ScottDLS wrote: ...I also think the US attorneys are going to be reluctant to try to prosecute for a fairly technical violation of this statute for fear of it being struck down, as it was in its previous form...
I would avoid hiring those lawyers. The second iteration of the GFSZA has been to the Circuit courts several times for constitutional challenges and has NEVER been struck down for constitutionality. Of the cases I have seen, it has always been an add-on to some other serious charge (like drug trafficking).Jumping Frog wrote:
I've seen lawyers advance the notion that the ATF doesn't want to test the statute in court because it is still unconstitutional and they don't want to lose again. Not sure if I give the ATF that much credit....
I know of one CHL holder who was arrested by local police for a state offense, but prosecuted by a federal prosecutor for violating the GFSZA. The CHL holder won at both district court and circuit court (when the prosecutor appealed) because he (his lawyer) was able to show that he was indeed protected by the exemption (exception?) for those who hold a CHL from the same state the school zone is in. Thus he won not by showing unconstitutionality, but by showing he was well within the law.
see FAQ: Gun Free School Zone Act
