New Carlisle City Council Member Mike Lowrey, at Council’s May 7 meeting, said he had “a handful of things that we need to talk about tonight. He started off by expressing concern about a gun ordinance that Law Director Lynnette Dinkler has been drafting.
The work on the ordinance was reportedly requested by Council Member William Lindsey. The ordinance reportedly will allow firearms to be brought into City buildings.
“I’ve only heard little pieces of this gun ordinance,” said Lowrey. “I’ve never gotten any emails per se from anyone on council bringing up the details of this ordinance for the City of New Carlisle, but I know there’s been a lot of money spent on legal fees researching this ordinance.”
Lowrey went on to recommend that a controversial ordinance such as this be approved by the entire council before being sent to the Law Director.
“There is an inconsistency in the Rules of Council that I discovered this week,” said Dinkler. “You do need to make motions before you request the Law Director to draft ordinances.”
“Your ordinances in the Rules of Council, for as long as I’ve known them, for as long as I’ve been contracted by the City, have always had the same provision in them, that Council could direct the Law Director to draft ordinances,” she said. “And so I never had any thought or reason to look at it. I suppose I should have.”
Council Member Aaron Leighty asked how much has been spent on the gun ordinance. Dinkler replied “About 5,000 at this point.”
Leighty then asked if the ordinance would allow CCW permit holders to bring weapons into city buildings.
“That’s exactly what I’d like to see,” said Lindsey. “I would love to be able to walk into the City Building when I’m paying my water bill in case some moron comes in and decides they want to shoot the place up.”
After several minutes of discussion of the merits and drawbacks of weapons at Council meetings, Lindsey suddenly made a motion to adjourn the meeting and Council Member Chris Shamy immediately seconded the motion.
Lowrey tried to offer objections, but Mayor Ethan Reynolds confirmed that the meeting had been adjourned.
“I had a handful of things I’d like to go over,” said Lowrey.
Reynolds then asked Dinkler if the meeting was, in fact, adjourned. She confirmed that it was.
