FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2000
For information, contact:
Scott Wood or Bernie Oliver of
Brassroots, Inc. (520) 750-1292
Guns in City Parks Case motion to dismiss to be heard Friday, January 14
Tucson, AZ Capping a constitutional and state firearms preemption legal challenge that has been ongoing since his planned arrest back in October of 1996, Tucsonan Ken Rineer will appear before a City Magistrate at 10:30 AM this coming Friday, January 14.
Rineers attorney, Ed Kahn, will again attempt to have the case zealously prosecuted by the City Attorneys Office through the State Court of Appeals dismissed at this hearing.
Ive got an annoyingly strong sense of legal deja vu, said Rineer. Id hoped this case would have been over with years ago, but it looks like the City is dead set on making an example of me and how little my rights mean compared to their feel good agenda.
In February of 1997, Magistrate Eugene Hays ruled the Tucson ordinance banning the carrying of firearms in parks was unconstitutional in that the state has preempted the control of firearms within the state and dismissed the charges against Rineer. The City appealed Hays decision, leading to the dismissal being overturned in the higher court.
To the average person, the Citys overwrought action might seem like double jeopardy for Mr. Rineer, said Scott Wood of Brassroots, Inc., but the law doesnt see it that way, so Ken still faces possible jail time for following the letter of the law. Its a sick abuse of the Citys power, and it certainly flies in the face of the spirit of the law.
Brassroots, the Tucson-based pro-firearm civil rights organization to which Rineer also belongs, has fervently supported Rineers test case from the beginning. The City has not remanded Rineer for trial, nor have they returned the firearm they confiscated which was used for the purposes of challenging the gun ban.
I want we (Brassroots) want this to end, said Rineer. Either the law means what it says or it doesnt. My family and I would like to get back to a normal life, but if the law means nothing to those charged with upholding it, Im not sure thats possible, anyway.
In addition to the Rineer case, Brassroots also supports newly introduced clarification language to the existing state firearms preemption law (A.R.S. 13-3108) currently before the Arizona State Legislature. Were this new language to pass both houses and be signed into law, the Citys case against Rineer would be rendered moot. For more information on both issues, visit Brassroots website at:www.brassroots.org