AGMA SWEENEY
WESTFIELD – A member of the City Council withdrew a resolution pertaining to gun control after members of the public and council objected both in practical terms and constitutionally.
At-large Councilor Agma Sweeney published a column in the Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013 edition The Westfield News seeking support for a resolution in response to recent gun violence. Thursday night, at the request of a constituent, Sweeney introduced a resolution with the intent of initiating resolution is to “have an open dialogue” within the local community.
“We have to have a conversation about mentally ill people with assault weapons,” Sweeney, a gun owner, said. “This is not an attempt to violate citizens’ right to bear arms, but when we take our own guns and shoot children, we need to have this discussion and find common ground that the (City) Council and people of Westfield can stand behind. It’s getting worse and worse.”
The resolution contains the following language: The second amendment, created 222 years ago, was not intended to give people the right to unlimited supplies of combat weapons and ammunition. It was not intended as a right for a mentally disturbed person armed with combat weapons to kill 22 first graders, 6 adults, his mother at home, and himself.
All of us have a responsibility to say: No more! We must find answers to 2 simple questions. What conditions have led to our inability to protect our children? And, what must we do now to protect our children? With cool heads, with emotional hurt, and with an unbiased look at the timeline that got us to where we are today, we must look at how we govern, work, live, medicate, and play – it’s all on the table.
After the Newtown shooting on December 14, a female Westfield residents called me filled with grief and implored that I as her councilor do something. I honestly felt helpless, that what happens outside of Westfield is outside my jurisdiction. And yet she and I shared the mother’s instinct to protect our young. Then something happened that firmed my resolve to represent and engage Westfield so that we can contribute to finding solutions that will bring safety to all our children.
Two residents spoke during the council’s public participation segment of the meeting before Sweeney’s resolution was brought to the floor for discussion, both speakers responding to the published column.
Raymond L. Frappier of 43 Berkshire Avenue asked if Sweeney was trying to legislate morality or impose local restrictions on weapons.
“Are you trying to outlaw magazines of 10 rounds or more?” Frappier questioned.
Frank C. Woodard of 99 Roosevelt Ave., said that the resolution is Sweeney’s personal opinion and cannot represent the community as a whole.
“If you want to introduce something, that is your opinion, personal opinion, but don’t go saying that the City of Westfield is backing this, that is for the whole city to decide,” Woodard said.
Several members of the City Council also objected to the resolution.
“This is not the right forum for this resolution,” At-large Councilor David A. Flaherty said. “We may agree with the goal of not killing kids, but this resolution is too broad, and should have public hearings. I think you should withdraw it.”
“I don’t think we have the right to do social issue resolutions like Amherst. That’s not our model in Westfield,” Flaherty said.
Ward 6 Councilor Christopher Crean, a gun-owner and sportsman, said that he opposed it because it will do little to stop future incidents perpetrated by mentally ill subjects.
“Unfortunately, resolutions like this concern me because they do nothing to stop this type of violence,” Crean said. “What they do is erode the rights and freedoms of law-abiding citizens, sportsmen and hunters who will again come under the microscope.”
Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey, Jr., said he, too, opposed the resolution. Onofrey stated that in the state of Colorado, which has liberal firearm regulations and allows citizens to carry concealed weapons, there was a theater shooting. Onofrey said that there were a dozen theater complexes within that same distance of the shooter’s residence, but that he selected the only theater which prohibited concealed weapons.
“Guns can also protect people,” Onofrey said.
Ward 1 Councilor Christopher Keefe said that gun control laws are the purview of the state and federal governments.
“This is not in our jurisdiction. It’s a state law,” he said.
