Not sure if this is legal.

[RBELARDI]

Not sure if this is legal.

SCRANTON — The Scranton school board is taking steps to make their monthly meetings safer.

Board member Bob Sheridan told Newswatch 16 members have decided to install metal detectors at the administration building on North Washington Avenue.

He claims the decision was made following the shooting in Ross Township.

Sheridan said the school board is borrowing a metal detector from Scranton High School until they purchase their own.

[ungawa]

One of the things I find amusing about this is that metal detectors were also the first thing people were clamoring in the media for after Columbine.

In both instances, shooting started outside and the criminals shot their way in. Gun beats metal detector every time.

[Statkowski]

Is it legal for them to have metal detectors? Sure it is.

Is it legal for them to prohibit the lawful carry of firearms? Not if the school district's administration building is not on school grounds.

Section 912 of the Uniform Firearms Act says school grounds, not school property.

[theduke]

Gun beats metal detector every time.

where does this fit in on rock, paper, scissors, lizard, spock?

[RBELARDI]

Is it legal for them to have metal detectors? Sure it is.

Is it legal for them to prohibit the lawful carry of firearms? Not if the school district's administration building is not on school grounds.

Section 912 of the Uniform Firearms Act says school grounds, not school property.

The grounds of the Admin building is not on the same grounds as an actual School. Its actually an old building in the city that the SD owns and has their admin offices there along with the board room for their meetings.

[GunLawyer001]

Because Section 912 makes "lawful purpose" an affirmative defense instead of an exception, school boards and police have unnecessary power to bar entry of guns onto school property.

Further, "school" (institution) really isn't all that well defined:

" ....in the buildings of, on the grounds of, or in any conveyance providing transportation to or from any elementary or secondary publicly-funded educational institution, any elementary or secondary private school licensed by the Department of Education or any elementary or secondary parochial school."

In the case we won in Montgomery County, the "school" was a VoTech junior college that was open to adults. My client was an adult in his 40's, and enrolled as a student. Should that VoTech school have counted as a "school" or "institution" subject to 912? The judge thought so. I didn't. I thought the burden should be on the DA to prove that the statute applied to the parking lot of the VoTech school, particularly when the defendant was not enrolled in elementary or secondary education.

So, does a building become the "grounds of" a school when the school board chooses to hold a meeting at the YMCA or municipal meeting room? I dunno. A judge could find that to be the case, because it's not defined.

Don't get me wrong, the judge in our case made the right call, we chose a bench trial precisely because I thought the judge had a good grasp of the situation, and he gave us justice. But that issue of what counts as "buildings or grounds" of a school could be construed to include any property being used or rented or owned by a school district. It could include the entire church building if there's a Parochial school inside. It might be stretched to include field trips or work-study locations.

It's a bad law. It should exempt licensed carriers, the way the Federal statute does, which would accomplish all of the intended purpose of keeping kids with guns out of schools, without creating another "gun free" zone for responsible adults, where outlaws have a competitive edge.

[RBELARDI]

Because Section 912 makes "lawful purpose" an affirmative defense instead of an exception, school boards and police have unnecessary power to bar entry of guns onto school property.

Further, "school" (institution) really isn't all that well defined:

" ....in the buildings of, on the grounds of, or in any conveyance providing transportation to or from any elementary or secondary publicly-funded educational institution, any elementary or secondary private school licensed by the Department of Education or any elementary or secondary parochial school."

In the case we won in Montgomery County, the "school" was a VoTech junior college that was open to adults. My client was an adult in his 40's, and enrolled as a student. Should that VoTech school have counted as a "school" or "institution" subject to 912? The judge thought so. I didn't. I thought the burden should be on the DA to prove that the statute applied to the parking lot of the VoTech school, particularly when the defendant was not enrolled in elementary or secondary education.

So, does a building become the "grounds of" a school when the school board chooses to hold a meeting at the YMCA or municipal meeting room? I dunno. A judge could find that to be the case, because it's not defined.

Don't get me wrong, the judge in our case made the right call, we chose a bench trial precisely because I thought the judge had a good grasp of the situation, and he gave us justice. But that issue of what counts as "buildings or grounds" of a school could be construed to include any property being used or rented or owned by a school district. It could include the entire church building if there's a Parochial school inside. It might be stretched to include field trips or work-study locations.

It's a bad law. It should exempt licensed carriers, the way the Federal statute does, which would accomplish all of the intended purpose of keeping kids with guns out of schools, without creating another "gun free" zone for responsible adults, where outlaws have a competitive edge.

Ok I now have a Headache . . . LOL

So is it legal for them to do it ?

[GunLawyer001]

Ok I now have a Headache . . . LOL

So is it legal for them to do it ?

They absolutely can install metal detectors.

What they do after that, depends. If it's on school grounds, they can arrest you for carrying, and then you have to assert the affirmative defense of "other lawful purpose".

Off school grounds, they probably can't have you arrested for carrying, but they might be able to exclude you.

Both sides on this have been wary because we're not sure how the courts will handle non-regulatory "policies" that exclude guns on municipal property. That may change, although based on the two losses in the lower courts on this Erie fiasco, I'm not so sure it will change for the better.

[bogey1]

One of the things I find amusing about this is that metal detectors were also the first thing people were clamoring in the media for after Columbine.

In both instances, shooting started outside and the criminals shot their way in. Gun beats metal detector every time.

Yeah, but it makes "them" feel better. After thinking about it, i feel much safer now knowing the bad people wont be able to bring a gun into a township building anymore.

Save money and time. Post a sign at the entrances: Gun free zone.

[jerryg]

I am fighting the same thing with the Easton Area School District. They have a remote admin building 2 or 3 miles from the closest school. Outside the admin building is the NO GUNS sign. I wrote to Northampton County DA for an opinion and he said My opinion is that the intent of the statute and the strict reading of it is
> that it applies to buildings and conveyances in which students would
> inhabit// schools or other educational institutions, not administration
> buildings.

I asked them to take down the sign, it is with there legal dept. now. I will update.