This is not the first time Councilman William Lindsey has brought the idea in front of the council, but this time, he said the voters should decide. The council has previously struck down the proposal.
Lindsey said any laws that restrict gun access are unconstitutional, violating the Second Amendment. He said if the question gets a majority approval vote, then he will present legislation to allow employees and citizens to carry guns during city council meetings.
“As far as citizens carrying in the council meeting, absolutely. We cannot restrict citizens from something that we are doing,” Lindsey said. “So if we are allowed to carry firearms, so can the citizens if they so choose.”
While a deputy is present during council meetings, Lindsey said, “If I was a bad guy and I was going to come in to do harm to council, the deputy would be the first one I’d shoot and I’d shoot him in the head.” He said the councilmembers would then be defenseless.
“Now if you walk into a room and five or six, seven council members all have weapons along with the administration and you shoot the deputy, now you’re looking at ... 15 guns looking back at you,” Lindsey said.
Lindsey said that in his proposal in front of city council, he plans to still disallow firearms in the administrative offices building where citizens pay water bills, “because some of the employees would prefer not to have that going on.” He said if he changes his mind, he’ll have bulletproof glass put in to protect the employees.
Guns would still be prohibited from court areas and the fire department, which includes while firefighters are out on the job, in line with statutory limitations, Lindsey said.
Credit: William Lindsey
Credit: William Lindsey
City employees out on the job, like those who patch potholes, should be permitted to carry as well for their own protection, Lindsey said.
Mayor Bill Cook strongly opposes the measure, citing safety concerns. He said while he and others on the council have concealed carry permits, there is “a time and a place” to carry guns and this does not include city areas.
“I cannot personally understand why anybody would want to bring a gun into a building that is technically off limits for gun carrying,” Cook said. “We oftentimes will get into heated, contentious situations with water shutoffs, with tax problems, sometimes in council meetings with contentious situations that do not need to have a gun in the room.”
The public being allowed to carry guns in council meetings could be particularly problematic, Cook said.
“It also allows the public to come into a city building such as the council chambers with a gun and be able to sit there and utilize whatever means they need sometimes to get their point across,” Cook said. “I think here again is where good common sense comes into play. ... There are times that neighbors get into a situation. Right now, neighbors can carry without any problem, and when you get upset sometimes you’re not thinking rational, and what may happen if you pull that gun and you shoot somebody, your life is ruined.”
Lindsey said Cook’s safety concerns are “unfounded.”
Councilman Chris Shamy, who carries a gun, said he feels “the security situation in city buildings are adequate, however, if a bad person were to enter a city building and bring harm to the people inside, they should be able to protect themselves, period.”
The killing of Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband in July further demonstrated the need for elected officials to carry, Lindsey said. Hortman and her husband were shot and killed by a gunman allegedly disguised as a police officer, who also reportedly wounded another Democratic lawmaker and his wife.
“Even when I’m home, I have a gun within my reach, because somebody knocks on my door and I don’t know who they are, I open the door with a gun on my hip because I don’t know what idiot may want to come and shoot me for whatever reason,” Lindsey said. “It’s for my safety to have a firearm. That’s the reason I carry a firearm.”
Lindsey dismissed concerns of accidental firearm discharges and said he has never had that problem as a decades-long gun carrier.
The councilman said he hopes the council will listen to the voters. If they vote no, he said the issue “won’t be brought up again,” and if they vote yes, councilmembers should approve future legislation.
“You can never go wrong putting a vote to the people to give the people a say so,” Lindsey said. “There’ll be people that vote against it because they’re what I call people that are anti-gun, anti-everything and they want to dictate what other people does, and the Constitution does not say that. And some people says, ‘Well the Constitution doesn’t matter anymore,’ well maybe not in your life or your world, but it does mine.”
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