Wednesday, February 15, 2006
The Lawrence City Commission passed an ordinance Tuesday’s that weapons cannot be taken within 200 feet of a drinking establishment, which redefined the current city code.
LaTonia Coleman, who lost her husband in the shooting near the Granada early Sunday, Feb. 5, said, “We looked at Lawrence as a place where we could raise our son because we felt safe here.”
“Protection has to be upgraded,” she said.
Now that ordinance number 7976 has been adopted, section 14-408 of the Code of the City of Lawrence states: “ ‘Close proximity,’ means property any part of which is within 200 feet, except that if any portion of the contiguous area of a park, unimproved lot, parking garage or parking lot is within 200 feet then the entire contiguous area of the parking lot or parking garage is within close proximity.”
People with encased firearms in their vehicles driving by a drinking establishment on the way to another destination would not be subject to prosecution.
According to the memorandum sent by Lawrence staff attorney Scott Miller in January 2006, the Lawrence Police Department asked the city commission to review the ordinance because it was not specific. The unclear terms included “close proximity” and “dangerous weapon.”
The memorandum stated that a number of handguns had been observed near drinking establishments in the downtown area, and revision needed to be looked at immediately.
A person going into a bar can carry a folding pocketknife if the blade is no longer than four inches, and establishments can keep knives for dining purposes, according to the revised section. Other terms such as “drinking establishment” and “possession” were also more clearly defined.
Miller said this policy applied to restaurants and any other establishment with a liquor license.
“I think it’s helpful to clarify this ordinance,” Mayor Dennis Highberger said. “I hope the ordinance will discourage people from showing up at Lawrence bars with loaded weapons.”
Commissioner David Schauner said the memorandum was discussed in January, but the recent Granada shooting proved its relevance.
At the meeting, all of the residents and commissioners who spoke expressed that this was not sufficient to controlling the problem and agreed that further discussion should be given to the topic in future meetings.
“It’s going to take more than this ordinance we have before us this evening,” Commissioner Mike Amyx said.
Schauner said, “This is kind of a feel good ordinance that doesn’t really give police much more.”
Highberger said, “If someone wants to commit a violent act, this ordinance isn’t going to stop it.”
Tyler Torneden, door manager for Abe and Jake’s, said the club hadn’t had any weapon problems, but he had heard of other drinking establishments having problems with weapons. He said this ordinance was definitely something that should be looked into more closely.
If the ordinance was violated, the person would be expected to pay a fine of no more than $2,500, spend one year in jail or both. It is equivalent to a class A misdemeanor under Kansas law, and is the penalty established by K.S. A. 21-4201 for criminal use of weapons, according to the ordinance.
The section regarding the firearms of the City Code was originally adopted in 1984. It prohibited the possession of firearms, knives with blades longer than three inches and other deadly weapons in close proximity to a business that serves liquor or cereal malt beverages.
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