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Moscow can't enforce gun ban
Idaho attorney general tells city it can’t restrict people from carrying weapons
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — The state attorney general’s office has told the city of Moscow that it doesn’t have the legal authority to enforce a gun ban.
Deputy Attorney General Stephen A. Bywater, in a letter sent Tuesday, wrote that the city and Latah County cannot restrict people from legally carrying exposed or concealed weapons on public property.
“The attorney general’s office has spoken,” said Mayor Nancy Chaney. “We asked the question, they give us the answer, and there we go. I’m personally disappointed, but not surprised.”
Chaney had sought gun restrictions following a May 19 shooting rampage by Jason Hamilton, who killed his wife at their Moscow home before driving to the courthouse and firing some 200 gunshots into a sheriff’s dispatch center. There, he killed one law enforcement officer and wounded two others, as well as wounding a man who armed himself and ran to help.
Hamilton then went to the nearby First Presbyterian Church, fatally shooting a caretaker. Hamilton fired as many as 80 rounds inside the church before taking his own life.
After receiving the letter, county officials said they are now concerned that the county’s ban on guns in the courthouse isn’t legal.
“It seems to say a city or county, on their own, cannot regulate weapons,” county Prosecutor William Thompson told the Lewiston Tribune.
Idaho law states that no city or county “may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession or transportation of firearms when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of the state of Idaho.”
It is legal in the state to carry an exposed firearm in public, and a concealed weapon with the proper permit.
Thompson said a gun ban within three courtrooms in the courthouse is probably valid because that prohibition was issued by a district judge. Thompson also noted that the Idaho Supreme Court has banned firearms on its premises.
Chaney said part of the reason she asked for the opinion from the attorney general was because some area residents and city employees were concerned about their safety during public meetings. She said that guns being allowed in public meetings could hinder an open debate.
Idaho attorney general tells city it can’t restrict people from carrying weapons
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — The state attorney general’s office has told the city of Moscow that it doesn’t have the legal authority to enforce a gun ban.
Deputy Attorney General Stephen A. Bywater, in a letter sent Tuesday, wrote that the city and Latah County cannot restrict people from legally carrying exposed or concealed weapons on public property.
“The attorney general’s office has spoken,” said Mayor Nancy Chaney. “We asked the question, they give us the answer, and there we go. I’m personally disappointed, but not surprised.”
Chaney had sought gun restrictions following a May 19 shooting rampage by Jason Hamilton, who killed his wife at their Moscow home before driving to the courthouse and firing some 200 gunshots into a sheriff’s dispatch center. There, he killed one law enforcement officer and wounded two others, as well as wounding a man who armed himself and ran to help.
Hamilton then went to the nearby First Presbyterian Church, fatally shooting a caretaker. Hamilton fired as many as 80 rounds inside the church before taking his own life.
After receiving the letter, county officials said they are now concerned that the county’s ban on guns in the courthouse isn’t legal.
“It seems to say a city or county, on their own, cannot regulate weapons,” county Prosecutor William Thompson told the Lewiston Tribune.
Idaho law states that no city or county “may in any manner regulate the lawful ownership, possession or transportation of firearms when carried or transported for purposes not prohibited by the laws of the state of Idaho.”
It is legal in the state to carry an exposed firearm in public, and a concealed weapon with the proper permit.
Thompson said a gun ban within three courtrooms in the courthouse is probably valid because that prohibition was issued by a district judge. Thompson also noted that the Idaho Supreme Court has banned firearms on its premises.
Chaney said part of the reason she asked for the opinion from the attorney general was because some area residents and city employees were concerned about their safety during public meetings. She said that guns being allowed in public meetings could hinder an open debate.
