Brentwood to Vote on "Guns in Parks" Issue Monday Night

The Brentwood City Commission's meeting agenda for Monday, July 13, at 7pm includes a vote on a resolution that if passed by simple majority (4 of 7) would prohibit handgun carry permit holders from bringing weapons into the city's parks. In addition, Resolution 2009-56 would prohibit handguns on "bicycle pedestrian trails and greenways that are part of the City's park system" according to a note included with the agenda posted recently on Brentwood's website.

Brentwood City Attorney Roger Horner authored a four-page Legal Services Memorandum (viewable in the attachments) on July 1, 2009, that was sent to Mayor Betsy Crossley and the other City Commissioners regarding the "Prohibition of Handguns in City Parks". In the document, Horner notes that such a prohibition would apply to the entire park as municipalities cannot allow guns in certain areas while prohibiting them elsewhere in the same park. Municipalities are free, however, to prohibit guns in some parks while permitting them in other parks under state law. Horner's recommendation to Brentwood officials is against such "piecemeal prohibition" and instead would affect the following parks and locations in their entirety:

• Crockett Park, Granny White Park, Tower Park, River Park, Deerwood Arboretum and Nature Center, Owl Creek Park, Primm Park, Concord Park, Maryland Way Park, Pleasant Hill parkland (not yet developed), more than 14 miles of bicycle/pedestrian trails, and more than 75 acres of greenways. The prohibition would also extend to parks and recreational facilities owned by the City of Brentwood in the future.

After citing numerous reasons to "opt-out" of the law signed by Governor Bredesen in June, including that ". . . the potential for violence would increase in proportion to the number of guns that are carried into the parks", Horner recommends passage of Resolution 2009-56 with the following statement:

The City Manager, Chief of Police and Parks and Recreation Director strongly support this proposal to 'opt out'.

If passed, signs at least 6 inches high and 14 inches wide explaining the maximum penalty of 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,500 for the misdemeanor must be installed by September 1 in prominent locations on affected properties. Approximately 25 signs at a cost of $75 to $100 each are estimated to be needed in Brentwood bringing the General Fund cost to $2,500.

Other gun-related new business on Brentwood's July 13 agenda includes a vote on Resolution 2009-57, a resolution that would prohibit possession of weapons at "meetings conducted by the City of Brentwood or within any building owned, operated or managed, or under the control of the City of Brentwood." City staff recommends passage of this resolution as well, citing reasons offered by Horner in the memorandum regarding guns in parks.

If history is any indication, a recommendation by city staff in Brentwood usually leads to adoption or passage of the issue at hand by the elected officials. Let Mayor Crossley and Commissioners Dunn, Little, Reagan, Smithson, Sweeney, and Webb know where you stand on this issue before next Monday night.