Civil Protection Ordinance

[Statkowski]

Councilman Steve Jett of the Greenleaf (Idaho) City Council introduced an ordinance requesting that all heads of households maintain firearms for protection of their homes and families. Councilman Jett was upset over what went on in New Orleans during their recent hurricane, and (I believe) vowed never to let the gun grabbing ever take place in his home town.

Based on his actions, I recently introduced a Proposed Ordinance at our Borough Council meeting (I'm a Borough Councilman). My proposed ordinance follows:

Ordinance ___
Sponsored by Henry Statkowski

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF CHERRY TREE TO BE KNOWN AS THE "CIVIL PROTECTION ORDINANCE" REQUESTING THAT ALL HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS MAINTAIN A FIREARM ALONG WITH AMMUNITION AND AUTHORIZING THE PROMOTION OF FIREARM SAFETY AND FIREARM SAFETY TRAINING FOR RESIDENTS.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF CHERRY TREE, INDIANA COUNTY, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1: The Borough Council does hereby make the following findings:

WHEREAS – Life, defense of that life, and the defense of one’s family in or out of the home is both a right and an individual responsibility, and

WHEREAS - The Borough Council recognizes that law enforcement exists to provide for general public safety, is not always available when immediately needed, and is neither required nor able to provide for the individual safety of all persons and their property; and

WHEREAS - Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.", and

THEREFORE – The Borough Council desires to promote through borough code the deterrent to burglaries and other crime which is inherent in having an armed residency within the borough as guaranteed by both the Constitution of the united States and Pennsylvania State Constitution.

SECTION 2: Now therefore, the Cherry Tree Borough Council hereby creates the ordinance be added to Cherry Tree Borough Ordinances:

A. TITLE: This ordinance shall be known and cited as the CIVIL PROTECTION ORDINANCE.

B. HEADS OF HOUSEHOLDS TO MAINTAIN FIREARMS:

1. In order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the borough and its inhabitants, it is recommended that every head of household residing in the borough limits maintain a firearm, together with ammunition therefore, and obtain appropriate training relating to proper, safe and lawful handling of firearms.

2. Exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who suffer a physical or mental disability which would prohibit them from using such a firearm or are otherwise prohibited from purchasing a firearm.

3. Further exempt from the effect of this section are those heads of households who are paupers or who conscientiously oppose maintaining firearms as a result of beliefs or religious doctrine, persons convicted of a felony, or persons otherwise prevented from maintaining firearms by law or judicial decree.

C. USE OF FIREARMS: No person shall fire a gun, pistol or other firearm in the borough, except in fear of life as governed by the laws of the Commonwealth, and except peace officers or military forces of this state or the United States in the discharge of official duties.

D. VOLUNTEERS AND TRAINING:

1. The Mayor and Chief of Police are authorized to promote and support active Neighborhood Watch or other such groups within the Borough of Cherry Tree to support police efforts to combat crime within the borough.

2. The Mayor and Chief of Police are authorized to promote and encourage firearm safety and firearm safety training for residents the Borough of Cherry Tree.

E. EXPENSES: Any expenditures by the Borough of Cherry Tree in support of efforts authorized under ordinance are to be budgeted or otherwise approved by the Borough Council.

SECTION 3: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the remaining portions of this ordinance. The Borough Council of the Borough of Cherry Tree hereby declares that it would have passed this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof irrespective of the fact that one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid.

SECTION 4: This Ordinance shall be in full force and in effect immediately upon its adoption, approval and publication.

SECTION 5: All previous ordinances, resolutions, orders, or parts thereof, in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, rescinded and annulled. : I

SECTION 6: Adopted and approved by the Borough Council of the Borough of Cherry Tree this ___ day of _________, 2006.

My proposed ordinance, possibly the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, was sent to the Borough Solicitor for legal opinion, further action to take place at the next (December 6th) Borough Council meeting.

The Proposed Ordinance may end up as a Resolution since it neither requires anything of anyone, nor does it have any penalties. But, it would make a statement to burglars, ne'er-do-wells and other criminal elements that they really, really might want to think twice before doing anything illegal against the citizens of the Borough of Cherry Tree, Indiana County, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Why, you may ask, is such a public statement needed? Three reasons, as follows:

First, life, defense of that life, and the defense of one’s family in or out of the home is both a right and an individual responsibility. When needed, the homeowner can defend his or her family, or the homeowner can dial 911 and wait, and wait, and wait, for someone else to show up to do the homeowner’s job.

Second, law enforcement exists to provide for general public safety. The key phrase “general public safety” does not include personal protection – that’s an individual responsibility. The police are not always available when immediately needed, and are neither required nor able to provide for the individual safety of all persons and their property. The police might show up after all the damage is done, but they’re not going to be there when the homeowner needs immediate help (immediate means right now, not five, ten or fifteen minutes from now).

Lastly, Article I, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides that "The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned." Our own state constitution, which predates the U.S. Constitution, acknowledges that the individual is primarily responsible for his or her own self defense, not Officer Friendly, not Trooper Smith, but the individual. The good citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are responsible for defending their own lives, and the lives of their families. If someone is found breaking into a house, they are threatening the lives and well-being of the residents thereof and the home’s occupants ought to have the means to protect themselves. To depend solely on the police for protection can prove to be a fatal mistake, one to which far too many examples exist. To the man of the house, I don’t believe your wife would appreciate it very much if you said, “Sorry, Honey, I’ll wait until the police arrive and have them defend your life.”

