Monday night, I went to the Beloit City Council chambers to speak against a possible ban on legal guns in public buildings and on Beloit buses. I was joined by several members of the local Tea Party.
Several of us spoke out on the subject. The Board put a final decision off for a few weeks, to allow more time for consideration of the points we raised, and for more public comment.
One council member made a remark about banning guns in park restrooms - that the person could go to their car and disarm if they felt strongly about it. Both ignoring the urgency sometimes involved with restroom use and the needless handling of firearms.
I wrote an email to the Board:
Hello,
Thank you for letting me speak Monday night on the possibility of lawfully carried firearms being banned in buildings owned by the City of Beloit, and on Beloit public transit. I have a few more points that I would like to make on this subject.
About banning guns on Beloit Transit System buses - if you do this, you are essentially barring anyone who needs to use public transit from being able to protect themselves on the way to the bus stop, or at their destination. Not only is this discrimination against the most vulnerable members of our society, this is a blatant infringement of the rider's Second Amendment Constitutional rights, not to mention a violation of the corresponding section of the Wisconsin Constitution. Surely you do not want to go on record as denying the people of Beloit who must use public transit the right to self defense.
By banning guns in your buildings, you will be forcing people with CCW licenses to disarm in the parking lot, or forgo carrying their defensive weapon if they need to access city buildings. Forcing people to needlessly handle their firearms will put both the person with the gun and the public at risk of an accidental discharge, and also put the gun owner at risk of having their weapon stolen from their vehicle. If Beloit public buildings are known by criminals to be "gun free" zones, they will be preferred spots to lay in wait for people leaving the building, as these people will not be carrying a weapon, by law. Criminals prefer helpless victims.
A remark was made about possibly banning guns from park restrooms, that the gun owner could go to their car and disarm if they really needed to use the facilities. I think that was a very cruel and unthoughtful statement, in that sometimes the only thing standing between a person and public embarrassment is an easily accessible washroom. The same concerns about needlessly handling a firearm apply here.
On the issue of Beloit employees being allowed to carry personal weapons - if these people are law-abiding and stable, as they should be to be employed by the City, what is the problem with them being able to protect themselves or others if they should come upon criminal activity? If budget cuts will remove police officers from the streets, I would hope the Board would consider having some armed city employees out there as a benefit, not a liability.
Aren't there already enough laws and ordinances on the books in both Beloit and the State of Wisconsin without targeting those persons who are statistically the least likely to cause problems? The issue of enforcement was raised - either you will enforce the law realistically, to prevent some irate or mentally ill person from entering these places with metal detectors and TSA-style friskings, or the law is simply an infringement on the law-abiding and won't do anything to stop a criminal intent on mayhem.
I hope you decide to table this proposed ordinance, and follow both the letter and spirit of the Wisconsin Constitution and the will of the people who have supported the new CCW law. Above all, remember that under most circumstances, the police are second responders, and cannot prevent crimes - "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away" is a truism.
Regards.
Chuck Kuecker
City of Beloit Board members website
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