Norwalk considering ban on guns in city facilities

NORWALK — The Common Council is considering banning guns in all city facilities.

The proposed rule came about when the council’s Ordinance Committee was working on clarifying an amendment regarding waterfowl hunting after state Sen. Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, and Mayor Harry Rilling declared a hunting moratorium to allow an assessment on the area, following complaints about people hunting in city parks.

Ordinance Committee Chairwoman Lisa Shanahan said the group decided to look at other gun-related regulations at the same time and found there was already signage at City Hall indicating guns aren’t allowed, but no corresponding ordinance.

Creating a specific ordinance on the topic would give the city authority to post signs and ban guns from all city facilities. In proposing the ordinance, the city consulted with City Hall departments, who said their employees are already not allowed to bring guns into the workplace.

Under Connecticut law, individual property owners can decide whether or not guns can be allowed on their land, which Shanahan said gives the city the right to ban guns on their property as well. The committee is also working with the state on the wording to make sure both proposed changes don’t infringe on any state laws.

The statute would apply to city “owned or leased property or facility, including any park, beach or any other recreational property or facility.” It does not apply to streets, parking lots or sidewalks.

“In our view, it’s a workplace

safety rule,” Shanahan said. “We really feel as though most permitted gun holders are people who are law abiders. They’re conscious what the rules are and we feel confident once people realize what purpose is, it’ll be understood as that.”

Shanahan added the Ordinance Committee found most towns in Connecticut don’t allow guns on town recreational properties and many also ban them from city facilities. Anyone found with a gun would be asked to leave the premises.

The Connecticut Citizens Defense League did not respond to requests for comment on the proposal.

Norwalk Police Lt. Jared Zwickler said over the last several years, there haven’t been complaints about people with guns at city facilities.

Shanahan said the committee is also updating its ordinance to clarify how guns can be safely transported out to boats for residents to go waterfowl hunting.

The police department said it has received seven complaints over the last five years about hunting at Calf Pasture Beach. In four of these cases, the hunters were compliant with the law and three of the complaints were unfounded or the hunters had left the area, said Zwickler, but it prompted a moratorium on hunting in the area while DEEP investigated.

“When people hear gunshots, they find it disconcerting, especially when it’s close to a park,” Shanahan said. “There’s been concerns about people discharging weapons.”

“We’re not trying to deny hunters whatsoever,” she added. “We want to make it clear this is how you get your guns to your boat. ...We’re not taking away their guns.”

Norwalk already has strict hunting regulations in place, which only allows licensed waterfowls hunters to partake in their sport when they are outside a 250-foot radius from the high-tide mark or on land along the coastline where they have the owner’s permission to hunt.

At a previous meeting of the Ordinance Committee, Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik said there aren’t many complaints about hunting and when there are, the hunters tend to be in compliance.

“Hunting is primarily on the coast and there’s already all sorts of different rules and regulations which regulate hunting,” Ordinance Committee member Tom Keegan said. “What the Ordinance Committee was hoping to do is identify what hunters could and couldn’t do in relations to (public) parks.”

The committee is planning to discuss the issue at its next meeting on Nov. 17, though Keegan said it’s unclear whether they will vote on the issue then. Concerns were raised during their last discussion about how the ban could affect law-abiding citizens carrying guns, as well as off-duty police officers.

Keegan said he was already against the proposal given his thoughts on the Second Amendment and the fact that there haven’t been instances with firearms in city buildings that required police intervention.

“This is a solution looking for a problem,” he said. “Based upon the data that exists, there is not an issue . ... Do you really think a sign that says firearms not allowed is going to stop someone intent on hurting someone else?”