LONGMEADOW – A majority of more than 900 voters at the May 10 Annual Town Meeting shot down three articles that sought to regulate guns in the community.

The articles were citizen petitions proposed by Selectman Alex Grant.

Article 29, which called for the creation of a $300 fine for any resident found possessing a firearm in a town building, with the exception of police officers or federal officials, was the first to receive a negative vote.

Town Counsel stated all three articles were subject to approval from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and did not recommend them.  

“I would ask you, let’s leave the legal question to the Attorney General because that’s the office that reviews every bylaw after the fact,” Grant responded. “If Town Counsel is right, the Attorney General says so.”

Grant’s original article proposed a fine for carrying a firearm on any town-owned grounds, but he said he sought to find “common ground” by amending the article to include only town buildings.

“How would you feel if some percentage of us were armed tonight?” he asked. “What if we were having this meeting at another town building that was not a school? Second, do you believe guns belong in Greenwood Child Center? If you believe that they do, then vote against this.”

Resident Ronald Hastie, a former town moderator, said he believes the article is a “sort of stupidity.”

He added, “It’s this kind of misguided nonsense that creates an atmosphere where the only person who’s going to have a gun is the criminal.”

Article 30 called for the creation of a gun licensing bylaw that would require firearm owners to provide a description of their guns to the Police Department, including the weapon’s serial number, make, model, and caliber. The article also included a $300 fine for gun owners who do not provide a description for each weapon.

Resident Bernard Travers III said he opposed the article because he believes it is an infringement of his civil liberties and would could incur significant costs to the town due to the likelihood of a lawsuit against the bylaw as well for costs to the Police Department related to implementing the bylaw.

Resident Steven Weiss voiced his approval of the bylaw.

“I don’t see any possible universe in which just knowing what guns there are in town and knowing that somebody has guns that are stored safely is a bad idea,” he noted.

Article 31 called for the creation of a bylaw to ban assault weapons. Any individual found in possession of such weaponry would be subject to a $300 each day the firearm is possessed in the town.

Grant said the Commonwealth already bans assault weapons, although firearms made before 1994 are grandfathered from the law.

He presented a photo of an AR-15, which he said was used during the Sand Hook Elementary School shooting on Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, CT. Twenty children between the ages of six and seven as well as six adults were murdered by shooter Adam Lanza.

“The AR-15, which I just showed you, is for military use,” Grant noted. “Its purpose is to shoot a lot of bullets very fast killing me. It fires up to 45 rounds per minute. It is not an automatic weapon. You have to pull the trigger every time.”

Resident Ryan Yates, a police officer, said he’s responded to mass shootings in the past.

“I think what just happened here is a disgrace ... This law does nothing for this town – absolutely nothing,” he added.

Residents also overwhelmingly supported Article 32, a nonbinding citizen petition, which called for the preservation of Wolf Swamp Fields as a recreational area exclusively.

The Town Manager’s Department of Public Works (DPW) Task Force previously listed Wolf Swamp Fields as a top site for the project. Currently, the Select Board’s DPW Task Force is reviewing a list of site locations as well.

The majority of residents who spoke on the article did so in favor of it.

Town Manager Stephen Crane said he understands resident concerns about the needs for field space in the community.

“I have used language in the past in various presentations that Wolf Swamp has been identified as the best site,” he noted. “That’s really not an accurate way of saying it. When you look at the land we have available in this community, which is not very much, and we need a minimal of four and a half acres to develop the site … There really are all undesirable options.”

The $62.3 million fiscal year 2017 (FY17) budget was approved without any residents speaking for or against it. The budget would include $33.1 million for the School Department, including the funding of free full-day kindergarten.

Article 7, which called for a vote to transfer $50,000 to investigate the development of a Storm Water Enterprise fund was to close to call and required a hand counted vote. The article was approved by a vote of 507 in favor to 470 against.  

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