I am a Delaware concealed carry permit holder and I’m trying to get accurate information regarding state law pertaining to possession of a firearm within a “school safe zone”. I believe I know what the answer to my question is but until I hear it from others and from people in positions of authority I’m not about to drive on a street that takes me within 1000 feet of school property.
I’ve reached out to my local police department with this question and they forwarded some text from law but I don’t believe they sent me comeplete text from Delaware code. They also said they “don’t offer opinions or advice” regarding things of this nature and recommended I contact the Attorney General’s office. So I contacted the AG’s office and got a circuitous response to what I thought would be a simple question requiring a YES/NO answer.
I told the AG’s office representative that I believe current law says that a concealed carry permit holder is NOT in violation of the law when driving by a school safe zone in a vehicle with a loaded firearm in a holster on-body and simply asked if I was correct, or incorrect. (As far as I can tell HB 201 was amended in 2023 and now states that a concealed carry permit holder in a vehicle is exempt from the safe school zone restrictions.)
Go to your local and state police, and local DA and Attorney General’s websites, there is typically information on them. Also, contact your local and state police, and local DA and Attorney General’s office. Any information you get here, may or may not be correct, we are not lawyers. Always verify what you read online, and the best source is from those that enforce and prosecute those laws. Advice from an attorney can’t hurt either.
Funny that you should be bringing that subject up. I have asked an number of local and state police in Md. and basically received the same reply… With all the laws currently on the books, I’m not really sure !! That kind of makes me wonder that there are entirely TOO many laws concerning firearms in general. at least in Maryland where we live.
As @Dave17 pointed out you need to consult your local listings and ideally consult with a lawyer with experience in firearms laws.
The Federal Gun Free School Zone Act has an exemption for licensed carriers. But I’m pretty sure it only applies if the State doesn’t have any restrictions against licensed carriers carrying in school zones. I have no experience with Delaware firearms laws so can’t offer any guidance on those.
Unfortunately State and Federal firearm laws are usually so poorly worded, convoluted and contradictory that even the DAs and AGs often can’t give you a straight answer. All these laws create a legal minefield for law abiding citizens trying to exercise their right to self defense while doing nothing to stop violent criminals. In many cases these laws just empower them.
I am no lawyer, but based on my ability to read the English language, it appears to me that I am correct in my belief that it would NOT be a crime to drive within 1000 feet of a school zone carrying concealed with a permit. But again, I want to hear it directly from someone who is an authority on this. As I mentioned I HAVE been contacting DSP, local police and the AG office but haven’t gotten the warm fuzzies yet about this.
I may just reach out to one of the USCCA-certified attorneys for Delaware and see if they’ll answer this question without having to actually pay them for their time.
It looks like time for youall to vote out the current leaders and vote for some honest person,s if possible I think most state laws are the same way very vague.
@DelMarvaDave It appears that in a safe school zone, a holder of a valid license to carry concealed is exempt as long as the firearm is in the vehicle and in a locked container (not on your person in a holster and loaded which that may be a violation that will get you in hot water with the DA in which that little information they don’t give you so they can make a case against you ). So be smart at these safe zones, “in the vehicle LOCKED in a CONTAINER ” Don’t give them the ammunition to use against you! DO NOT HAVE A LOADED FIREARM IN A HOLSTER ON YOUR PERSON INSIDE THE VEHICLE IN A SCHOOL SAFE ZONE!!!
The way I read it, the part about it being in a locked box is completely separate from the part that exempts a conceal-carry holder. In other words, it’s not saying that a concealed carry hold must have the firearm in a locked box.
Norman, I see what you’re saying and I was struggling with that too, but I actually think it’s saying the following:
A concealed carry permit holder can have the firearm concealed (on-body) OR in a locked box (if they choose) in the vehicle. This is in section c(4) in the code.
A person WITHOUT a concealed carry permit can have a firearm in a locked box but must be in a vehicle. This is in section d(2) in the code.
It sounds logical to me, but I can’t be positive.
Also, as I was looking at this code I noticed the definition of “school safe zone” in a(4) and it raises another question. It says a safe zone can be “any motor vehicle operated, leased, or rented by any public or private school including any kindergarten, elementary, secondary or vocational technical school”
Does that mean you can’t be within 1000 feet of a school bus, for example? If so, say you’re parked on the side of the road reading text messages with no CCW permit and a firearm on the seat next to you and a school bus drives past you - are you a criminal?
In Virginia that is true. The 1,000 ft rule is on public property. A person, CC holder or otherwise, can possess firearms on their own personal property within the 1,000 ft, CC or OC. I live within 1,000 ft of two schools. When that law passed, I was initially quite concerned, then I learned the nuances - I still don’t like and believe it is utterly stupid.
School property is a different animal. In Virginia, a CC holder can have a CC firearm on his/her person on school property - not in the school - but only when dropping off/picking-up one’s child. If you are not doing that and you are not a CC holder, you cannot have a firearm even in your vehicle, locked in a container or otherwise.
Firearm laws are meant to punish otherwise law-abiding citizens, as the rules can get quite Byzantine. Criminals don’t care what the laws are, hence “school GFZ” shootings and elsewhere.
). So be smart at these safe zones, 
“in the vehicle LOCKED in a CONTAINER 
” 
Don’t give them the ammunition to use against you!