Posted on 04/28/2008 9:45:25 AM PDT by kiriath_jearim
The unions representing Oswego County employees supports the proposed weapons ban that would prohibit bringing firearms into county buildings.
Legislature Chairman Barry Leemann said Tuesday that he had recently met with the representatives and that they are in support of some kind of ban on weapons.
The legislature’s Government and Strategic Planning Committee is expected to address the matter at Monday’s meeting.
The proposed ban has been the most controversial issue legislators have faced this year. At the April 10 meeting of the full legislature, several residents spoke in opposition of the plan that would have banned guns, jackknives, and scissors from any county-government building.
Legislators have been receiving telephone calls from constituents and the proposal has been cited on some national web sites, including one that refers to the county legislature as “Socialists and Democrats.”
Legislators agreed to table the resolution and send it back to the committee level for revision.
The original resolution was drafted in response to three incidents involving weapons that were alleged to have to have taken place last year. In one instance, Laurie Krul, an employee of county clerk’s office, was said to have been frightened by a man who placed a gun on the counter in front of her.
That man, Keith Moody of Minetto, addressed the legislature at the April 10 meeting and told his side of the story. He said that the gun was unloaded and in a holster when he set in on the counter.
Moody explained that he met with a friend at the county building to transfer a handgun from himself to his friend. Ms. Krul, he said, completed the paperwork and told Moody that the gun was no longer registered to him. Moody said he then took the unloaded gun and set it on the counter for the new owner to pick up.
He noted that not only was the gun empty but that the clip was not in the gun and neither he nor his friend had ammunition with them. Moody said Ms. Krul asked him to take the gun out of the office.
Moody questioned the legality of walking out of the building with a gun that he was no longer permitted to carry, and that is something the committee may need to address.
Legislators have been offered the assistance of the National Rifle Association. A member of the NRA has offered to assist with drafting a new law that is agreeable to proponents of gun-rights. Traditionally, Democrats have supported more restrictive gun control than Republicans.
Among the speakers at the April 10 public hearing, only one, Surrogate Court Judge John Elliot, spoke in favor of the proposed resolution.
Legislator Art Ospelt, who chairs the Government Committee, made the motion to table the resolution after hearing speakers raise a number of concerns. It was also noted by one speaker that the county’s web site stated that there was no public hearings scheduled for the April 10 meeting, hence, some wishing to speak to the proposal may not have known about the opportunity.
Should a new draft of the law be sent from the committee, another public hearing would likely be held and it could be June before the full legislature votes on the proposal.
It should be “Socialists, not Democrats.”
You know that will hit a nerve.
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