Article
Got guns?
The school shooting in Newtown, Conn., jump-started a renewed national conversation about gun control – and many urgent calls to action. Local lawmakers are entering the fray, though options are often limited because many states preempt local governments from regulating firearms.
Forty-two states have strong preemption laws that prohibit cities and counties from passing laws to regulate firearms. Only Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey are preemption exempt, while preemption laws in California and Nebraska allow some opportunity for broad regulation.
Despite state preemption, “a lot of positive change can start at the local level,” says Benjamin Van Houten, managing attorney at San Francisco’s Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. The center, which advises local governments about legislation, was founded in 1993 after an assault weapon shooting at a law firm ended with 10 people dead, including the shooter, and six wounded.
Cities that have recently addressed gun issues include Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed increasing jail time for failure to report when personal guns have been lost, stolen or sold. Meanwhile, Cook County, Ill., Board President Toni Preckwinkle has introduced an ordinance calling for a $1,000 fine for anyone who fails to report the loss, transfer or theft of a firearm within 48 hours.
In Kentucky, a new law gives gun owners the right to carry firearms openly in municipal-owned facilities, but local governments still have legal purview to ban concealed weapons, and Los Angeles recently moved to ban large-capacity ammunition magazines. It is currently illegal to buy or sell the magazines in Los Angeles, but perfectly legal to own them.
Van Houton points to California as an example of how local governments can impact firearms policies. Sacramento and Los Angeles have passed ammunition record-keeping requirements, and several like initiatives, spurred by adoption of local ordinances, have gone on to become state-wide issues. California currently regulates design safety standards for handguns, and cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Mateo and San Jose helped bring the issue to the forefront.
“Local ordinances are a good way for communities to show they are concerned about an issue, which sends a message to the state,” says Van Houton. “Local governments can also engage and educate the community about this issue and help people take a stand in the places where they live.”
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of more than 800 mayors, has endorsed President Obama’s gun-reform proposals. “We look forward to working with Congress to pass common sense legislation that will make our communities safer,” says the coalition’s co-chair, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Response to local attempts at regulation, however, has been mixed. Recently, when a San Jose resident submitted a proposed city ordinance to tighten control on assault weapons, the National Rifle Association (NRA) issued a letter warning the city not to pursue the law in light of state preemption laws. Many Republican-dominated states are also proposing rollbacks on gun control laws, arguing that stricter laws infringe on Second Amendment rights.
In Pennsylvania, a court drama may be brewing among local governments that have adopted ordinances on reporting lost or stolen firearms despite state preemptions barring local governments from regulating the lawful ownership, possession or transportation of firearms. The NRA has promoted a bill to strengthen preemption in Pennsylvania.
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence provides model laws as a starting point from which state and local legislation can be drafted, reviewed, debated and ultimately adopted. The Center’s “Model Laws for a Safer America” publication includes sample language for state and local laws. The publication, [available at smartgunlaws.org] also includes a discussion of common opposition arguments and legal issues.
Larry Anderson is a Georgia-based freelancer.
Another anti-gun nut writing
Another anti-gun nut writing about something that this magazine should stay out of before they lose all their readers.
I agree. I don’t need
I agree. I don’t need another biased source of “information” on any issue.
I have been a public servant
I have been a public servant in a municipal government agency my entire Public Safety career. I can assure every local government leader in our nation that if these leaders continue to set forth policies and ordinances that strangle their law abiding citizens from freely and responsibly owning and carrying firearms , then their communities will be completely at the mercy of the criminals who will have free rein to intensify their assaults, thiefs and killings of the innocent in their respective communities. Please wake up and allow good decent law abiding Americans be Americans!!!
I agree it is wrong to
I agree it is wrong to continue limiting law abiding citizens right to carry firearms and limit ammunition. Having retired from law enforcement with gunshot wounds and being a security consultant/business owner for more than twenty years, I have responded to the various states and cities that have limited CCW laws and how much ammo I can have loaded by advising my companies to avoid these locations. With more than thirty full time employees and about sixty consultants, this means our 25 to 30 seminars and training classes will not fill hotel rooms or spend any money in these cities and states. Since putting this policy in place, we have 11 familes cancelling vacation trips that were already planned and expect many more.
Crimializing law abiding
Crimializing law abiding citizens will not stop these acts of violence. How many drug dealers, gang bangers, or criminals will abide by a law? It was reported lastnight that 100K deaths happen each year as a result of infections from stays in hospitals, do we now outlaw hospitals? It’s just as rediculous as trying to re-write the guns laws to address the problem that People cause not the guns. There are already laws to outlaw drugs, do they actually help or do we still have a drug problem in our country? This knee jerk reaction is not the solution nor are guns the problem. There is a people problem that needs to be addressed, lact of respect seems to lie at the corner stone of the issue. Address the proble where it starts at home, in schools, etc.
