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by GlockenHammer
Sun Aug 19, 2007 12:47 am
Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
Topic: Post Office Carry
Replies: 74
Views: 20606

TxFire wrote:Can a local LEO enforce this Federal Law? If so, are they likely to?
What they can do is detain you and contact the correct Federal authorities.

On the "$50 and up to 30 days in jail", be careful. Another Federal Agency with which I am familiar has similar language regarding the penalties for violating the regulations (CFR). However, in the criminal code (USC), there is a law against violating any regulation of that Agency and provides for up to 1 year in jail and a fine upwards of $1,000. If the PO has a similar entry in the USC, you could find yourself in some pretty hot water, especially if you drew the ire of the the Feds responsible for prosecuting your case (and/or they were very Liberal/anti-gun). Yet another reason to tread lightly around Uncle Sam.
by GlockenHammer
Mon Jul 30, 2007 9:06 pm
Forum: General Texas CHL Discussion
Topic: Post Office Carry
Replies: 74
Views: 20606

Charles L. Cotton wrote:I have no idea if "official purposes" has any history in case law, but my guess is that it applies to armed people (LEOs) on postal property for specifically for law enforcement purposes. Technically, this would not include a COP stopping to check his PO box, or to purchase stamps, but it would include a COP or postal inspector on the premises to investigate a crime, or to write a ticket in the post office parking lot.

Someone apparently pushed the issue about “other lawful purposes� in the United States Code and the Postal Service took steps to make it clear that “other lawful purposes� doesn’t include a CHL being armed on post office property.
I respect your opinion, but I still think that this is open for interpretation when it comes to CHL. Unless there is language somewhere that specifically speaks to LEO, I don't see an inherent difference between a State licensing a LEO to carry a weapon and licensing a judge, security guard or private citizen to carry a weapon. Of course, there is virtually no way to resolve this difference of opinion unless one can find official language referencing LEOs, etc. And no, I don't want to be the test case.

But this isn't just about guns. Keep in mind also folks that this regulation applies equally to your pocket knife with a blade longer than 2-1/2 inches (18 USC 930 definition). And since the Postal Regulation applies to the parking lot as well as the building, having a leatherman in your truck tool box is just as illegal as carrying your 1911 up to the front desk, so these minor details on interpretation can be important.

I wish that they would just come out and say what they mean instead of using this ambiguous language.

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