Medina Parks closed to legal carry.

[Worriedman]

The City of Medina’s Board of Aldermen voted 3-1 this evening (Friday, August 07, 2009) to deny their Citizens the Right to Carry in it’s controlled property (same list of venues that every other Municipality which has received the "workup" from the Municipal Technical Advisory Service, with the exact same wording we have seen in other Cities, Public Municipal Parks, Natural Areas, Historic Parks, Nature Trails, Campgrounds, Forest, Greenways,Waterways, or other similar places).

Frank Baker, Wayne Sheehan, and Cathy Parrett voted to sustain the MTAS (there is that name again) sponsored Resolution denying their Rights under HB 0716 (Parks Carry). Alderman Terry Shelton was singular in his support of the Constitutional Rights of his constituents.

Only one other person beside me spoke against the Resolution. The meeting was reset from it’s normal Monday night schedule due to till health of the Mayor, and was held at 5:30 Friday afternoon.

The general basis of support for the banning from the Alderman was voiced by Wayne Sheehan, that school use of the Parks precluded the Right to Carry. He said that the Parks in Medina were basically the same as schools, due to their use by students. I left him with a print out of my Op-Ed piece which points out the fallacies of not trusting HCP Holders to obey the law. He commented that till the law was changed, he would continue to support restricting the Constitutional Rights of HCP Holders.

I fail to see how School use of areas other than ball fields, (which was the gist of Mr. Sheehan's argument) is rational. I have lived in the area, (presently one county south of Gibson County) and have had children in these school systems, and have never been appraised of the use of a waterway, greenway, nature trail or forest by a school for a function. I have no idea what a "similar place" is. I suspect that the City of Median has no clue either, but simply parroted the MTAS stance. In the twelve years I attended school in Gibson County and the years I taught there, I was never part of an outing to anything other than a City Park, and that for base ball games only.

[Fallguy]

It does seem MTAS has taken on a bit more than an advisory role on the parks issue...

[Worriedman]

It does seem MTAS has taken on a bit more than an advisory role on the parks issue...

Your Tax Dollars at work!

I am surprised no one is asking question realtive to this staute?

Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-16-403, "Official oppression," a public servant acting in an official capacity who intentionally arrests, detains, frisks, etc., or intentionally prevents another from enjoying a right or privilege commits a Class E felony.

http://www.michie.com/tennessee/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=tncode

The local attorney general or city attorney has a legal "duty" to investigate a written allegation that an officer has been guilty of any of the mentioned offenses. If he or she finds that "there is reasonable cause for such complaint, he shall forthwith institute proceedings in the Circuit, Chancery, or Criminal Court of the proper county." However, with respect to the city attorney, there may be an irreconcilable conflict between that duty and the city attorney's duties to the city, the mayor, and the rules of professional responsibility governing attorneys.

Also, an attorney general or city attorney may act on his or her own initiative without a formal complaint (T.C.A. § 8-47-101-102). The officer must be removed from office if found guilty (T.C.A. § 8-47-120).

As pubilcally funded employees of the State of Tennessee, these people should not be setting policy.

"Established in 1949 by the Tennessee General Assembly, MTAS is funded by a direct state appropriation and a portion of the local share of the statewide sales tax. Almost all of MTAS's services are prepaid; the cities we serve don't get a bill. As the name implies, MTAS is a technical assistance provider with consultants who specialize in most areas of municipal operations. MTAS annually completes more than 1,000 major municipal management projects and provides an average of 6,000 other services each year."

MTAS Home

http://www.mtas.utk.edu/KnowledgeBase.nsf//0/5318EF0CEF33E412852575DD00577DAE?OpenDocument

Edited August 8, 2009 by Worriedman

[Guest 270win]

Someone needs to shut this group up for using our tax dollars to give these cities legal advice. These cities have their own staff attorneys and prosecutors. It is total garbage how some taxpayer funded entity is telling and advising cities "Hey this is how you keep people from carrying guns". Let the cities and counties figure out how to do it and spend the money.