According to Guilford County Commissioner Justin Conrad, the way the county is going about changing the gun laws isn’t just sloppy, it’s also sure to get the county sued.
Conrad said this week that changes under consideration for county gun law use – regarding safety berms, hours of shooting allowed, gun noise ordinances and other changes discussed – have been handled very poorly from the start and would leave the county wide open to litigation.
The Guilford County Board of Commissioners has two Republican commissioners – Conrad and Commissioner Alan Perdue – and seven Democratic commissioners. Right now – although no vote has been taken – this debate seems to break down largely along party lines.
“The Democrats have a 7 to 2 majority,” Conrad said, “so they are going to do what they are going to do. But if you do this, you are gonna get sued and you’re gonna lose.”
The battle came to a head on Thursday, Aug. 5 when the Guilford County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing to discuss potential changes in the county’s gun laws, which haven’t been touched since the mid-1980s.
That hearing packed the commissioners’ large meeting room and the balcony that overlooks it.
When Conrad found out that Guilford County was considering the changes, he researched state statute and spoke with state House Rep. Jon Hardister, who referred Conrad to a legal expert in state law. Conrad said that after asking his questions of the attorney, on staff with the NC General Assembly who frequently advises on county and state government laws, he was certain that the proposed changes overstep the authority of Guilford County and they would not hold up in court.
Conrad said the county has some limited rights to change the gun laws – for instance, it can allow or ban firearms from county government meetings. However, he added, the county doesn’t have the authority to limit hours of shooting or create a noise ordinance that applies only to firearms.
Conrad said he’s been frustrated by the way the process has gone in the reverse order of how it should have gone. He said a list of proposed changes was thrust on the county residents and then they were asked for their input. Conrad said that the proper way to have proceeded would be to have heard from the people first and then carefully craft legislation from those discussions.
Conrad has also said publicly several times that perfectly good state laws exist to address the gun safety concerns and therefore there’s no need for the county to pile more gun regulations on top of those.
Conrad said it was a question of enforcement of those state laws more than anything else, and he said he was trying to get answers as to, why, in the past, those existing laws weren’t enforced even though, in several cases, it seemed obvious they should have been.
Once again Skip oversteps his authority with the mistaken idea that he is King.
Thanks Justin Conrad for taking the time to do things right the first time. Something Skip, as Chairman and chief instigating Democrat, should have done long ago.
Ready, shoot, aim!
If people would actually talk to their neighbors rather than call the police or the sheriff for everything most things would be settled on thier own. That doesn’t mean the one complaining will always get their way, nor does bothering the police with trivial matters that aren’t endangering your life & limbs. There’s no law against being stupid, it’s just socially inappropriate.
THIS IS JUST ANOTHER WAY FOR DEMOCRATS TO TRY AND CONTROL PEOPLE!!!!! I have been a responsible gun owner for over 50 years. I wore a gun to work every day for over 35 years. I have been able to practice my firearms skills in my back yard since the early 70’s and I hunted on the property prior to that.
There are few places that a gun owner can go and practice without it costing a-lot to join the few public gun ranges that are in the area. If the county really wants to do something to help gun owners refine their skills and to teach proper gun handling skills, why not open the Sheriff’s range in Gibsonville and allow residents access under proper supervision. I’m sure that you can get NRA firearm instructors involved and surely Guilford County can supply an employee or two to open the range for the use of Guilford County tax paying citizens. The range is already open to family and friends of the Sheriff’s Office and others in the community. There are several other law enforcement agencies other than the sheriff’s office that are using the range at the County Farm.
I know that I will be filing/joining a law suit if the county adopts these ridiculous gun law changes. I might even get enough from a law suit to move away from Guilford County.
The last 5 words in your comment is your best solution.
if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Just because it hasn’t been modified since the 1980s doesn’t mean it needs modification. The State reserved exclusive authority to regulate in the area of firearms laws in 2016. Skip and his followers will get the County sued for sure if they do not follow the law. Why not enforce State law rather then make Guilford the fly in the buttermilk.
Enforcement of laws in many areas of our county and state need to be addressed in my opinion.
Notice that SKIP is always the one on TV, because he’s ‘hooked up’ with local media. I don’t recall any of them interviewing any of the other commissioners in quite some time. Perhaps I missed it!
They do not care what the old white ladies have to say,
Commissioner Alston seems to be committed to changing the law without regard to consequences. I attended the hearing and have seen his tv interviews, his position is, as Conrad points out, going to result in a needless and costly for taxpayers lawsuit. It was also disappointing to see Sheriff Rogers had sent a Deputy as representing his department’s support for the proposed changes.
Just because the “NAVY TOUGH GUY ” LOL don’t approve of shooting in the county doesn’t mean the shooting ordinances should change. The people that don’t like guns and shooting may should consider living in areas where shooting is not allowed. Why try and change the rules to suit only you? What about our rights? What about every member in this county’s rights? Just saying!!