[bblatt11]

This is not legal advice. You are not paying me as your attorney and I am not advising you as your attorney. Scroll to the bottom for a summary of this post.

There is, to my knowledge, no case law clarifying this statute.

However, "other lawful purposes" in the context of the statute and as understood by Federal LEOs would likely include turning a firearm or other weapon over for evidence or with specific permission regarding that particular time, place, and manner (such as using a Federal firing range). That said, CCW, when legal in your state, may be in conjunction with a "lawful purpose."

However, you should also pay attention to:

<(g) As used in this section:
(1) The term "Federal facility" means a building or part
thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal
employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing
their official duties.


and


(h) Notice of the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) shall be
posted conspicuously at each public entrance to each Federal
facility, and notice of subsection (e) shall be posted
conspicuously at each public entrance to each Federal court
facility, and no person shall be convicted of an offense under
subsection (a) or (e) with respect to a Federal facility if such
notice is not so posted at such facility, unless such person had
actual notice of subsection (a) or (e), as the case may be.>

Basically, you can leave the firearm in the car. However, since you know of the statute, even if signs are not posted, you may be charged, with the caveat that since there is no case law, to the best of my knowledge, you might be able to successfully argue that CCW is in conjunction with a "lawful purpose."

Brickeyee - the CCW alone does not grant "lawful purpose," but if your purpose in the building is lawful, and the carriage of the firearm is lawful, the one may protect the other, since neither statute nor case law clarifies that carriage with a lawful purpose is not allowed. Technically, the first subsection prohibits general carriage, but for this statute, "lawful purpose" may be used as a positive defense, with the understanding that even so, subsection (h) may still trump.