The state’s biggest city has an ordinance that bans people from selling guns and ammunition out of their homes. The Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law this year that limits cities and counties from regulating guns and ammunition. The law, which took effect Tuesday, also voids existing, related ordinances.
The city’s lawsuit says the “stakes are much higher” and gets at whether the Legislature can “strip away” Fargo’s home rule powers. Fargo voters approved a home rule charter in 1970 that gave the city commission certain powers, including the power to zone public and private property.
“As it relates to this present action, the North Dakota legislative assembly is upset that the City of Fargo has exercised its home rule powers to prohibit the residents of the City of Fargo – and no one else – from the home occupation of selling firearms and ammunition and the production of ammunition for sale,” the lawsuit states. “Effectively, the City of Fargo does not want its residents to utilize their homes in residential areas as gun stores.”
The city successfully challenged a similar law two years ago
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley told The Associated Press his office will evaluate the complaint. Fargo city spokesperson Gregg Schildberger said the City Commission will discuss the lawsuit on Monday during a regular meeting.
Bill sponsor and Republican state Rep. Ben Koppelman told a state Senate panel in April that the issue came to greater attention in 2016 when, because of the ordinance, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives refused to renew the federal firearms licenses of Fargo dealers who sold out of their homes.
“What is at issue is whether we want local governments creating gun control or whether we want gun regulations to remain a state-controlled issue,” Koppelman said in April. “Without this bill and in light of the (2021) court opinion, I think local political subdivisions could propose all sorts of local gun control, and based on the anti-gun track record of the City of Fargo Commission, I think we could expect it.”
— Jack Dura in Fargo challenges new North Dakota law, seeking to keep local ban on home gun sales
I thought Fargo only had a ban on wood chippers.
“I thought Fargo only had a ban on wood chippers.”
I see what you did there.
😂
Yah, you betcha… I see what you done dere too… woo hootie.
“I think local political subdivisions could propose all sorts of local gun control, and based on the anti-gun track record of the City of Fargo Commission, I think we could expect it.”
This is why ‘governments’ should not have an ‘authority’ over anything to do with a constitutional right unless it involves a crime. Its too much of a ‘blanket coverage’ that prohibits the exercise of a right by the law abiding and its too easy to abuse. The founders anticipated this, that once such ‘authority’ is given to or taken by ‘government’ that it turns into abuse to deny and warned against letting it happen and tried to tell us to not let it happen and even wrote it down for us in the Bill of Rights to codify per-existing rights to place limits on government and not just for the 2nd Amendment where they were even more exacting by saying “shall not be infringed”.
“This is why ‘governments’ should not have an ‘authority’ over anything to do with a constitutional right…”
A solid, Constitutional principle.
The ND legislature should immediately unincorporate the city of Fargo, revoke the city’s charter and put it under the direct control of the aforementioned. This type of nonsense won’t stop until the city council is held accountable.
Bring in the woodchippers. That’s the accountability the city council needs.
Before you can keep ’em and bear ’em, you gotta be able to buy ’em.
Well we used to be a home rule city where I live in ILLANNOY. Now the evil Dimscum© prempted all that. The opposite of Fargonorth. As if it’s “safer” without a home gat shop?!? Like the fool’s in Highland Park,ILLANNOY who preemptively banned AR’s before last years July 4th parade. Safely stupid in Fargo too🙄
Well everyone who works at home could find themselves on the fargo sht list. I.E. People selling stuff like hatchetts, etc. from home on eBay could be in the same boat. On the other hand if a home eBayer, etc. can sell then it circles back to discriminating against home sellers of firearms.
Actually fargo reminds me of the busy body tribal minded uncommonsense when he said he has been observing my posts for some time and more or less just did not like what he was seeing…like I give a flying f.
“…like I give a flying f.”
You give a flying fuck very much, otherwise, you wouldn’t have said anything.
(It’s great *fun* living in your head rent-free… 😉 )
Plus there is all that empty space.
I guess Fargo also has problem understanding “shall not be infringed”.
And Bruen.
we have Bruen because Progressives refused to understand “shall not be infringed.”
The whole concept is bogus.
Zoning regulates the USE of land, in this case, retail sales.
The “WHAT” they are selling, as long as it is legal to do so, should be out of scope.
Shit, anything you can sell that fits on a kitchen table shouldn’t even require an FFL in the first place !!
I am glad to see that some legislatures are able to do something about these control freaks at the local level who have no clue what they are doing. Not only is this local ordinance illegal at the state level, it is a violation of the Constitution’s “Interstate Commerce clause”.
Of all the cities in the US of A, I never figured Fargo, ND as a bastion of 2A hating liberals.
+1
How did they get converted to citizen-disarmism?
Largest city by population in the state with the largest university and a large number of Minneapolis/St Paul transplants. Essentially they are North Dakota’s Austin.
“the production of ammunition for sale,”
They do have a claim to regulate an ammo production facility because of the hazard to the neighborhood. If it’s a residential area, they aren’t prepared for commercial/industrial accidents that can occur in someone’s kitchen or garage where hundreds of pounds of propellants may be stored improperly.
What happens when the local FD shows up for what they think is a kitchen grease fire, only to be vaporized when the black powder enthusiast’s stock-pile goes.
And no berm or revetment to shield neighboring homes from shrapnel and fire.
That’s the whole purpose of zoning, to prevent inappropriate and hazardous operations from setting up shop in the middle of families’ homes.
of course the scale of production doesn’t matter in any way whatsoever. ::eye roll::
MINOR Minre49er, It might then be a good idea for you to stay out of Louisiana. they don’t seem to put up with Leftist control freaks. The definitive wording in your post is “maybe”. I guess you don’t know that the storage of such is regulated by FEDERAL LAW and REGULATIONS. But then you Leftist Control Freaks don’t obey laws that you don’t like right? Only the one’s that restrict people’s rights to self defense.
Maybe this border college town on an Interstate Freeway could better use their time by trying to control the illegal meth / dope trade centered in their town rather than harassing the inconsequential legal trade in firearms… which one is a couple of thousand times ACTUALLY more responsible for fatalities? Between that and the gangs running free in the town, I’d think they’d have plenty to keep themselves productively occupied.
Well your MARXIST allies seem in the habit of changing “LONG ESTABLISHED DEFINITIONS”!!!
So what is your definition of “ammo production facility “??? Since that is not what is in the “STORY”!!
“Production of ammunition for sale”, is what is in the story!!!
It is well established among gun owners not to purchase “privately loaded” ammunition, unless you know and trust the individual!!!
Here we go with patchwork firearms regulations again.
FFL FEDERAL Firearms License.
How is a local municipality able to put restrictions on a federal license? If the US government gave its okay for an FFL at a residential address then tough on Fargo. I have a federal license too, my amateur radio license. I want to see my city try to tell me I can’t operate my radio equipment from my home.
Comments are closed.