This step toward sanity has been totally ignored by the old media. Dean Weingarten
Texas Republican Steve Stockman is searching for co-sponsors for a bill he introduced Jan. 3 that would repeal the federal law that prohibits firearms in school zones.
Stockman, a no-holds-barred conservative member of the 1994 freshman class who returned to the House this month after a 15-year hiatus, had been working with the conservative group Gun Owners of America to craft the legislation even before the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School killed 20 children and six staff members last month.
“Not only have so-called ‘gun-free school zones’ proven to be anything but that, they appear to have placed our children in even greater danger,” Stockman wrote in a Dear Colleague letter circulated Wednesday. “Co-sponsoring the Safe School Act is the first step toward protecting our children.”
The gun-free school zones law enacted in 1990 (PL 101-647) was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court, which ruled it exceeded congressional authority to regulate interstate commerce. A second iteration from 1995 (PL 104-208) remains in effect. The law prohibits possession of a firearm on the campus of a public or private school or within 1,000 feet of the grounds.
Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., is the sole co-sponsor of Stockman’s bill (HR 35) thus far. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced similar legislation (HR 133) on Jan. 4 to repeal the gun-free school zone regulation. Other conservatives, including Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, have voiced support for such proposals, but have not officially signed on to the legislation.
“The time has come to end the deadly experiment of disarming peaceable, law-abiding citizens near schools,” Stockman said.
Mass killings in schools has increased by 4-5 fold since the law was passed, depending on definitions of mass killing and time periods chosen.
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