HB1155ham010 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Rep. Naomi D. Jakobsson

Filed: 2/25/2013

09800HB1155ham010 LRB098 08475 MRW 41513 a

AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 1155

AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 1155, AS AMENDED, by inserting the following in its proper numeric sequence:

"Section 90. Firearm carry prohibition; community college; college; university.

(a) Nothing in this Act shall preempt, abridge, limit, or diminish the authority of community colleges, and public and private colleges and universities from prohibiting, restricting or otherwise regulating firearms on or in close proximity to their campuses, grounds and other property, including but not limited to sidewalks, commons, and highways, owned by the school district, community college, or public or private college or university or in buildings used in whole or in part for housing, classrooms, laboratories, medical clinics, hospitals, and artistic, athletic and entertainment venues; or on or in property owned, controlled or leased by officially recognized student organizations or officially recognized university-related organizations.

(b) Nothing in this Act shall preempt, abridge, limit or diminish the authority of community colleges, and public and private colleges and universities from prohibiting persons from carrying a firearm into a vehicle owned, leased or controlled by the school districts, community colleges, or public or private college or universities regardless of where the vehicle travels. School districts, community colleges, and public or private colleges or universities may develop resolutions, regulations, or policies regarding the storage and maintenance of firearms, including but not limited to designating areas where individuals may park vehicles that carry firearms. These resolutions, regulations, or policies may specify that persons in violation of the resolutions, regulations, or policies may be denied entrance to the campus, grounds, building, vehicles or other property and subjected to a civil fine of no more than $1,500 for any violation of the provisions of the resolution, regulation, or policy.

(c) Nothing in this Act shall preempt, abridge, limit, or diminish the authority of community colleges, and public or private colleges or universities from taking actions proscribed by their resolutions, regulations, or policies against violations of the resolutions, regulations, or policies, which may qualify as student, employee, or visitor misconduct and may result in discipline, including, but not limited to, expulsion from the school district, community college, or public or private college or university, termination of employment or appointment, or suspension or banning from the school district, community college, or public or private college or university campuses, grounds and other property.

(d) Nothing in this Act shall preempt, abridge, limit, or diminish the authority of community colleges, and public or private colleges and universities from permitting the carrying or use of firearms for the purposes of instruction and curriculum of officially recognized programs, such as military science programs. These programs shall be authorized by the chief executive officer of the community college, or public or private college or university or his or her designee.

(e) The United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (2008) has recognized that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution does not confer an unlimited right and that states may prohibit the carrying of firearms in sensitive places. The Supreme Court stated in the Heller decision: "Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment, nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings . . ." The Supreme Court also noted in a footnote referencing this statement in the Heller decision that: "We identify these presumptively lawful regulatory measures only as examples; our list does not purport to be exhaustive." This recognition was reiterated by the U. S. Supreme Court in McDonald v. the City of Chicago, 561 U.S. 3025, 130 S.Ct. 3020 (2010), which incorporated the Second Amendment against state action. The Supreme Court again stated: "We made it clear in Heller that our holding did not cast doubt on such longstanding regulatory measures as "prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill," "laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings . . . We repeat those assurances here." Further, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Moore v. Madigan, 702 F.3d. 933 (7th Cir., 2012) cited the "sensitive place" statement of the Supreme Court in both the Heller and McDonald decisions and concluded: "That a legislature can forbid the carrying of firearms in schools and government buildings means that any right to possess a gun for self-defense outside the home is not absolute, and it is not absolute by the Supreme Court's own terms." Therefore, the General Assembly finds that the place or location set forth in subsection (a) of this Section is a sensitive place and the prohibition on the carrying of firearms will promote public safety in this sensitive place.".