Should Fresno council members take guns into City Hall for security? Careful review needed
The shocking images of rioters who busted into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 have caused elected officials across America to consider the safety in their city halls, county buildings and statehouses.
Fresno is no exception. This coming week City Council President Luis Chavez will ask his colleagues to consider new steps to improve security at Fresno City Hall, which is located downtown.
Chavez will propose that new security fencing be put around a key parking lot; and that private, armed security be used for patrol instead of police as a way to free up officers for other tasks.
He will also propose that council members and senior staff who have concealed-carry-weapon permits be allowed to bring their personal firearms into City Hall. Chavez, for one, has a CCW permit. So do members Miguel Arias and Garry Bredefeld.
“It is always a balancing act with making the building accessible, and even more than that, welcoming,” said Chavez. “But it is also about protecting the people who work there.”
As the council considers these ideas, it will get a report in closed session from Police Chief Paco Balderrama, as well as the thoughts of Mayor Jerry Dyer, the former police chief who has years of experience of being in City Hall for meetings and events.
The guiding principle for any discussion should be keeping City Hall as Fresno’s version of the people’s house. That is how the U.S. Capitol is known. Fresno City Hall is the local center for representative government. It is not a fort, and should not be converted into one.
New fencing to add security
Fencing is a reasonable measure. The council already approved the installation, but then the pandemic hit last March, and the project was put on hold.
Fencing would be erected around the Q Street lot where council members and top staff park. Often they work into the evening and don’t come out to their vehicles until it is dark. As it is now, anyone can walk up to a person getting into a car there. Chavez said his vehicle has been vandalized numerous times over his decade of working at City Hall.
One step already taken: Public access is through the main side of the building on P Street. Metal detectors and bag checks await those who enter there.
Wise to allow guns?
The council debate will likely focus most on allowing CCW permit holders to bring their own firearms into the building.
Chavez got one after a drug addict broke into his home in July of 2017. The burglar, armed with a 10-inch knife, came back several days later when Chavez was home. The council member chased him for blocks before police caught the suspect.
CCW permit holders have to undergo hours of training to learn how to safely handle their weapons. Letting council members and top staff who have CCW permits bring their firearms into City Hall seems reasonable, given that the context for this issue is what happened at the Capitol in Washington, D.C.
But one must ask if allowing guns into City Hall is a wise idea. There are nonlethal alternatives, like pepper spray or Tasers. Even with the best training and intentions, a gun can be wrongly fired, with tragic results.
If CCW permit holders are allowed to carry their firearms into City Hall, that allowance would include the council chamber itself. Might that have a chilling effect on public speakers who want to be critical of council decisions?
Besides council members, the city manager, city attorney and city controller could be allowed guns if they have CCW permits.
Citizens themselves ultimately determine the safety of their public buildings. Proper respect for the facilities and the people who work in them — be it City Hall, a school district headquarters or a local irrigation district — must be the standard.
The Jan. 6 riot, however, showed that ideal to be sorely lacking in American culture right now. Until such respect can once again be assumed, it is necessary to improve security at Fresno City Hall. The council must carefully weigh whether adding guns to the mix makes sense.