Date: Fri, 4 Oct 1996 11:41:15 -0400 (EDT) From: [j--ld--n] at [halcyon.com] To: Multiple recipients of list <[n--b--n] at [mainstream.net]> Subject: NEW FEDERAL LEGISLATION On 30 September, the President signed into law the following two sections of the omnibus appropriation bill. There has been a lot of ranting and screaming, and very little hard information presented, along with a lot of conjecture. While all legislation is subject to interpretation (AND to Supreme Court review), the basic text follows (extracted from the Congressional Record, 28 September 1996). The next step will be to watch for the BATF's regulatory interpretation of these sections. (The Gun Free School Zone Act is nothing more than the earlier Federal GFSZ Act, overturned by the Supreme Court in US v Liopez. They just inserted a lot of "commerce clause" cites to justify addressing the issue at the federal level. The Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Gun Ban revokes a fundamental constitutional for commission of a misdemeanor. This is a nominal first -- nominal because GCA 68 disqualifies anyone "convicted of a crime that carries a sentence of more than one year; in some states, certain misdemeanors or gross misdemeanors can carry a sentence longer than one year -- and should make for an interesting Supreme Court challenge.) TEXT OF THE GUN FREE SCHOOL ZONE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE MISDEMEANOR GUN BAN AS SIGNED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON 30 SEP 96 Sec 657: GUN FREE SCHOOL ZONES SEC 657. Section 922(a) of title 18, United States code, is amended to read as follows: (a)(1) The Congress finds and declares that-- (A) crime, particularly crime involving drugs and guns, is a pervasive, nationwide problem; (B) crime at the local level is exacerbated by the interstate movement of drugs, guns and criminal gangs; (C) firearms and ammunition move easily in interstate commerce and have been found in increasing numbers in and around schools as documented in numerous hearings in both the Committee on the Judiciary, the House of Representatives and in the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate; (D) in fact, even before the sale of a firearm, the gun, its component parts, ammunition, and the raw materials from which they are made have considerably moved in interstate commerce; (E) while criminals freely move from State to State, ordinary citizens and foreign visitors may fear to travel to or through certain parts of the country due to concern about violent crime and gun violence, and parents may decline to send their children to school for the same reason; (F) the occurrence of violent crime in school zones has resulted in a decline in the quality of education in our country; (G) this decline in the quality of education has an adverse impact on interstate commerce and the foreign commerce of the United States; (H) States, localities and school systems find it almost impossible to handle gun-related crime by themselves--even States, localities and school systems that have made strong efforts to prevent, detect, and punish gun-related crime find their efforts unavailing due in part to the failure or inability of other States or localities to take strong measures; and (I) the Congress has the power, under the interstate commerce clause and other provisions of the Constitution, to enact measures to ensure the integrity and safety of the Nations schools by enactment of this subsection. (2)(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone. (B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a firearm-- (i) on private property not part of school grounds; (ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license; (iii) that is-- (I) not loaded; and (II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle; (iv) by an individual for use in a program approved by a school in the school zone; (v) by an individual in accordance with a contract entered into between a school in the school zone and the individual or the employer of the individual; (vi) by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; or (vii) that is unloaded and is possessed by an individual while traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to public or private lands open to hunting, if the entry on school premises is authorized by school authorities. (3)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), it shall be unlawful for any person, knowingly or with reckless disregard for the safety of another, to discharge or attempt to discharge a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the person knows is a school zone. (B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the discharge of a firearm-- (i) on private property not part of school grounds; (ii) as part of a program approved by a school in the school zone, by an individual who is participating in this program; (iii) by an individual in accordance with a contract entered into between a school in a school zone and the individual or an employer of the individual; or (iv) by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity. (4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as preempting or preventing a State or local government from enacting a statute establishing gun free school zones as provided in this subsection. Sec. 658 GUN BAN FOR INDIVIDUALS CONVICTED OF A MISDEMEANOR CRIME OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (a) DEFINITION--Section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: (33)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the term misdemeanor crime of domestic violence means an offense that-- (i) is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law; and, (ii) has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim. (B)(i) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter, unless-- (I) the person was represented by counsel in the case, or knowingly and intelligently waived the right to counsel in the case; and (II) in the case of a prosecution for an offense described in this paragraph for which a person was entitled to a jury trial in the jurisdiction in which the case was tried, either (aa) the case was tried by a jury, or (bb) the person knowingly and intelligently waived the right to have the case tried by a jury, by guilty plea or otherwise, (ii) A person shall not be considered to have been convicted of such an offense for purposes of this chapter if the conviction has been expunged or set aside, or is an offense for which the person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored (if the law of the applicable jurisdiction provides for the loss of civil rights under such an offense) unless the pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms. (b) PROHIBITIONS.-- (1) Section 922(d) of such title is amended-- (A) by striking or at the end of paragraph (7); (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (8) and inserting ;or; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following: (9) has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. (2) Section 922(g) of such title is amended-- (A) by striking or at the end of paragraph (7); (B) by striking the comma at the end of paragraph (8) and inserting ; or; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following: (9) who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, (3) Section 922(s)(3)(B)(i) of such title is amended by inserting , and has not been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence before this semicolon. (d) GOVERNMENT ENTITIES NOT EXCEPTED--Section 922(a)(1) of such title is amended by inserting Sections 922(d)(9) and 922(g)(9) and after except for Semper fi Joe Waldron Special Activities Director Second Amendment Foundation