by Luke Putvin
On March 27, the Edmonds City Council and Mayor Mike Nelson held a special virtual session to revise the amendments to the Edmonds City Code Chapter 6.60 (“Disaster Preparation, Emergency Coordination and Civil Emergencies”) approved on the council on March 22 and passed on March 24.
The original code prohibited the carrying or possession of a firearm as a result of the mayor’s emergency powers.
The March 24 meeting saw the attendance of two gubernatorial candidates, Tim Eyman and Joshua Freed, who were there to oppose the restriction of firearms in the code.
Eyman released a statement on his Facebook in response to the amendment to remove that portion of the code.
“I just can’t tell you how proud I am that we’ve been able to score this incredible victory both for the second amendment… but also the first amendment, our right to be speak and be heard,” Eyman said. “When we were chanting ‘let us speak, let us speak’ I think that was the thing that made a huge impact… They could have ignored emails, but it’s hard to ignore citizens that are willing to show up.”
The Lynnwood Times also reached out to Freed, and his response was as follows:
“The mayor’s decision to listen to the will of the people and reverse the firearm ban was the right thing to do. At a time when our businesses are shutting down, our workers are losing their jobs, and their way of life, the last thing we need are politicians dangerously abusing their powers on issues that have no direct or indirect relationship to resource management or financial relief. It is time we get our priorities straight.”
Both Eyman and Freed are both currently looking to run against Governor Jay Inslee in the 2020 gubernatorial election; both are running under the Republican party.
