under the law).

###

CUSTOMERS NOTE: As a courtesy, anyone who obtained Gun Laws of America in the past 60 days from us or any of our vendors can request a copy of the completely revised tenth anniversary edition for the cost of shipping; contact us for details.

Technical descriptions of most of the primary changes are posted here. Because the entire book has been overhauled, a full description of all the changes is not possible. This includes more than a dozen laws removed for repeals and expirations, minor updates made by Congress to many statutes, 40 more statutes than found in Edition 1, new charts of gun-law growth, revisions to the plain-English Gists, etc.

Brand new and very hot:

Babes With Bullets -- Women who have entered the shooting sports in midlife.
Guide to Vermont -- The best gun laws in America, a model for the rest of us.
Nation of Cowards -- The classic gun-rights essays available again at last.
Terrorism Prevention and Response -- Several new police guides for the public.

State-by-State Guides: AZ, CA, FL, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA

Background: Bloomfield Press is the largest publisher of gun law books in the country, founded in 1989. The book "Gun Laws of America" for news media review is free on request, call 1-800-707-4020. The author is available for interview, call us to schedule. Download hi-rez mini-cover art from our website, click Media Services. 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

Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.

 

_____________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end
6/27/05

PR2: ARMED FEDERAL "POLICE FORCES" GROWING QUICKLY

"Power-to-Carry" Laws Override States' Rights
22% of federal gun laws now authorize arming staff

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America


Full contact info at endIn the United States, the public has always had a broad ability to keep and bear arms. This is commonly attributed to guarantees in the Bill of Rights. In sharp contrast, the various agents of the federal government, with the exception of the military, have little such power delegated anywhere in the Constitution.

"This has created an exploding market for so-called "power-to-carry" laws, each of which authorizes some group of federal employees to carry arms," said Alan Korwin, author of Gun Laws of America. Scheduled for its tenth anniversary release next month, his unabridged guide to federal firearm laws has been completely revised.

"The laws themselves are silent on the issue, but the thinking is that this granted power overrides state laws and geographic boundaries," he said. People in law enforcement are inured to the fact that federal agents carry almost anything almost anywhere, and local laws don't apply. "There is usually no limitation on open or concealed carry either, and training is rarely specified in statute," Korwin notes. The total number of federal employees with these special powers is unknown.

While PTC statutes are growing in number and scope, the general public has been enduring local gun bans, carry restrictions, "rights" licensing, and various attempts at civil disarmament. The election-time idea that a Republican-dominated Congress would lead to more robust Second Amendment rights has not yet panned out.

Three federal agencies have unrestricted "may carry" language in statute: the Secret Service, the FBI, and the U.S. Marshals. Some of the more unusual federal "police" forces are the egg inspector police, the print shop police, the EPA police, and one of the newest, the Federal Reserve Board police. The latter is supposed to protect the Board, and is granted power to carry guns wherever the Reserve does business. "That would be anywhere there's money, which struck me as a rather ingenious way to grant power broadly," said Alan Korwin, author of Gun Laws of America. He can be reached at gunlaws.com.

FEDERAL "POWER TO CARRY"

Chart of Government Exemptions from the Gun Laws

(Note: Tab delimited, statute number precedes exempt group or exempt condition)

