MOCA open carry event at Portland City Hall, Tuesday September 14th, 2010

[Maine CWP Training]

NOT SURE WHAT FLIPPED COYNE?

Gun control discussed at Portland committee meeting

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A Portland City Councilor is hoping to spur the Maine Legislature towards creating more limits on where people can carry firearms in the state.

Dan Skolnik plans to chair two public hearings over the next two months. He'd like to see firearms banned at places like the Cumberland County Civic Center, City Hall and the Portland Expo. And exception would be made for law enforcement personnel. The city can't make its own gun laws, so the council's action would be made in the form of a resolution, urging the state legislature to take action.

Not surprisingly, gun enthusiasts are not pleased with Skolnik's plan. Shane Belanger, the founder of Maine Open Carry, says creating more gun-free zones only prevents law-abiding citizens from being able to protect themselves and doesn't prevent crime.

Skolnik himself says he does not know what resolution will come of the public hearings. And he has no idea whether the city council will support him. He has been in a spat with many of his fellow councilors, accusing them of ignoring his calls and emails and not taking their jobs seriously. Some of them have said he may have a problem with managing his anger. Councilor Jon Coyne, who has stayed out of the fray, said he generally thinks Skolnik's idea is a good one, and that he thinks other councilors would be on board as well.

 

[crdonov]

portland city hall meeting

well fellows, sorry i couldnt make it tonight, but had a family problem. but anyway, public safety meeting made the 6 oclock news. if you go too www.wcsh6.com you can you can watch the video. hopefully everthing went well!

xd-over

 

[Jarody]

Jon Coyne is a former prison guard.

 

[crdonov]

how did things go at the meeting?

xd-over

 

[boyscout399]

how did things go at the meeting?

xd-over

lots of media coverage. check out wsch6, wmtw, and wgme's websites. All three have posted video. Support was overwhelmingly on our side. Lots of OCing and lots of CCing. No LEO issues. The people speaking for our side focused the discussion firmly in factual evidence. The opposition focused their discussion purely on emotional issues and left factual evidence out of their speeches. They misquoted several statistics and neglected to inform themselves on the intent of the state preemption before commenting on it.

There will be a follow up meeting on Tuesday 12OCT2010. We will be getting many more people to attend.

 

[Maine CWP Training]

Move to ban guns in public facilities floated tonight

City Councilor Dan Skolnik wants state lawmakers to expand gun control to public facilities such as city halls and gathering places like the Portland Exposition Center, Fitzpatrick Stadium and the Cumberland County Civic Center.

At the city's regular Public Safety Committee meeting today (Tuesday), Skolnik and other supporters of a city resolution seeking gun bans in these public venues will try to launch a draft resolution that the city council could take to the legislature.

Actually, two public meetings are planned: the one today at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall and one in October (tentatively the second Tuesday in October), Skolnik said Monday. Public comment will be the heart of the meetings, he added.

"Probably between the two meetings we'll try to put together a resolution that very carefully outlines a solution for public facilities that we think is constitutional, and then we'll leave it to the legislature to decide," Skolnik, who chairs the public safety committee, said.

In April, Skolnik mounted a counter-protest on the Back Cove to a local rally for "open carry," a nationwide movement that urges gun owners to openly wear guns in public where legal. "No good can come of walking around displaying an openly-loaded weapon," Skolnik said at the time of the dueling protests.

Under Maine state law, it's legal to carry loaded guns in public, but only if they are in plain sight. If someone wants to conceal a firearm, state law requires that they take out a permit for a concealed weapon. There are few prohibitions on where people can carry a gun, although current law bans them from courthouses, jails, school grounds and bars, according to city attorney Gary Wood.

Skolnik says there should be "at least that level of regulation" for people wishing to openly carry their guns.

But the issue of gun control in Portland largely left the public eye after April's high-profile rallies.

Asked why is he was pursuing legislative restrictions now, Skolnik said, "I was motivated by the understanding that there was some common ground that certain people in the legislature were nodding toward, and I thought, 'OK, I'll give it a try.'"

