Virginia Tech.

Fort Hood.

What do all of these shootings have in common?

The answer is they all occurred in government facilities where the private possession of firearms was prohibited.

In Washington, unconstitutional legislation is commonplace.  But sometimes unconstitutional laws can have deadly consequences.  The so-called “gun free school zones act,” written by radical anti-gun Senator Heb Kohl, is one such law.

Slammed through in 1996 as an amendment to a giant last-minute must-pass appropriations bill, the legislation disarmed school staff and other adults – leaving elementary and secondary school children defenseless to serial killers.

It also made it virtually impossible to drive your car down the street with your gun inside without violating the law by creating a 1000-foot so-called “gun-free zone” around every public and private school in the country.

“Gun free,” that is, except for the criminals.

No one – including politicians, the police, or the individual citizen – can predict where the next deranged serial killer will attack.  And yet politicians continue to create “criminal safe zones” such as schools, churches, parks, restaurants that serve alcohol, etc., where the law-abiding are disarmed.

The net impact of turning schools, in particular, into defenseless targets for serial killers has been dramatic.

When many people over the age of 40 were growing up, ROTC students would march up-and-down high school campuses with their semi-automatic M1’s – and no one would think anything of it.  Shooting clubs on school grounds were also not uncommon.

But within a couple a years of the enactment of the Kohl amendment, two disaffected teenagers walked into ColumbineHigh School secure in the knowledge that they would be the only ones in the school who were armed.

And, of course, Columbine triggered a slew of copycat episodes – laying a mounting string of innocent casualties at the feet of Herb Kohl and his misbegotten legislation.

It’s time to say NO to criminal safe zones.  And a great place to start is the blatantly unconstitutional gun free school zones act.

Thankfully, Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) agrees and has introduced legislation to do just that.

Rep. Paul recently introduced the “Citizens Protection Act of 2011” (H.R. 2613), which will repeal the Kohl amendment and thus remove the federally created criminal safety zones.

Rep. Paul is one of the few members of Congress who respects the Constitution and who actually introduces legislation to restore federalism.  And, unlike some legislators, Paul has a history of forcing the House to vote on his pro-gun proposals, thus putting other congressmen on record.

GOA is proud to stand with Rep. Paul in the effort to repeal the unconstitutional gun free zones law.  For anyone who cares about liberty, now is the time to work on getting the 218 votes we need to pass this important piece of legislation.

ACTION:  Contact you congressman.  Urge him or her to cosponsor Ron Paul’s Citizens Protection Act of 2011, H.R. 2613.

Click here to contact your congressman.

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H.B. 75 (1st Substitute) will be coming to the Utah House floor for a vote very soon, probably Friday, 2/11/2011. This bill eliminates some of Utah’s more onerous definitions of “on or about school premises.” And it protects law-abiding gun-owners who might otherwise be inadvertently ensnared by Utah’s overly expansive “Gun Free School Zone” definition which is much broader than in federal law or nearby states. We expect it to be a close vote and your Representative needs to hear from you ASAP.

Politicians respond to polite contacts from voters, and YOUR emails and phone calls really do make a difference.

If YOU don’t take action to defend gun rights, don’t complain when we all lose them.

Simply put, this bill fixes Utah’s “Gun-Free School Zones” to be inline with what you probably already think a “Gun Free School Zone” is.

We need to get this pro-gun bill passed by the House, and then passed by the Senate.

Here are some important points about this bill:

HB 75 won’t affect colleges or universities. It doesn’t allow “guns in schools.” It’s a common sense step that brings our definition in line with surrounding states and protects honest gun-owners.

Utah’s current definition of “on or about school premises” is far too broad. Under the current definition, you may have unintentionally violated Utah’s gun-free school-zone act many times. The federal law is limited to K-12 schools, but Utah law adds day-care centers, pre-schools and vocational schools. Utah law includes a 1,000-foot “gun free zone” around each of these “schools.” Thus, for example, under state law you’re on “school premises” if you get within 1,000 feet of a day-care center that’s operating inside a private residence, or if you get within 1,000 feet of a small cosmetology school located in a strip mall.

This bill will cease turning well-meaning gun-owners into inadvertent criminals. It
brings the definition in line with what everyone considers to be schools: K-12 and colleges or universities.

This bill can be called up for a vote by the full House any time, probably Friday.

Full text and status of the bill at:  http://le.utah.gov/~2011/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0075S01.htm

Action Required

ASK ALL HOUSE MEMBERS TO VOTE FOR HB75 Dangerous Weapon Amendments. Please email, fax or call as soon as possible as they could vote on this very soon. Use the following message. (Contact info follows the sample email) House FAX number for all members is (801) 326-1544

Subject: VOTE FOR HB 75 Dangerous Weapon Amendments

Dear Representative ___________

I am asking you to VOTE FOR HB 75 (1st Substitute) “Dangerous Weapon Amendments,” sponsored by Representative Curt Oda.

This bill continues to ensure the safety of K-12 schools and colleges or universities.

Utah’s current definition of “on or about school premises” is far too broad and should be brought into line with surrounding states and common sense.

Currently it is impossible for gun owners to identify all the “school zones” where guns are prohibited around day cares, pre-schools, vocational schools and the like. Even worse, school field trips create an invisible almost half-mile wide “roving gun-free school-zone.”

This bill is needed to protect well-meaning gun-owners from being turned into inadvertent criminals by simply passing through invisible restricted areas.

Please VOTE FOR HB 75.

Sincerely.

[insert your name, and when contacting your own Representative, your address so they know you are in their district]

Contact YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and as many others as you can right away.

Use this easy tool to identify your Utah Representative District and find your representative’s email address and phone number: http://www.le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp

Just enter your address, and then click on the name of the REPRESENTATIVE and then click on their email address to open a form where you can cut and paste the message above.

If you know your district or your Representative’s name you can go to the House roster and click there for the email addresses for all Utah Representatives
http://www.utah.gov/house/representatives.html