New York made most of NYC a prohibited place.
New Jersey decided to make most of the state a prohibited place.
Delaware is making gotcha prohibited places by secretly turning legal places into prohibited places without warning.
This update to the Delaware Criminal Code:
§ 1457. Possession of a weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone; class D, E, or F felony; class A or B misdemeanor.
(a) Any person who commits any of the offenses described in subsection (b) of this section, or any juvenile who possesses a firearm or other deadly weapon, and does so while in or on a “Safe School and Recreation Zone” shall be guilty of the crime of possession of a weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone.
(c) For the purpose of this section, “Safe School and Recreation Zone” shall mean:
(1) Any building, structure, athletic field, sports stadium or real property owned, operated, leased or rented by any public or private school including, but not limited to, any kindergarten, elementary, secondary or vocational-technical school or any college or university, within 1,000 feet thereof; or
(2) Any motor vehicle owned, operated, leased or rented by any public or private school including, but not limited to, any kindergarten, elementary, secondary, or vocational-technical school or any college or university; or
(3) Any building or structure owned, operated, leased or rented by any county or municipality, or by the State, or by any board, agency, commission, department, corporation or other entity thereof, or by any private organization, which is utilized as a recreation center, athletic field or sports stadium.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude or otherwise limit a prosecution of or conviction for a violation of this chapter or any other provision of law. A person may be convicted both of the crime of possession of a weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone and of the underlying offense as defined elsewhere by the laws of the State.
(e) It shall not be a defense to a prosecution for a violation of this section that the person was unaware that the prohibited conduct took place on or in a Safe School and Recreation Zone.
(f) It shall be an affirmative defense to a prosecution for a violation of this section that the weapon was possessed pursuant to an authorized course of school instruction, or for the purpose of engaging in any school-authorized sporting or recreational activity. The affirmative defense established in this section shall be proved by a preponderance of the evidence. Nothing herein shall be construed to establish an affirmative defense with respect to a prosecution for any offense defined in any other section of this chapter.
If a public or private school rents a space, with no establishment of how temporary that rental agreement may be, be it a pavilion, a pool, a restaurant, etc., it becomes a prohibited place.
You don’t even have to know it was temporarily rented by a school, you’re in violation of the law. The law specifically says not knowing is not a defense.
Non-prohibited places can become prohibited places without warning and if your accidentally get caught in one, you’re now a felon.
This, to me, is the most unconstitutional violation yet.
Other prohibited places are stagnant, but this just creates legal landmines.
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This one bothers me as well. This means that if the town rents any number of places, those places become “sensitive” locations for the rest of eternity. I can easily see some towns renting different locations to have “sporting events” that turn that location “sensative”
Scum racing to the depths of the sewers. MF-ers.
“The law specifically says not knowing is not a defense.”
IANAL warning in full effect, but most criminal statutes have the word “knowingly” somehow involved before you become a criminal.
That would certainly should be a test of reasonableness here.
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Stealing, rape, murder… those criminal statutes do not need to have the word “knowingly” associated because pretty much everyone knows those are crimes. No reasonable person would think murdering someone is legal.
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Trespassing does have “knowingly” associated with it (in my experience) because someone may not realize they crossed an invisible line and is in an area illegally.
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Now, if the school was required to post signage stating that weapons are prohibited, that would mean anyone choosing to pass that sign while carrying a weapon would reasonably know it was not allowed.
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However, the “for all eternity” is a HUGE problem. When the event is over, the sensitive place designation must end as well.
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I think this one, if enacted, will fail the first time it is tried.
IL passed a law stating you could only file constitutional challenges in the courts of Chicago or the capitol due to ‘venue shopping’. Both 100% Dem run. The irony of course escaped them.
I think the irony did not escape them, so much as being the entire point of the exercise.