Quote:
65.870 Local firearms control ordinances prohibited.
No city, county or urban-county government may occupy any part of the field of regulation of the transfer, ownership, possession, carrying or transportation of firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or combination thereof.
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Please note that this law does not address
discharging firearms. My familiarity with KY state law is just about zero, but TX and numerous other states have laws allowing counties and municipalities to regulate the discharge of firearms under certain conditions. In other words, you can possess it, you can carry it, but you may not be allowed to fire it.
However, if the signs clearly say that you cannot
carry guns in that location, I agree that it seems to fly in the face of state law. I would meet with the city attorney and politely ask what statute gives the city authority to do this.
BTW you should check two other things first:
- Is the lake actually owned by the city or the county? Some parks are owned by private entities and operated by a city or county government under some sort of lease or contract. If this is the case, the private owner may have decided to ban firearms; if so, you probably have no recourse because it is a matter of private property rights.
- Does KY have laws giving municipalities the authority to declare extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ)? If so, the city can declare areas outside of city limits as their future expansion area without actually annexing it. The city can enforce certain regulations in their ETJ but not others, and this authority should be detailed in the state laws.