It is unlawful for any person or persons, within the city limits
to discharge any pistol, revolver, gun, rifle (of any caliber), cannon,
anvil or any other firearm, and also any air gun, BB gun, blow gun,
slingshot, bow or any instrument of any kind, character or description
which throws or projects bullets, pellets or missiles of any kind
to any distance, by means of powder or any explosive substance or
by means of the elastic force of air, rubber or steel springs, or
by any other means; or in any manner to use the same to the danger
or annoyance of any person or injury to property except in lawful
defense of a person or persons or of property.
(Ord. 360 § 1, 1955)
The city council may, upon written application being made, grant
permission for the location of pistol, skeet or archery ranges within
the city, upon which pistol, skeet or archery ranges it may be lawful
to discharge revolvers, pistols, shotguns or bows subject to such
regulations as the city council may establish.
(Ord. 360 § 4, 1955)
Any and all weapons, as hereinbefore defined, used and employed
by any person in violation of this chapter shall be seized by the
authorized law enforcement officer and shall be confiscated and disposed
of in the manner hereinafter specified. After seizure, all weapons
shall remain in the custody of the police department until a forfeiture
has been declared, or a release has been ordered, by the court having
jurisdiction in the matter. In those cases in which the court with
jurisdiction finds that the weapon was used in violation of this chapter,
all individual property rights in the weapon shall be declared forfeited.
If the reasonable value of any forfeited weapon, as estimated by the
chief of police, the captain of police, or the police sergeant on
duty, does not exceed the sum of ten dollars, the police department
is authorized to destroy such weapon, or cause it to be destroyed,
to such extent that it is wholly and entirely useless and ineffective
for the purpose for which it was designed or constructed. However,
if such reasonable value of any forfeited weapon exceeds the sum of
ten dollars, the same shall remain in the custody of the police department
and thereafter be sold to the highest bidder at a public auction to
be conducted by the department on a business day between the hours
of nine a.m. and five p.m. at a public place in the city within one
year from the date of forfeiture. Before any such sale is conducted,
notice thereof must be given by posting in at least three public places
within the city, at least ten days before the date of the sale, a
written notice containing a brief description of the weapons to be
sold and stating the time and the place of the public auction. It
may be specified in the notice that any and all bids may be rejected,
as the police officer conducting the sale in his or her sound discretion
decides. No member of the police department shall become a purchaser
at such sale, or be interested in any purchase thereat. All money
received by the police department, through the public sale of the
weapons, shall be deposited with the city clerk for distribution into
the general fund. All weapons which may remain unsold after the conduct
of a public auction as provided for in this section shall be destroyed
by the police department, unless the chief thereof in his or her discretion,
determines to retain such weapons in the custody of the police department
for the purpose of offering the same for sale at a subsequent public
auction to be held hereunder.
(Ord. 360 § 5, 1955)
Any person or persons violating any of the provisions of this
chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall
be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars or more than three
hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding thirty
days, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
(Ord. 360 § 7, 1955)