City Council refines local gun ordinance
The Lafayette City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the city’s firearm ordinance to explicitly define buildings and spaces where firearms are prohibited under the ordinance, while exempting highly qualified retired law enforcement officers from the prohibition.
In June, the council adopted an ordinance prohibiting the possession of firearms in “buildings and areas under control of the city.” Two days after adopting that ordinance, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on a New York state case regarding prohibition of firearms in “sensitive places.”
The ordinance passed Tuesday night revised the definition of sensitive places, excludes private property within a 500-foot polling place buffer, and clarifies that private security guards carrying a firearm must be on-duty.
The revisions also clarify that the prohibition does not apply to city rights-of-way, such as roadways, dedicated trails, and “all other areas reserved for use by the public, as a matter of right, for the purpose of vehicular or pedestrian travel.”
The revised ordinance clarified where firearms are still prohibited, including public parks and playgrounds owned or managed by the city, city recreation centers and golf courses, within 500 feet of polling place on election day or place where official ballot counting is conducted.
In August, city staff recommended that the council consider an amendment to add an explicit amendment for “qualified retired law enforcement officers.”
City attorney Mary Lynn Macsalka said the police department brought a federal statute protecting retired officers to carry concealed weapons to her attention.
The federal statute has stringent requirements that retired officers must meet, including an annual qualification process, and having more than 10 years of service in law enforcement.
The council and city attorney discussed whether the federal statute preempted the local statutes. Councilmember Tim Barnes expressed discomfort in the lack of clarity in whether the language preempted federal statutes.
“On the advice of the police chief, we’re recommending the amendment because it would make it explicit in our local codes that these individuals are permitted to carry firearms in the otherwise prohibited locations,” explained Macsalka. “We’re bringing this to you not to complicate things, but to accomplish the purpose of the federal statue within our firearms ordinance.”
After vetting other alternatives to the ordinance’s language, Councilmember Stephanie Walton moved the vote forward.
“If there is interest for this community to have highly trained, highly qualified individuals who are meeting all of those requirements, who are coming in on an annual basis to be certified by the Lafayette Police Department, then in this case we are comfortable with them concealed carrying in all city buildings and sensitive public parks,” Walton said. “So, let’s move forward with the proposed measure.”