Executive Order

About 500 concerned citizens of Pulltown met Tuesday at the city council meeting after the mayor’s statement prohibiting the possession of firearms in public places.
Mayor Gregory J. Heep issued a press release yesterday concerning his executive order to ban firearms in public places like parks, libraries and city centers. The order does not need the approval of the council to go into effect.
Keri Calender, a west Pullman resident and single mother disagrees with the executive order. She held up a photo of her personal handgun at the meeting and said she has a right to protect herself, “whether it is at home or in public.” Calender purchased her gun after her home was burglarized in 2007.
“The city’s parks, community centers and events are safer without guns,” Heep said. “We can’t wait for another incident, another innocent victim.”
The controversial order is a result of a three person shooting at Pulltown Center’s Northwest Wheatberry festival last year by licensed gun owner Charles W. Fakename. Before the executive order, firearms were allowed in public arenas, so long as the gun owner had a license. Violators of the order will not be arrested but will be fined.
"We will mount a legal challenge,” Bertrand Birch, a north Pulltown gun shop owner said. “This ain’t Canada.”
“It’s madness to bring guns to public gathering places,” Carla Worthingham, mother of a drive-by shooting victim. “It only invites disaster.” Worthingham’s 10-year-old daughter was left blind after the drive-by shooting outside Pulltown City Library last June.
Legislative representatives asked Attorney General Rob McKenna for his informal legal opinion on the matter on whether state law preempts the executive order. Washington Supreme Court ruled cities could adopt gun regulation rules on city property in 2006.
Heep urged lawmakers in Olympia to ban assault weapons, according to a press released early yesterday. More information regarding the mayor’s views are available online.