In the United States, it is illegal to bring a firearm to school. However, there is a little-known provision in a federal law from 1996 that allows adults to carry concealed firearms on school campuses if they have a state-issued permit. More than half of the states, including New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and Virginia, issue these licenses to individuals who are 18 years or older, have no felony convictions, and can pay a licensing fee of around $50. This means that adults in these states can legally carry handguns and rifles into school classrooms, hallways, and even football games.
Examples of adults carrying firearms on school grounds include a high school principal in Danville, Alabama, who carried a loaded .22-caliber pistol for self-protection against student threats. Although the principal was fired, no charges have been filed against him. Similarly, a janitor in Milwaukie, Oregon, brought a loaded handgun to school during the night shift for protection and was also fired, despite not violating any state or federal laws.
Special Agent Todd Reichert, a spokesperson for the Alabama office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, states that these incidents occur more frequently than people realize. He explains that there are many factors to consider before determining if someone is breaking the law when carrying a gun on school grounds.
In the past decade, several federal laws have aimed to restrict firearms from entering school premises. The Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, passed by Congress, requires states receiving federal education funds to have laws in place that suspend students for a year if they bring a weapon to school.
The passage of the Gun-Free School Zones Act in 1996 was an effort by the Clinton administration to rectify a previous law that the Supreme Court had deemed unconstitutional in 1995. The Supreme Court ruled that the 1990 law signed by President Bush did not explain how possessing firearms in schools was related to interstate commerce, which falls under Congress’s regulation. The 1996 law explicitly made this connection by stating that firearms and ammunition easily move in interstate commerce and are increasingly found in and around schools. Under this law, adults are prohibited from bringing a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, unless they are a law enforcement officer, passing through school premises to reach hunting areas, have a state-issued concealed weapons license, or participating in an approved school program.
While employees and other adults carrying guns on school grounds may violate school policies, they may not face fines or imprisonment because they have not broken any laws. Gun-rights groups, including the National Rifle Association (NRA), argue that parents who have guns and are coming home from work or hunting should not be expected to leave their firearms at home before picking up their children from school. The NRA believes that allowing frightened workers to carry guns for their own protection is appropriate.
This is the exact argument made by the janitor in Milwaukie, Oregon, who brought a lawsuit against the school district that fired him for carrying a gun at work. The janitor’s lawsuit challenges the North Clackamas district’s authority to impose discipline when the state permits adults to carry guns on school campuses.
However, Mr. Modzeleski argues that these actions go against the intentions of the federal legislation aimed at preventing guns from entering schools. He stated, "Even if it’s not illegal, it still doesn’t make sense." Jon Leibowitz, the chief counsel to Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., who sponsored the law in 1996, expressed concern over the recent incidents. He explained that the exceptions in the law were meant to protect individuals like "deer hunters driving by a school" from facing federal prosecution, not for principals to store semiautomatic weapons in their desks. Mr. Leibowitz commented, "If we continue to see more cases like these, we will need to revisit the law and make it stricter."
Taking Action
In the meantime, Mr. Modzeleski is urging states and districts to enact laws and policies that close this loophole. Some states and communities have already taken steps to do so. Idaho recently passed a law prohibiting weapons in schools, except for law enforcement personnel.
In Utah, a coalition consisting of gun-control advocates, parents, and education groups, known as Safe To Learn, Safe To Worship, has gathered over 40,000 signatures for a ballot proposal. This proposal aims to prohibit individuals from carrying concealed weapons on school grounds and in churches. Utah already forbids firearms in airports, courts, detention centers, and venues for the upcoming Winter Olympics.
In response to the shootings at schools such as Colorado’s Columbine High School, a few municipal politicians have implemented their own gun bans. Mayor Louis Bell of Roseland, N.J., signed an ordinance in May to establish weapon-free zones around schools, recreational areas, and other public places. Although New Jersey law already imposes a $1,000 fine on anyone (excluding law enforcement officials) bringing a gun to school, the officials in Roseland believed that an additional fine of $1,000 and a 90-day jail sentence would provide an extra incentive for people to leave their guns at home. Mayor Bell explained that Roseland, a city of 5,000, has never had any incidents involving weapons at public facilities.
California has long required school superintendents to grant explicit approval for any weapon brought onto school premises, ranging from pepper spray to guns. Only police officers are authorized to carry weapons without such approval. "We arrest anyone who comes on campus with a firearm," said Mr. Mitchell, the chief of the Los Angeles schools police. So far, no teachers have been charged. Mr. Mitchell acknowledged that this restriction may be inconvenient for gun owners, but it ultimately minimizes the risk of accidents.
