Town wants each home to have gun, ammunition

Town wants each home
to have gun, ammunition
Proposed civil-defense ordinance recommends
every resident own firearm, learn how to use

A small Canyon County town is considering a city ordinance that would recommend every homeowner have a gun and know how to use it.

A Greenleaf city council member proposed the idea as part of a plan to handle civil emergencies.

It would create citizen response teams and neighborhood watch groups, but would also recommend citizens own a gun and ammunition.

"We aren't choosing to pick a fight. We're choosing to organize and learn how to defend our own homes," said Greenleaf Mayor Brad Holton.

Holton assumes nearly every person living in his town already owns a gun.

"That's just the nature of our community," said Holton.

So he says little would be changed by adopting this ordinance that "recommends every head of household maintain a firearm and ammunition."

"It's requesting. It's not requiring," said Holton.

Holton says this is part of a larger plan to establish an organized response to a town emergency and a way to ensure Greenleaf's way of life is protected.

"The law enforcement agencies are not able to take care of each person and each private property, so it's up to local cities and local governments to develop a plan of how you're going to do that," said Holton.

The ordinance not only recommends gun ownership. It also recommends training on how to use them.

“If I was a burglar or if I was wanting to cause harm and I had all these cities to go to, why would I pick a city that is organized and trained? I wouldn't. I'd pick a city who isn't," said Holton.

Not everyone in town is in favor of the plan. Quakers founded this city a century ago.

“Historically, we're one of the peace churches," said Friends of Greenleaf Church Pastor Alan Weinacht.

Pastor Alan Weinacht says this ordinance goes too far.

"I'm not going to support that. I think that is falling into that culture of fear, and I'm not going to support that. I'm not going to encourage it. I think that's stepping over a line. It's where we don't need to go," said Weinacht.

Weinacht isn't opposed to owning a gun. He has a few himself but says the city has no business encouraging the use of firearms under any circumstance.

"If we would invest as much time into thinking about creative non-violent responses to violence as we did violent responses, we'd probably gain some ground," said Weinacht.

He sees this proposal could too easily be seen as a call to arms or the development of a city-created militia.

"I think the burden is upon city council to prove this is not what this is about, because it sure sounds like it," said Weinacht.

"Greenleaf isn't about being a vigilante, it's probably the exact opposite. It's a peaceful, small community and quality of life is very, very important to the people that are here," said Holton.