Goodbye gun ban?

COEUR d'ALENE - Parade-goers in Coeur d'Alene might not have to leave their guns at home anymore.

During the Coeur d'Alene City Council meeting on Dec. 16, City Attorney Mike Gridley will present an amendment to a city ordinance which, until changed, bans guns during public events. The amendment, according to Gridley, removes the word "firearm" from the language of the regulation.

Other weapons, like axes and grenades, will still be banned from events such as parades, he added.

The presence of disorderly assemblies in Coeur d'Alene, in particular Aryan Nations parades on Sherman Avenue in the 1990s, prompted the city to originally push for the weapons ban.

"We're somewhat unique," Gridley said. "I'm not aware of any other cities that have ordinances like this. This is something the council passed to address a local issue - people being intimidated and public safety being threatened by people displaying guns at parade events."

Changing the ordinance became an issue in 2010, when the Idaho Legislature adopted a law prohibiting cities and counties from regulating possession of firearms.

"The city essentially has their powers determined by the state legislature," Gridley said. "After this statute was passed, it appeared that we as a city couldn't regulate firearms."

City officials researched the statute and found that it still had some "ambiguity" in it, he added, so Coeur d'Alene didn't change its ordinance.

However, after a vote last year to leave the ordinance in place, Gridley said he was encouraged to contact Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden.

"We sent a letter through our outside counsel to his office and they came back and said they believe that the statute shows the city doesn't have the power to do this (keep the ordinance intact)," Gridley said.

Since the attorney general's office does not have final say on the issue, Gridley said the city council could still decide to keep the ordinance. He added that if the council keeps the ordinance, a judge might ultimately decide the matter.

"But our recommendation is going to be for the council to comply with the law and amend the ordinance," Gridley said.