Legal News

Airports, Churches and Schools: An Update on Guns & the Law

By Dan Slater

Gun advocates, it would seem, are emboldened in the wake of D.C. v. Heller — the recent Scotus case, in which the Court ruled that the Second Amendment “protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” In the past week alone, we’ve seen a lot of gun-related news. Here’s a round-up of some of the more interesting stories:

Federal judge says ‘No’ to guns in airports: On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Marvin Shoob refused to grant a preliminary injunction that would’ve stopped Atlanta from enforcing an airport gun ban at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Here’s a story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Georgia legislature passed a bill, which became law on July 1, that permits people with firearms licenses to carry guns in state parks, restaurants that serve alcohol and on mass transit. But Judge Shoob said allowing concealed weapons into non-secure areas of the world’s busiest airport will make the airport less safe and require it to substantially revise its security procedures.

Robert Kennedy, the airport’s assistant general manager in charge of operations, said that if a gun were to be accidentally discharged in a non-secure area it would cause mass panic. “It creates, in my mind, a stampede,” Kennedy said.

Take your gun to school: The AP is reporting that trustees of the Harrold Independent School District, a tiny Texas school district, may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection.

Superintendent David Thweatt said the small community is a 30-minute drive from the sheriff’s office, leaving students and teachers without protection. He said the district’s lone campus sits 500 feet from heavily trafficked U.S. 287, which could make it a target. “When the federal government started making schools gun-free zones, that’s when all of these shootings started. Why would you put it out there that a group of people can’t defend themselves? That’s like saying ’sic ‘em’ to a dog,” Thweatt reportedly said.

“Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!” Back in Georgia, the AJC reported earlier this week, a day after Judge Shoob’s airport ruling state lawmakers began looking into making it legal for people with firearms-carry licenses to take their guns to church.

“I personally feel there are a lot of restrictions that should not be there,” said Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh, chairman of a Senate committee that began studying the state’s gun laws Tuesday. “People who get these [carry] permits are extremely law-abiding citizens,” Seabaugh said. “Those who have no regard for the law are carrying guns anyway.”

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 15, 2008 (boomark / email).