Detroit City Council to consider gun-free zones as advocates push back

Detroit City Council members on Tuesday postponed a vote on a resolution to establish gun-free zones in certain high-traffic parts of the city.

Councilmember Mary Waters pushed the resolution back to committee where members can further discuss proposed changes. The resolution calls for urging the Michigan Legislature to repeal the Firearm and Ammunition Act 319 of 1990 since Detroit is not allowed to establish the zones under current state gun laws. At a meeting in April, Waters proposed gun-free zones in areas that include the Detroit riverfront, Greektown, Hart Plaza, Spirit of Detroit Plaza and Campus Martius. Shootings have occurred in the downtown area in recent weekends as the weather warms toward summer and more people head outside.

In pushing for the change, Waters said parents need to ensure their children conduct themselves responsibly, urging guns in a household with children "should be locked up and stored so children cannot gain access."

But Scotty Boman, founder of Detroit Residents Advancing Civilian Oversight, said despite council members being well-intentioned, such a move would have adverse effects.

"I don't believe the correct response to the violence that we have had in our city is to deny basic liberties to the residents, and specifically the idea of making Greektown into a gun-free zone is not going to help make anyone safer and it is an infringement of people's basic rights," said Boman, who gathered on Monday in Greektown with other gun rights supporters. "The fact of the matter is that criminals don't care about the law. If we set up checkpoints on public streets, that's yet another thing, now we're talking about search and seizure rights. ... I think it's best to have responsible gun owners who can actually respond and help protect and help stop active shooters."

Boman, alongside National Rifle Association member Rick Ector and Wayne County Libertarian Party member Ryan Brennan, said it punishes individuals without ensuring safety.

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Brennan said the immediate solution is to change the culture around gun ownership by encouraging gun owners to teach others how to handle themselves responsibly in potentially harmful situations.

"I don't believe that the government is going to be able to adequately legislate it into existence. I think it will only serve to reduce our rights."

Gun laws should stay consistent with the rest of the state, Ector said, adding it would be "impossible" for law-abiding citizens who own a firearm to use it lawfully in restricted areas for their personal protection.

"The whole idea of carving out a section of the city of Detroit, particularly the downtown area, the areas where the casinos are, just to implement their own brand of gun laws, and then have everyone else in the city of Detroit follow another set of gun laws, it's inherently unfair. If you follow the history of gun control, it is racist. Gun laws tend to be most stringent in communities of color," Ector said.

The city spent more than $1 million on "crowd-sized" metal detectors, which scan for guns and weapons, to deploy at outdoor gatherings. Ector said he is not sure how that could work to protect public safety.

"People who were actually coming to Greektown would have to come to Greektown unarmed or leave their guns in their cars, and then walk over or take the trolley over, and they could potentially be a crime victim at that point. Also on their way back to the vehicles in the designated parking areas that are not gun free, they could also be assaulted ... on their way back to the vehicle," Ector said.

Waters on Monday called the advocates' response "NRA talking points" that will "get more Black human beings killed in Detroit, including children," in a text message to the Free Press.

"This is not the Wild West," Waters said. "It is one thing to protect yourself in your house. Another when you are in a public venue when you are trained to shoot at paper targets with black targets."

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact Dana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on Twitter: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Gun rights advocates urge Detroit Council to reject gun-free zones