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Proposal to come before Lexington Town Meeting

Len-2A Training said:
When the forum was set up it was with great thought that we set up various sub-forums trying to keep things neat and thus people could find stuff where it belongs. Last number of years in particular people dump threads anywhere they feel like it and the entire forum is a big mess. I spent some time this morning looking for a particular thread in the "proper places" and came up empty handed after wasting considerable time. No, this thread was placed where it really belongs as it is a MA law issue, not general and not off topic or membership!

However the current mods can obviously dump it anywhere that they think best, glad to not be involved in that anymore.
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I rarely disagree with you Len, but a number of casual users may be Lexington residents who wouldn't regularly surf the Law forums. They may not even know about the "new posts" tab. They deserve to be informed.
 
That "New Posts" button COULD be a little bigger, or more prominent.

I've seen some forums that have a "HOT" topics thing, that adds up based on how many are responding, and in what time frame, kind of a "rate of acceleration" on various threads. I think some even had a green up arrow and a red down arrow to indicate if it was gaining in responses or falling. Just a thought.
 
Coyote33 said:
That "New Posts" button COULD be a little bigger, or more prominent.

I've seen some forums that have a "HOT" topics thing, that adds up based on how many are responding, and in what time frame, kind of a "rate of acceleration" on various threads. I think some even had a green up arrow and a red down arrow to indicate if it was gaining in responses or falling. Just a thought.
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We've always had that. Look at the colors of of the "box" at the beginning of every thread. Blue for cool, red(ish) for hot.
 
jefftk said:
Don't forget:


Also quite fascinating how they have all apparently been duped in to believing that the only thing standing in their way is some big bad faceless NRA entity. Because surely we are all just paid NRA lobbyists, or have ourselves been so utterly duped by the elegant wordsmith Wayne LaPierre.
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Didn't you get your check?
 
Infinite Jester said:
In a perfect world;

6:30pm- Meeting starts
6:32pm- Selectmen and Town Manager dragged from meeting by armed townsfolk, tarred, feathered, and sent packing.
6:55pm- Patriots installed in positions vacated by treasonous loyalists
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They probably do that as a staged, theatrical "re-enactment" every year, but miss the IN-YOUR-FACE irony of it all. What does it take to wake them up?
 
I am a resident of Lexington. In the meeting today, there was no discussion of the issue as "it was not on the agenda". Apparently this proposed "legislation" got the requisite 10 signatures and will be up for discussion at a later meeting.
A couple of questions for practical purposes:

1. What should I do to stop this dead in its tracks? I am willing to go to meetings, speak, threaten to sue, actually sue if necessary, etc.
2. Can someone with a Juris Doctor degree opine on the legality of the proposed legislation and potential practical implications? I remeber that SF tried to enact a gun ban a few years back, only for it to be thrown out in a new york minute, because "the state of CA clearly chose to occupy the entire field of legislation".


I would like to meet like-minded residents of Lexington who would like to take action.


P.S. I am a GOAL member and an NRA "endowment" life member.
 
Coyote33 said:
... Or they could just not put it on the warrant.

What is this chat board? Does it meet public records laws?
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No they can't. in towns run by town meeting any resident can have an article placed on the warrant by getting the required number of signatures. In Westford that number was 10. Check your town's bylaws but my guess is it's a pretty low number of signatures. As long as the warrant article is received in time with the signatures and they can be verified by the town clerk, then the article MUST be placed on the town warrant.

I would not wait until town meeting to address this. If it is getting placed on the warrant then you need to start your fight as soon as it has been placed on the warrant (and even sooner if possible).
 
juha_teuvonnen said:
I am a resident of Lexington. In the meeting today, there was no discussion of the issue as "it was not on the agenda". Apparently this proposed "legislation" got the requisite 10 signatures and will be up for discussion at a later meeting.
A couple of questions for practical purposes:

1. What should I do to stop this dead in its tracks? I am willing to go to meetings, speak, threaten to sue, actually sue if necessary, etc.
2. Can someone with a Juris Doctor degree opine on the legality of the proposed legislation and potential practical implications? I remeber that SF tried to enact a gun ban a few years back, only for it to be thrown out in a new york minute, because "the state of CA clearly chose to occupy the entire field of legislation".


I would like to meet like-minded residents of Lexington who would like to take action.


P.S. I am a GOAL member and an NRA "endowment" life member.
Click to expand...


