Council to mull 2nd Amendment resolution at Tuesday meeting

At Tuesday night’s council meeting, to be held at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 307 E. Fourth St., the council will revisit a resolution proposed by Mayor Shannon Thomason declaring “...our rights, our freedom and our liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America...” and demonstrating “... our determination to preserve the same for ourselves and future generations.” The resolution would go on to “...designate Big Spring, Texas, a Second Amendment Sanctuary in order to preserve for the people of, on, and in Big Spring, their rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America.”

The resolution was originally proposed at the previous City Council meeting held Sept. 25. The proposal appears to stem from a discussion held at the Sept. 10 meeting.

On Sept. 10, several city council members questioned Thomason about his decision to remove “30.06” and “30.07” signs from the City Council Chambers. The signs ban, respectively, concealed and open carry of firearms during city council meetings. Removing them effectively allows attendees at city council meetings to carry firearms either concealed or openly.

While the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that the right to bear arms is not an absolute right. In the majority opinion in 2008’s District of Columbia v. Heller, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote “Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions

and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”

Texas law allows city governments to prohibit carry of either concealed or openly carried firearms – or both – at open meetings such as city council meetings. Cities are also allowed to permit carry of firearms at city council meetings.

The discussion at the Sept. 10 meeting focused on perceptions of some members of the council that Mayor Thomason acted unilaterally without consulting the rest of the council in removing the signs. Thomason said that he contacted City Manager Todd Darden about the issue based on a complaint he had received regarding the signs.

Council Members Raul Marquez, Gloria McDonald and Camilla Strande each expressed concern at the Sept. 10 meeting regarding the possibility of a shooter attacking a council meeting, given recent shootings in El Paso and Odessa.

At the end of the discussion, the council decided to hold a workshop on the issue in the near future.

While the proposed resolution require any action on behalf of the city, its wording could be seen as contradictory to desires of the city council members who want to keep council meetings gun-free.

The proposal was tabled at the Sept. 25 meeting, and will be re-considered Tuesday evening.

In other business, the council will consider awarding a bid for polymer to Polydyne Inc. Polydyne was the only bidder on the material; three responses were received by the city, but two contained no bid. Polydyne’s bid is $53,300, up 3.29 percent from last year’s $51,600. According to a memo regarding the bid from Assistant City Manager John Medina to the mayor and city council, the increase is due to increases in production costs and transportation.

Medina also asked permission from the council to seek bids for various budgeted items, including four Chevy Tahoe police patrol vehicles; a Chevy Tahoe for the Fire Marshal; a Caterpillar backhoe for the Streets Department; another Caterpillar backhoe for the Water Treatment Plant; a zero-turn 72-inch mower for the Parks Department; another zero-turn 72-inch mower for the Cemetery; a mower without a tractor for the golf course; a trailer with compressor, a 3/4-ton truck and a Caterpillar excavator for the Distribution and Collection Department; a dump truck for the Landfill; and two sanitation trucks for the Sanitation Department. The council will also:

• Proclaim October to be Fire Prevention Month in Big Spring;

• Consider appointment of an Internal Auditor for the city;

• Consider on first reading a resolution designating nominees for the position of director on the Howard County Joint Tax Appraisal District Board of Directors for 2020 and 2021;

• Consider a request to seek grants for additional funding for renovations at the Comanche Trail Amphitheater;

• Consider an agreement with Enterprise FM for four vehicles for the Big Spring Police Department;

• Consider action on a financial advisory contract with SAMCO Capital;

• Consider a Master Interlocal Purchasing Agreement with North Texas Share;

• Consider an Interlocal Purchasing Agreement with Gabriel, Roeder, Smith and Co.

Contact Staff Writer Roger Cline at 432-263-7331 ext. 235, or by email at reporter@bigspringherald.com.