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In a national movement for stricter gun control measures, Morgan Hill is set to join a growing number of cities that are passing their own set of gun safety ordinances.
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Following the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school on Feb. 14, students across the country protested U.S gun regulation. Morgan Hill students joined the National School Walkouts on March 14,and city council members responded.
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After talks with local high school students, council members decided to move forward with a proposed ordinance to regulate guns in Morgan Hill, which City Attorney Donald Larkin said had been long discussed by the council.
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On March 7, the City Council adopted a resolution condemning gun violence. Community members who voiced concerns at that meeting were then invited to a small roundtable meeting Aug. 8 to discuss a proposed ordinance.
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Council members Rich Constantine and Rene Spring were present at the informal meeting. Had anymore council members been present, the meeting would have been classified as a formal meeting of the council, and would have required a public notice and a published agenda.
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Larkin and Morgan Hill Chief of Police David Swing also attended.
The constituents invited to the meeting included gun owners as well as gun control advocates. As the meeting started, nearly all attendees said they would support some kind of compromise in an ordinance, but as the meeting wore on it was clear there were multiple conflicting ideas.
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The general proposals of an ordinance written by Larkin included four points: requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to the Morgan Hill Police Department, requiring safe storage for firearms not in use, outlawing the owning of large capacity magazines and requiring a permit for gun or ammunition sales.
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Larkin said an ordinance will likely be drafted within the coming weeks. With the council eager to pass something about gun safety soon, Larkin said, the ordinance will likely be voted on in September or October.
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As the Aug. 8 meeting progressed, many pro-gun constituents present disagreed with all proposed aspects of the ordinance. Larkin held up the proposed ordinance points and asked the room if anyone agreed with anything written on the page; there was no response.
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Many of the attendees felt education and psychological services should be addressed either in addition to or instead of the ordinance.
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Dave Truslow, a volunteer gun safety and gun sport instructor, was present at the meeting and wrote several of his own proposals on the whiteboard of the conference room. Many of the education or safety programs he recommended were implemented by the National Rifle Association, a national gun industry lobbying group and firearms safety organization.
Spring said he planned to propose that the council look into creating some kind of program about gun safety.
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While Larkin said it was unlikely any program taught by the NRA would be implemented, Spring said, “I personally am not ruling out anything.” Spring said he would have to look into the specifics of individual programs more closely.
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Larkin said the ordinance proposals were based on similar ordinances implemented in other cities that have been tested in court. A Sunnyvale ordinance was recently upheld in March by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
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Many of the proposals elaborated on existing California gun laws. Reporting lost or stolen firearms to the Morgan Hill Police Department would be specifying California law, which requires reporting to local law enforcement. Larkin said there are many local law enforcement agencies and that the specification in a city ordinance would clarify the laws.
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Large-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds are also illegal in California, if they weren’t purchased before the year 2000.
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While some in attendance felt the proposals would accomplish anything of significance, the two council members felt that even if the ordinance only saved one life it would be a success.
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Constantine compared the idea that an ordinance would not create major change to speed limits. He said that even if not everyone follows the rules of the road, “That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a speed limit.”
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Truslow said at the meeting that while he agreed with some of the proposals “on the surface,” it came down to the details of the ordinance.
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Constantine asked the attendees to use common sense when analyzing the proposals for the ordinance. Both council members said they understood gun control is a sensitive issue and they appreciated the respectful nature of the discussion.
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Constantine added at the roundtable, that as a gun owner he is in favor of implementing gun safety measures.
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“This is an emotional issue,” said Constantine. “I can’t help but put my daughter in that issue.”
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While no consensus seemed to be reached at the meeting, the council members said they had both learned from the conversation. Larkin said he gained knowledge on what language should be used when crafting the ordinance.
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“I definitely know more about their concern,” Spring told the Times in an interview. He said the council had been considering gun safety measures for some time, especially in light of the rate of gun related suicide in Morgan Hill. In 2016, suicide by firearm accounted for 59% of gun-related deaths in Santa Clara County.
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Truslow still did not support the city’s proposals made for the ordinance. “What bothers me most is that none of Mr. Larkin’s proposals to-date have been demonstrated to make a tangible difference,” Truslow told the Times.
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