Morgan Hill gun laws may get stricter Wednesday night, in part because the city's high schoolers fought for change after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas in Parkland, Florida, earlier this year.
The gun control changes the city council will consider include requiring people to report stolen weapons to Morgan Hill police within 48 hours, requiring all unused weapons — not just loaded ones — to be placed in a lock box or be trigger locked, and banning anyone from owning any high-capacity weapon, even if they were purchased before they were banned by state law in 2000.
Some of the proposed changes bring Morgan Hill's code up to state requirements. In some ways, they take it further.
The push to change gun laws has been a real life civics lesson for Morgan Hill students, starting earlier this year when they joined other young people across the nation to walk out of class and observe a moment of silence for those killed in the Florida school shooting. The Morgan Hill community pushed the movement further, holding a town hall meeting about school violence and gun control for about 150 students and elected leaders.
"We had many high school students coming to city hall and talking about what they wanted to see from the city council," Morgan Hill city attorney Don Larkin said. "So I think it's important for the city council, and they've said this, is to show the high school students that they’re listening."
The city council didn't just listen to the high schoolers. There were several public meetings throughout the process.
The city attorney said the council is trying to walk the line between law-abiding gun owners in their rural community who like to hunt, target shoot and desire some protection and the council's top goal of public safety.
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The proposed ordinance is likely to pass at Wednesday night's meeting, which is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Morgan Hill City Hall.
