Because the government cannot legislate safety, it continues to ban things citizens can use unsafely. To whit, the St. Louis suburb of Chesterfield has banned the use of air guns:
Chesterfield City Council voted 6-2 Monday night in favor of a tighter weapons ban after two hours of testimony from the public both for and against the measure.
Councilmen Bob Nation and Barry Flachsbart voted against the heightened ban, saying it restricted rights provided by the Missouri Constitution.
Chesterfield’s Mayor Bruce Geiger said the modification of the existing weapons ban was really a public safety issue.
City Attorney Robert Heggie said the city felt “confident” about its new ordinance, since neighboring cities have much the same bans.
“It’s a common sense approach,” Heggie said.
Before the vote, Geiger and Police Chief Ray Johnson showed a piece of wood and a bulletproof vest they shot earlier with guns and darts, to apparently show the dangers, and need for an ordinance that would ban shooting small animals in subdivision yards.
When a government official says “common sense” it generally means they’re about to ban something and they don’t want to have to build a logical case for it.
In this case, Chesterfield has banned people from firing air guns and dart guns at varmints on their property because of the threat to public safety danger posed by a pellet gun. Bear in mind that shooting someone with a pellet gun, using a pellet gun to hold up a Quik Trip, or damaging property is against the law: no, that’s beside the point. Common sense demands further restrictions. A ban would not pass Congressional muster, but fortunately a common sense restriction will.
