Tiverton Council votes to nix sanctuary 2A Resolution

But meeting Monday may lead to re-vote

By Tom Killin Dalglish
Posted 6/2/19

TIVERTON — It was utter confusion last Tuesday night in Town Hall after the Town Council, by a vote of 4-3, appeared to defeat Vice President Justin Katz's "Second Amendment Sanctuary Town Resolution" (referred to as the "2A Resolution"). The vote seemed to open the way for the opposite outcome.

But later, near the time the meeting adjourned, the 4th vote against the proposal, by Councilor (and Tiverton Taxpayer Association member) Nancy Driggs, appeared in doubt, as Ms. Driggs sought to amend the proposed 2A Resolution and bring about a re-vote.

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Tiverton Council votes to nix sanctuary 2A Resolution

But meeting Monday may lead to re-vote

Posted

TIVERTON — It was utter confusion last Tuesday night in Town Hall after the Town Council, by a vote of 4-3, appeared to defeat Vice President Justin Katz's "Second Amendment Sanctuary Town Resolution" (referred to as the "2A Resolution"). The vote seemed to open the way for the opposite outcome.
But later, near the time the meeting adjourned, the 4th vote against the proposal, by Councilor (and Tiverton Taxpayer Association member) Nancy Driggs, appeared in doubt, as Ms. Driggs sought to amend the proposed 2A Resolution and bring about a re-vote.
And that's where things stood when the council adjourned and prepared to go into a meeting Monday night, June 3, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall's council chambers.
Ms. Drigg's proposed amendment to the 2A Resolution proposal, not yet voted upon — but to be considered at Monday night's meeting — would attempt to make it clear that any claimed unconstitutionality of a gun control measure, so objected to by second amendment adherents, would have to rely upon a judicial (i.e. court) determination of unconstitutionality, not just be a claim made by gun control opponents.
Last Tuesday's meeting - the resolution
Council chambers were packed last week, with many supporters of the 2A Resolution present, wearing distinctive "second amendment" yellow t-shirts.
The four-part resolution, proposed by Councilor Katz, would declare the town "a second amendment sanctuary town," and would affirm the town's support for the police department to exercise sound discretion when enforcing laws impacting the rights of citizens under the second amendment,.
The resolution (third) would also resolve that the town not appropriate capital funds to build a storage facility to store weapons that might be seized under any possible state law that might in the future be passed calling for weapons to be confiscated — a legal prospect much feared by gun control opponents, but not yet in existence.
Finally, the fourth part of the resolution would prohibit funds from being appropriated to enforce any law that unconstitutionally infringes upon the right of people to keep and bear arms. (This is the provision that Councilor Driggs seeks to amend.)
The voting on Tuesday
After outlining the content of the proposed resolution, Mr. Katz made his motion to approve it, Councilor Donna Cook seconded the motion, then came the vote.
"All in favor," asked Council President Coulter, and only three councilors raised their hands: Mr. Katz, Ms. Cook, and Mr. Coulter.
Then Mr. Coulter asked, "any opposed," and four raised their hands high: Councilors Joe Perry, Patricia Hilton, Denise deMedeiros, and — surprisingly — Nancy Driggs.
Ms. Driggs is a member of the Tiverton Taxpayer's Association (TTA), was elected to the council last November with the four-member TTA slate comprised of herself, Councilors Rob Coulter, Donna Cook, and Justin Katz. She was expected to vote in favor of her colleague Katz's proposal, but did not.
Ms. Driggs' "no" vote visibly stunned numbers of those at the meeting.
Moments later, Mr. Coulter, doing a tally, looked first to his left, towards councilor Driggs, then right, then left again, then right, and said, to no one in particular, "I missed the count."
Multiple voices are heard, then Mr. Coulter said, "3 to 4, the motion fails." Mr. Katz's resolution appeared defeated. Applause broke out in council chambers. People stood to leave. Councilor de Medeiros rose and left the dais.
Then, seconds later, as it appears from the video, Mr. Coulter asked, to no one in particular, "can I close out this item?" (2:53:37-40).
An inaudible comment followed, and seconds later (2:53:42-43), Mr. Coulter said, "Okay, then we'll take a 5 minute recess."
And so the council went into recess. The formal record of the meeting was paused. No official business was being or could be conducted. People were milling around. Some left the meeting, and many in the audience wearing yellow shirts left town hall.
It can be surmised that council members and others may have talked informally and outside the record amongst themselves or with members of the audience during the recess. It is not known whether any open meetings act violations occurred or have been alleged or claimed.
Among those present at the meeting was Dan Bidondi, a burly man wearing one of the yellow 2-A t-shirts. Earlier in the meeting, Mr. Bidondi was one of the initial speakers to address the council in support of the 2A Resolution.
On his Facebook page after the recess, Mr. Bidondi said that during the recess, Council President Coulter "came over to me right away when people were leaving telling me it wasn't over."
Some indeterminate time later — five or ten minutes or so — the video record resumed, and Mr. Coulter announced that the council was back in business after the recess.
"Okay, we're back in session," he said, "and as I said the floor is still open. My question is, will there be any more motions, or shall we continue on the agenda?"
Driggs makes her motion
t this point Councilor Driggs said she had a motion to make.
"I would like to make a motion for consideration," Ms. Driggs said, and then she asked that — to the fourth part of the resolution — there be added the words "judicially deemed unconstitutional," apparently to make it clear that not just anyone, but rather a court, deem the objected-to-law to be unconstitutional.
But there was opposition to Ms. Driggs' proposed amendment.
Few people were left in the audience to witness the council proceedings at this point.
Councilor Patricia Hilton objected. "People left. I mean people left," she said.
"I'd like to know what is going on with this council right now," Victoria Neville of Canonicus Street told the council. Ms. Neville is a vocal opponent of the 2A Resolution.
"Everybody just left," Ms. Neville said. "You didn't say 'we are going to have another one [referring to another motion.] I just thanked Nancy Driggs for voting for us. Just to find out she's coming up with another resolution that it's going to be 4 to 3. I don't understand what the town council is doing. Everybody left.You didn't say there's going to be two parts here. You didn't say."
To an apparent claim that the council leadership may possibly have said at some point that there was to be another vote, or another motion, or another amendment, and echoing comments made from the audience throughout the meeting, Ms. Neville told the council to speak up, that they couldn't be heard.
"You ought to turn these mikes up," she said. "I can't hear at home [presumably while watching video of the meetings], and I can't hear when I'm in the building. This is important. How can we hear what you're saying. Obviously no one heard what you were saying, because even the yellow people wouldn't have left if they knew another thing was coming up."
"So is this what we're going to do," Ms. Neville said to the council, we're going to change it when everybody's gone and now it's going to be 4-3?"
After hearing these objections, Mr Coulter said, "I have no objection to holding the matter to another public meeting" to hear Ms. Drigg's proposed amendment.
Monday's meeting
The Tiverton Town Council meets Monday night at 7 p.m. in council chambers. The agenda for the meeting, under "General Business," identifies the business item as: "5 A. Councilor Katz — "Approval of Resolution DeclaringTiverton as a Second Amendment Sanctuary Town."

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