{"id":2450224,"date":"2019-10-22T22:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T04:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings\/"},"modified":"2019-10-23T08:11:03","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T14:11:03","slug":"aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen Council unanimously passes ordinance to ban guns in city buildings"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.7045454545455\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-314822-273\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-768x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Carolyn Sackariason \/ The Aspen Times | Maggie Silvers, along with other gun advocates, sit in Aspen City Council chambers prior to elected officials passing an ordinance banning deadly weapons from being brought into city buildings unless individuals have a concealed weapons permit.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Maggie Silvers, along with other gun advocates, sit in Aspen City Council chambers prior to elected officials passing an ordinance banning deadly weapons from being brought into city buildings unless individuals have a concealed weapons permit.<\/strong><br \/>Carolyn Sackariason \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-768x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Maggie Silvers, along with other gun advocates, sit in Aspen City Council chambers prior to elected officials passing an ordinance banning deadly weapons from being brought into city buildings unless individuals have a concealed weapons permit.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-1-686x1024.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Carolyn Sackariason \/ The Aspen Times | Gun advocates Toni Booth, left, and Lauren Boebert pose outside of Aspen City Council chambers as Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor walks from behind. City Council passed on Tuesday a prohibition of deadly weapons in city buildings.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"0\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"11\">\n<p><strong>Gun advocates Toni Booth, left, and Lauren Boebert pose outside of Aspen City Council chambers as Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor walks from behind. City Council passed on Tuesday a prohibition of deadly weapons in city buildings.<\/strong><br \/>Carolyn Sackariason \/ The Aspen Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/guns-atd-102319-2-1-686x1024.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Gun advocates Toni Booth, left, and Lauren Boebert pose outside of Aspen City Council chambers as Aspen Police Chief Richard Pryor walks from behind. City Council passed on Tuesday a prohibition of deadly weapons in city buildings.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/AspenCityHall-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/AspenCityHall-3-1024x681.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Aspen Times file photo | Aspen City Hall.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Aspen City Hall.<\/strong><br \/>Aspen Times file photo<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/10\/AspenCityHall-3-1024x681.jpg\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" alt=\"Aspen City Hall.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Despite outcry by gun owners and hours of sometimes heated debate, Aspen City Council on Tuesday passed a ban on deadly weapons in municipal government buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The new law, which goes into effect in 30 days, prohibits possession of deadly weapons in city buildings unless individuals are peace officers or have permits to carry concealed firearms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Council unanimously passed the ban in response to growing concerns of increasing gun violence and the safety of the public and city staff in government buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Councilwoman Ann Mullins said it is the job of elected officials to protect the public and employees in city buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cMore guns doesn\u2019t mean safer,\u201d she said. \u201cIt becomes an emotional issue for me. \u2026 I don\u2019t want a bunch of guns in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">City Manager Sara Ott and City Attorney Jim True brought forward the ordinance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThese acts of violence contribute to increased personal safety concerns for visitors, guests and employees,\u201d reads a memo to council from them. \u201cCity-owned buildings should be considered safe, available, and open for constructive public discourse. \u2026 The lack of weapons contributes to the sense of safety of visitors, guests and employees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The prohibition didn\u2019t sit well with <a id=\"N0x2056fb0N0x20eab10:N0x2056fb0N0x20745c0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/gun-advocates-take-aim-at-aspens-proposed-prohibition-of-deadly-weapons-in-city-buildings\/\">Second Amendment advocates<\/a> who spoke with force on Tuesday during council\u2019s regular meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cYou are asking me to conceal my right to bear arms,\u201d Rifle resident Lauren Boebert said. \u201cMy rights do not end where your fears begin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen resident Steve Berk said he\u2019s fearful that prohibition won\u2019t stop at the roughly 25 <a id=\"N0x2056fb0N0x20eab70:N0x2056fb0N0x2074770\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/gun-ban-in-city-of-aspen-buildings-in-elected-officials-scope\/\">city properties where the law could be applied<\/a>, and soon it will be parks and the mall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThe next and the next and the next,\u201d he told council. \u201cGive an inch and take a mile.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Garfield County resident Sherronna Bishop said countless incidents with bears occur in Aspen and on city property, and that is just one reason to bear arms.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cAny citizen should always have the right to protect themselves against wildlife,\u201d she said, adding disarming citizens is not the answer. \u201cA good guy with a gun will always stop a bad guy with a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Outside of the new law, city employees are not allowed to carry weapons or firearms while in municipal government buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Tracy Terry, administrative assistant in the City Clerk\u2019s Office who works in the front office at the entrance to City Hall, told council she doesn\u2019t feel safe at work at times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She said doesn\u2019t agree with the city policy about employees not being able to carrying weapons, or the public prohibition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI just don\u2019t think this actually makes us safer,\u201d she said. \u201cI wonder why we need this at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The law is a symbolic gesture because city officials do not plan to install metal detectors or security personnel to know whether people are carrying guns into buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen resident Phyllis Bronson said after listening to the gun advocates, particularly four women wearing guns on their hips in front of her in council chambers, she isn\u2019t convinced.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI feel like an alien in my town,\u201d she said, adding guns have no place in a peaceful society like Aspen. \u201cI don\u2019t think this ordinance goes far enough. \u2026 If you are going to do it, don\u2019t do it half-assed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The city pays for a police officer to be present during regular council meetings, which are held the first and third Tuesdays of the month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Linda Manning, who spoke in front of council as an Aspen resident and not in her capacity as city clerk, said she feels safer carrying her gun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFor the past several months there have been members of the public coming in and threatening violence,\u201d she said. \u201cWhile none of it has been personally directed at me, it makes me uncomfortable to be in a room where there is the potential for something bad to happen and not be able to do anything about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cTonight is the first night in a very long time I\u2019ve felt safe in this room,\u201d she told council. \u201cYes, there is a police officer here, but I also have friends here who are armed and so am I.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Aspen joins Boulder, Aurora and Denver in banning deadly weapons in municipal office buildings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The definition of a deadly weapon includes not only firearms but also a \u201cknife, bludgeon, or any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or 189 substance, whether animate or inanimate, that, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The crime will be punishable by up to a $2,650 fine and up to one year in jail.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/aspen-council-unanimously-passes-ordinance-to-ban-guns-in-city-buildings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maggie Silvers, along with other gun advocates, sit in Aspen City Council chambers prior to elected officials passing an ordinance banning deadly weapons from being brought into city buildings unless individuals have a concealed weapons permit.Carolyn Sackariason \/ The Aspen Times Gun advocates Toni Booth, left, and Lauren Boebert pose outside of Aspen City Council [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2450224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-20 02:39:04","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality 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