City Council will meet in a special session, likely in November, to debate a list of proposed gun ordinances in a discussion that is likely to become “heated,” Councilor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring said.
Councilors voted 5-1 in favor of setting aside a meeting — instead of the regular Tuesday city council meeting — to take up the ordinances. The new gun laws were proposed earlier this month by Mayor Joan Peck. A majority of the councilors agreed to bring them all back for a council discussion and vote.
But Tuesday night Peck was the lone dissenting vote for a separate session, saying she wanted the Metro Mayors Caucus to research what legislation can be produced to deal with gun violence in the state. “I want to wait and see what … the legislature can do to help us,” she said.
Councilor Tim Waters proposed the separate session, saying the discussion and public hearing will likely be lengthy. “This is out of concern for the other agenda items,” Waters said.
Councilors voted against adding a discussion of the implications of criminal justice reform legislation on the same agenda with the gun ordinances. Waters proposed adding the criminal justice component because they are linked to gun laws. “These two things need to be discussed together,” Waters said.
Councilor Susie Hidalgo-Fahring said criminal justice reform needs to be debated but not on the same day as the gun ordinances. “Reform also includes other issues that are separate and apart from owning a gun,” Hidalgo-Fahring said.
The gun ordinance topic, she said, deserves a separate council session. She predicted “hours and hours of public comment “ on the gun ordinances. “I believe it is going to be a very heated conversation.”
Peck, Hidalgo-Fahring and Aren Rodriguez voted against adding the criminal justice talk to the gun ordinance discussion. A 3-3 tie means the proposal does not go forward.
The proposed ordinances are:
- Banning open and concealed guns in sensitive areas. This would add preschools, daycare centers, playgrounds and toddler swimming pools to a list of sensitive areas in the city where weapons are banned.
- Raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase a handgun in Longmont.
- Requiring a 10-day waiting period to receive a gun purchased in Longmont.
- Banning the sale of unregistered “ghost guns” in Longmont.
- Requiring signage in local gun shops warning that unlocked storage of firearms would be a danger to children.
