- State District Judge Shelley Clark dismissed Fargo’s lawsuit against a North Dakota law limiting local gun control measures.
- The challenged law prohibits zoning ordinances related to guns and ammunition, and Fargo state law prohibits the sale of firearms from residential buildings.
- “While the court agrees that (the North Dakota Constitution) contemplates “maximum local autonomy,” this language alone gives self-governing cities the right to legislate on subjects restricted by the state Legislature. The law of giving is not settled,” Clark wrote. .
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by North Dakota’s largest city challenging a new law banning zoning ordinances related to guns and ammunition.
The city of Fargo filed a lawsuit last year claiming the law is unconstitutional and violates the city’s autonomy. State District Judge Cherry Clark on Tuesday granted the state’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the city’s lawsuit.
“While the court agrees that (the North Dakota Constitution) contemplates “maximum local autonomy,” this language alone gives self-governing cities the right to legislate on subjects restricted by the state Legislature. The law of giving is not settled,” the judge said. I have written.
Republican North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer is running for re-election.
But she also expressed concern about the council’s actions, saying: “If Congress continues to reduce autonomy, self-governing cities will lack the discretion to address important issues that affect their unique communities. ” he said.
The city of Fargo has ordinances that prohibit certain businesses from operating out of one’s home, such as gun and ammunition sales, morgues, dog grooming, and car repair.
According to a report from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, in 2020, approximately 33% of federal firearms licensees operated on residential premises and any other type of zoning, including commercial establishments. It surpassed the location. Massachusetts is the only state where home-based gun dealers are prohibited, but many local governments may enact zoning laws to ban the practice, according to gun control advocate Brady. That’s what it means.
Residential or “kitchen table” dealers may have relatives living in the home in which they operate, business records or gun inventory may be confused with personal property, and dealers may be prevented from complying with regulations. There are concerns that he may be working at another job. To Brady. The group said there is no federal law requiring safe storage of guns in retail stores, and homes are unlikely to have “strong” security measures in place against burglary or burglary.
A sign outside Fargo City Hall photographed on September 20, 2023 in Fargo, North Dakota. (AP Photo/Jacques Duras)
The ATF St. Paul Field Division was not immediately able to provide data on home-based dealers, but noted that licensees with a business office as their home are relatively common in the region. The agency does not keep a list of cities with ordinances similar to Fargo’s, but said there are other cities with ordinances.
Last year, the Republican-led North Dakota Legislature passed a law limiting the power of cities and counties to regulate guns and ammunition, including their purchase, sale and possession. The law took effect in August. It overrides existing ordinances.
Previously, Fargo successfully challenged a similar 2021 law.
Mayor Tim Mahoney said city officials will meet with his legal team about next steps.
“The last time we tried this issue, the outcome was in our favor. So we need to look at that. What has changed and do we need to take a different position on it?” he said.
The city said in its lawsuit that it did not want residents to use their homes as gun stores, but the lawsuit also questions whether the Legislature can “stroke” Fargo’s autonomy, which gives the city certain powers. He added that he was running into a bigger problem. , zoning of public and private property, etc.
The 2023 bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Ben Koppelman, told a Senate committee last year that the issue received more attention in 2016, when the ATF shut down a Fargo firearms dealer because of the ordinance. He said it was because he refused to renew his federal firearms license. houses. He previously said the bill’s issue was whether gun control should be a local or state-controlled issue.
Koppelman hailed the ruling as the correct decision to uphold that “certain matters are reserved to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state.” He said fewer than 12 dealers were likely affected when Fargo’s ordinance went into effect, and there may only be five or six remaining today.
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“If they wanted the city of Fargo to be an independent kingdom or a city-state or whatever they wanted, I don’t think this obviously went their way,” Koppelman said.