5-App. Inspectors General and specified staff
7-2270 Dept. of Agriculture Office of Inspector General
7-2274 Certain workers at the Dept. of Agriculture
10-1585 Dept. of Defense civilians
12-248 Federal Reserve Board law enforcement agents
14-95 Coast Guard agents
16-1a-6 National Parks employees; any federal employee selected by the Secretary of the Interior, with that employee's agency approval
16-559c Forest Service law enforcement officers and agents
16-670j Dept. of Interior, Dept. of Agriculture, and state employees by agreement
16-3375 Anyone in federal or state government, or an Indian tribe, to enforce hunting and fishing laws
18-922 Federally licensed manufacturers, importers, dealers, museums, researchers and others are exempt for firearms testing and evaluation, per subsection (b); all government authorities are exempt from the assault-weapons descriptions in subsections (v) and (w).
18-925 Federal and state governments are exempt from Title 18 Chapter 44 (the main gun laws)
18-926B Qualified off duty police may carry concealed nationwide
18-926C Qualified retired police may carry concealed nationwide
18-930 Restrictions at federal facilities and federal courts do not apply to proper authorities
18-1715 Authorities exempt from mailing restrictions
18-2277 Possession of firearms on a vessel are at the control of the ship's master or owner; proper authorities are exempt
18-3050 Bureau of Prisons officers and employees
18-3051 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
18-3052 Federal Bureau of Investigation
18-3053 U.S. marshals and their deputies
18-3056 Secret Service
18-3061 United States Postal Service
18-3063 Environmental Protection Agency
19-2072 Customs officials
20-60 Smithsonian Institution curators (for display)
21-372 Health and Human Services Dept.
21-878 Drug Enforcement Administration; local law enforcement officer authorized by Atty. General
22-277d-3 International Boundary and Water Commission
22-2709 Dept. of State and the Foreign Service
22-2778 Government people who are not restricted by the U.S. Munitions List
25-2803 Bureau of Indian Affairs
26-4182 Armed forces are exempt from firearms taxes
26-5844 NFA weapons can only be imported for proper authorities or research and testing
26-5851 People working with proper authorities may be exempt from certain taxes and requirements
26-5852 Certain taxes are waived for proper authorities and the military
26-5853 Certain taxes are waived for proper authorities and the military
26-5872 Proper authorities can get confiscated firearms
26-7608 Internal Revenue Service agents
28-566 U.S. Marshals, deputies and officials of the Marshal's Svc.
31-321 Treasury Dept.
38-902 Dept. of Veterans Affairs
39-3001 Proper authorities are exempt from nonmailable firearms provisions
40-13n Supreme Court Marshal and Police
40-193t Smithsonian Institution police
40-210 Capitol Police
40-318d General Services Admin. officers and employees
40-490 GSA protection force
40-1315 Dept. of Homeland Security; Federal Protective Service
42-2201 Atomic Energy Commission and contractors
42-2456 National Aeronautics and Space Administration and contractors
42-7270a Dept. of Energy
43-1733 Dept. of the Interior
44-317 Government Printing Office employees
49-114 Transportation Security Administration
49-44903 Air transportation security personnel
49-44921 Federal Flight Deck Officers (deputized pilots)
49-46303 Proper authorities may have firearms on aircraft
49-46505 Proper authorities may have firearms on aircraft
49 App 2404 Dept. of Transportation employees at Washington National Airport
49 App 2428 Dept. of Transportation employees at Dulles International Airport
50-403f Central Intelligence Agency
50 App 2411 Dept. of Commerce Office of Export Enforcement
--------------------------------
Orders for Gun Laws of America will be held until the tenth anniversary edition of this fine reference book is off the press. Copies for news media review are available on request. Get more details at our website, linked below.

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


Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.

 

_____________________________________________

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end
7/5/05

Sandra Day O'Conner can shoot at
the Sandra Day O'Conner Courthouse range

PR3: Public Use of Federal GUN Ranges saved

Civilian-Marksmanship Programs Cut, but Access Remains

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

A ten-year review of national gun laws reveals that public access to federal shooting ranges has been preserved. A little-known law states that any rifle range built at least partially by federal money may be used by the military and the public.

Other features of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) were abandoned, such as free .22 and .30 caliber ammunition for the public and youth groups. The rewrite of these laws are included in the completely updated 5th edition of Gun Laws of America, to be released this month. Details are posted at gunlaws.com.

Enacted in 1956 at a height of Cold War tensions under president Eisenhower, and repealed in 1996 from gun-control pressure under president Clinton, CMP policies were "privatized," and recently moved within the federal code. This affects every knuckle-dragging, pistol-packing pocket-rocket bubba in America. All of the nation's estimated 80 million gun owners benefit from the range-access law.

Regulations for military and public access must be written by whoever controls the range. Fees may be charged in some cases, and the military has first call on use of the range. In the case of ranges at military sites, public use of the range may not interfere with use by the armed forces. Many federal ranges are not military.

