The original Gun Free School Zone Act of 1990 was
struck down as
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1995. Congress re-wrote the act in
1996 to comply with the Supreme Court's objections and it is now in force with
minor tweaks to the language. The re-written act can be found
HERE. There
is an exemption for concealed permit holders which states:
"(ii) if the individual possessing
the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a
political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or
political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains
such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or
political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified
under law to receive the license;"
Does this mean if you have a VA issued CHP you
can have a gun within 1000 feet of a school? It appears so, but you should talk
to a lawyer before you make yourself a test case. The owner of this website has
openly carried a handgun on a public sidewalk within 100
feet of a school in plain sight of two police cars. The
weather was warm and the windows were down, one of the
officers was clearly heard to say "Oh cool, he's
carrying". Your mileage may vary depending on how
informed (or misinformed) the officer is who spots you
with a handgun in a GFSZ. You may want to keep a
printout of the GFSZA in your wallet in case you are
ever stopped and need to explain the legality of your
actions to someone.
You may be interested to read this
section
of Virginia code. Specifically,
you are looking for this statement in the code:
(vii) a person who has a valid
concealed handgun permit and possesses a concealed handgun while in a motor
vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means
of vehicular ingress or egress to the school.
