Gunreference1
07-27-2010, 08:55 AM
Raymore gun issue will be on Nov. 2 ballot
By DONALD BRADLEY
The Kansas City Star
Raymore’s politicians have argued since last winter about whether City Council members should be allowed to carry concealed weapons at meetings.
On Nov. 2, the people will get their say.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, a petition with more than 1,600 signatures was presented to take the issue out of the council’s hands and put it to a vote of the people.
If the proposed charter amendment passes, it will undo an ordinance the council passed this spring allowing members to come armed to meetings.
State law demands that the council approve putting the question on the ballot because the petition met its legal requirements. So the council did, unanimously.
“City Hall is a forum where debate and an exchange of ideas should occur in a cordial and safe setting,” petition organizer Monique Lewis told the meeting. “How many residents will avoid coming to this podium because they don’t feel safe here?”
The petition drew nearly 400 more signatures than required. The issue, Lewis said, should be decided by the people, not the council.
The petition is the result of a broad-based coalition of both non-gun owners and permit-carrying owners coming together to give the people the right to exercise their vote in November, she said.
But that doesn’t mean the politicians will stay out of the debate. Councilman Jeff Adams has called the petition challenge an “abortion.” He said that it restricted Second Amendment rights and that organizers misled signers.
He and Councilman Dutch Becker, a former gun store operator, attacked the petition because it did not specify that the prohibition of concealed weapons did not apply to police officers.
“This would disarm the police,” Adams said.
Raymore Police Chief Kris Turnbow, who was called to the podium, didn’t see it that way. He pointed out that uniformed officers wear firearms in a belt holster, not concealed. The proposal should not interfere with police duty, Turnbow told the meeting.
Lewis said excluding police officers was not a mistake.
“They wear their guns on the outside — that’s what police do,” she said.
Becker also made the point that the election would cost the city $25,000.
Lewis is a former council member who lost her seat in April. It is widely thought that her position on guns contributed to her defeat.
Councilman Jeff Cox sponsored the original ordinance in January.
His motivation was what has been called the “city hall massacre” in Kirkwood, Mo. On Feb. 7, 2008, a gunman barged into a council meeting and fatally shot six people, including the mayor, two council members and two police officers.
Cox’s proposal, in addition to allowing council members to come armed to meetings, would let citizens carry guns into City Hall at all times except during council meetings. State law prohibits that act, but part of Cox’s plan is to seek permission from the Missouri General Assembly to allow an individual city to decide the issue on its own.
The package would allow any person age 21 and over to transport a firearm in his or her vehicle as long as it is legally possessed, even if that person does not have a conceal and carry permit.
When Cox, an attorney, first proposed the package, it passed 6-2. At a later meeting, it slipped to 5-3. Mayor Juan Alonzo vetoed the measure, and the council could not override it.
The mayor’s action fired up the pro-gun crowd. Two of the “no” votes, including Lewis, were defeated in the April election. Alonzo survived, but the new council overrode a second veto.
To reach Donald Bradley, call 816-234-4182 or send e-mail to dbradley@kcstar.com.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/26/2109629/raymore-gun-issue-will-be-on-nov.html
Steve
By DONALD BRADLEY
The Kansas City Star
Raymore’s politicians have argued since last winter about whether City Council members should be allowed to carry concealed weapons at meetings.
On Nov. 2, the people will get their say.
At Monday’s City Council meeting, a petition with more than 1,600 signatures was presented to take the issue out of the council’s hands and put it to a vote of the people.
If the proposed charter amendment passes, it will undo an ordinance the council passed this spring allowing members to come armed to meetings.
State law demands that the council approve putting the question on the ballot because the petition met its legal requirements. So the council did, unanimously.
“City Hall is a forum where debate and an exchange of ideas should occur in a cordial and safe setting,” petition organizer Monique Lewis told the meeting. “How many residents will avoid coming to this podium because they don’t feel safe here?”
The petition drew nearly 400 more signatures than required. The issue, Lewis said, should be decided by the people, not the council.
The petition is the result of a broad-based coalition of both non-gun owners and permit-carrying owners coming together to give the people the right to exercise their vote in November, she said.
But that doesn’t mean the politicians will stay out of the debate. Councilman Jeff Adams has called the petition challenge an “abortion.” He said that it restricted Second Amendment rights and that organizers misled signers.
He and Councilman Dutch Becker, a former gun store operator, attacked the petition because it did not specify that the prohibition of concealed weapons did not apply to police officers.
“This would disarm the police,” Adams said.
Raymore Police Chief Kris Turnbow, who was called to the podium, didn’t see it that way. He pointed out that uniformed officers wear firearms in a belt holster, not concealed. The proposal should not interfere with police duty, Turnbow told the meeting.
Lewis said excluding police officers was not a mistake.
“They wear their guns on the outside — that’s what police do,” she said.
Becker also made the point that the election would cost the city $25,000.
Lewis is a former council member who lost her seat in April. It is widely thought that her position on guns contributed to her defeat.
Councilman Jeff Cox sponsored the original ordinance in January.
His motivation was what has been called the “city hall massacre” in Kirkwood, Mo. On Feb. 7, 2008, a gunman barged into a council meeting and fatally shot six people, including the mayor, two council members and two police officers.
Cox’s proposal, in addition to allowing council members to come armed to meetings, would let citizens carry guns into City Hall at all times except during council meetings. State law prohibits that act, but part of Cox’s plan is to seek permission from the Missouri General Assembly to allow an individual city to decide the issue on its own.
The package would allow any person age 21 and over to transport a firearm in his or her vehicle as long as it is legally possessed, even if that person does not have a conceal and carry permit.
When Cox, an attorney, first proposed the package, it passed 6-2. At a later meeting, it slipped to 5-3. Mayor Juan Alonzo vetoed the measure, and the council could not override it.
The mayor’s action fired up the pro-gun crowd. Two of the “no” votes, including Lewis, were defeated in the April election. Alonzo survived, but the new council overrode a second veto.
To reach Donald Bradley, call 816-234-4182 or send e-mail to dbradley@kcstar.com.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/26/2109629/raymore-gun-issue-will-be-on-nov.html
Steve