Eden Prairie City Council-Rd 2: Prohibiting Firearm Dealers

[Baz]

Received this email from Councilman Brad Aho this morning:

"Baz,

I want to let you know of a new proposed ordinance that will be voted on at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday June 12th. This is the first and second reading of an Interim Ordinance Temporarily Prohibiting New Adult Use Establishments, Firearm Dealers Stores and Pawnshops. This ordinance treats gun sellers like adult sex shops and pawnshops. We already have three firearm dealer stores and Scheels will be the fourth. We haven’t had any problems as a result of the existing stores and this is another attempt to stop gun sales in Eden Prairie.

I do not support grouping Firearm Dealers in with Adult Use Establishments and Pawnshops to prevent them from running a legitimate business. Please show your support for removing Firearm Dealers from this ordinance.

Best regards,

Brad Aho"

I would like to ask all who are able to attend on Tuesday to do so. Outlawing legal establishments from any city is completely asinine and a dangerously slippery slope.

-Baz

[yukonjasper]

Are there any means by which the citizenry could recall those council members who apparently do not respect the will of the people.

Fight off the assault and make sure these asshats never get close a position of power again.

[bstrawse]

Are there any means by which the citizenry could recall those council members who apparently do not respect the will of the people.

Fight off the assault and make sure these asshats never get close a position of power again.

Unfortunately, there is not.

[BigBlue]

Contact the EP council and let them know this is not OK:

AllCouncil@edenprairie.org

[gbono23]

I sent a email off to all the council members. I received one reply, that was from Brad Aho, who said he agreed with me. Guess I will be voting for him in the future and maybe writing letters and working towards getting the rest of the council voted out!

[BigBlue]

I got one from Ron Case, the driving force behind the anti-gun stuff. He's basically a dick and brushed off concerns.

In this day and age of 24/7 social media, it's always intriguing to me how news can get so quickly distorted. We are not "comparing adult entertainment" to anything to do with guns. We are totally looking at community development and wanting to buy some study time to make sure that we legally place certain types of community sensitive establishments in the correct zoning districts. So, prior to simply matching another city's ordinance or grabbing at an arbitrary number like "500 feet from a school or church" etc. we're placing a moratorium on three types of establishments with the goal of finding the right placement for these types of establishments and the correct distances from other socially sensitive areas like churches and schools. That's it. A temporary moratorium. Thank you for you interest in this matter however and for reaching out to share your thoughts. Take care, Ron Case

I responded that it was ridiculous to consider a gun retailer as any type of special use case that requires extra space/buffer/caution/sensitivity from other uses. I'm sure it won't convince him.

BB

[Citiot]

What does "community sensitive" even mean?

Has there been even one incident where a shooter bought a gun at a gun store a short distance from a school and immediately committed a mass shooting? Just plain old hysterics.

There are schools near by gas stations that sell gas cans and lighters. No background check required.

Schools are right next to pharmacies full of opiates... scary.

[BigBlue]

The only reason anyone is 'sensitive' is because you're a damn ***** and keep making guns out to be the problem instead of bad people. Guns are a normal part of American life, Mr. Case. Get used to it and stop being a punk.

[jdege]

The problem is that if there are gun stores that aren't hidden away in back alleys, some kids might see them and grow up to be law-abiding gun owners.

[BigBlue]

MNGOC's FB post said they are proceeding with the process to push the moratorium. Sounds like they don't care about the fact that they may be violating statute or that gun stores are in no way detrimental to anything.

Do you have a better update, Bryan?

BB

[bstrawse]

MNGOC's FB post said they are proceeding with the process to push the moratorium. Sounds like they don't care about the fact that they may be violating statute or that gun stores are in no way detrimental to anything.

Do you have a better update, Bryan?

BB

They did a 1st reading on a new ordinance for a 1 year (or less) moratorium on all new gun shops in the city while they "study" the issue. The ordinance will have to be read a second time at their next meeting before it can be passed into law.

Minnesota law requires that zoning for gun shops not be discriminatory or arbitrary, but does give the City Council power to zone appropriately. The city hasn't put forth any evidence as to why this zoning change should be in place other than some people don't like to see gun shops.

There are a number of actions that can be taken from this point:
1) Get them to vote it down at the next council meeting by packing the place with supporters and ongoing pressure against the council between now and then.
2) Recruit EP residents to run against the Mayor and the 2 open city council seats. They will need to file by mid-July. We can help with this.
3) If the ban passes, we can litigate it. This will be extremely expensive but probably worth it in the end.

Hope this helps explain the current situation -
Thanks,
Bryan