No guns allowed in parks in Williamson County nor Brentwood

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No guns allowed in parks in Williamson County, Brentwood | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

July 14, 2009

No guns allowed in parks in Williamson County, Brentwood

Local governments vote to opt out of new state law

By Suzanne Normand Blackwood and Bonnie Burch

THE TENNESSEAN

Williamson County commissioners voted unanimously Monday morning to prohibit handguns in county parks, opting out of a state law passed recently that allows gun owners with permits to carry them into public parks.

Monday night, Brentwood city commissioners followed suit, also unanimously.

Calling the new legislation "ridiculous," Brentwood City Commissioner Regina Smithson said she was angry that the city had to go through the time, money and effort that went into researching and drafting the resolution.

"This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. It's a common sense issue," she said.

Williamson County, however, voted to reconsider the matter a year from now.

County Commissioner Mary Brockman, one of the resolution's sponsors, said the majority of constituents who have talked to commissioners about the issue wanted the county to opt out.

"I believe that opting out of the statute is really in the best interest of our citizens," she said.

Brockman said she doesn't believe many of the county's 6,000 or so gun permit holders would want to carry their guns to public parks anyway.

"I don't really see it as an unfair burden. Our students and our families" are a priority, she said.

Brentwood City Commissioner Paul Webb agreed adding that the entire time he'd been on the governing body nobody had complained to him that they weren't allowed to carry guns in Brentwood parks.

Schools affected, too

The County Commission voted 18-6 in favor of an amendment proposed by Commissioner Jason Para that would allow the law to expire May 31, 2010, or when the Williamson County Board of Education gets clarification from the state on whether schools can use parks where guns are allowed. Existing law makes it a felony to carry a firearm on property owned or used by schools.

Para said he's not a gun owner, but he supports the Second Amendment.

"We need a clear reason to take that right away," he said.

Brockman said passing an amendment based on the "unknown" just muddies the waters.

At least nine schools would be affected if they could no longer use athletic or other facilities in the county's parks due to the new state law, said Brenda Sanford, the athletic director at Grassland Middle School.

"This law makes it very hard for us," Sanford said before the county meeting started.

Brentwood city attorney Roger Horner listed several reasons why the city staff, parks department and police chief all suggested the city opt out of the new legislation. Chief among them was if weapons were allowed, school children might not be able to use the parks.

"People will still have the right to own guns. No one is taking them away. But common sense tells you that a lot of children and guns just don't mix," Brentwood Commissioner Anne Dunn said.

In a separate resolution Brentwood commissioners also ruled that weapons would be banned from meetings and in city-controlled buildings.

Residents speak

Two people stood to urge County Commissioners not to opt out of the state law.

Richard Wright said he's a husband, a father of two, a former scoutmaster, a businessman and a handgun carrying permit holder.

"We as citizens have had enough infringement of our rights," he said.

Jerry Bowen agreed.

"I see it as a freedoms issue. We do have a right to bear arms," he said.

Brentwood only had one resident, Neal McBrayer, make a public comment in the meeting. He agreed with the commission's stance on the resolution.

"I'm a life-long Republican and I support Republican causes. But this is one piece of legislation I just can't understand," he said.

The state law goes into effect Sept. 1, which is also the deadline for local governments to opt out.

"We just want to be sure the children are safe," County Commissioner Mary Mills said.

And not only children, but also "old folks," she added.

[Smith]

The children and old folks:rolleyes: when will they get a new playbook. "Guns and alcohol...." and now "guns and children don't mix."

[LagerHead]

Just another example of how common sense isn't so common after all.

[Mark A]

Well, I guess we need to do some unanimous voting soon as well...