Police Stations
Police stations and any office designated for law enforcement is considered a “gun free zone” for concealed carriers. You’re not allowed to transport, carry, or possess a firearm on your person.
Jails & Prisons
Any facility designated a detention facility – whether it be a jail or holding cell or a federal or state penitentiary – is off limits for concealed carriers.
Courthouses
Federal and state courthouses are generally off-limits for concealed carriers. While some states have toyed with allowing concealed carry for employees, citizens are generally prohibited.
Polling Places
Any place where people gather to submit ballots for election is (in most cases) off limits to civilians with firearms. Many polling stations are located on school zones or other federal or state-designed gun free zones, so it’s not a stretch to say that there’s more than one law stipulating carrying firearms is prohibited.
School Zones*
Any location designated by the state as an elementary or secondary education facility may be designated a school zone. The protection of that school zone falls under federal and state jurisdiction.
*Exceptions may occur as provided by state law. Check with your state’s laws governing the process of traveling through and into the 1,000 foot radius of a school zone with a loaded concealed carry handgun.
Secure Areas of Airports
After the TSA security checkpoint, it is expressly forbidden to have a concealed carry handgun unless under some extremely special permission usually granted only to law enforcement or security personnel.
Military Bases
Military bases are governed under the Department of Defense. If you want to carry your firearm onto a military base, you will have to get the base commander’s explicit permission to do so prior to attempting to enter the base. Each base may have different rules and procedures. In general, concealed carriers are expressly forbidden from attempting to gain access to a DoD facility without prior consent of the commander.
Amtrak Trains
You can book your concealed carry handgun as baggage so long as you follow Amtrak’s procedure. It is not possible to carry your handgun on your person on an Amtrak train.
Post Office
The U.S. Post Office is considered a federal building. As such, people are not allowed to carry their concealed handguns on them while inside the premises.
There’s More!
- Employers’ premises can be considered gun free zones by either policy or through protection by state law.
- Any owner or lessee of private property make designate that space to be gun free. Violation of this can lead to charges like trespassing or similar.
- Federally-owned buildings are largely considered to be gun free zones as they are under federal jurisdiction. These buildings are usually clearly labelled with the ubiquitous bar through a generic gun or, ideally, the specific federal statute being enforced.
- States will designate areas like hospitals, university campuses, and other facilities to be “gun free”. These designations are backed by the full weight of the law and change from state-to-state.
- Establishments that serve alcohol are generally off limits to concealed carriers, unless state law says otherwise.
In conclusion, there are a lot of places that are off-limits to law-abiding concealed carriers. In these instances, it’s considered best to lock up your firearm in a secure container within your vehicle. If you’re ever unsure about the status (gun free vs. pro-gun), consult with management and look for signs designating both the gun-free zone and hopefully the actual statute enforcing that designation.
