(Spirit Lake)– A proposed resolution that would ban dangerous weapons from county buildings took center stage at Tuesday’s (1/18) Dickinson county board of supervisors meeting.
The issue drew a handful of people, most of whom expressed concern over the proposed resolution. Among those who spoke was Sheriff Greg Baloun. He told the supervisors that in order to adquately enforce the ordinance, metal detectors would have to be placed at each entrance to the courthouse, and atleast two security officers, one male and one female, would need to be stationed at those locations to conduct pat-downs and searches.
Brian Forney, a National Rife Association trainer who lives in Okoboji, said he feels the ordinance would not serve the purpose for which it was intended, saying it probably wouldn’t stop anyone who truly wanted to do harm adding “a sign on the door doesn’t stop everybody…it never does”.
Forney’s father, Greg Forney of Spirit Lake, said having such an ordinance in place in his opinion would give the public and courthouse employees a false sense of security. He added “gun free-zones create target-rich environments for criminals because they know no one there can defend themselves.”
John Tonsfeldt of Spirit Lake, the county’s former Veteran’s Services Director, said he’d like to see the county post signs stating “concealed weapons carriers are welcome”. He says he feels he’s in more danger in areas that are signed “weapons free area” knowing there’s no fellow citizen there that could be capable of protecting him from others.
Supervisor Chairman David Gottsche said if the county is going to adopt such an ordinance, it must have the proper equipment and manpower in place to enforce it.
Fellow supervisor Mardi Allen said she would like to visit with courthouse employees to hear their comments on the matter.
After further discussion, a motion was made by supervisor Paul Johnson to adopt the resolution banning dangerous weapons from county buildings. The motion died for lack of a second.
Supervisor Pam Jordan was absent.
Many other counties and some cities in the area have been considering such bans since a new law went into effect January 1st that limits the discretion county sheriffs previously had in denying permits without explanations. Now, sheriffs may deny applications for specific reasons only, such as prior criminal records or drug or alcohol problems. The sheriffs must also provide written explanations.
Baloun says about 1,200 permits to carry weapons were issued in Dickinson county last year.
