Community Corner

City Employees' Safety Behind Move to Approve Gun Ban

The Port Washington Common Council approved an ordinance banning concealed weapons in all city buildings, adding a requirement for annual security inspections of such buildings by city officials.

City officials point to conversations with their employees about safety concerns in their decision to approve an ordinance banning concealed weapons in all city buildings.

"While your number one duty is to represent the city, your employees have asked you that they don’t want the guns," Port Washington Mayor Scott Huebner said to the council Tuesday night. "(City employees) strongly don’t want them in here, and there hasn’t been a strong outcry from the public that they do want them in here."

The council voted 5-3 to approve the ban, with aldermen Joe Dean, David Larson and Burt Babcock voting against the ordinance. The ordinance includes an amendment that calls for the city administrator and the police chief to jointly conduct an annual security review of public buildings, with notice of such review given to both the Common Council and the Police and Fire Commission.

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Dean suggested the amendment, "because protecting our employees and our citizens is much more than putting signs on the door."

"Frankly, I feel this ordinance is about to pass — and I want to make it as best I can before I vote no," he said.

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Babcock expressed disapproval of parts of the statewide carry conceal ordinance — namely the fact that of training before obtaining a permit — but hoped for common sense to apply.

"I think it was very stupid to pass a concealed carry law in the state of Wisconsin that has basically no way to verify (someone has been trained)," Babcock said. "This is not Milwaukee County, and I trust our citizens to have common sense not to be packing when they come down to City Hall."

The council has been debating this issue since Nov. 1 — the day the conceal carry law went into effect statewide — including a discussion at keeping out citizens intent on coming in with guns and for the city.

Brought up at Tuesday night's meeting was whether the ban violated rights as stated in the Constitution and re-emphasized with the carry conceal ordinance.

"I don’t want guns in City Hall either … but there is the Constitution to listen to here," Larson said.

But Ald. Paul Neumeyer, who works at the Ozaukee County Courthouse and carries a firearm for his occupation, noted that the Supreme Court has even granted reasonable restrictions on constitutional rights.

"I do take the Bill of Rights and the Constitution very seriously, and I think most people do," he said. "There are certain areas you just don’t want to have them in. ... I’m sticking to my guns on this, we need to protect our employees."


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