WHAT PASSED AS PART OF THE KOHL LAW?
The Kohl law, which was passed as section 657 of the Treasury-Postal portion of the omnibus appropriations bill, signed into law on September 30, 1996, sets up a circle with a 2,000 foot diameter (minimum) around every American school. Within that circle, with limited exceptions, guns are banned. Specifically, the Kohl language imposes a prison sentence of up to five years for a person who “knowingly possess[es] a firearm … at a place that the individual knows or has reason to believe is a school zone…” The five year sentence could not run concurrently with any other sentence. Furthermore, 18 U.S.C. 921 defines “school zone” to be any place “in or on the grounds of a public, parochial, or private school or within a distance of 1,000 feet of a public, parochial, or private school…” A “school” is a place which “provides elementary or secondary education as determined under state law.” Exceptions would apply if (1) the firearm were possessed on private property not part of school gr