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Story updated and edited Friday, July 24, 2009 (See editor's note here.) – In front of a standing room only crowd, Oak Ridge City Council confronted a hot-button issue Monday night that made the firecracker issue of a new Senior Center – formerly one of the most politically divisive issues – seem tame in comparison.
The issue was whether Council would allow the city to opt-out of the recently-passed state legislation that authorizes handgun carry permit holders to lawfully possess handguns in federal, state and local parks.
Mayor Tom Beehan said before opening up the floor for public comment that he had seen more e-mails and emotion about this issue than with any other he’d seen. While that probably had been the case, nothing could have prepared him or the rest of City Council for the level of passion and anger displayed once the floor was opened. (Editor’s Note: What follows is an abridged recap of those who spoke and the events that occurred, in the order in which they happened, but ending once City Council began discussing the matter. We feel it’s important to show the level of emotion in the meeting.)
Oak Ridge resident Jimmy Bouchard told City Council that it would be expensive to post signs informing the public that concealed weapons are not allowed in parks, should they approve the resolution. He added that should someone get hurt in a local park, the city would be held legally responsible for disarming citizens who could have helped stop the attack.
Oak Ridge resident Robert Humphries told City Council that permit carriers could have prevented so many people dying in the Virginia Tech shootings, where 32 people were killed on April 16, 2007.
Oak Ridge resident Jim Nelson asked City Council to keep things the way they are. He said that in 25 years of living in Oak Ridge and visiting city parks and green belts, he’d never once had the thought, “Gee, I wish I had a gun.”
Oak Ridge resident Steve Mead asked City Council to vote “no” for now, until they knew what the costs were for posting signs.
Oak Ridge resident Alex Groff told City Council he had talked to Anderson County Sheriff Paul White, and that the Sheriff had thought it was a bad idea for the city to prohibit the possession of handguns in public parks.
Oak Ridge resident Mike Crowe said he was one of more than 900 concealed carry permit holders in the city. People who live and vote here, he reminded Council. He then said that allowing law abiding citizens, who have been cleared by the FBI, to carry weapons “will prevent crime.” He also said he’d measured the distance of the frontage at Melton Lake Park and he estimated it would cost $13,100 to post signs in this one park alone.
Mr. Mike Willis, of 211 Gum Hollow Road, then read the following statement:
“I’m just a private citizen. Citizens of Oak Ridge need to understand how this issue has been manipulated and misrepresented. Oak Ridge City Mayor Beehan is the only City Mayor in Tennessee that is still a member of the New York Mayor Blumberg’s rampantly anti-gun “Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns” and has significant control over the City Manager, City Attorney and Police Chief’s jobs, so they are going to agree. They try to convince us that everyone who is interested in public safety believes that posting against handgun carrier permit owners is the only reasonable thing to do. A huge majority in the U.S. Congress does not agree. They passed the Coburn (?) amendment allowing State licensed permit holders to retain their handguns in all national parks and wildlife refuges for the purpose of reducing crime and improving overall safety. The U. S. Department of the Interior and National Park Service late last year, following an extensive study and considering 125,000 comments, issued a regulation to allow State licensed permit holders to retain their handguns in all national parks and wildlife refuges. The Tennessee legislature passed a new law to open up all parks, national areas, waterways, campgrounds and similar areas to permit holders with a single purpose – to reduce crime and improve public safety. Now I find that the Anderson County Mayor Lynch, District Attorney Clark and Sheriff White and all but two or three County Commissioners have decided that allowing permit holders in parks will in fact help to reduce crime and improve public safety. Much of the improvement is independent of the permit holder even being present as criminals just don’t know who is and who is not armed. Everyone is safer.
