Firearm Laws: Zero Tolerance Laws for Firearms in Schools
Task Force Finding*
Laws such as the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 require that participating schools expel for ≥1 year students identified as carrying a firearm in school. Laws that stipulate zero tolerance of firearms in schools might reduce school violence by removing potentially violent students, and by deterring the carrying of guns in schools.
We found no study assessing the effects of zero tolerance laws on violence in schools.
*From the following publication:
Task Force on Community Preventive Services. Recommendations to reduce violence through early childhood home visitation, therapeutic foster care, and firearms laws. 
[PDF - 71KB] Am J Prev Med 2005;28(2S1):6-10.
Review completed: October 2001
- Page last reviewed: February 7, 2011
- Page last updated: September 29, 2010
- Content source: The Guide to Community Preventive Services
