If you fire a gun illegally in the city limits, it could soon result in a higher fine, jail time or even losing your firearm.
Councilmen on Tuesday discussed tougher penalties for the misdemeanor offense during their regular meeting at the Municipal Complex but took no action. City Attorney Jeff Turnage drafted changes to the city ordinance Tuesday morning in response to increased reports of gunfire in the city.
Two shootings on Southside occurred within an hour Sunday afternoon. In the first, bullets struck a vehicle. The second sent two victims to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle. Police are investigating whether the shootings are related.
Mayor Keith Gaskin also mentioned instances where people are shooting in the air when they are angry or for other reasons.
“We seem to have a lot of people who just think it’s fun to fire in the air,” he said. “We need to try to deter that as much as we can.”
Turnage’s proposed revisions would increase the penalty for firing a gun inside the city unlawfully to $1,000 or six months in jail, the maximum state law allows. Assistant Police Chief Garland Ward told the council municipal judges now typically levy a $413 per incident.
“(This ordinance amendment) takes away the discretion of the court to give a lesser fine,” Turnage said. “… Of course, there’s the Castle Doctrine, so if you fire a weapon in the city limits in self-defense under a reasonable belief you’re about to be shot to death, you would not be charged with a misdemeanor for shooting in the city limits.”
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones asked Turnage how his revision would apply to discharging a weapon accidentally.
“I’d say it’s $1,000,” Turnage said. “They ought to learn how to handle a firearm.”
Ward asked the council to consider taking the penalty one step further.
“If somebody is going to be that reckless with a gun, can we look at forfeiting it to the city?” he asked.
Turnage said he would need to look closer at state law and maybe seek an Attorney General’s opinion if the code doesn’t clearly spell that out.
“I like the idea myself,” he said.
Pierre Beard, who represents Ward 4, moved to enact Turnage’s changes immediately, then add gun forfeiture to the penalties later if the law allows.
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, who represents Ward 2, asked the council to wait. While he agreed with the stiffer penalties, he wanted to allow Police Chief Joseph Daughtry time to review the ordinance change before council approval.
Ward was presenting Tuesday in Daughtry’s absence, and Beard rescinded his motion.
“There’s bullets in the streets,” Mickens said. “… We need to … get somebody’s attention.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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