You sound like a motivated and intelligent individual with resources. Exactly the kind of person GOAL and Comm2a should be reaching out to directly. Thank you for expressing a desire to battle this head on.
 
jefftk said:
I do remember a few years ago when a group was going to hold a rally, my recollection of whether or not there was a permit is fuzzy, but they were going to go anyway, but then the marathon bombing happened and that shut everything down.
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permit was issued then revoked and they "closed the green." We rallied at the park across the street. and yes, the po-po were there filming us.
 
juha_teuvonnen said:
I am a resident of Lexington. In the meeting today, there was no discussion of the issue as "it was not on the agenda". Apparently this proposed "legislation" got the requisite 10 signatures and will be up for discussion at a later meeting.
A couple of questions for practical purposes:

1. What should I do to stop this dead in its tracks? I am willing to go to meetings, speak, threaten to sue, actually sue if necessary, etc.
2. Can someone with a Juris Doctor degree opine on the legality of the proposed legislation and potential practical implications? I remeber that SF tried to enact a gun ban a few years back, only for it to be thrown out in a new york minute, because "the state of CA clearly chose to occupy the entire field of legislation".


I would like to meet like-minded residents of Lexington who would like to take action.


P.S. I am a GOAL member and an NRA "endowment" life member.
Click to expand...

Unless you can convince the original person who proposed this to pull it, it will and MUST appear on the warrant. So your best bet is to tackle it head on. Lexington appears to have town meeting members who vote on stuff? not all residents who show up get to vote? is this correct? If this is correct then I wold highly suggest that you get the "right" people to run and fill those spots if not too late. That would be my first choice. And that's a big hurdle. Secondly, I would have people contacting the elected town meeting members and applying pressure on this issue. Make their phones ring off the hook with angry "residents" who see this as over reach for a town meeting.

As far as the legality of a proposal (and it would highly depend on the actual wording) it is likely not legal but would have to go through the AG first before it gets "enacted" if it were to pass. If the AG okays it, then you would have to sue. You may want to check on the website for the town of Westford from 2013 and see if you can find the lawyers letters to the town with regard to their proposal. Also, in Westford, the BOS and other positions hold a lot of influence on the voting members when it comes to town meeting. If a board advises against a measure, generally the meeting follows to vote down a measure. (of course all the boards usually recommend the measures proposed). So if it works like that in your town, I would hammer the BOS and anyone else who may be in a position to publicly oppose the article. But give them ammo as to why they should oppose it. (not just "shall not be infringed!") Give them stuff like the lawsuit numbers from Comm2A and also the DC and IL cases that went all the way to the SCOTUS.

The big thing is to get people's phones ringing from people against this.
 
PennyPincher said:
Unless you can convince the original person who proposed this to pull it, it will and MUST appear on the warrant. So your best bet is to tackle it head on. Lexington appears to have town meeting members who vote on stuff? not all residents who show up get to vote? is this correct? If this is correct then I wold highly suggest that you get the "right" people to run and fill those spots if not too late. That would be my first choice. And that's a big hurdle. Secondly, I would have people contacting the elected town meeting members and applying pressure on this issue. Make their phones ring off the hook with angry "residents" who see this as over reach for a town meeting.

As far as the legality of a proposal (and it would highly depend on the actual wording) it is likely not legal but would have to go through the AG first before it gets "enacted" if it were to pass. If the AG okays it, then you would have to sue. You may want to check on the website for the town of Westford from 2013 and see if you can find the lawyers letters to the town with regard to their proposal. Also, in Westford, the BOS and other positions hold a lot of influence on the voting members when it comes to town meeting. If a board advises against a measure, generally the meeting follows to vote down a measure. (of course all the boards usually recommend the measures proposed). So if it works like that in your town, I would hammer the BOS and anyone else who may be in a position to publicly oppose the article. But give them ammo as to why they should oppose it. (not just "shall not be infringed!") Give them stuff like the lawsuit numbers from Comm2A and also the DC and IL cases that went all the way to the SCOTUS.

The big thing is to get people's phones ringing from people against this.
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Awesome! thanks.
 
Read that Wicked Local article and resist your head spontaneously combusting. The [quoted] utter nonsense and hyperbole is off the ****ing charts.
 
Cars have killed many people in lexington. Ban them. They're murderous. I'd sign that petition. Or petition to require all households to own semi auto firearms.
 
