Questions:
1. Does a school safety zone extend 1,000 feet beyond the real property of the school? I’ve seen couple of Google searches that reference this type of boundary, but nothing conclusive.

2. Does a school safety zone include a portion of road (i.e. highway) that is designated as school zone?

For Georgia law there is no longer a 1,000 foot zone. The federal law has the 1,000 foot zone, but has many exceptions.

A public road would not normally fall into the Georgia off-limits area of a K-12 school. For a college campus, my reading of the law is that it includes everything within the legal campus boundaries, and that would include streets.

 

Thanks, cpeliot. Your answers are very helpful.

I just googled the "Gun-Free School Zones Act" and found the following. Very helpful and very disturbing:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_S ... ct_of_1990

According to this article, if you have been issued a license to carry by the state in which the school zone is located, then it is OK for you to carry within the 1,000 ft boundary.

The Gun Free School Zones Act states:[6]

(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a firearmâ€"

(i) on private property not part of school grounds;

(ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license;

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However, if you have not been issued a license to carry by the state in which the school zone is located, then you cannot carry within the 1,000 ft boundary. If you hold a license from a reciprocating state, but do not hold a license that has been issued by the state in which the school zone is located, then you are in violation of the federal 1,000 ft boundary, and you will lose your right to own firearms for the rest of your life.

Reciprocity Agreements Between States Do Not Qualify as GFSZA Exception
Although the Federal GFSZA does provide an exception for an individual licensed to carry a firearm,[7] this exception only applies in the State that physically issued the permit.[2][13][16][17] Forty-eight (48) States have provisions to issue concealed carry permits to citizens.[18] Most of these States also enter into reciprocity agreements with other States where each State agrees to recognize the other's concealed carry permits, just as they recognize an out-of-state driver's license.[18] Because the Federal GFSZA requires the permit be issued by the State in which the school zone is in, it is effectively impossible for a permit holder to travel outside their State of issuance to a reciprocating State without violating the Federal GFSZA.

 

There are two issues here, Georgia law and federal law.

Georgia law bans carrying guns on K-12 property and colleges/universities. There used to be a 1000 ft. zone around them but that has been changed (the law you cited is outdated). Now the Georgia school zone law bans guns on school property. With a GWCL it is a misdemeanor, without one it is a state felony.

Then you have federal law. Federal law bans guns within 1000 feet of K-12 schools. It is a federal felony. However, if you have a carry permit issued by the state the school zone is in, you are exempt from the federal law. So for Georgia if you have a GWCL, you are exempt from the federal school zones in Georgia. Reciprocity doesn't cover you.

 

So, based on this and after a little bit of thought; that means every military person with an out of state permit cannot legally carry anywhere. I have been to Savannah and of course here in Columbus, there are many K-12 schools around Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg and in Virginia Beach and Norfolk and Ft. Stewart and Ft. Jackson and many other bases.

 

I don't know if the legislators intended to include public streets that run through a college campus under the gun ban, but that seems to be how they wrote it. So even though the 1000-foot rule is gone from Georgia law and people can drive up I-75/85 past Georgia Tech and Georgia State property, if you get off the highway and start driving the little side streets, you could easily end up driving through a university campus on your way somewhere else, never intending to stop at the college at all.

 

I don't believe the 1,000 foot zone applies to GWL holders driving through zones. It also does not apply to GWL holders dropping off or picking up children at the school. I carry every time I need to sign my granddaughter out early. I believe I'm well within the limits of the law, and my CLEO agrees. That's what counts!

Military carriers, who carry on their ID alone, need to beware. Without a GWL, on school property, they are apt to be charged. If they have a GWL, I would hope they enjoy carrying while they enjoy a basketball game, a football game, or the cheerleaders tryouts!