In order to participate in the GunBroker Member forums, you must be logged in with your GunBroker.com account. Click the sign-in button at the top right of the forums page to get connected.
FL.-Activists, City Council wrangle over gun issue
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Activists, City Council wrangle over gun issueIt all started when a Zephyrhills official said employees could not carry weapons onto city property. By BRADY DENNISc St. Petersburg Times,published November 28, 2001
ZEPHYRHILLS -- Guns at work? No guns at work? It seems simple enough to choose one. But in Zephyrhills, the debate over the city's policy has battle lines firmly drawn. For the second time in as many months, supporters of each side of the argument lined up for battle at City Hall. And again, it ended in a draw. The argument began when City Manager Steve Spina drafted a new section into the city's employee and policy procedure manual forbidding employees from carrying weapons onto city property. The provision drew gun rights advocates and gun control advocates alike to an Oct. 22 meeting. After a long discussion, the council postponed the item at that meeting so Spina could get a letter from a lawyer saying the weapons policy is legal. Even after he did that, unsatisfied protesters showed up in droves again Monday. "I maintain that this proposal is illegal," said Ann Bunting, a Hudson resident and Republican activist. "The best way employees can remain safe is to be able to defend themselves." Spina and City Attorney Tom McAlvanah defended the provision, arguing that the city is well within its rights to decide whether employees can bring guns to work. "We restrict smoking in the building; we restrict alcohol," Spina said. "I feel that if employees don't want to meet those conditions, they don't have to work here. "We're not telling anybody they can't have a gun. We're telling you that if you work for the city, you can't bring the gun to work. That's all." The discussion, like the one in October, quickly deteriorated into a near-shouting match. It made the already hot council chambers, which were without air conditioning, seem even hotter. "Personally, I feel that people who are going to commit these crimes are not going to care if this (provision) is in here or not," said council President Cathi Compton. "But yet it will put the employee at risk by not having himself protected." Spina replied quickly: "Do you want a gunfight in City Hall? That's what you will end up with." "Well, I just really don't believe that," Compton said. Council member Mike Bussell asked the council to postpone the vote once again, saying, "I still have not been able to read through the whole thing and comprehend what is here." The comment seemed to frustrate City Council member Elizabeth Geiger. "I don't know why he hasn't had time to read it," Geiger said. "We've had it since who knows when. This and the insurance were the only controversial parts." Council members were given an initial draft of the manual in August. Ultimately, the four council members in attendance voted unanimously to delay the item until the Dec. 10 meeting. In other council news, members unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to create a local historic district in the downtown area http://www.sptimes.com/News/112801/Pasco/Activists__City_Counc.shtml
ZEPHYRHILLS -- Guns at work? No guns at work? It seems simple enough to choose one. But in Zephyrhills, the debate over the city's policy has battle lines firmly drawn. For the second time in as many months, supporters of each side of the argument lined up for battle at City Hall. And again, it ended in a draw. The argument began when City Manager Steve Spina drafted a new section into the city's employee and policy procedure manual forbidding employees from carrying weapons onto city property. The provision drew gun rights advocates and gun control advocates alike to an Oct. 22 meeting. After a long discussion, the council postponed the item at that meeting so Spina could get a letter from a lawyer saying the weapons policy is legal. Even after he did that, unsatisfied protesters showed up in droves again Monday. "I maintain that this proposal is illegal," said Ann Bunting, a Hudson resident and Republican activist. "The best way employees can remain safe is to be able to defend themselves." Spina and City Attorney Tom McAlvanah defended the provision, arguing that the city is well within its rights to decide whether employees can bring guns to work. "We restrict smoking in the building; we restrict alcohol," Spina said. "I feel that if employees don't want to meet those conditions, they don't have to work here. "We're not telling anybody they can't have a gun. We're telling you that if you work for the city, you can't bring the gun to work. That's all." The discussion, like the one in October, quickly deteriorated into a near-shouting match. It made the already hot council chambers, which were without air conditioning, seem even hotter. "Personally, I feel that people who are going to commit these crimes are not going to care if this (provision) is in here or not," said council President Cathi Compton. "But yet it will put the employee at risk by not having himself protected." Spina replied quickly: "Do you want a gunfight in City Hall? That's what you will end up with." "Well, I just really don't believe that," Compton said. Council member Mike Bussell asked the council to postpone the vote once again, saying, "I still have not been able to read through the whole thing and comprehend what is here." The comment seemed to frustrate City Council member Elizabeth Geiger. "I don't know why he hasn't had time to read it," Geiger said. "We've had it since who knows when. This and the insurance were the only controversial parts." Council members were given an initial draft of the manual in August. Ultimately, the four council members in attendance voted unanimously to delay the item until the Dec. 10 meeting. In other council news, members unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to create a local historic district in the downtown area http://www.sptimes.com/News/112801/Pasco/Activists__City_Counc.shtml