Does Your City/County Trust Criminals More Than Law Abiding Citizens?

[mountainpass]

The GMA, which btw was against this bill, put out a handy pdf for the cities:

http://www.gmanet.com/Assets/PDF/weapons_and_georgias_cities.pdf

 

[mountainpass]

Just found this one.

City of Decatur:

http://www.decaturish.com/2014/06/half-million-cities-say-gun-bill-is-costly/

During the June 2 City Commission meeting Assistant City Manager Andrea Arnold said Decatur taxpayers may have to spend $500,000 securing government buildings because of the new “Guns everywhere” law.

“Basically, if the City wants to prohibit the possession of weapons (guns, knives, nunchucks, etc.) in public facilities we will have to purchase screening equipment for each building and there has to be staff at the screening device,” Merriss said via email. “We would likely be looking at City Hall, Decatur Recreation Center, Ebster Recreation Center and Public Works. When you add the number of hours each of these facilities are open and operating (including hours for public meetings at City Hall), the staffing requirements start adding up, particularly if we have to have a sworn officer as the screener, which has been suggested by some interpretations of HB 60.”

Henry said nothing should change for governments as a result of the law, saying if they didn’t need security before, they won’t need it now.

“These local governments do not want to allow law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves and their families in a facility that is not protected by government,” he said. “This tells me a few things about how the local governments feel about the people they are sworn to protect.”

 

[tmoore912]

This one seemed to be a good result:

http://www.rockdalecitizen.com/news/2014/jun/24/county-asked-to-take-wait-and-see-approach-to/

County asked to take wait-and-see approach to security

CONYERS — Rockdale County commissioners were encouraged Tuesday morning to take a “wait-and-see approach” before implementing new security measures at county facilities.
Resident Arthur “Jud” Kidney, an advocate for Second Amendment rights, spoke to commissioners during the public comment period at the BOC’s regular meeting with regard to House Bill 60, the gun law that will take effect July 1.
“I’ve followed this law all the way through the process through the General Assembly,” Kidney said. “I’ve followed many of the comments that have been made here lately in the media, and there is so much that is misunderstood about this law.”
Kidney outlined a number of changes in gun law and proposed changes since 2008, noting that in each case dire consequences were predicted that did not materialize.
“If you tried to secure this (Assembly Hall) and all the many government buildings around the county, you are wasting a lot of money to keep law-abiding citizens out,” Kidney said.

Post 2 Commissioner JaNice Van Ness said she thought Kidney made a valid point and that she had no security concerns about the Assembly Hall.
“I feel like we have a great community and if somebody is going to do ill will, they’ve already got the means to do it,” she said.
Van Ness added that she would not be in support of spending money for additional security measures in county facilities.
“I’d much rather use the money to address mental health issues and treatment options for people in the community than I would to use it for security,” she said.

 

[tmoore912]

‘Guns everywhere’ law perplexes midstate governments

http://www.macon.com/2014/06/29/3173626/guns-everywhere-law-perplexes.html

The “everywhere” part is not quite accurate, though. Business owners, for example, retain the right to declare their property gun-free zones. Local governments, however, do not.

So far, most Middle Georgia governments have opted to take no action.

“We haven’t made any plans to do anything different than what we are doing,” said Houston County Commission Chairman Tommy Stalnaker.

Macon-Bibb complies but wants changes

In Macon-Bibb County, the reaction is muted -- at least for now.

Officials have had general talks with department heads, and a legal memo is forthcoming on what is allowed in public buildings, Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said.

“There still seem to be a lot of questions, so that’s why we’re taking our time putting this together,” he said.

 

[tmoore912]

Firearms carry law to cause expense, inconvenience starting Tuesday at City Services Center

Columbus, GA.

Starting Tuesday, the front door of the City Services Center will be an exit only, thanks to Georgia's new firearms carry law.

The law, House Bill 60, passed by the 2014 Georgia General Assembly, takes effect Tuesday. It allows gun owners with carry permits to bring their firearms into government buildings unless all of those who enter are screened. Up until now, only those entering the second-floor Columbus Council chambers during meetings were screened, even though firearms were banned from the entire building.

The cost to taxpayers to move the screening apparatus down to the main entrance will be about $120,000 this year, said Deputy City Manager Lisa Goodwin. About $84,000 of that will be an annually recurring expense for two additional reserve deputies to work the station full-time instead of only during council meetings.

"It's an unfunded mandate, but it's something that we needed to do," said Goodwin, the highest ranking city official in the new government building.

Read more here: http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/2014...carry-law-to-cause-expense.html#storylink=cpy

 

[mountainpass]

Forsyth County still talking

http://www.northfulton.com/Articles...-has-county-rethinking-facility-security.html

At that meeting there was also discussion regarding the cost of providing screening at an additional $186,000 per year to cover law enforcement personnel at various entrances to the Administration Building.

Although this law becomes effective on July 1, Jarrard said, there is no requirement that the board take any action to implement the bill.

Jarrard did suggest the county remove existing signage that states weapons are prohibited because this will not be true anymore and could be challenged.

"As far as policy modifications, or hiring new individuals to screen our doors, there's no requirement that we do any of it," Jarrard said.

Boff then made a motion to place signs to say, "We allow weapons," to be installed at the building's lobby, but that motion died for a lack of a second.

County Manager Doug Derrer said in the past there was a sheriff's deputy downstairs securing the atrium of the Administration Building. But several years ago, the county transitioned from a sheriff's deputy to a code enforcement officer, who are not certified and cannot carry a weapon.

These officers do provide some security, but are limited in what they can do, Derrer said.

Staff will explore the possibility of certifying code enforcement officers and park rangers under an agency that could be resurrected (such as the Marshal's Office) or possibly under the sheriff's office.

"We're going to have to come up with some idea on how to handle this law," Amos said. "It's new territory."

 

[alnen]

I really hope that this can be fixed somehow next year, just after all these local governments get everything installed and set up.

 

[mountainpass]

City of Marietta looks at this the best so far.

The Marietta City Council approved changes to the city’s weapon policy Wednesday night with a 7-0 vote.

“It’s something that should have been done and had to be done,” said Mayor Steve Tumlin.

Changes to the city code made it clear city employees cannot carry weapons while at work or on duty in a government building or car.

Employees can keep their firearms in their cars provided the weapon is concealed in a locked compartment or rack in their personal car and their car is parked in an unsecured parking lot. The parking deck beside City Hall is considered unsecured in the city’s code.

Tumlin said citizens are allowed to carry guns into any city government building, which includes his own office.

Finally the money quote:

“The law changed but not necessarily the world changed,” Tumlin said. “The bad guys already had guns before.”

 

[mountainpass]

County of Paulding

http://pauldingpundit.com/2014/07/m...mpaign=Feed:+PauldingPundit+(Paulding+Pundit)

As of July 1, you have to go through a security checkpoint to enter the Administrative building at the Watson Government Complex. Also as of July 1, you can carry a weapon (with a Georgia Weapons Carry License) into government buildings that do not have a security checkpoint.

Coincidence?

My concern was that the securing of the administrative building was an anti-gun response from someone who didn’t like the new gun laws. I know AGCC (Association of Georgia County Commissioners) is opposed to the new law, and I was worried that the securing of this building was a protest response prompted by AGCC.

We had a conversation about my concerns and a discussion around the new law. Mr. Stokes and Mr. Watson explained some of the threats and incidents that have happened over the years where people have made threats in their offices.

The incident reports were interesting, but none showed instances of someone having a weapon in the administration building.

 

[tmoore912]

A so called Conservative Republican just spent $131k+ of Paulding County taxpayers money to secure his office.