Gun proposal ready for council
MOSCOW, Idaho – A city administrative committee has finished reviewing a proposal to ask state lawmakers to let cities restrict guns in certain areas.
The next step is for the resolution to be viewed by the City Council, which is expected to do so before the end of the year. If approved by the council, city officials want to have the resolution introduced as a bill in the 2008 Legislature.
The resolution reviewed by the committee Monday states that “the city believes that the right to bear arms should be secondary to the right of all citizens to be granted free and full access to the public process, to government, and to public facilities and spaces.”
Mayor Nancy Chaney has sought restrictions since a gunman went on a rampage in May, killing three people and wounding three others before killing himself.
She has said that some people might be afraid to speak openly at public meetings knowing others in attendance are carrying guns. She said she’s not seeking a citywide gun ban, only the ability to restrict weapons in such places as City Hall.
Council members Kit Craine and Tom Lamar agree with Chaney that there is no reason to carry a weapon in City Hall, city buildings, parks and youth recreation sites.
“Whether or not the state Legislature acts on it – I think it would be unfortunate if they didn’t,” Lamar said.
City Attorney Randy Fife told the Lewiston Tribune that the resolution is designed to begin a discussion at the state level about letting cities restrict guns. An earlier attempt by Moscow to limit firearms failed when the attorney general’s office ruled the city didn’t have authority to restrict guns on city property.
Idaho law states that no city or county “may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession or transportation of firearms when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of the state of Idaho.”
It is legal in the state to carry an exposed firearm in public, and a concealed weapon with the proper permit.
Moscow resident David Klingenberg, who said he has a concealed weapons permit and carries a firearm, is against the resolution.
“The net effect of this is that you’re going to reduce public safety,” Klingenberg said. “By trying to bring a gun ban to these facilities in the city, you’re just aggravating the problem. You’re making another place for people to come and commit mass murder.”