KINGSTON – Opponents to the Midtown gun range in Kingston held their “last stand,” of sorts. Roughly one dozen naysayers stood up during a Law and Rules Committee session of the common council Tuesday night and silently displayed signs, in protest of neighborhood gun proliferation.
After a short while, the picketers sat down again, with several voicing their concern. The display had little effect on the committee’s discussion. Aldermen eventually voted to approve amendments to the local law which currently prohibits firearms discharge inside city limits.
Safe Shoot, an indoor handgun training venture proposed for 90 Prince Street, sparked a controversy over several months, tying up numerous meetings with extensive public commentary. The issue became a political hot potato, bouncing back and forth between different committees.
The matter now goes to the common council floor, by way of majority caucus, where it may be further tweaked. Essentially, though, the new added language specifies that indoor gun ranges, along with military salutes and historical re-enactments, are explicitly allowed.
Absent from Tuesday’s Law and Rules meeting was KingstonCitizens.org, a local advocacy group that spearheaded previous Safe Shoot opposition. Instead, the only activist leader observed among Tuesday’s protesters was Alex Dean of Citizen Action. Kingston Citizens posted a message on their website, calling for volunteers to submit legal research to the committee – but none was presented at the meeting.
Kingston’s Board of Education drafted a letter citing the Federal Safe Schools Zone of 1,000 feet banning guns, but gun range applicant Adam Sawyer argued that he met with federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officers last September, who assured him that the safe zone does not apply to private property near schools. James Shaughnessy, one of the school board members, abruptly walked out of the meeting, visibly displeased.
The next Common Council meeting is Tuesday June 7th, 7:30pm.
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