“Oak Ridge Police Chief Beams at the meeting last Monday night stated that Anderson County Mayor, District Attorney and County Commissioners and the Sheriff only support not posting the parks because they have to run for reelection. I guess the Chief knows that many voters agree that posting is the wrong thing to do as well. Anyone who has looked at the facts knows we should just go ahead and agree with the huge majorities of the U. S. Congress, the National Park Service, the Tennessee State Legislature, and the wise leadership in Anderson County. Don’t be fooled by Mayor Beehan and his accomplice, Chief Beams. The only City Mayor in Tennessee anti-gun enough to be a member of the New York Mayor Blumberg’s rampantly anti-gun “Coalition Against Illegal Guns” which is constantly being admonished by the U.S. and various states’ Justice Departments. You have to know that you are not getting the straight story. The only other member in Tennessee is Shelby County Mayor A. C. Wharton. Memphis alone, according to recently released 2008 FBI crime statistics had 137 murders, 362 forcible rapes, 4,786 robberies and 7,642 aggravated assaults. His policies seem to work well for the criminals and that is the same direction that we are going.”
Beehan spoke up at this point. He told the large crowd that he was the son of a police officer and that illegal guns had killed officers in his hometown.
At that point, the crowd began murmuring and many began responding that illegal guns weren’t the issue. The noise volume grew so loud and overbearing that Beehan had to pick up the gavel and slam it several times to get the Municipal Building Courtroom back under control.
Oak Ridge resident Leslie Mead then said she wishes no one had guns. But, the reality is that “bad and sick people use them for destructive means.” And as such, she said law abiding citizens need to be armed. “My husband has carried a gun legally for a long time,” she said. “Carry permit holders help keep us safe … and there will always be people with guns.”
Oak Ridge resident Tom Clary then spoke, saying he thinks permit holders “are an asset” to the city.
Oak Ridge resident Robert Moss said he didn’t want it to ever be considered “normal” for people to go around armed in “our society.”
Oak Ridge resident Joan Nelson said she would prefer to “better our community and depend on our police force,” instead of relying on people with concealed carry permits.
Oak Ridge resident Chris Teague said he had a retired friend who had a disease that causes brittle bones. And that because of this vulnerability and weakness, he doesn’t feel safe to go into parks in the city. Teague added that the Department of the Interior “didn’t take a passive stand on this.” The Department of the Interior decided in December of 2008 that states could decide whether individuals are allowed to carry a concealed weapon in national parks and wildlife refuges if the individual is authorized to carry a concealed weapon under state law in the state in which the national park or refuge is located.
Following the Department of the Interior change, the state legislature voted to allow people with a valid handgun carry permit to possess handguns in municipal parks. Prior to this date, possession of a handgun in a municipal park by a person with a valid handgun permit was prohibited and punishable by state law as a misdemeanor.
But, that same law had an option for local governments to “opt-out,” or decide not to allow residents with concealed carry permits to go armed in parks. And it was this option that brought out so many residents and so much emotion Monday night.
Continuing, Oak Ridge resident Jim Horton told Council that violent crime is going down nationally, and this is because more and more people are carrying concealed weapons legally. He added that “right to carry” states are showing a 24 percent lower crime rate than states that had more restrictive rules. Finally, he said he’d been approached by conspicuous people he didn’t trust in Oak Ride parks. He ended his time at the podium by saying that the strength of emotion displayed by Beehan showed a personal bias, and as such, Horton said Beehan should abstain from voting on the issue.
Oak Ridge resident Joseph Lee said the state legislature had done the “silliest thing” he’d ever seen by passing a law that allowed an “opt out,” which consequently would lead to such controversy. He then said he preferred to call the police when he was in danger, and that every time he’s called, Oak Ridge police have responded “within ninety seconds or so.”
After the statement, the crowd began murmuring and laughing and calling out jests. Again, Beehan had to take control of the crowd by calling for silence.
Another Oak Ridge resident then spoke, whose name we were unable to attain prior to deadline. This resident (his first name was Steve) said his wife had been the victim of a non-violent crime in a park in Oak Ridge, and it had taken the police forty minutes to get there. He closed by saying that the $13,000 for posting signs mentioned by a resident earlier in the meeting wouldn’t come close to comparing to the cost of all the lawsuits that would follow Council approving its measure.
Oak Ridge resident Brad Heun, a disabled veteran, then spoke. He told City Council he’s a “handicap,” and raised a cane to show them. “I don’t have a chance to run,” he said. Heun went on to say that City Council members were “targeting law-abiding citizens” with their resolution.
