A Democratic proposal to strengthen a gun ban in county buildings was voted down by a County Legislature committee last night. The vote was 3 to 2 along party lines — Republicans opposed, Democrats in favor.
Members of the public are not allowed to bring guns into buildings owned or leased by Monroe County. But there’s an exception: anyone with a permit to carry a concealed gun is allowed to bring the gun into county buildings. (Law enforcement officials are excluded from the ban.)
The Democrats’ legislation would have eliminated the concealed carry permit exception.
A press release from the Democrats says that they can still call for a vote on the bill during the March 12 meeting of the full Legislature. It is unclear if they actually will.
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2013.
If legislators want to allow law-abiding citizens to carry weapons openly in government buildings, that is their prerogative. If some nut with a gun manages to get inside and cause mayhem, that’s their responsibility as well. Let them have it.
The best way to keep guns out of buildings is to declare them ‘gun free zones’ and put up signs stating as such. It works in schools, doesn’t it?