School Property on Weekends

Question
Our church, like many in the Valley, meet in a public school on Sundays for worship.  Would it be legal to carry concealed at that time?  In other words, is it only while children (attending the school) are present?  It seems a shame to even ask this question on carrying a weapon to church but with tragedies that have happened at churches I would consider it with permission from my pastor. Thank you.

Answer
Don,

As I understand the law, it does not differentiate between whether children are in attendance or not.  It simply states that firearms are not permitted on school grounds.  Since you are meeting on school property, it would be my opinion that firearms would not be legally permitted unless you have the written permission of the school administration.  They are the only ones who can OK firearms on campus for any reason.  Typically this permission would be granted for firearms used for educational purposes like a class or demonstration.

While I am not a lawyer and cannot provide you with definitive legal advice, my opinion would be that the law would not permit you to bring a firearm onto the school grounds unless it is unloaded, locked inside  your vehicle and hidden from view which is the only legal way your firearm can be on school property in Arizona.

The law, while well intentioned, essentially creates a 'gun free zone' in which criminals may operate freely without fear of encountering a legally armed citizen.  You see, criminals don't care about breaking the law, only law abiding citizens do.

Sorry that I don't have better news for you...

Regards,

Doug