Monument Town Council passes gun law opposing state bill

MONUMENT, Colo. (KRDO) - The town of Monument is bucking state law by passing an ordinance to allow people to bring guns into a government building.

In a vote of 5 to 2, the Monument Town Council voted to allow people to bring guns into local government buildings.

The ordinance comes after Governor Jared Polis signed a bill into law earlier this year prohibiting firearms in government buildings. 

However, the state law allows local governments to say otherwise.

State law bans both concealed and open-carry firearms in 19 “sensitive spaces". Those include in part: public parks, schools and universities, hospitals, and government buildings.

Last night's decision is one that the mayor of Monument is in favor of.

"If we don't do this, we are basically saying that we are no longer a Pro 2A community as well as we are overriding our charter in a way because we're telling people they can no longer come in here and be a gun carrying member of society legally," Mayor Mitch Lakind said.

However, not all town council members agree.

"I'm unclear why we need to allow people to come into a meeting like this and have a weapon other than our police officers that are trained," Sana Abbott said.

Regardless of the disagreement, the law is set to go into effect 10 days from today, Tuesday, June 18.