"If more people knew about this law and went to the ranges, the increase in training would have a beneficial effect on gun safety," said Alan Korwin, the author of Gun Laws of America. "The basement range in the new Sandra Day O'Conner federal court house in downtown Phoenix would be a welcome addition to the limited facilities this large city has." Korwin believes a lack of adequate places to practice marksmanship may infringe upon the right to keep and bear arms. "The Second Amendment protects the right of people to practice with the guns they bear," he says, a point recognized by this law, known as 10 USC §4309. "Otherwise, it's like free speech with no talking aloud."

Public access to federal shooting ranges is authorized in this law:

10 USC § 4309.
Rifle ranges: availability for use by members and civilians

(a) Ranges available. -- All rifle ranges constructed in whole or in part with funds provided by the United States may be used by members of the armed forces and by persons capable of bearing arms.
(b) Military ranges. --

(1) In the case of a rifle range referred to in subsection (a) that is located on a military installation, the Secretary concerned may establish reasonable fees for the use by civilians of that rifle range to cover the material and supply costs incurred by the armed forces to make that rifle range available to civilians.

(2) Fees collected pursuant to paragraph (1) in connection with the use of a rifle range shall be credited to the appropriation available for the operation and maintenance of that rifle range and shall be available for the operation and maintenance of that rifle range.

(3) Use of a rifle range referred to in paragraph (1) by civilians may not interfere with the use of the range by members of the armed forces.

(c) Regulations. -- Regulations to carry out this section with respect to a rifle range shall be prescribed, subject to the approval of the Secretary concerned, by the authorities controlling the rifle range.
-------------------------
-------------------------

CUSTOMERS NOTE: As a courtesy, anyone who obtained Gun Laws of America in the past 60 days from us or any of our vendors can request a copy of the completely revised tenth anniversary edition for the cost of shipping; contact us for details.

New orders for Gun Laws of America will be held until the tenth anniversary edition of this fine reference book is off the press. Copies for news media review are available on request. Get more details at our website, linked below.


Babes With Bullets -- Women who have entered the shooting sports in midlife.
Guide to Vermont -- The best gun laws in America, a model for the rest of us.
Nation of Cowards -- The classic gun-rights essays available again at last.
Terrorism Prevention and Response -- Several new police guides for the public.

State-by-State Guides: AZ, CA, FL, MA, MI, MN, MO, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OH, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WA

Background: Bloomfield Press is the largest publisher of gun law books in the country, founded in 1989. The book Gun Laws of America for news media review is free on request, call 1-800-707-4020. The author is available for interview, call us to schedule. Download hi-rez mini-cover art from our website, click Media Services. 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

Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.

If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you're reading this in English, thank a veteran.

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end
8/4/05

Civil rights question meets guns

PR4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to Gun List

Ten years of delay finally corrected

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 4, 2005
Complete contact info at end

 

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

Does a fine line separate some gun laws from other statutes? Four controversial laws in particular have long remained outside the unabridged guide, "Gun Laws of America." The Tenth Anniversary edition however, just released by Phoenix-based Bloomfield Press, includes these laws for the first time. (Full details at gunlaws.com.)

Statutes that specifically protect constitutional rights, often called civil-rights laws, do not mention guns per se. Despite this, experts and customers have for years been asking why we do not include these laws, which they believe fit the guidelines of "Gun Laws of America."

These civil-rights laws basically criminalize private or governmental interference with constitutional rights. After our ten-year review, we are now of the opinion that these laws do merit inclusion, and should have been included all along. They are: Conspiracy Against Rights, Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law, Statements or Entries Generally, and Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights (USC: 18-241, 18-242, 18-1001, 42-1983). By way of illustration, the gist for the first one, Conspiracy Against Rights, on the books for nearly 60 years, is:


-----
18 USC 241. If two or more people conspire to injure, oppress, threaten or intimidate any person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured under the Constitution or laws of the United States, they shall be fined, or imprisoned up to ten years, or both. The same penalty applies if two or more people go, in disguise, on the highway, or on the premises of a person, with similar intent to prevent or hinder such rights or privileges.