This article reports actions
This article reports actions being taken at the local level regarding a hot-button issue. It neither supports nor objects to actions taken. The choice as to whether gun laws should be made more or less strict is under your purview, as policy makers.
That’s not really true. The
That’s not really true. The article is biased against one political party. It is biased in favor of more gun legislation. It offers quotes from gun control advocates, but no quotes from those who advocate less gun control, or who would say that there is sufficient gun control already in place in most states.
If it were a balanced report on the topic, the political affiliations would be equally identified. There would be content on the legilsative changes that favor less gun control just as there is a link to a change that offers more gun control. There would be quotes from both sides of the issues.
I’m not going to go so far as to cite AC&C as the “liberal media,” but if you want to be regarded as a source for objective reporting on this issue, be objective, and cover both sides of the story with equal attention. I think that’s all any of us want as readers.
This article is anti-gun
This article is anti-gun biased, period. No debate
Unfortunately, Erin, your
Unfortunately, Erin, your comment is not true. Read the sources and the article again with an open mind. This is a firearms illiterate writer who went to all the pro-gun control people for his “facts”. And he says that the anti-gun law group is a great source for laws concerning firearms!!! I submit to you that the writer is guilty as charged and all you are doing is aiding and abetting him!
“The choice as to whether gun
“The choice as to whether gun laws should be made more or less strict is under your purview, as policy makers.” WRONG. The Constitution limits what government can and cannot do. Federal, State and Local Governments would be wise to remember that before they implement laws and ordinances that infringe upon Constitutional Rights of law abiding citizens. The oath of office requires it. And, I’ll go so far as to cite AC&C as liberally biased, and your reporting frequently reflects that bias. Stay neutral and report facts from everywhere, not just the knee-jerk, reactionary, liberally biased cities and counties where you like their political activities.
It is clear that our
It is clear that our governmental bodies care little about crime, for they only pass laws to hogtie law-abiding citizens. The issue is not gun control, it is people control. This onslaught of knee-jerk legislation in towns like Westford, Ma, in states like MA and NY, will only develop a culture of defiance rather than compliance. Our government wishes to make it citizens criminals by decree.
This is a blatant attempt to
This is a blatant attempt to convince the local governments to enact their own gun control laws. Better to risk getting local officials voted out than to risk Democrat Senators. Problem is stories like every Sheriff in Florida is against Gun Bans and Universal Registration. I wonder how much of this was written by the Author and how much was fed to him by the Gun Control Lobby.
Another article by a firearms
Another article by a firearms illiterate writer. That’s just what we need, isn’t it? More gun laws to be ignored by the criminals who feed on the law abiding. Another round of “anti-assault rifle” bullhockey by people who couldn’t identify an assault rifle if they had to!! England has practically outlawed all private ownership of firearms and their violent crime rate is , I believe, first in Europe. Taking firearms from the law abiding only accelerates the confidence of the lawless.
Our city recently passed an
Our city recently passed an ordinance allowing staff to carry concealed while on any city property. Once the new wears off this, I plan to move forward with my plan to eliminate an ordinance prohibiting anyone from carrying open or concealed on city property.
Rick – Is your city located
Rick – Is your city located in Kentucky (linked in the article above)? If so, I’d invite you to comment on that previously-run piece as well. If not, could you please identify your city in the event AC&C pursues a follow up?
There are always negative
There are always negative articles concerning guns never any positive articles where a gun was used to save a life from a dangerous criminal. The only place I can read about the positive actions of gun owners is in the American Rifleman or the Armed Citizen reports. Try investigating both sides where a law abiding gun owner who has a carry permit has stopped a crime. I don’t want my fellow councilmen to have a say in limiting how I choose to defend my home and family
One sided article there, Mr.
One sided article there, Mr. Larry Anderson. How about a little balance Am City & County? The FBI’s own reports show that the mis-labeled “assault weapons” are not the problem. How about a quote from Larry Pratt or David Codrea? I do not find the 2A difficult to understand.
ML27
This issue should be seen
This issue should be seen seriously. I don’t know from where these students got guns. The police force should be more alert about this issue. I would say that this is a great post of a great person, I’m pleased to see this.
With articles like these, I
With articles like these, I am slowly but surely getting ready to discontinue subscribing to AC&C. This isn’t good journalism. Where are quotes from the other side?
Spoons make people fat,
Spoons make people fat, pencils cause typo’s. A firearm is a tool, when you need it, you better have it. IMO, using a Bloomberg funded source as an authority taints the article and casts doubt on the objectivity of the writer.