Vinton Today

An ordinance governing guns on city property was not on the agenda for Thursday night’s city council meeting.

And the informal discussion among council members and city leaders at the end of the meeting seems to indicate that such an ordinance will not be on the agenda any time soon.

The council briefly discussed the recent decision by the Benton County Supervisors to prohibit firearms on any county property, with exclusions for those with professional permits, as well as those on county land during hunting season.

Council members and city officials present at the meeting had some questions about the new state "shall issue" law.

City Coordinator Andy Lent said one citizen has called to tell him that if the council considers such an ordinance, that citizen wants to speak to the council during its debate of the issue.

The city council, however, did not seem interested in passing such a rule for City of Vinton buildings and parks.

Mayor John Watson asked Police Chief Jeff Tilson for his opinion.

So far, said the chief, the biggest issue since the new Iowa “shall issue” law went into effect Jan. 1, has been over-reaction to the issue on both sides. He suggested that people should just wait to see what happens under the new law before any more action is taken.

Tilson also said that business owners who chose to prohibit guns from their property have a right to do so. But he also said that he has been explaining to business operators that such policies are to be enforced first by the business owner, not law enforcement.

“It’s kind of like the “no shirts, no shoes’ rule,” said Tilson. “It’s up to the businesses to enforce it.”

Only after a customer refuses a store owner’s request to keep firearms from a business, could the mere presence of a weapon in a store where they are prohibited become a law enforcement issue, said the chief.

There is one adjustment that law enforcement officers will have to make, said Tilson.

Before the new law went into effect, said the chief, “I had a pretty good idea who had a permit to carry a gun.”

But now, he said, officers will have to become more familiar with those who have permits, and are legally armed.

Benton County Sheriff Randy Forsyth has said earlier that in the first week of 2011, he approved nearly 150 new permits for carrying firearms for county residents.

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SS January 17, 2011, 12:29 pm The Police Chief has a very good point. Iowa has had a carry law for almost a century. There was no need to prohibit citizens from carry firearms then and there is no reason to now. The law now, just makes the issue system fair. The permit to carry is good for 5 years instead of one year. Most of the people who are whining and crying about the law have never read it and don't have a clue!

RF January 17, 2011, 9:39 am Are there a lot of people in Vinton open carrying? All of the people I know that carry, carry concealed. That way the sheep won't get scared when they see someone other than a LEO carrying. It also keeps the bad guys from knowing who is and who isn't armed. Nothing in the law has really changed. The sheriff can still deny a permit. The only difference now is he has to give a reason in writing. And there is a appeals process if the applicant feels the sheriff is wrong. The change in the law came about because some of the sheriffs in Iowa abused their power when it came to issuing permits. The old jim crow law is dead. Now if a peason has the training and passes a background check they get a permit. Yet a majority of the media keeps hollering about shootouts over parking spaces and fender benders. It hasn't happened in the other 38 states that have shall issue. What makes them think it would happen in Iowa. Are we just a bunch of mental defectives? Remember also that before the new law was passed, there were close to 30,000 permit holders in the state.

MO January 16, 2011, 9:42 am Mr. Vinton is making assumptions too. He seems to think if a law is passed to ban guns from city property, the criminals he so fears, will, for some reason, abide by them. Look, if a wack-o is going to a particular place to shoot it up, a law banning guns from said place is not going to deter him from his motive. Instead, it would be nice to have armed, trained, law abiding citizens there to take him down.

MV January 15, 2011, 10:46 am Law Abiding Vintonian is making some assumptions. The first is that I am a liberal. I also like how he throws that word out there to somehow disqualify what I say as reliable because I am one of those "whacked out liberals" who cannot possibly have a reasonable thought.

Secondly, he is assuming that something like the Arizona incident would never and could never happen here in good old Vinton.

Are we going to allow and do we really want people to openly carry guns into events at our school, into bars, into city council meetings, to Party in the Park and any other of a number of places where people gather. In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, we are simply asking for problems.

Too many people close their eyes to problems in this town. Don't get me wrong, Vinton is a great place to live. There are a lot of very friendly and helpful people here. However, as soon as we admit to ourselves that we have a significant drug problem in this town and a significant amount of mental illness in this town the better Vinton can be. Mental illness, drugs (which includes alcohol)and firearms are not a good combination. Chief Tilson in his own words says that "Before the new law went into effect, said the chief, 'I had a pretty good idea who had a permit to carry a gun.'
But now, he said, officers will have to become more familiar with those who have permits, and are legally armed." A statement like this does not instill confidence in me.

I am not saying that people do not have the right to own and carry firearms. They do. What I am saying is that there are times and places where guns are not appropriate.

LAV January 14, 2011, 10:00 pm Mr. Vinton is taking things out of context as many liberals do on hot button topics. I'm very certain Chief Tilson is refering to seeing how many complaints they receive concerning open carry in certain businesses. I believe Chief Tilson is very reasonable and the City Council has shown it's wisdom by heeding his words. One thing is for sure, I don't carry open and businesses prohibiting open carry won't receive my patronage ever.

DC January 14, 2011, 7:12 pm The City Council has the perception to see that passing a firearms ordinance will take the weapon from Mr. Law Abiding John Q. Public, but not from the criminal, whom does not follow any laws.

MV January 14, 2011, 4:03 pm "He (Jeff Tilson) suggested that people should just wait to see what happens under the new law before any more action is taken."

Wait and see what happens like some crazy person walking downtown and opening fire on innocent citizens? Didn't this just happen in Arizona?

TB January 14, 2011, 1:12 pm Thank you for your common sense, city council!

DC January 14, 2011, 1:02 pm It seems to me that our City Council is not nearly as paranoid as our County Supervisors. Enforce the laws we have, not make new ones.

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