Staff presents second reading of proposed code amendments on firearms, public solicitation and other miscellaneous provisions

Colleen Schechter, the town’s staff attorney, presented the second reading of proposed amendments to Chapters 12.5, 15 and 17 of the Town of Mooresville Code of Ordinances and said the board would be asked to adopt the revisions at a later vote.

Schechter said the changes include expanded exceptions and clarifications for discharge of firearms (law enforcement and defensive uses, funerals for armed-service members with no live ammunition), expanded prohibitions to capture gas guns/light guns with defined exceptions, and a provision allowing concealed carrying in town parking lots while adding prohibited weapon categories for safety on town property. She also described additions addressing discharge of bows, arrows and slingshots — including a new exception for civic clubs that use a safe, designated area — and new town restrictions on discharge of firearms and explosives on town property with permit-based exceptions for special events and filming.

Schechter said the revisions also would move municipal tobacco- and vaping-related language into Chapter 15 as a cleanup, repeal the robbery/burglary alarm ordinance because of enforcement challenges, align pool-enclosure requirements with the North Carolina Building Code, and add a required exception in the parks chapter for carrying concealed firearms consistent with state law changes. She noted a small language change was added since first reading to reflect potential state-level changes about concealed carry.

Board members mutedly praised certain changes and asked clarifying questions; no final adoption vote was recorded in the briefing. Schechter said the second-reading step was required because several provisions carry criminal penalties and she would present the ordinance for adoption at the next meeting.