If death results from such acts, or if such acts include kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, attempted aggravated sexual assault, or an attempt to kill, they may be fined, imprisoned for any term of years up to life, or put to death.
-----

The plain language of this statute suggests that such criminal violations regularly occur with respect to the right to arms, making these laws quite relevant, and apparently under-enforced. We apologize for the delay.

###
[Backgrounder: Bloomfield Press is the largest publisher of gun law books in the country, founded in 1989. 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. "Gun Laws of America" for police department and news-media review is free on request, call 1-800-707-4020. Our 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
Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.

Never forget that your rights are why you can live the way you do.
Imagine if your rights were more robust.

Encourage politicians to pass more laws...
with expiration dates.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end
8/15/05

PR5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped

Rare Procedure "Omits" Federal Ban

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"

 

by Alan Korwin, Author
Gun Laws of America

New research has uncovered an "inventive" federal procedure used to require local schools to adopt a national student-expulsion plan. Once set, the enabling law was "omitted," leaving little trace of this federal gun policy operating on the nation's local schools.

In President Clinton's highly publicized Educational Goals 2000, the federal government banned itself from giving money to any school that didn't expel students for having a gun at school (20 USC § 3351). Narrow exceptions were allowed for officials and authorized use, and case-by-case review. Local school systems, to continue receiving the funds they depend upon, had to provide assurance they would expel students who possessed firearms.

This forced schools nationwide to quickly implement gun-possession expulsion rules, nearly opposite of the gun-safety training atmosphere that gun-rights advocates recommend. Until the 1960s, many schools had firing ranges on campus, and guns could be brought to school for many reasons, such as varsity competition, ROTC training, hunting on the way home after class, and even show-and-tell.

Seven months later, with expulsion policies cobbled into place, the law was quietly "omitted" from a general amendment of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, of which it was a part. That removed the ban Congress had placed on its ability to spend.

In other words, government can again fund any school, maintaining the influence that implies, even if the school has no expulsion rules. Left in place though are the expulsion requirements schools everywhere had already implemented. Detecting and deciphering this omission in federal law was arguably the most challenging research for the tenth anniversary edition of "Gun Laws of America," just released.

"Expulsion is an obviously inadequate response to a child who has a gun at school with evil intent," says Alan Korwin, the book's author. "That's why we have deadly serious laws against crime. On the other hand, this approach to gun safety, and the blind fear this law encouraged toward the wholesome American tradition of firearms possession, may be irreparable. It's time to actively invest in training and safety programs, instead of bans and ignorance, isn't it?"

###

[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. "Gun Laws of America" for news media review is available on request, call 1-800-707-4020. The author is 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
Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.

Encourage politicians to pass more laws...
with expiration dates.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Full contact info at end

 

PR6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned—

"by Accident"

News Release 1: Federal Gun Laws Increase by 17%
News Release 2: Armed Federal "Police Forces" Growing Quickly
News Release 3: Public Access to Federal Gun Ranges Saved
News Release 4: Key Civil Rights Laws Added to List. About those Laws.
News Release 5: School Expulsion for Guns Quietly Dropped
News Release 6: Most Private Gun Possession Banned "by Accident"

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept.12, 2005
Full contact info at end

Click if image is not visible --
https://www.gunlaws.com/images/GFSZ%20Phoenix.jpg

 

Where does Judge Roberts stand on guns?

Why did Sen. Feinstein support this law at the judiciary committee hearings today?

 

MOST PRIVATE GUN POSSESSION BANNED--
Gun-Free School Zones Impact Greater Than Expected

New maps disclose unexpected result of 1,000-foot bans

 

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.

###

[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

Call, write, fax or click for a free catalog.

Encourage politicians to pass more laws...
with expiration dates.
 

COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PRODUCTS
Gun LawsGun Rights Gun PoliticsFree SpeechVideosSelf Defense and Safety
SurvivalPolice GuidesKnivesNovelsThe Founders PackageHistory of Rights
ButtonsRecent Additions  123Women & KidsFirst-Time Gun Owners
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Bloomfield Press

gunlaws.com and bloomfieldpress.com are domains owned by Alan Korwin.

Alan is a nationally recognized author of numerous books
on gun laws and other topics.

If you like this site you'll like his books. Take a look