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City explains provision involving gun use was included by mistake.
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Local officials explained a provision involving gun use was included by mistake, and that mistake was rectified as soon as it was realized.
Police Chief Donald Hagan said the ordinance was enacted in 2004 and was based on the laws of that time. It has just not been noticed that there was an issue until now.
The chief said at no time did he exercise any restriction on gun use or sales. He checked with local gun shops later, and all said they were not impacted in any way.
Mayor Dowling Watford said the ordiance has been used since 2004 and when they used it, they did not notice that it included the provision about guns.
"The police chief is getting all the flack, but it was not his responsibilty to issue this ordinance. It was the city council's."
He explained it was a boiler plate ordinance to cover all emergencies, and the provision would not have been applied anyway unless there was a riot or civil unrest. "You would just have to read the entire thing and go to the statutes," he said.
The mistake has been rectified and will not happen again.
"We made a mistake. We are only human. We are not perfect," said the mayor.