My proposed ordinance, possibly the first in the state, desires to promote through borough code the deterrent to burglaries and other crime which is inherent in having an armed residency within the borough as guaranteed by both the Constitution of the united States and Pennsylvania State Constitution. Think it can’t happen here? Ask the couple in nearby Nicktown who went through a home invasion. They depended on the police to provide for their protection. That didn’t deter the criminals one bit.

Whose residence is going to get hit first by burglars or other criminals intent on doing you harm? Will it be the residence where it’s known to be completely defenseless? Or will it be the residence where the homeowner MIGHT have a gun?

Of course, if you do have a firearm in your household, you are responsible for knowing how to use your firearm safely, and when to use it. You should be knowledgeable of firearms safety rules and state laws governing the use of firearms. With certain rights come certain responsibilities. Being a responsible gun owner goes hand-in-hand with having the right to possess such a device.

To support being a responsible gun owner, Cherry Tree’s proposed ordinance also states that the Mayor and Chief of Police are authorized to promote and encourage firearm safety and firearm safety training for residents the Borough of Cherry Tree. For the Cherry Tree residents, this means that the borough building could be used for firearms safety classes. As a Borough Councilman, I support this. We should have an educated populace.

There are those that do not want firearms in their homes, and that is their right. For whatever reasons, religious, moral or legal, if the homeowner does not comply with the ordinance’s recommendations, then they have the right to do so. However, if the homeowner wishes to take their responsibilities seriously, then we as their elected representatives should support them.

Homeland Defense begins at home.

[IceFire]

I LIKE it! You might have trouble getting it passed, though. Good luck!

[whoshisface]

- DANGER BAD LAW-

This law bans all discharge of firearms in the area, limiting the implied right to do so.

It would outlaw hunting in the area as well.

C. USE OF FIREARMS: No person shall fire a gun, pistol or other firearm in the borough , except in fear of life as governed by the laws of the Commonwealth, and except peace officers or military forces of this state or the United States in the discharge of official duties.

Gun ownership isn't to promote dust growth on the trigger.

You cannot promote safe gun ownership if the individual owning the gun can't shoot it to develop the necessary skills to operate it safely.

---- An exception for legally run gun ranges and areas of land in which are X acres or more in which no occupied structure(s) are/is present within X amount of distance -- would correct this incredibly large and right limiting oversite!

Reading this bill I would think its real intent is overt, though I'm assuming that isn't your true intent.

I don't approve at all.

The NRA would give this law a big fat F

If your intention was to write a good law promoting the tolerance of gun ownership change or remove Section C

Sorry if I came off too harsh, its not my intention but if I heard about this law in my area I'd be at the meeting to object!

[GeorgeF]

Good catch excel. That would really be a limiting piece of legislation. I vote nay.

[Statkowski]

Good comments. Subsequent to its issue for consideration, I had already planned on revising Subsection C. Of immediate concern, varmint control came to thought.

Gun ranges? Acreage issues? They don't come into play; total land area for the borough is only 0.5 square miles. If you want to go shooting, there's plenty of woods and farmland surrounding the borough, which people take advantage of.

Final version hasn't been cast in concrete yet.

[whoshisface]

In the .5 sq miles you would ban anyone from opening a gun range?

Why?

I'd vote no.

If you had an provision for that and varmint shooting, I'd think about it but probably still vote no.

The law is contradictory to itself.

You're saying learn gun safety and have one in your home but learn to shoot it else where, not in this area. Forgetaboutit

If Section C disappeared I'd support the bill.

[Siobhra]

Some will hate it and some will love it. (The idea) However some of the surrounding town might like the idea enough to copy it. If they do they may just copy yours. So do it right. Make the exceptions anyway. And maybe "Approved ranges". Look to the future.

[Frenchy]

In the .5 sq miles you would ban anyone from opening a gun range?

Why?

I'd vote no.

If you had an provision for that and varmint shooting, I'd think about it but probably still vote no.

The law is contradictory to itself.

You're saying learn gun safety and have one in your home but learn to shoot it else where, not in this area. Forgetaboutit

If Section C disappeared I'd support the bill.

Psst Exo, .5 miles You sneeze while you go through town, you miss it! The local bar probably has 3 mailing adress in 3 different towns.
If the town is .5 SQ miles in surface, it may be .5 miles long by 1 mile, or .50 miles wide by .75 miles long with little parts sticking out, or seeing most towns are not perfectly square, it may not have enough room for even an indoor range in it.
Your talking a whole town where the surrounding farms are probably bigger then it. What some people call a one horse town, and your horse has the back hoofs in the next town when parked at the post office.
There are malls that have a larger parking surface then this. .5 (sq miles) = 320 acres Man there are gun ranges this size!
here is a Property near pittsburgh that is larger then this... http://www.landandfarm.com/lf/s/63/82331.asp Wow they suggest making a hunting club of it... Any one want to invest? Just $915,750 will get you this farm! And many new friends

[whoshisface]

Well I've seen some small gun ranges that only allow frag bullets.

I'm talking a 20X40 foot room.

If that was all I had available to me in a one horse town, I'd go.

No discharge is often the rule that kills ranges. Seen it in NY! So I don't like such a rule, its not needed at all! The state law already has enough bite to keep people from going out on the street and shooting in the air. Though I don't think its spelled out that way.

[Frenchy]

Well I've seen some small gun ranges that only allow frag bullets.

I'm talking a 20X40 foot room.

If that was all I had available to me in a one horse town, I'd go.

No discharge is often the rule that kills ranges. Seen it in NY! So I don't like such a rule, its not needed at all! The state law already has enough bite to keep people from going out on the street and shooting in the air. Though I don't think its spelled out that way.

Come on Exo, tell me you wouldnt buy that farm to have a bunch of new friends We looking for a good place in Pgh!