I sent an email to my congressman:
Dr. Roe
It has come to my attention that Congressman Ron Paul has introduced House Resolution 2613 which seeks to repeal the Federal Gun Free School Zones Act. This act, good intentions as it may have, merely makes criminals out of what would be law abiding citizens. Also, some argue that this law is unconstitutional. That is debatable, and has been in a number of court cases, but there is no denying the headache this law has caused for countless law abiding citizens in this country.
The act is designed to keep a shooter away from a school. I won’t even discuss the fact that a criminal isn't going to think twice about what kind of laws are supposed to keep them from shooting on school grounds. The act does nothing to keep law abiding gun owners and carriers off of school property. Gun owners are free to take their legally carried weapon on to school grounds to pick up and drop off a child, as long as their state's law allows it. However, when a gun owner is in another state, carrying legally, it then becomes a federal crime to come within 1000 feet of a school while carrying their sidearm. Particularly in densely populated cities, this becomes a problem for anyone that wants to legally carry their weapon to defend themselves. When out of state, a gun carrier must be aware of any and all K-12 school zones, and plan their route to stay at least 1000 feet away from them, or risk committing a felony.
As the former mayor of Johnson City, TN, I'm sure you are aware of the location of Science Hill High School. SHHS is located directly adjacent to US highway 11E, one of the busiest roads in Johnson City. The GFSZ Act would make a felon of any out of state law abiding citizen caught carrying a weapon that passes by that school. In actuality, several citizens from out of state probably commit a federal crime every day in front of SHHS without even realizing it. Imagine the issue at hand for any city larger than Johnson City.
The Gun Free School Zones act is a redundant law against anyone that commits a crime with a firearm at a school. After all, it's already illegal to shoot someone-even on school grounds. Extending the statute's area 1000 feet from the school's borders has the awful side-effect of making felons out of out of towners. I, and many in the gun rights community, believe this law to be ineffectual and unconstitutional.
Thank you for taking your time to consider this issue. As a handgun permit holder, I hope I never unintentionally break this law when I visit a friend out of state that shares reciprocity with TN, however I think it likely. Repealing this law would clear up the issue, and the laws against shooting someone and carrying inside a school will still have their intended effect.