Sun Journal New Bern, NC: Havelock poised to usher in new gun rules

Please join us at the next Havelock Commissioners meeting at City Hall, December 12, 2011 and ask that the new state law be upheld and our second amendment rights be protected.  Call and email the commissioners as well!
~Lynn

November 29, 2011 6:06 PM


Drew C. Wilson

Havelock appears on the verge of approving new rules concerning guns in city parks, but formal approval will have to wait until the next commissioners meeting.

The regulations would allow those with proper concealed weapons permits to bring guns to city parks and recreation areas, but those weapons must be kept locked in vehicles and are not permitted at athletic fields or inside the recreation center.

Under the old rules approved in 1995, weapons of any kind were prohibited completely in city parks and recreation areas.

Commissioners voted 3-2 to approve the new rules Monday, but a super majority is required to change city regulations on the first reading. A second reading and vote must be held before the new rules go into effect. That vote would likely come on Dec. 12.

The city looked at addressing changes to its gun rules after the General Assembly passed and Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a bill that allows those with proper permits to carry concealed weapons at all city recreation areas. The law, which takes effect Friday, does allow cities to adjust regulations to prohibit weapons in certain areas, but an outright ban of those with proper permits to carry concealed weapons is not permitted.

The emotional issue drew residents to the podium to speak publicly to commissioners on the issue, but only one supported the idea of limiting concealed weapons at athletic fields and in the recreation center.

George Lewis told commissioners he had been challenged to fights three times, had to tackle a man threatening a referee once, and had observed fist fights at the T-ball field, saying parents allowed to carry concealed weapons at fields could use them in the heat of the moment.


“When someone asked me why I carry a gun, it’s because I can’t carry a policeman,” resident Nancy Murdock told commissioners. “Unless you have a policeman at every event, you don’t have safety.” (Nancy is the Vice Chairman of Coastal Carolina Taxpayers Association.)


CONTINUED:  http://www.newbernsj.com/news/rules-102448-weapons-guns.html