Scott Herndon continues his fight for the 2nd Amendment.
Idaho Supreme Court Opinion in Herndon v. City of Sandpoint
Sandpoint, Idaho– After almost 4 years since the events that created the suit, the Idaho Supreme Court issued its 5-0 opinion today in the Herndon v. City of Sandpoint lawsuit.
At issue was whether cities in Idaho can lease public property, even for very short periods of time, and thereby convey to the leaseholders the ability to ban firearm carry on the (normally) public property. In this case, an annual summer concert series is held four nights a week for two weeks in a public park in Sandpoint. After decades of conducting the concert series, in 2019, the Festival at Sandpoint, which is a non-profit corporation, began screening concertgoers for firearms and prohibited entry into the concert while carrying firearms.
This created the question of whether taxpayer funded public property, like a city park, becomes private property for the duration of special events if the contract for the event is labeled a lease? Then, can the carry of firearms, an otherwise fundamental, constitutional right, be prohibited thereby on that public property for the duration of the special event?
“The entire purpose of our lawsuit was to gain clarity on the current state of the law in Idaho for Idaho’s many hundreds of thousands of gun owners”, said Scott Herndon.
In 2019, Scott Herndon was joined by Jeff Avery to test whether the firearm ban would be enforced. After it was, Herndon and Avery were joined by the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and the Second Amendment Foundation to challenge the ban in court. The legal theory proposed by Herndon was that the Idaho legislature controls all regulations of firearm carry on public property in Idaho. Under Idaho’s explicit firearm preemption laws, cities are barred from making local regulations that prohibit firearm carry that encroach upon the Idaho legislature’s authority.
Today’s Supreme Court decision has revealed a massive legal loophole in Idaho’s firearm laws. According to the court’s decision today, government can now easily ban gun owners in Idaho from carrying firearms on traditional public property. For example, if your city has a farmer’s market in a public park or on a public street, they can simply lease the park or street to the farmer’s market association and allow the farmer’s market to prohibit firearms from those streets and parks. Likewise, publicly owned national forests, state parks, county fairgrounds and any other public property can now simply be leased and firearms banned thereby by the private vendor or lessee.
“If a city or county in Idaho is against the 2nd amendment, they now have a way to keep gun owners out of their city streets, public parks and county fairs”, Herndon explains, “Simply lease the public ground to a private entity and let them ban guns from public property in Idaho”.
Scott Herndon, who is now an Idaho senator, plans to immediately pursue a solution in the Idaho legislature to this massive problem for gun owners. Idaho is a deeply conservative, pro-2nd amendment state. We are a constitutional carry state, but with this Idaho court decision, gun owners will now be confused as to where they can and cannot carry their lawfully owned firearms.
The right to self-defense, which is in Article I, Section 1 of the Idaho Constitution, is now in complete legal jeopardy for all gun owners in the state of Idaho. With all due respect to law enforcement, when seconds count when your life is in jeopardy by a criminal who is intent on harming you and your family, law enforcement is often minutes away. Today’s court decision provides a mechanism for cities to take away the average, law-abiding citizen’s most effective tool at protecting innocent lives.
“I will go to the mat to find a legislative solution for Idaho’s gun owners. While property rights are fundamental, gun rights are equally fundamental, and the right of self-defense must be protected on public property”, said Herndon.
He continued, “I look forward to finding a solution with Idaho’s conservative Republicans, the Idaho Freedom Caucus, the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance and all those who treasure public safety and the 2nd amendment”.
For more information contact Senator Scott Herndon at (208) 610-2680.