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Residents urge ban on discharging firearms at county cemetery after Memorial Day incident
Summary
Public commenters told the commissioners a man fired a rifle at the county cemetery on Memorial Day, prompting concerns about safety and potential liability; deputies investigated and the commenter said she will reintroduce a resolution to prohibit firearm discharge on cemetery grounds with limited exceptions.
Several residents used the July 15 public-comment period to urge Daniels County to adopt a rule or resolution banning discharge of firearms at the county cemetery after an incident on Memorial Day.
A resident told the board that during a flag ceremony she heard a single shot and saw a person in a pickup truck with a rifle out the window near the graves, about 100 feet from where people were gathered. "I was nervous; I was shocked," the speaker said, describing the event as unsafe and noting a deputy later spoke with the individual. The speaker asked the board to pursue a no-discharge rule to reduce the risk of ricochets or injury near headstones and visitors.
Deputy Rex Morgan and other staff discussed enforcement options and statutory thresholds. The commenter said she had spoken with Deputy Morgan and with Logan Olsen; she also referenced Montana Code 45-8 and described uncertainty about whether the public-nuisance language would apply when only a small number of people are present. "Logan did not think that requirement could be met when only a handful of people are at the cemetery," the speaker recounted from law‑enforcement guidance; she said she would reintroduce a short, Texas-style ordinance banning discharge in the cemetery with enumerated exceptions for peace officers and military honors.
Board members urged the speaker and the cemetery board to pursue a measured approach and indicated staff would coordinate with the sheriff's office to consider signage, an amended cemetery rule or a county resolution. No new county rule was adopted at the meeting; the commenter said the cemetery board would meet and that she planned to bring a resolution back to the commissioners.
