Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) last week reintroduced a bill that would repeal the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act (GFSZA), which he says jeopardizes student and teacher safety by prohibiting armed defense against violent intruders. As I explain in my new book Beyond Control, that law is also problematic for two constitutional reasons.
The GFSZA, which Congress originally enacted in 1990, makes it a felony to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of an elementary or secondary school. In 1995, the Supreme Court said the law was not a valid exercise of the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce.
"The Act neither regulates a commercial activity nor contains a requirement that the possession be connected in any way to interstate commerce," Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote. "If we were to accept the Government's arguments, we are hard pressed to posit any activity by an individual that Congress is without power to regulate."
