Follow the law? Cedar Rapids City Attorney actually gets it

It seems that the City Attorney of Cedar Rapids understands the preemption law in Iowa. The one that prohibits cities and counties from regulating your firearm rights Iowa Code 724.28, Prohibition of regulation by political subdivisions.

City officials toyed with the idea in recent months about changing the city ordinance to allow guns in taxicabs.

Last night, those officials and the City Council said the correct approach for the city was to leave the city ordinance as it is on guns and cabs — it is now silent on the issue — and to defer to state law. State law allows qualified people who secure permits to carry guns.

City Attorney Jim Flitz told the City Council that the city can’t enact a gun statute that makes guns in cabs illegal if state law states it is legal.

It is not silent on the issue. My first post: Your Constitutional rights have been violated describes the ordinance on the prohibition.

Right now, the city ordinance [Taxi/Limo Ordinance (Chapter 52)] that covers cabs doesn’t give drivers much leeway in protecting themselves with a weapon. The rule currently is no firearms, no knives with blades longer than three inches and no “assault weapons.”

Sloppy reporting somewhere.

I posted that Your rights have to be debated about the city council even thinking there should be a debate over freedom to protect yourself.

Since the vote failed, the city council needs to get a quorum and get this ordinance repealed. Cabbies and passengers should just ignore it anyway since the law clearly violates the state preemption statute.