Gun-law compliance in Cape council's cross hairs

Members of the Cape Girardeau City Council will vote tonight to bring city ordinances into compliance with new state gun laws.

Among other changes, the approval of Senate Bill 656 allows residents with a valid permit to carry guns openly. This forced many cities, including Cape Girardeau, to re-evaluate ordinances prohibiting open carry.

City attorney Eric Cunningham said in October that the city was "looking into changes" on the weapons ordinance, although the exact form of those changes had not yet been determined. He also said whatever path the city took would at least require the council to adopt an ordinance to bring the existing one into compliance with the new provisions in state statute.

Amendments to the proposal to be considered by the council include:

• Prohibition on possessing a firearm while knowingly in possession of a controlled substance sufficient for a felony violation;
• Permitting any person with a valid concealed-carry permit to carry a firearm openly that's readily capable of lethal use; and
• Assuring nothing in the section is construed to preclude the use of a firearm in defense of person or property, subject to provisions of Missouri revised statutes, chapter 563.

Other provisions require any person openly carrying a firearm to display his or her concealed-carry permit on demand of a law enforcement officer and prohibit law enforcement officials from disarming or restraining a person carrying a concealed or unconcealed firearm without "reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal activity."

The remainder of the ordinance, which prohibits concealed carrying of knives and other weapons readily available for lethal use, is largely unchanged. City staff reports say the purpose of the new ordinance is "to leave the current provisions of the city code intact to the extent possible, while making those provisions consistent with the new changes" adopted by the Senate bill.

Other business

The council also will vote on a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute an agreement with Republic Services doing business as CWI of Missouri Inc., for solid waste services, including hauling solid waste from the city's transfer station and disposing of it in Republic's Dexter, Missouri, landfill. The city's current agreement with IESI expires Dec. 15 and the proposed agreement with Republic Services would begin the same day.

Among the fees negotiated in the agreement is a solid waste processing fee of $7.75 per ton and solid waste transportation and disposal fee of $35.40 per ton, for the first year. Per the agreement, the fees would increase by 3 percent each year for the first five years. After that, processing fees will be determined by the Consumer Price Index adjustment.

Reports from city staff said the rate for the first year of the agreement is less than the current rate being paid by the city, which would allow for some savings toward a possible new multiuse solid waste station. The project has long been on the city's list of future capital improvements projects, along with a new police station.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

401 Independence St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.