Some county commissioners realize they may have made a mistake, but…
As you know, a new noise ordinance narrowly missed becoming the law of the land in Johnston County earlier this month. In a move to restrict gun use in the county to only three “acceptable” circumstances, the Johnston County Board of Commissioners voted to accept the new noise ordinance. Only the absence of one commissioner kept the ordinance from becoming law, but they will try again on September 4th at the next meeting without your input!
How do these changes affect county residents, businesses, ranges, and sporting clubs? Simply put, if anyone decides that they don’t want to hear your gunfire, they can simply report you to law enforcement agencies, who will then determine if your gunfire violates the new noise laws.
Lawless ordinance violates range protection statute
Ordinarily, “Sport Shooting Ranges” would be protected under state law GS 14-409.46 which, in part, protects ranges and clubs established before September of 1994 from these kinds of laws. But the proposed Johnston County ordinance makes no exception for “Sport Shooting Ranges” protected by GS 14-409.46, potentially regulating them out of business in a clear violation of state law. Ask the Johnston commissioners why they feel free to ignore the law.
Keep up the pressure!
Your emails and calls are starting to work. Several commissioners are now second-guessing their proposals and considering the idea that maybe they went a little too far with this one. While this development is encouraging, it is vitally important that each and every commissioner understands that punishing the entire county is not the way to deal with issues they may have with one or two residents.
Enough is enough in Johnston County. By intentionally ignoring previous agreements with county residents drafted and passed last year, the commissioners this year have taken residents out of the process and decided on their own that your rights are no longer worthy of protection in Johnston County. While these extreme tactics may work well in third world nations, it is not acceptable in North Carolina. Every effort must be made to attend the next meeting on September 4th at 6pm so that your voice can be heard!
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
You need you to do four things:
- Call and email the Johnston County Commissioners using the contact information provided below
- Attend the next scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting on September 4th, 2012 at 6:00pm
- Bring signs saying: “Gun Owners WILL BE HEARD!
- Support GRNC!: As we move closer to the national and local elections this Fall, GRNC needs your support to help combat the efforts against your rights as gun owners. Join or renew your membership! http://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/join-grnc-online
CONTACT INFO
Johnston County Board of Commissioners:
ADDRESS, PHONE & EMAIL
Allen L. Mims, Jr., Chairman
920 City Road
Clayton, NC 27520
919-553-3081 (Home)
Jeffrey P. Carver, Vice Chairman
85 Christenbury Lane
Clayton, NC 27527
919-553-8922 (Home)
Wade M. Stewart
P. O. Box 580
Four Oaks, NC 27524
919-965-7500 (Cell)
Cookie Pope
849 Polenta Road
Smithfield, NC 27577
919-934-3662 (Home) 919-934-6187 (Work)
W. Ray Woodall
2516 Little Divine Road
Selma, NC 27576
919-965-3635 (Home) 919-631-3058 (Cell)
DeVan Barbour
217 West Church Street
Benson, NC 27504
919-938-2050 (Work) 919-621-5557 (Cell)
Tony Braswell
1170 Gor An Farm Road
Selma, NC 27576
919-669-6598 (Cell)
DELIVER THIS MESSAGE
To Johnston County Board of Commissioners:
Suggested Subject line: Gun owners will be heard!
Dear Commissioner,
As we draw closer to the next regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting on September 4th, it is crucial that you reconsider your recent vote concerning the latest noise ordinance proposal. This restrictive new set of proposals will certainly curtail my ability to legally fire weapons on my own land. Moreover, by making no exceptions for established “Sport Shooting Ranges” as defined by N.C.G.S. 14-409.46, the ordinance does not comply with state law.
I strongly urge you to vote to defeat the noise ordinance proposal, and begin to work again with the residents of Johnston County to find a solution to the current issues. Although I’m dismayed that you tried to pass it in the August meeting without adequate public input, there is still time to work together on this and come to a common resolution which not only respects all individual’s rights, but also brings the community together instead of causing more division. I will be attending the meeting on September 4th at 6pm to have my voice heard on this matter. Attempts by the board to silence citizen input will only generate greater opposition.
I eagerly await your response and I will be closely monitoring all progress in this matter via GRNC Alerts.
Sincerely,
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