• We are now running on a new, and hopefully much-improved, server. In addition we are also on new forum software. Any move entails a lot of technical details and I suspect we will encounter a few issues as the new server goes live. Please be patient with us. It will be worth it! :) Please help by posting all issues here.
  • The forum will be down for about an hour this weekend for maintenance. I apologize for the inconvenience.
  • If you are having trouble seeing the forum then you may need to clear your browser's DNS cache. Click here for instructions on how to do that
  • Please review the Forum Rules frequently as we are constantly trying to improve the forum for our members and visitors.

Hospital GFZ???

chewy352

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2009
Messages
769
Location
Harrah, Oklahoma
imported post

Full story to come when I am more awake.

Tonight I had an interaction with SDPD and they were trying to figure out if there is a GFZ around hospitals and parks. I know that the park municipal code is no firearms in county or city parks but there is no GFZ around the park.

My question is: Is there any federal, State, County, or city law/code creating a GFZ around a hospital?

Also how are these laws found? When I read a state law I go directly to the CA website but you already have to know the law you are looking for and franklyI can't possibly read them all.
 

Rusty

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
121
Location
San Jose, California, USA
imported post

I am not aware of any zone around a hospital.

If the hospital is publicly owned (ie.. some county general hospital) then that probably counts as a public building.

Most hospitals I am aware of around California, are privately held (Kaiser, Sutter, CHW etc...)

you can look at http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/PEN and do a search on the terms firearm and hospital.

There is nothing that comes up that really pertains.
 

Rusty

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
121
Location
San Jose, California, USA
imported post

also just looked at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_the_United_States_(by_state)

I know this is not a definitive source, but it appears that there are restriction around hospitals in Ten, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan.
 

mjones

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
976
Location
Prescott, AZ
imported post

I'm unaware of anything like that in CA or LA County.

The only quasi-applicable CA Statute, as already mentioned, would be 171b if its a public building.

My father had a heart attack a couple months ago. I hadn't seen the inside of an Emergency Room since about '94 when I was an active reserve deputy. It infuriated me to find out that the ER had become a victim dissarmament zone with metal detectors and wands. Luckily the wife of a friend (30+ years) was on duty that night in the ICU and a quick phonecall from her got me in without disarming.

Generally speaking my wife understands my requirement that we don't go anywhere that I can't carry at least a good Benchmade folder...and that would only be for extremely rare circumstances. I almost had the break my own rule that night, but I got lucky.
 

Rusty

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Messages
121
Location
San Jose, California, USA
imported post

I can tell you that I used to work as a security officer at a hospital, and we had a pretty strict policy about no firearms in the hospital. (This was a private hospital, not publicly owned)

So if you walked in with a firearm, we would ask you leave or trespass them.
 

chewy352

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 11, 2009
Messages
769
Location
Harrah, Oklahoma
imported post

Well that's the bad thing I was sterile carrying but the incident happened right in front of my house and I was the one that called them on my neighbor and had identified myself on the phone. So they already knew who I was.

Until I seek legal council, hopefully next week after I get all of SDPDs info through FOIA, I'm not going to share anymore publicly.
 

CA_Libertarian

State Researcher
Joined
Jul 18, 2007
Messages
2,585
Location
Stanislaus County, California, USA
imported post

In all of my research I have never seen anything about hospitals having GFZs.

I'm 99.99% certain there's nothing in the penal code about it, but you might try searching the Health & Safety Code. Some others suggested some 3rd party websites, but I prefer to go directly to the state's official online version of the current CA Codes, found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html - just click the box next to the code(s) you wish to search, then enter the search string in the box. (Hint, when browsing result pages, use your web browser's "search" function to locate keywords within the page... rather than trying to read through every word of the rather wordy laws.)

As for city/county ordinances... they are preempted by state law, if they even exist. You can usually search/read your localities' codes online by visiting their official websites. Keep in mind they may have some ordinance on the books that they may still try to enforce. (E.g. After his arrest in July of 2007, a member here was threatened by a city attorney that they would prosecute him under a city ordinance banning firearms on the beach, but the CA never followed through.) I know of at least one town that has a all-out firearm prohibition within city limits... not sure yet if they would try to enforce it, though.

Contact an attorney if you feel you need to, but IMO the worst you have to worry about is having a DA/CA try to enforce a local law in violation of state preemption. (Case law dictates that cities can only regulate firearm possession while on city owned property - which does NOT include public roads/sidewalks.) Local laws are at WORST a misdemeanor, so even if you get a bad trial (like Theseus), you won't have to worry about dealing with any loss of rights (voting, gun ownership) like you might have to with state gun laws and felonies.
 

Old Timer

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
49
Location
, ,
imported post

There is no GFZ around any hospital with the exception of Military Hospitals located on Military Reservations. Most often the entire Military Reservation has a "no guns" policy.

I CCW to all the hospitals in the San Diego area except Balboa. Balboa is a Navy Hospital and the Navy does not allow guns, even those carried legally with a CCW. Back in the 1980s I drove a marked patrol car onto the Balboa Reservation but was asked to leave my sidearm at the quarterdeck when I went up to the room I was visiting.

I was at Balboa last week and left my gun locked in my car trunk.
 

ConsideringOC

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
51
Location
San Diego, California, USA
imported post

Old Timer wrote:
There is no GFZ around any hospital with the exception of Military Hospitals located on Military Reservations. Most often the entire Military Reservation has a "no guns" policy.

I CCW to all the hospitals in the San Diego area except Balboa. Balboa is a Navy Hospital and the Navy does not allow guns, even those carried legally with a CCW. Back in the 1980s I drove a marked patrol car onto the Balboa Reservation but was asked to leave my sidearm at the quarterdeck when I went up to the room I was visiting.

I was at Balboa last week and left my gun locked in my car trunk.
So are you Private Security then? LEOs go into the hospital and on bases all the time (as long as it is not personal business)w/o having to secure weapons....Heck one of their best training facilities is on base. OOPs... just saw that you were referencing something about 30 years ago.
 

Old Timer

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 1, 2009
Messages
49
Location
, ,
imported post

ConsideringOC wrote:
LEOs go into the hospital and on bases all the time (as long as it is not personal business)w/o having to secure weapons....Heck one of their best training facilities is on base.
I usually got waved by the main gate, evenin a marked car, in uniform. But every time I went into one of the hospitals, Balboa or Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton Ihad to check my sidearm at the quarter deck. And I drive to Duffy Town fairly regularly. Most of the time there isn't even anybody at the gate. :)
 

OPS MARINE

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2008
Messages
391
Location
, California, USA
imported post

As far as I know, if it is not a government hospital, i.e. a County Hospital, then there is no Penal Code prohibiting it.
 

inbox485

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2009
Messages
353
Location
Riverside County, California, USA
imported post

Have you droped a line to one of the "right people". They might be willing to at least give you a definitive answer on if there are any state or local ordinances regarding gun free hospital zones. I know there are zones like that in other states (usually something like 50 feet from entrances), but I'm 99% sure there is nothing like that in CA.

I'm very curious as to what happened, but less is more until you are certain it won't hurt you later.
 
Top