Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)

E56337

The Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 922(q), is a federal statute that criminalized possessing a firearm in a school zone and became notable when the Supreme Court in United States v. Lopez struck it down as exceeding Congress’s Commerce Clause authority.

All labels observed (4)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute ⓘ
criminal law statute ⓘ
firearms regulation ⓘ
affectedProvision 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(1) (original version) ⓘ
amendedVersion 18 U.S.C. § 922(q)(2) (as revised after Lopez) ⓘ
appliesNationwide true ⓘ
appliesTo elementary schools ⓘ
secondary schools ⓘ
challengedIn United States v. Lopez ⓘ
surface form: United States v. Lopez, 514 U.S. 549 (1995)
citationFormat Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) self-linksurface differs ⓘ
citedAs GFSZA ⓘ
codifiedAs 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
commerceNexusRequirement as amended, firearm must have moved in or otherwise affect interstate or foreign commerce ⓘ
constitutionalIssue scope of Congress’s Commerce Clause power ⓘ
containsException firearm on private property not part of school grounds ⓘ
firearm that is unloaded and in a locked container or locked firearms rack ⓘ
individual licensed to possess firearm by the state ⓘ
law enforcement officers acting in official capacity ⓘ
use of a firearm in a school zone as part of a program approved by a school ⓘ
use of a firearm in accordance with a contract with a school ⓘ
defines school zone ⓘ
enactedBy United States Congress ⓘ
enforcementAgency Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ⓘ
United States Department of Justice ⓘ
hasTitle Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) self-link ⓘ
surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
heldUnconstitutionalIn United States v. Lopez ⓘ
jurisdiction United States government ⓘ
surface form: United States federal government
language English ⓘ
legislativeType public law ⓘ
locatedInTitle Title 18 of the United States Code ⓘ
maximumPenalty up to 5 years imprisonment (original version) ⓘ
notableCase United States v. Lopez ⓘ
partOf Crime Control Act of 1990 ⓘ
penaltyType federal criminal penalties ⓘ
policyGoal reduce gun violence in and around schools ⓘ
postLopezAction Congress amended statute to add interstate-commerce nexus ⓘ
primaryCitation 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
prohibits knowingly possessing a firearm in a school zone ⓘ
reasonForInvalidation exceeded Congress’s authority under the Commerce Clause ⓘ
regulates possession of firearms in school zones ⓘ
relatedTo Commerce Clause ⓘ
surface form: Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution

federalism in the United States ⓘ
schoolZoneDefinition in or on the grounds of a school ⓘ
within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school ⓘ
signedBy George H. W. Bush ⓘ
subjectMatter firearms possession ⓘ
school safety ⓘ
yearEnacted 1990 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

United States v. Lopez → lawStruckDown → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) → hasTitle → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) self-link ⓘ
subject surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) → citationFormat → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) self-linksurface differs ⓘ
subject surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
Alfonso Lopez, Jr. → challenged → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
subject surface form: Alfonso Lopez Jr.
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
Alfonso Lopez, Jr. → chargedUnder → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
subject surface form: Alfonso Lopez Jr.
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990
Alfonso Lopez, Jr. → associatedWith → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
subject surface form: Alfonso Lopez Jr.
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act litigation
GFSZA → fullName → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act
Supreme Court affirmed reversal of conviction → involvesLaw → Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990, 18 U.S.C. § 922(q) ⓘ
this entity surface form: Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990