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Monroe council opts to not allow guns in city meetings

Posted at 12:30 PM, May 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-09 12:30:39-04

MONROE, Ohio -- The Monroe City Council rejected a proposal to allow its members with concealed carry permits to carry a firearms at meetings.

Council members voted 4-2 against the resolution during their meeting Tuesday, WCPO news partner the Journal-News reported.

Weapons are not allowed in the meetings, even for those with CCW permits, because the council meets in the same room used for the city mayor's court. If the resolution had passed, Monroe would have been the first city in Butler County to allow council members to carry concealed firearms, the Journal-News reported.

Five of the seven council members have CCW permits and another is in the process of obtaining one. 

Councilman Todd Hickman said he has been threatened a few times during his time in office, according to the Journal-News.

But Robert Beglin, an insurance expert who made a presentation to the council, said allowing council members to carry concealed firearms could make the city liable in a case of a taxpayer with a CCW permit suing over their Second Amendment rights, could increase the city's insurance cots and could allow an employee to claim the city has become a hostile workplace. 

"One carrier was not sure if they could cover this and three others have not responded," Beglin said. "It’s such an unknown issue for us."

Read more on the Journal-News.