Title
Resolution to Designate a Public Area of the Sedgwick County Courthouse Where Carrying a Concealed Handgun Is Prohibited.
Body
Recommended Action: Approve the resolution.
The Personal and Family Protection Act (K.S.A. 75-7c01, et seq.) includes provisions with limitations on when municipalities may prohibit the carrying of concealed handguns. In 2014 (an amendment to a 2013 resolution), the Board of County Commissioners adopted Resolution No. 12-2014, which, in pertinent part, prohibited the carrying of concealed handguns in the County Courthouse.
Resolution No. 12-2014 applied to the entire Courthouse building. In 2017, gun lockers were installed on the first floor of the County Courthouse. As a result, the County would intend to allow persons to carry concealed handguns in the limited area between the public entrance and the gun lockers. K.S.A. 75-7c20(a) allows municipalities to prohibit the carrying of a concealed handgun in a portion of a municipal building.
The proposed resolution would modify Resolution No. 12-2014 and install a prohibition on the carrying of concealed handguns throughout all of the County Courthouse except for the “Pre-Screening Area” identified within Appendix A of the proposed resolution.
The proposed resolution also provides details about what signs would be utilized and, with respect to the signs designating the public area, specifically where such signs would be located.
Alternatives: N/A
Financial Considerations: N/A
Legal Considerations: K.S.A. 75-7c20 provides that in order to prohibit the carrying of a concealed handgun in a “public area”, the County must: (a) have adequate security measures in place; and (b) conspicuously post the public area with signage approved by the Board of County Commissioners. Also, the “public area” is required to be designated by the Board of County Commissioners. Approval is by simple majority vote.
Policy Considerations: N/A