Bartlett gun owners speak up

[lilredhunter]

This is courtesy of the crap oops I mean commercial appeal.
"Bartlett gun owners speak up
Majority attending forum want right to carry in parks
By Clay Bailey (Contact), Memphis Commercial Appeal
Friday, August 21, 2009

If a guns-in-parks forum this week represents the feeling of Bartlett residents on the matter, folks might be totin' around the teeter-totter soon.

A majority of the 50 or so attending a Tuesday night discussion on the issue were carry-permit holders who want to pack in the parks, believe it is their right, and don't understand why the suburb is considering taking that away.

Bartlett is one of a few local governments that has not formally addressed the issue. The General Assembly passed legislation this year allowing guns in parks, but provided a section where local governments could opt out of the law, thus banning guns in their respective cities.

David Thompson, Bartlett's director of parks and recreation, said that the city has banned guns in parks for more than 10 years.

But there were few people who spoke in favor of continuing to keep guns out of parks at the forum sponsored by The Greater Bartlett Council of Neighborhood Associations. Joe Walker, chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, and Ford Cornett, a board member, defended a resolution passed by that board earlier this year supporting a gun ban.

That made them the target of those who want to retain their right to carry guns in Bartlett parks. Many contended that banning the guns would give criminals an invitation to prey on the unarmed.

Pat McGarrity, Shelby County director of the Tennessee Firearms Association, said criminals would have "a safe working environment" if Bartlett approved the ban.

Alderman David Parsons was the only Bartlett Board of Mayor and Aldermen member who attended the meeting. Mayor Keith McDonald said he did not attend to allow an open discussion. "I didn't want my presence to impede the exchange of ideas," the mayor said.

Parsons told the group the city is unlikely to address the issue until a number of matters are clarified and questions answered. Bartlett is seeking a state attorney general's opinion.

As for the turnout at Tuesday's forum, McGarrity said he expected a significant representation of gun owners.

"These are people with passion," McGarrity said of the gun owners. "There seem to be a lot more of them than (those who) are passionate against it."

-- Clay Bailey: 529-2393