Can You Drive Through a School Zone With a Gun?

[eliduc]

You get pulled over in a school zone for going 26mph in a 20mph zone. You have a gun in your car. Are you in violation of the Gun Free School Zone law? How far does the zone extend from the school?

Read More

 

[slimmer13]

School premises. The street is public/city/state or whatever property.

 

[OutlawHoss]

As far as I understand, if you're in your car, your home, on/in your property in other words (as in you live within 1000ft of the school property) the law doesn't apply. If you're on school property then the law applies (or within 1000 feet which I believe is the 'protected' distance cited in the law).

If you have a CHL, then, (from OFF's website, quoting the O.R.S.):
"Oregon statute 166.370 forbids firearms in "public buildings" which schools are, but subsection B says"this section does not apply to:… (d) A person who is licensed under ORS 166.291 and 166.292 to carry a concealed handgun." As we have said elsewhere, if you have a chl you may carry unto public school property."

As with any of these questions, it is good to get used to finding the actual statutes, reading them, and seeking informed advice in correctly and currently interpreting them (case law precedents, etc.)

 

[Deebow]

Yes.

 

[BlackRyder]

In Washington you can have a gun in your car (provided you have a chl, of course) but you have to leave it there if you go inside the school- to pick up your kid, etc... Unless the cop pulling you over doesn't know the law regarding car carry you will be fine driving through a school zone w your firearm. See exceptions e f g down below- these should have you covered.

RCW 9.41.280
Possessing dangerous weapons on school facilities—Penalty—Exceptions. (Effective until April 1, 2016.)

(1) It is unlawful for a person to carry onto, or to possess on, public or private elementary or secondary school premises, school-provided transportation, or areas of facilities while being used exclusively by public or private schools:
(a) Any firearm.....

3) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
(a) Any student or employee of a private military academy when on the property of the academy;
(b) Any person engaged in military, law enforcement, or school district security activities. However, a person who is not a commissioned law enforcement officer and who provides school security services under the direction of a school administrator may not possess a device listed in subsection (1)(f) of this section unless he or she has successfully completed training in the use of such devices that is equivalent to the training received by commissioned law enforcement officers;
(c) Any person who is involved in a convention, showing, demonstration, lecture, or firearms safety course authorized by school authorities in which the firearms of collectors or instructors are handled or displayed;
(d) Any person while the person is participating in a firearms or air gun competition approved by the school or school district;
(e) Any person in possession of a pistol who has been issued a license under RCW 9.41.070, or is exempt from the licensing requirement by RCW 9.41.060, while picking up or dropping off a student;
(f) Any nonstudent at least eighteen years of age legally in possession of a firearm or dangerous weapon that is secured within an attended vehicle or concealed from view within a locked unattended vehicle while conducting legitimate business at the school;
(g) Any nonstudent at least eighteen years of age who is in lawful possession of an unloaded firearm, secured in a vehicle while conducting legitimate business at the school; ....

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

concealed means concealed

 

[Brutus57]

Just keep going past the school zone before you pull over....Street doesn't belong to schools as previously posted, don't pull in to school parking lot because it was convenient. Also don't speed, speed kills.

Brutus Out

 

[308]

concealed means concealed

Yeah no kidding. How would the LEO know if you had a gun in your car in the first place unless it is laying on the seat or somewhere in plain view...which it shouldn't be in the first place.

 

[mjbskwim]

I talked to a 2a friendly lawyer back home about this. He said you can drive onto school grounds with a gun in your car but you can not walk into the school with it.
But how would the cop know if you had a gun during a traffic stop anyway?
You have no obligation to tell them

 

[mjbskwim]

Oh yeah
STFD when you are in a school zone

 

[PaulB47]

Everybody commits 3 felonies per day, these days. I wouldn't get my panties in a bind over it.

 

[Koda]

I talked to a 2a friendly lawyer back home about this. He said you can drive onto school grounds with a gun in your car but you can not walk into the school with it.
But how would the cop know if you had a gun during a traffic stop anyway?
You have no obligation to tell them

not without a state issued CHL...

 

[nwwoodsman]

Right pedal makes the car go faster, left pedal stops it. The big wheel in front of your chest determines which direction to go. A firearm in a vehicle has no effect on ones ability to maneuver a motor vehicle. I would say absolutely and without a shadow of a doubt that yes, one can drive through a school zone with a firearm present. A friend of a friend does this on a regular basis and has never had an issue, even going so far as to drop the kids off at the front door

 

[oknow]

In Washington you can have a gun in your car (provided you have a chl, of course) but you have to leave it there if you go inside the school- to pick up your kid, etc... Unless the cop pulling you over doesn't know the law regarding car carry you will be fine driving through a school zone w your firearm. See exceptions e f g down below- these should have you covered.

; ....

Don't count on them knowing the law

 

[mjbskwim]

As some have stated before,when you are on the street you are not on school property. So it wouldn't effect you in any way.
The laws have to do with you crossing the curb onto school property.

 

[Koda]

You get pulled over in a school zone for going 26mph in a 20mph zone. You have a gun in your car. Are you in violation of the Gun Free School Zone law? How far does the zone extend from the school?

first of all it depends on if you have a state issued CHL on your person or not. Note: reciprocity does not apply here... take note of this when travelling.
If you do, then carry on any way you like. State laws may regulate whether you can go inside or not but you can drive thru the zone. If you don't, then the firearm has to be transported in a manner compliant with the federal firearm transportation law... it must be in a locked container out of reach from the passenger area of the vehicle. All ammunition must also be in a locked container. Otherwise you are in violation of the law.

The pertinent law here is 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2)(A) , commonly called the Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA) of 1990: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/922
....which also defines the school zone as "within a distance of 1,000 feet from the grounds of a public, parochial or private school." (so 1000 feet beyond the school property line)

Worth reference here is the federal law on transporting firearms (without a CHL) 18 USC 926a: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/926A


all the legalise above on one page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_School_Zones_Act_of_1990

 

[BlackRyder]

Don't count on them knowing the law

That's why I carry that Washington firearms laws pamphlet in me glove box- on the off chance I do get pulled over and given grief I can always whip it out. The pamphlet.

 

[Member 5605]

"Through a school zone" is not technically the 'school property' it's just a warning for idiots who drive like women going through hotflashes that there are kids around and the A/C should be used and not relying on window airflow.

On the other side of the sidewalk is school property.

Oregon you could OC at the school... Washington... not so much.


Besides isn't the Gun Free zone set up to penalize kids for bringing guns to school? Not parents or responsible adults..

 

[mjbskwim]

Not parents or responsible adults..

Abby the key point for any of the carry discussions !
Being responsible

 

[CHLChris]

One great thing about Oregon is that with a CHL almost no anti-gun laws apply to us.

As a teacher I am not allowed to carry at "work" (not legally disallowed, just a work rule), but when I go into any school I'm totally allowed to carry with my CHL.