North Liberty council gets pushback on banning guns in city properties

NORTH LIBERTY — After a two-year hiatus, discussion was revived Tuesday over the possibility of banning firearms on North Liberty's city-owned property.

Tuesday's discussion by the City Council — and a large crowd — was prompted by a letter sent from North Liberty Community Library Board President Marcia Ziemer requesting the topic be discussed. The 2013 council was the last to take up the matter formally.

In a packed City Hall, speakers argued that a prohibition would be unconstitutional and make city property more dangerous.

Before discussion began, Mayor Amy Nielsen said there would be no council vote on the resolution that evening — but rather that the topic be placed on the agenda to allow for council discussion.

'The intention has always been to have a discussion and never take action,' Nielsen said, noting that the city had received more than 300 messages on the matter, with some of them including language she described as 'inappropriate and foul.'

One speaker was escorted from the meeting for asking a question and continuing to speak after being told that public comment had closed.

Many who spoke against a gun ban pointed to high-profile incidents of violence locally — including the shooting this summer at Coral Ridge Mall in Coralville — and internationally, including the terror attacks in Paris earlier this month.

Aaron Dorr, executive director of Iowa Gun Owners, pointed to the mall shooting, indicating that one of the reasons for the tragedy was because the mall does not allow firearms.

'It didn't stop the murderer, that woman is still deceased,' he said. 'There are real lives at stake here, this is going to affect real lives here locally.'

No one in the crowd spoke in favor of such a ban.

Many declared any resolution banning firearms on city-owned land is illegal.

According to language citing 2011 legislation in the gun ban resolution proposed in 2013, banning guns on city property does not infringe on personal rights.

In Ziemer's letter, she said the library board wants the council to consider a resolution banning firearms within the city's recreation center and library. The library already is considered a weapons-free zone, but the board wants that policy to align with city rules.

'We want the staff and community to feel safe in this public space,' she wrote.

The resolution is the second time North Liberty has discussed such a regulation. A 2013 resolution failed to pass on a 2-3 vote. The resolution discussed Tuesday mirrored that one.

Council member Terry Donahue, who voted against the last resolution, made it clear he would do so again.

'The thing that has always bothered me is a decal on the door will not prevent a problem from happening, period,' he said.

City staff will continue to discuss the matter, possibly bringing the topic back to the council early next year.

Iowa City and Johnson County passed similar resolutions in 2011.

Both resolutions provide exceptions, such as for law enforcement officers. In Iowa City, the resolution does not apply to the Iowa City Municipal Airport or Iowa City Public Library, as those properties are managed by the Airport Commission and Library Board, respectively.

In the nearly five years since their passage, the resolutions in Iowa City and Johnson County have never been challenged in court, said Iowa City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes and Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness.

In Coralville, Ellen Habel, assistant city administrator, said the city doesn't have any regulations for weapons on city property.

The issue of gun bans began popping up across Iowa since a change in state law Jan. 1 that eased restrictions on gun permits and removed a sheriff's ability to require guns be concealed.