The SAF has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the defendant in a Montana case challenging the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act. The case is the United States of America v. Gabriel Cowan Metcalf.

Metcalf, a resident of Billings, Montana, lives across the street from an elementary school. He was charged under the federal Gun-Free School Zones Act after local police received reports of him carrying a firearm while patrolling his yard and neighborhood. Metcalf stated he was protecting himself and his mother from a stalker against whom she had a protection order. Montana law does not prohibit carrying firearms near schools.

“This case exemplifies the flaws of the ‘gun-free school zones’ law,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “While intended to address school shootings, the law unfairly disarms and legally jeopardizes law-abiding citizens who live or travel within arbitrarily designated 1,000-foot perimeters around schools. In many rural areas, schools are near essential community hubs, making this law unworkable and unconstitutional.”

SAF is joined in the brief by the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Second Amendment Law Center, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Defense and Education Coalition and Federal Firearms Licensees of Illinois.

SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut emphasized the broader issue, noting, “Buffer zone laws create accidental violations and make it nearly impossible for people to legally carry firearms in overlapping school zones. These restrictions are unconstitutional and erode fundamental Second Amendment rights.”

The Ninth Circuit’s decision could have nationwide implications for gun-free zone laws.