"I think there is a good chance that something can pass," said William Harwood, a gun control advocate who offered information to the public safety committee regarding past attempts to prohibit guns in certain facilities. "I think if the MMA (Maine Municipal Association) were to take this on and lend their support to it as a matter of local control over which they (local municipalities) should have local jurisdiction it would have a much stronger chance of passing."

"Peripheral issues" such as what to do about somebody driving into a city hall parking lot with a hunting rifle in their vehicle needed to be worked out during past debates, Harwood said.

"You're never quite sure when the right time is, but there has been support for this in the past," he said.

State and federal law preempts local authority to regulate firearms, Wood wrote in an Aug. 10 memo to the public safety committee.

"That is why this limited approach to new state legislation makes sense," Wood wrote. "Portland can call on the Legislature to expand its own laws in a way that conforms with the right to bear arms."

Paul Mattson, a National Rifle Association certified instructor and range safety officer, said he doesn't expect the proposal to escape the public safety committee.

"I have a good feeling it's going to be shot down tomorrow night," he predicted Monday. "The legislators already voted this down four times prior. It's been voted down many times."

The Maine State Constitution reads: "Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned."

"It's contrary to the Maine State Constitution, Article 1, Section 16," Mattson said of the resolution, noting that the state constitution also prohibits cities from administering state law.

The National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action, was more blunt, writing in an email alert: "This legislation would be the first step in an outright attack on your concealed carry rights and the measure also defies Maine’s Constitution which states, 'Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.'"

READ MORE

 

[Grapeshot]

Dan Skolnikis is unwittingly helping to further your cause - he brings attention to the issue and exposes the hypocrisy of his objections and provides the forum for an intelligent and educated response.

Stay on top of this and rally the troops - the mission is to educate/inform and protect your rights. Good show - MOCA the premier gin rights group in Maine indeed!

Following past form, the NRA misses the point with their statement that "This legislation would be the first step in an outright attack on your concealed carry rights." It is an attack first and foremost on OPEN CARRY,

 

[rhenriksen]

This was probably the best video piece.

http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default....+meeting/49383985001/49452227001/609510837001

If, god forbid, this idea moves forward, it's doomed to failure in the courts. What a waste of time & money by the antis.

Virginia Tech was a gun-free zone. Columbine was a gun-free zone. Didn't seem to have the desired effect. What is the problem that they're trying to solve?

 

[Hightower207]

Mr. Rowell is my new hero.

http://www.wcsh6.com/video/default....rol+laws/49383985001/49452227001/609527879001

 

[ep0k]

The real star of the performance was my badass pinstripe suit.

 

[Hightower207]

The real star of the performance was my badass pinstripe suit.

Are you sure the real star wasn't the lovely gentleman with the black trenchcoat and greasy hair that began to talk to himself in the corner of the room. Then leave half way through while staring at everyone and muttering something under his breath.

 

[ep0k]

Are you sure the real star wasn't the lovely gentleman with the black trenchcoat and greasy hair that began to talk to himself in the corner of the room. Then leave half way through while staring at everyone and muttering something under his breath.

He was just trying to take the cameras off my suit. Didn't work.

He's the perfect example of the kind of guy we need to watch out for though. Your normal perpetrator of a violent crime like a mugging or assault is still using a form of rational thinking. He's come to bad conclusions, but still assessed a situation and decided the payoff exceeds the inherent risk. OC kicks the risk up several notches, from being caught by the cops to possibly being killed on the spot.

An assailant like our strange visitor to the city council meeting is most likely NOT thinking in his right mind and may very well not be deterred by the presence of a weapon. I'm glad he chose to keep his stay short because my spider-sense was tingling the entire time he was in the room. The fact that he was having an internal conversation with people and things that weren't there does not instill confidence in his grip on reality.

 

[Maine CWP Training]

I sent in an inquiry to the MCLU to see if they will join in opposition.