A KC3 member spotted an illegal sign at a Mt. Sterling/Mongomery Co. park. The sign had a list of eight "park rules". The eighth rule on the sign was "No Firearms". The KC3 member complained to park officials about the sign and now it looks like the sign in the picture below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/abktk56l8676uvo/1618593118392001%20%282%29.jpg?dl=0&fbclid=IwAR3hpn-oBZdajg3OibGpZ1xIPdQXRh27CzMqz642uQz2nl9hv8gtTEKmTEwWe don't have to put up with this crap. If you find an illegal sign speak up and make them change it. If you don't know who to contact or what to say, send it to us, here on this forum and we'll look into it.
After this, I submitted Open Records Requests to the Clerks of the City of Mt. Sterling and Montgomery County. Montgomery County has sent me nothing and I have sent an appeal to the Attorney General's office. They will make Montgomery County Clerk comply with the law and send me the records that I requested. The Mt. Sterling City Clerk sent me four files. The first is a city ordinance prohibiting the discharge of a firearm in the city. You can see it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/boac32e7q1pdw9b/doc01650720210416152530.pdf?dl=0That ordinance is completely legal.
The second file was the city's "No Concealed Weapons in CIty Buildings" ordinance. You can see it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dsyvoi5w36g9xxr/doc01650520210416151719%20%281%29.pdf?dl=0That ordinance is deficient. Ordinances like this are authorized by KRS 237.115 and that state law says that the ordinance must contain several items. Here is what it says:
"The statute or ordinance shall exempt any building used for
public housing by private persons, highway rest areas, firing ranges, and private dwellings owned, leased, or
controlled by that unit of government from any restriction on the carrying or
possession of deadly weapons. The statute, administrative regulation, or ordinance
shall not specify any criminal penalty for its violation but may specify that persons
violating the statute or ordinance may be denied entrance to the building, ordered to
leave the building, and if employees of the unit of government, be subject to
employee disciplinary measures for violation of the provisions of the statute or
ordinance. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to be a violation of
KRS 65.870 if the requirements of this section are followed."This ordinance contains none of that and since KRS 237.115 wasn't followed it is therefore a violation of KRS 65.870 and "null, void and unenforceable.
The third file is a copy of a policy from the City's "Personnel Handbook". It says that a city employee may not be in possession of a firearm on city property, even in their own personal vehicle. Here is that file:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/22ljfsh7qmqfwai/doc01655320210419113947.pdf?dl=0This is illegal. It violates KRS 65.870 and the "concealed carry law" KRS 237.110. KRS 237.110 has a very interesting sentence buried deep in Paragraph (17). It says:
"A private but not a public employer may prohibit
employees or other persons holding a concealed deadly weapons
license from carrying concealed deadly weapons, or ammunition, or both in vehicles
owned by the employer, but may not prohibit employees or other persons holding a
concealed deadly weapons license from carrying concealed deadly weapons, or
ammunition, or both in vehicles owned by the employee,.....
Originally this would have only applied to people with a CCDW but now that we have Constitutional Carry it applies to everybody that can legally own a gun.
This policy is a violation of KRS 65.870.
The fourth policy is a real shocker. Did you know it was illegal to carry a loaded gun at "October Court Days" in Mt. Sterling? I must have done it 50 times! Here is the city ordinance:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q9v8mdsoc6ch7us/doc01650620210416151931.pdf?dl=0This is, of course illegal. It is a violation of KRS 65.870.
I have sent all of this to the Mayor of Mt. Sterling and he responded by saying that he had sent it to the City Attorney for review. I'll keep you up with all of this as things progress.