Another Oak Ridge resident then spoke, whose name we were unable to attain prior to deadline. This resident said he had had a brother-in-law killed by a criminal and that he found out after the fact that the criminal had been stalking his brother-in-law at this resident’s home during some of the time prior to the crime. This resident told City Council he now has a handgun permit and carries a concealed weapon with him.
Oak Ridge resident T.J. Garland then spoke and challenged City Council to “give us one instance in the last five years when a permit holder has committed a crime.”
Oak Ridge resident Ruth Young said she didn’t approve of the legislation from the state that allowed this matter to come to a head.
With the public done speaking, City Council began to gather more information on the matter
Ken Krushenski, the lead counsel for Oak Ridge, fielded the question from City Council regarding facing future law suits. Krushenski told City Council that at the current time, a law preventing concealed carry permit holders from carrying in parks hasn’t been challenged. As such, he told Council that all the city can do is rely on the opinion of legislators in Nashville in drafting up an “opt-out” option.
City Manager James R. O’Connor then fielded a question regarding the cost of posting signs, which was asked by City Council member David Mosby. O’Connor said the signs would cost $15 each, but that city staff hasn’t evaluated how much it would cost to post signs throughout the entire city. He said he thought it could be done for under $5,000.
“I think you’ve got to act on what you think is the right thing to do,” O’Connor said, and then city staff could take it from there.
This answer led to a ruckus from the crowd, but once order was restored, O’Connor added that he had no way of determining what neighborhood crime watch activities truly cost, but that didn’t keep City Council from believing in it and supporting it.
Council member Tom Hayes asked what would change if the “opt out” option was selected. O’Connor told him nothing, since it’s currently illegal for permit holders to carry a gun in city parks.
After some discussion about recreational events, Vice Mayor Jane Miller reminded Council members that permit gun holders have to undergo a background check and training. She added that she thinks it’s a “huge benefit” that criminals don’t know who is armed. Continuing, she said that more than 125 citizens had contacted her and that she worried these signs would be “very unsightly.”
“How many signs will you need?” she asked rhetorically, since O’Connor had already said he didn’t know.
Council member Ellen Smith said she has a lot of respect for individuals who have “gone to the trouble to get handgun permits,” but fears that “the more guns we have, the more people feel the need to carry guns.”
“Proliferation of guns everywhere,” she said, “is something that I believe makes us less safe.”
Hayes then said he had had an uncle murdered in cold blood in the streets of Paducah, Ky., and that the entire thing was “a tough issue.” But in the end, he said there would be no change if City Council opted out, so he would vote that way. He closed by saying he hopes the “buffoonery in Nashville” stops soon.
Council member Charlie Hensley said it’s difficult for him “to think more guns make us safer.” He ended by saying, “What makes you think felons won’t get a bigger gun?”
Council member Anne Garcia Garland read a prepared statement and said she was “deeply disappointed” in the state legislature.
“In enacting this particular legislation, they ought to have either had the courage of their decision or to have not passed the law with the overwhelming majority with which it passed,” she said. “What they have done instead is dump into the laps of county and city governments an emotionally loaded issue that we ought not to be in the position of deciding upon.”
Council member Mosby said it was an “unfortunate position” for Oak Ridge to be in. And while he said he had been on both sides of the issue in the past couple of weeks, he leaned toward keeping things as they currently are in the city; i.e. no guns legally in parks.
Beehan closed with his comments prior to the vote and showed real anger at the state legislators. “Of all the things they had to deal with in Nashville,” he said, citing budget concerns and a host of things that should have been addressed. But, in the end he said he was siding with the “professionals,” which included the Tennessee Municipal League and a state association of recreation and parks. Both thought legally armed residents shouldn’t be in local parks, he said.
It’s difficult to get across in print the level of emotion in the room on Monday night. In one of the crowds outbursts, someone yelled “Miller for Mayor,” an obvious insult aimed at Beehan.
The vote ended up 5-2, with Miller and Garland voting “no.” with the vote, gun permit holders will not be allowed to carry in Oak Ridge parks come September, when state law was set to take effect. |
