Congressman proposes repeal of school gun ban

1999 Columbine shooting

The Second Amendment rights organization is praising a bill in Congress that would repeal the failed Gun-Free School Zones Act.

Instead of a federal law, state and local governments would establish policies and practices to protect children that fit their communities.

"History has tragically demonstrated that the Gun-Free School Zones Act, which was sponsored by then-Senator Joe Biden, has failed miserably to accomplish its purpose," said Alan Gottlieb, the chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

"It was a stupid idea then, and it has become a dangerous policy today. The law's supporters are simply too vain and stubborn to admit they were wrong," he said.

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It was Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie who introduced the repeal legislation.

"The Gun-Free School Zones Act was passed by Congress in 1990, and it’s been a disaster," said Gottlieb. "It has not prevented a single tragic school shooting, but instead has given students, teachers, administrators and parents a false sense of security that evaporates the moment some madman ignores the law and invades a school campus to commit mayhem."

He said it's time to "trash this ineffective mandate and make the nation's schools safe again by allowing teachers and administrators the means to fight back in an emergency."

"By declaring schools to be 'gun-free,' the law has simply turned schools into risk-free, target-rich environments for disturbed people willing to harm innocent children and teens," he said.

Massie explained in announcing his effort: "Gun-free zones are ineffective and make our schools less safe. Ninety-eight percent of mass public shootings since 1950 have occurred in places where citizens are banned from having guns.

"Banks, churches, sports stadiums, and many of my colleagues in Congress are protected with firearms. Yet children inside the classroom are too frequently left vulnerable."

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., a cosponsor, added: "The only thing gun-free zones do is disarm law-abiding citizens and take away their ability to protect themselves and others. We shouldn’t leave our most vulnerable – our children – in an unsafe environment like gun-free zones where acts of violence cannot be stopped."

It's not the first time a repeal plan has been proposed. The original law was ruled in 1995 by the Supreme Court to be unconstitutional, and it was modified by Congress. The high court has not yet ruled on the modified version.

The new plan would let "teachers to carry firearms for self-defense and the defense of students in emergencies," Gottlieb noted.