Leave your guns at home. Fresno bans public from having legal firearms at City Hall
During a contentious meeting Thursday, the Fresno City Council banned anyone other than a member of law enforcement from legally carrying a gun into City Hall.
The new measure requested by Mayor Lee Brand prohibits those with a concealed-carry permit, often called a CCW, from bringing their guns to City Hall.
The item passed 6-1. Councilmember Garry Bredefeld cast the single “no” vote, saying the rule does not make the building safer.
Metal detectors and X-ray machines were placed at the single public entrance to the building in December. Already prohibited were any potential weapons, such as pepper spray, knives and scissors.
“This has worked just fine since 2011,” Bredefeld said. “There has been no problem with CCW holders.”
The city adopted an ordinance, sponsored by then-Councilmember Brand, in 2011 that made it easier to acquire a CCW. Fresno County Sheriff’s Office has about 15,000 CCW licenses issued to residents, and the Fresno Police Department has issued more than 2,400 licenses, including more than 1,700 issued since 2012.
The meeting this week grew contentious as Bredefeld played news footage from a 2010 Panama City, Florida, school board meeting in which a man methodically used a handgun to shoot at one school board member after the other, missing them all.
Councilmember Miguel Arias, who is now serving as board president, asked staffers to stop the footage, which showed the shootings in their entirety. Bredefeld shouted “don’t cut my video” as members of the audience also shouted.
Amendments
The ordinance had been more controversial among the council last week in its previous iteration. The council met with Brand and agreed to add screening stations to the building’s employee entrance. Leaders also look to add fencing to the employee parking lot.
The adopted version also carved out room for active and retired law enforcement officers with the proper ID to carry in the building. Brand, Bredefeld and Councilmemeber Luis Chavez, who are all CCW holders, are not permitted to carry a gun.
Employees can be permitted to carry pepper spray if they follow the proper protocol, according to city staffers.
Brand said he began thinking about City Hall’s safety following the April 18, 2017, mass shooting near downtown, allegedly carried out by Kori Muhammad, according to investigators. He has been charged with three counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.
“In today’s world, there’s a weekly active shooter somewhere,” Brand said on Thursday. “I don’t want to have blood on my hands.”
Councilmember Mike Karbassi said he was not supportive of the initial proposal, but changed his mind after the amendments.
“This is the most feasible compromise at this time,” he said. “I’m also confident this isn’t the last time we talk about it.”
Public reactions
About a dozen people spoke publicly against the outlawing of legal gun-toting. Many of them said the council had no evidence showing that CCW holders have been a problem at City Hall, and were punishing the wrong people.
“I see this as the ability for owners to protect themselves is being taken away, “ Rob Simpson, who owns The Range pistol club, said.
Guns rights advocates repeatedly pointed to the December church shooting in Texas in which an armed man killed an active shooter. They argued the violence could have been much worse without an armed member of the public.
Others said guns are a great equalizer they carry daily, because they are at risk of violence in public. If they can’t carry at City Hall, they would be forced to leave the weapons at home, making them a target.
Pink Pistols is an LGBT-run group that advocates for those who may face hate crimes and want to concealed carry, according to spokesperson Nicki Stallard, who spoke on Thursday.
“I carry because I may face multiple attackers,” she said. “The city is setting a bad example for private industry. CCW holders, we’re the good guys.”
Police chief’s blessing
Chief Andy Hall said he’s happy to see the city is taking a proactive stance rather than waiting to react to violence. While saying CCW holders are good citizens, Hall said they are a complication for any officers responding to an active scene.
Under the new ordinance, police officers are always stationed inside City Hall.
If officers were to respond to an active shooter incident in the building while a CCW holder has drawn their gun, it becomes “too many cooks in the kitchen,” Hall said. The officer has to address the person with the gun, which slows their response to the active shooter.
He said the Texas church shooting does not compare to Fresno’s City Hall, because the church doesn’t already have police on site. CCW holders are already not allowed to carry guns in many public places — such as schools, courthouses, national parks and bars.
He acknowledged the security measures may slow people entering the building or require someone to leave a gun at home. “Security is always a balance between efficiency and inconvenience,” Hall said.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 2:50 PM.