Royal said:
Read that Wicked Local article and resist your head spontaneously combusting. The [quoted] utter nonsense and hyperbole is off the ****ing charts.
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“It doesn’t restrict anything except the most murderous types of weapons,” said Rotberg, who added he has garnered support from other residents. “They wouldn’t be able to purchase or possess heavy-duty assault weapons in the town of Lexington.”
WTF
 
Billsail said:
I rarely disagree with you Len, but a number of casual users may be Lexington residents who wouldn't regularly surf the Law forums. They may not even know about the "new posts" tab. They deserve to be informed.
Click to expand...

Coyote33 said:
That "New Posts" button COULD be a little bigger, or more prominent.

I've seen some forums that have a "HOT" topics thing, that adds up based on how many are responding, and in what time frame, kind of a "rate of acceleration" on various threads. I think some even had a green up arrow and a red down arrow to indicate if it was gaining in responses or falling. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

I didn't even know about or notice the "New Posts" button until a few years after I joined the forum....
I still usually just go straight to the General Discussion, or Off Topic sections, and then occasionally hit New Posts.

In practice, General Discussion does seem to be used for current-events related to firearms, including political and legislative stuff. I think this thread being in General Discussion would not be inappropriate, and it would probably get more exposure as well.

-------------

What are the closest ranges/clubs to Lexington? Woburn sportsmens association? Concord Rod & Gun? Weston Shooters Club?
I don't know of any actually in Lexington.
 
cfbackrow said:
“It doesn’t restrict anything except the most murderous types of weapons,” said Rotberg, who added he has garnered support from other residents. “They wouldn’t be able to purchase or possess heavy-duty assault weapons in the town of Lexington.”
WTF
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This will surely help reduce the murder rate in Lexington. (zero for last 15 years)
 
jefftk said:
What are the closest ranges/clubs to Lexington? Woburn sportsmens association? Concord Rod & Gun? Weston Shooters Club?
I don't know of any actually in Lexington.
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From my house in Lexington I'm at WSA in 12-14 minutes (except during rush hour). Concord and Weston are both longer rides. I can't afford Weston anyway (have you checked out the pricing there?)
 
PennyPincher said:
Someone needs to find the exact wording of the proposed bylaw and post it here.
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Here's some info on the schedule:

http://www.lexingtonma.gov/home/bulletins/special-town-meetings


It looks to me like the deadline for getting items on the Warrant is tomorrow, 1/7. I would expect that it be published and available sometime before the selectman meeting on Monday, 1/11. I would expect at that meeting the selectman would be voting on each item whether to "recommend" or "not-recommend", and send everything to the town meeting. Then the actual vote will be at the town meeting, by elected "town meeting members" on Feb 8. Both the selectmen meeting and town-meeting should be open to all residents and possibly non-residents as well. Assuming its the same as my town, only elected town-meeting members get to vote on this issue. All town-meeting members should be allowed to speak on the issues, but might be time-limited. The non-member residents might also get to speak but more limited.

Based on experiences in Reading recently, it will be pretty important to contact each of the selectmen and find out where they stand. Then stress how much of a PITA this proposal will make their lives. There's going to be lawsuits. There might be new people running for selectmen seats and town-meeting seats. This will bring out all sorts of attention to the town gov, that will become a nuisance to them. It will take time and resources away for all the other BS that they want to do in town. We still don't have the exact wording of the new ordinance, but is the Lex PD going to go door-to-door with the confiscation van? What is the town prepared to do if otherwise law-abiding citizens(checked and licensed by the LPD) who've owned an item for 20 years, don't want to give it up?

In my town, the selectmen and town-meeting members generally like things when very few people are interested and show up to vote,and show up to meetings. If you look at the last election results, you'll probably see that some seats are only won by a handful of votes. There are a bunch of town-meeting members here who only get a couple of votes TOTAL and win their seats, and there are open seats sometimes as well.

In Reading, the selectmen were much more sensitive to the resource drain issues than the town-meeting members. The town meeting members seemed to be either for or against strictly on principals. The town-meeting members meet only a few times each year, but the selectmen meet every week, and don't want their weekly meeting bogged down with issues like this.
 
Assault weapons do not include antique weapons. Citizens of the town would still be able to bear arms, just not weapons of mass murder.
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Liberaltopia.jpg
 

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