PORT TOWNSEND – Jefferson County’s no-shooting zone ordinance has again drawn the attention of the National Rifle Association, which posted on its Web site a notice about a meeting Friday to consider amending the criteria for establishing a no-shooting zone.
The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Jefferson County Superior Court courtroom on the third floor of the county courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
Two public hearings on proposed amendments to the county’s no-shooting zone policy took place in November.
Those were also publicized on the NRA’s Web site.
One hearing on Nov. 6 had to be rescheduled to later that day because of an overflow crowd.
About 75 people showed up to the hearing that took place later that day and about 250 people attended a second public hearing later that month.
Nearly everyone who spoke at both hearings before the three county commissioners were opposed to looser guidelines for establishing no-shooting zones.
A couple of people spoke in favor of amendments that would allow the commissioners, the sheriff and county staff to begin the process of establishing a no-shooting zone, which includes a public hearing.
The commissioners ultimately decide if a no-shooting zone will be created and, if so, what the boundaries will be.
The current ordinance calls for a petition of at least 10 resident signatures per precinct to begin the no-shoot zone creation process.
Public comments will not be heard at Friday’s meeting.
The commissioners will deliberate and are expected to make a decision about amending the ordinance.
The NRA’s Web site states that attendance is “critical” at Friday’s meeting.
“To date, there is no indication that there have been safety-related problems in the county or that there has been a problem in creating no-shooting zones where there is a justifiable need,” said the Web site.
“There have been reports of discussions in the last year, however, regarding the creation of very expansive no-shooting zones which include large chunks of the county encompassing rural areas, private farmland and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Natural Resources land currently open to shooting and hunting.
“This proposal would seem to pave the way to implement such restrictive ordinances,” said the NRA Web site.
Commissioner David Sullivan, D-Cape George, has drafted revisions of the original proposed amendments with the public comments from the two hearings and written comments in mind.
His proposal changes the 10 resident signatures per precinct to signatures of 10 percent of residents of a proposed no-shooting zone to begin the public process to establish such a zone.
The updates also proposes that a majority vote of the three county commissioners could initiate the public process.
