COUNTY DISCUSSES IMPLICATIONS OF 'CONCEALED CARRY'
Tuesday, August 16th, 2011 -- 10:56 AM
Meeting Tuesday, the Clark County Executive Committee discussed how they're going to handle the state's new ?concealed carry? law.The law, which takes effect November 1st, will conflict with a county ordinance which bans uncased, loaded firearms from public places.
After consulting with the county?s insurance company, Corporation Counsel Lyndsey Brunette said she didn?t think the county needed to update their ordinances, which take a backseat to the state law.
"There is a state statute that (says) if another state statute overrules, or conflicts with a local ordinance...the state statute would trump our ordinance," she told the committee. "I don't know if we'd have to change our ordinance."
While the state law specifies that concealed weapons cannot be allowed in courthouses, it doesn?t ban them from other county properties.
Brunette says county facilities, such as the Adult Development Services facility in Greenwood and the Clark County Health Care Center in Owen, are not automatically exempt from the state statute, but the county can choose to restrict weapons there.
"If we post signs, that might be good enough," she said. "They must be five-by-seven (inches) and posted at every entrance to the building," Brunette explained.
Under the new law, Judges, District Attorneys and Assistant District Attorneys can carry concealed weapons in the Courthouse if they receive the proper training and permit.
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