Mayoral candidates back Nickels' gun ban in parks. Gun groups threaten suit (Updated)

Seattle's mayoral candidates Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan said Friday afternoion they support Mayor Greg Nickels' proposal to ban firearms in city parks, community centers and pools intended for children and youths.

McGinn said simply he supports the idea proposed Friday morning, while Mallahan's support was a little more qualified. "Joe thinks its a great start toward making children safer in these public venues," Mallahan spokeswoman Charla Neuman said. But she said gun laws are the jurisdiction of the state and to having more teeth in the prohibition would mean working with the state.

Mallahan's statement was signficant because whether the city has the ability to pass tougher gun control measures than the state is at the heart of the legal fight facing the city. Gun rights groups said Friday they would sue if the ban is enacted.

Nickels, an advocate of gun restrictions who will be leaving office after being ousted in the primary. But before he goes, he is trying to enact the gun restrictions he initially talked about earlier this year.

In a press release Friday morning, he said, “These are the places where our children and families gather and it is common sense that community centers, playgrounds and swimming pools are safer without guns.”

Nickels is using as the impetus for the ban an incident at the 2008 Folklife Festival when a man shot and injured three people at the 2008 Folklife Festival. The suspect in last year’s shooting had a concealed weapons permit and a history of mental health problems.

Nickels directed city departments to evaluate rules, policies and leases related to guns, and began requiring organizations leasing the Seattle Center and other city property to post signs and take other reasonable steps prohibiting firearms at the events. The release said the lease policy will be formalized.

The release, Nickels said, the city will first gather public comment on the proposed rule over the next two weeks before enacting the prohibitions.

Once in effect, signs will be posted notifying the public that firearms are prohibited as a condition of entry into the facilities.

Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the groups have already identified Seattle residents who would be the plaintiffs in a lawsuit and the groups will indeed sue if the rule goes into effect.

“This is the mayor taking one last shot at us before he goes,” Gottlieb said.

Mayoral candidates Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan were not immediately available for comment about whether they would continue the policy if elected.

At issue, Gottlieb said, is a state law that preempts local governments from passing stricter gun laws than the state. Nickels spokesman Alex Fryer acknowledged that’s the case. But the city argues that state law does not prohibit a property owner from imposing conditions on the possession of firearms on his or her property.

He said the city believes that Seattle is the owner of city property and came impose the limitation, particularly those at which children and youth are likely to be present. 

 “ The premise underlying the proposal is that as the owner and operator of facilities where children and youth are invited and welcome, Parks may, just like any other property owner, establish and post reasonable conditions on entry or use of the facilities, including one prohibiting the possession of firearms at those facilities,” the release said.

Gottlieb argued that’s not the case with public parks. “The parks are the property of the citizens of Seattle,” he said. “Mayor Nickels does not own the parks.”

As the PostGlobe reported, the Seattle Center policy angered some gun rights advocates who considered openly defying the policy at the Bite of Seattle. Gottlieb said gun rights groups haven’t sued over the leasing requirement because the prohibition hasn’t actually been enforced against people carrying permitted firearms.

The release said that if the prohibition is enacted, parks personnel will ask individuals with guns to leave these areas. If they refuse, they may be subject to citation or arrest for criminal trespass by Seattle police. Locations covered by the proposed rule include:

• 26 community centers

• 4 environmental learning centers

• 10 pools

• 30 wading pools and water play areas

• 2 small craft centers

• 2 specialized facilities (tennis center, performing arts center)

• 139 playgrounds and play areas

• 213 ballfields

• 6 late night recreation sites

• 3 teen life centers

• 82 outdoor tennis and basketball courts

 The release said that in 2008, more than 1.8 million people visited and attended programs in Parks Department-owned community centers, pools, teen life centers and environmental learning centers. More than 108,000 children and youth visited wading pools and more than 59,000 youth events were scheduled at sports fields.

Nickels is a founding member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which is promoting federal legislation to assist law enforcement in combating gun trafficking.

Nickels has urged lawmakers in Olympia to ban assault weapons, require criminal background checks at gun shows and require trigger locks and safe storage of firearms. Nickels has long advocated tougher laws that would keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill. In April, the state legislature passed a law prohibiting the possession of firearms by adults and juveniles who are involuntarily committed for 14 days or more for mental health treatment.

Residents can submit comments by Oct. 4, 2009, at www.seattle.gov/firearmsrule or send comments to: Seattle Parks and Recreation Department, 100 Dexter Ave. .