Weld County commissioners this morning approved a gun ordinance that aims to protect the Second Amendment rights of Weld residents in the face of new state laws they find "appalling."
Ten more people spoke to commissioners at the final hearing of the Firearms Protection Code, some in support of and others against the measure, which essentially prohibits commissioners from passing ordinances that infringe on Weld residents' right to bear arms.
Commissioners admitted the ordinance isn't very impactful in terms of reversing recent state laws that require background checks for private and online gun sales and limit ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. Legally, they do not have the authority to void state laws, and they took an oath to follow state laws, commissioners said at the hearing. But they said the ordinance is a start, because it will require future commissioners to go through another code change if they wish to pass ordinances that restrict residents' use or possession of firearms.
The code change's previous two hearings drew a smattering of politically diverse comments. On one side, the group of 30 residents that originally asked commissioners to pass a gun ordinance threatened to sue them if they did not pass the proposed ordinance, which would have nullified state gun laws in the borders of Weld County and imposed monetary and jail time penalties for county officials who tried to restrict residents' right to bear arms.
On the other end of the spectrum, four Weld County residents on Monday said they believe the new state rules are reasonable and that they felt disenfranchised because Weld County commissioners already had their minds made up about the ordinance.
Check back for more at greeleytribune.com ___
(c)2013 the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.)
Visit the Greeley Tribune (Greeley, Colo.) at www.greeleytribune.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Related
Before You Go
