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Mayor, chief seek gun restrictions
BY AARON SANDERFORD / Lincoln Journal Star
and NATE JENKINS
If Lincoln's mayor and police chief get their way, more criminals could be arrested for carrying guns, and others could find it harder to sell potentially stolen goods.
Mayor Don Wesely and Police Chief Tom Casady offered three potential ordinances Thursday. They plan to bring the proposals to the City Council in March.
The proposals will ask the council to enact the following changes:
• Prohibit people convicted of theft or a theft-related crimes twice over the last 10 years from selling or trading property to pawn brokers and dealers of secondhand jewelry.
• Make it illegal to keep firearms in parked, unattended vehicles for more than 24 hours.
• Outlaw firearms possession for people convicted of any of 19 charges the mayor and chief selected as "serious, violent or potentially violent misdemeanors."
Police say they found a positive reaction to the first proposal when Casady met Jan. 17 with pawn shop owners and managers.
Jeremy Cosier, manager of Capitol City Pawn &Jewelry, 2541 N. 11th St., said owners initially worried what would be required of them. Those fears were allayed.
"What it's going to try to do is weed out a bad element," Cosier said. "Pawn shops get that bad image, but we're more than happy to cooperate with police and get those types of folks out of the shops."
State law requires pawn shops to provide police information about items they purchase and the people who sold them.
If the proposal were to pass, police would be able to cross-reference lists of who's selling what with lists of known criminals and arrest those who sell items to pawn shops or dealers of secondhand jewelry.
Pawn brokers would not be given a "hot" list of names to avoid, officials said, but would be required to avoid buying from people they knew were convicted twice of such crimes.
No one interviewed Thursday expressed angst about the 24-hour proposal for keeping handguns out of unattended cars.
Investigators brought the ordinance idea to Casady after several victims of larcenies from autos reported firearms stolen.
The firearms-possession ban is modeled on restrictions Omaha uses to keep people convicted of violent misdemeanors from getting gun permits.
Omaha's ordinance also denies gun registration to anyone with a record of drug use or of dangerous mental disorders.
Lincoln's proposal would not address the mental health or substance abuse questions, because both are addressed in state law, Casady said.
But the language of the proposals could ignite legal challenges if written too broadly, said Tim Butz, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.
Butz worried most about the inclusion of "obstructing government operations" among misdemeanors that could eliminate someone's right to bear arms.
Political demonstrators, particularly at war times, are cited for such crimes, he said.
"What the mayor and the chief are talking about could be completely constitutional if done right, and it could be flagrantly unconstitutional if not,"he said.
City Council members, some of whom first learned of the proposals Thursday, said they need more information and discussion before they'll take concrete positions.
Framing the gun-possession debate will be questions of fairness -- specifically fairness to those convicted of the targeted crimes, council members said.
Councilwoman Annette McRoy said she doesn't yet know enough to say "yea or nay" but added that the ordinances "sound good."
Councilwoman Coleen Seng, a candidate for mayor, said she trusts Casady's judgment.
Councilman Ken Svoboda said public reaction could be a major factor in his decision.
"I'm for anything that takes firearms out of the hands of a potential or convicted criminal," said Svoboda. "But there's a fine line" between public protection and infringing on an individual's rights.
http://www.journalstar.com/local.php?story_id=19461
BY AARON SANDERFORD / Lincoln Journal Star
and NATE JENKINS
If Lincoln's mayor and police chief get their way, more criminals could be arrested for carrying guns, and others could find it harder to sell potentially stolen goods.
Mayor Don Wesely and Police Chief Tom Casady offered three potential ordinances Thursday. They plan to bring the proposals to the City Council in March.
The proposals will ask the council to enact the following changes:
• Prohibit people convicted of theft or a theft-related crimes twice over the last 10 years from selling or trading property to pawn brokers and dealers of secondhand jewelry.
• Make it illegal to keep firearms in parked, unattended vehicles for more than 24 hours.
• Outlaw firearms possession for people convicted of any of 19 charges the mayor and chief selected as "serious, violent or potentially violent misdemeanors."
Police say they found a positive reaction to the first proposal when Casady met Jan. 17 with pawn shop owners and managers.
Jeremy Cosier, manager of Capitol City Pawn &Jewelry, 2541 N. 11th St., said owners initially worried what would be required of them. Those fears were allayed.
"What it's going to try to do is weed out a bad element," Cosier said. "Pawn shops get that bad image, but we're more than happy to cooperate with police and get those types of folks out of the shops."
State law requires pawn shops to provide police information about items they purchase and the people who sold them.
If the proposal were to pass, police would be able to cross-reference lists of who's selling what with lists of known criminals and arrest those who sell items to pawn shops or dealers of secondhand jewelry.
Pawn brokers would not be given a "hot" list of names to avoid, officials said, but would be required to avoid buying from people they knew were convicted twice of such crimes.
No one interviewed Thursday expressed angst about the 24-hour proposal for keeping handguns out of unattended cars.
Investigators brought the ordinance idea to Casady after several victims of larcenies from autos reported firearms stolen.
The firearms-possession ban is modeled on restrictions Omaha uses to keep people convicted of violent misdemeanors from getting gun permits.
Omaha's ordinance also denies gun registration to anyone with a record of drug use or of dangerous mental disorders.
Lincoln's proposal would not address the mental health or substance abuse questions, because both are addressed in state law, Casady said.
But the language of the proposals could ignite legal challenges if written too broadly, said Tim Butz, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska.
Butz worried most about the inclusion of "obstructing government operations" among misdemeanors that could eliminate someone's right to bear arms.
Political demonstrators, particularly at war times, are cited for such crimes, he said.
"What the mayor and the chief are talking about could be completely constitutional if done right, and it could be flagrantly unconstitutional if not,"he said.
City Council members, some of whom first learned of the proposals Thursday, said they need more information and discussion before they'll take concrete positions.
Framing the gun-possession debate will be questions of fairness -- specifically fairness to those convicted of the targeted crimes, council members said.
Councilwoman Annette McRoy said she doesn't yet know enough to say "yea or nay" but added that the ordinances "sound good."
Councilwoman Coleen Seng, a candidate for mayor, said she trusts Casady's judgment.
Councilman Ken Svoboda said public reaction could be a major factor in his decision.
"I'm for anything that takes firearms out of the hands of a potential or convicted criminal," said Svoboda. "But there's a fine line" between public protection and infringing on an individual's rights.
http://www.journalstar.com/local.php?story_id=19461
