Blount County Parks

[TNinfidel]

I'm not quite sure where to post this so, I'll do it here. Many may believe Blount County parks (Maryville and Alcoa also) to be a no HCP zone. According to this, they are not. It is legal to carry because the County did not vote to opt out.

TN AG opinion adds twist to Blount guns-in-parks issue

"BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- If you have a handgun permit, you can once again carry a gun in all Blount County parks.

Even in the city of Maryville and Alcoa where officials opted out of the state law.

All parks in Blount County are operated jointly by a single parks and recreation commission with members from Alcoa, Maryville, and Blount County.

According to a just released state attorney general report, unless all three communities opt out, guns are legal.

Despite unanimous votes by the commission and council of Alcoa and Maryville to ban weapons in parks, the signs prohibiting carrying weapons placed in those city parks may have to come down after a ruling Tuesday by the state attorney general.

"As long as it's registered, I don't see nothing wrong with it. As long as you have the right to carry it, you should be allowed to carry your gun. It's just like protecting your house," says Michael Ridley who supports guns in parks.

All of the parks in county are run by a single parks and recreation commission and the opinion indicates all three governmental bodies must agree to ban weapons but the county did not opt out.

That's upsetting to some city residents.

"I just think that's wrong. It's wrong and it's dangerous. I mean people get real excited at these things and if they have a gun they might use it," says Mark Astor who is opposed to guns in parks.

Blount County Commission Chairman Steve Samples says, "I think what's happened is that we've seen an issue that we all thought was settled come back before us again."

The request for the opinion came from freshman State Representative Bob Ramsey who says this will bring bring the cities and the county to a single table.

"This doesn't create a nightmare. It does create public discussion. It does create cooperation," says Rep. Ramsey.

But a committee of the county commission has twice failed to get enough votes to bring the opt out provision to the full commission for a vote.

"There's no need for any recommendation from me to the county commission because they've made their decision," says Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham.

While some of the Alcoa city commissioners expressed surprise by the ruling, several commissioners including City Manager Mark Johnson said they were withholding comment for now.

Meanwhile, Maryville Public Information Officer Pam Arnett says their legislative body was on retreat and unavailable for comment

BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Lawmakers in Blount County, Alcoa and Maryville must all agree to opt out of the state law allowing handgun carry permit holders to carry guns in parks, otherwise the state law reigns supreme, even in parks inside the cities' limits where council members chose to opt out, according to an opinion Tennessee Attorney General Robert E. Cooper, Jr., because Blount Co., Alcoa and Maryville jointly operate all of the municipal and county parks in Blount Co.

"To prohibit handgun carry permit holders from bringing firearms into public parks which are jointly operated by two or more municipalities or counties," Cooper writes in an opinion released Oct. 20, "the legislative body for each municipality or county must separately adopt by majority vote a resolution prohibiting such conduct in the jointly operated parks."

Maryville City Council and Alcoa City Commission voted to opt out of the state law allowing guns in parks. Blount County Commission, however, decided not to opt out. The problem is that parks inside the county and cities are operated by the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Recreation and Parks Commission that was established in 1987.

Despite Cooper's opinion, handguns are still banned on greenways inside the Alcoa and Maryville city limits, because they are not operated by the joint Recreation and Parks Commission.

In order to ban guns in parks inside Blount County, commissioners must opt out, too, just like Alcoa and Maryville lawmakers have. If nothing is done, the state law stands. It's not clear whether dissolving the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Recreation and Parks Commission is an option."

Maryville and Alcoa still have signs posted prohibiting firearms but they are not legal apparently...

Edited January 27, 2012 by TNinfidel
cleaning up the formatting

[Guest dubaholic2]

Thanks for the info.

[hornett22]

Pisses me off how corrupt this city is getting. I'm glad I live outside the city.

I want to ride my bike on the Greenway but I'll be damned if I'm doing it unarmed.

[TNinfidel]

Pisses me off how corrupt this city is getting. I'm glad I live outside the city.

I want to ride my bike on the Greenway but I'll be damned if I'm doing it unarmed.

According to the Parks and Recreation site the Greenbelt Park is operated by them:

Blount County Parks & Recreation

Someone needs to bring them to task with the improper, illegitimate, and probably illegal signage. Maybe if they got the pants sued off of them for "civil rights" violations by arresting or detaining a permit holder they would have to respect the law and our Constitution. Progressivism is killing this Nation and Maryville and Alcoa city governments are prime examples.

[peejman]

According to the Parks and Recreation site the Greenbelt Park is operated by them:

Blount County Parks & Recreation

Someone needs to bring them to task with the improper, illegitimate, and probably illegal signage. Maybe if they got the pants sued off of them for "civil rights" violations by arresting or detaining a permit holder they would have to respect the law and our Constitution. Progressivism is killing this Nation and Maryville and Alcoa city governments are prime examples.

I believe part of the parks bill (and one of the main reasons it passed) was that existing signage did not have to be changed. The expense of having to change the signs would have killed the bill, same as national park carry. Thought it's been over 2 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy. As usual, the burden of knowing where we can and cannot carry, regardless of signage, is completely with the HCP holder.

[macville]

I believe part of the parks bill (and one of the main reasons it passed) was that existing signage did not have to be changed. The expense of having to change the signs would have killed the bill, same as national park carry. Thought it's been over 2 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy. As usual, the burden of knowing where we can and cannot carry, regardless of signage, is completely with the HCP holder.

I want to say that only applied to state parks, not local. Any local parks had to be posted if they banned them (except for Knoxville which had the pre-86' ban already and it asking for trouble for someone who thinks they are legal because there is no sign.)

[Oh Shoot]

I want to say that only applied to state parks, not local....

Correct. Only those "...owned or operated by the state or instrumentality of the state".

- OS

[peejman]

I stand corrected. Personally, I'd prefer they not change the signs as they keep the sheep happy.

[TNinfidel]

I believe part of the parks bill (and one of the main reasons it passed) was that existing signage did not have to be changed. The expense of having to change the signs would have killed the bill, same as national park carry. Thought it's been over 2 years ago so my memory is a little fuzzy. As usual, the burden of knowing where we can and cannot carry, regardless of signage, is completely with the HCP holder.

The signs in Maryville and Alcoa parks were only posted after those cities opted out. These were new signs not pre-existing.

The cities did not have the authority to post them because the county had declined to opt out.

Edited February 1, 2012 by TNinfidel

[Oh Shoot]

The signs in Maryville and Alcoa parks were only posted after those cities opted out. These were new signs not pre-existing.

The cities did not have the authority to post them because the county had declined to opt out.

So what's the latest about the issue?

- OS

[peejman]

So what's the latest about the issue?

- OS

I'm not aware that there is a "latest". AFAIK, the Blount County contingent never addressed the issue so it died on the vine.

[TNinfidel]

So what's the latest about the issue?

- OS

I guess the latest is that Maryville and Alcoa cities went ahead and posted signs prohibiting firearms in the parks without the legal authority to enforce such a ban. The signs are meant to confuse and intimidate handgun carry permit holders and of course have no effect on criminals who would intend to do harm. It just tells the criminal element that they are less likely to encounter resistance.

Perhaps I will give the cities a call and see what they have to say.

[Oh Shoot]

....Perhaps I will give the cities a call and see what they have to say.

Get the papers stirred up if you want action. But expect the action to be having the meeting to officially exempt themselves, rather than remove the signs.

- OS