What about the citizens petitions?

This was a mistake. This deserves discussion.

This meeting was stacked with gun enthusiasts. We should have a meeting when families who may feel differently are not on vacation.

Not good enough, a house cleaning is still very much in order!

Warrant not reopened, no petitions on the warrant. The selectmen behind this travesty should resign if they have a shred of class.

It was great to watch the pressure of the crowd have its effect the BoS. Rumphius, it seemed like plenty of families showed up tonight. I'm not sure who was missing. Fill us in?

Amen.
The audacity of this board to have attempted to infringe on the rights of law abiding citizens in the first place!

What a joke. Lets hope this crowd votes and we get rid of these fools.

When will Moses step down for placing his ego before the rights of citizens?

The only thing worse than this was some of the whoppers Harkness told last year ("there were no drugs found during the WA drug dog raid")

Hey guys, talked a few Selectmen and other members of the crowd, will have a longer story in a bit.

This article was evidence that the gun control crowd is hostile against law abiding citizens and sympathetic to criminals. These kind of laws are only an act of aggression against your peaceful law abiding neighbors.. Shame on anyone that supports it... and shame on anyone who's naive enough to think a criminal will follow their "feel good" garbage.. The 2nd amendment isn't up for a vote.

Any public apology from Jeffries for wasting so much of the towns time and resources on this?

Let's look at FBI data... in 2011: Murders using knives in Mass 50; murders using fists 10; murders using shotgun 1; murders using any and all rifles... including so called "assault rifles" 0 ZERO...... These are feel good laws and nothing more (to make liberals feel good about themselves)... A waste of peoples time to introduce...

As a resident and tax payer in the town I would love to know what this "push from the bottom" has cost the town. How much was spent for the Town's council to research this bylaw? How much time was wasted by the Town Manager and other town staff responding to phone calls and e-mails? How much did the Police and Fire details cost for tonight and last week's attempt at a meeting?

No Law, No Man, Nobody has a right to infringe on my right to life! This isn't about guns. Its about control.

Just saw the report on Fox 25.

Congratulations to all of the defenders of the 2nd Amendment defenders of Westford, MA for the incredible turnout and for the great job they did getting the word out and for what certainly can be considered a great victory for freedom and the Bill of Rights. Much respect from two Bostonians who showed up for the meeting tonight and were thrilled at how quickly the matter was dispatched. Please keep up the good work and in turn, come out for other communities, statewide bans and National challenges to your constitutional rights. We need everybody. Thank you and Great Job!

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how many new applications for gun permits are being received by our police department? is the number going up or down? I think that this debate will generate more applications as people learn that there is a process to becoming legal gun owners.

The absolute saddest part of all this for Westford is that several ELECTED leaders are so oblivious about American History and Constitutional Law – they thought they could turn their personal gun-phobic agenda into a town ordinance – and have it stand up in court.

They were willing to place their own police officers in the position of violating their SWORN OATHS to 'Uphold, Protect, and Defend the Constitution of the United States...' - thus facing civil lawsuits at a minimum, and possible criminal charges.

Westford voters know who these Personal Politics selectmen are. They need to be shunned, insulted in public, encouraged to resign, and then voted out.

As an old soldier who saw first-hand what happened to an unarmed and defenseless population, - my thanks to all the Patriots who showed up to educate and inform these renegade selectmen on the history and the value of our Constitution and our 2nd Amendment.

SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. If the board took the time to review the Constitution they could have saved a lot of time.

He who would trade liberty for some temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security. Ben Franklin

as for private property like movie theaters and restaurants and such, the signs saying no weapons allowed hold no legal weight. If they see your weapon and ask you to leave and you refuse then its an issue, but just because the AMC theater in Tyngsboro has a sign that tells you not to carry, it doesn't legally prohibit you from doing so.

I am more concerned with the Westford Academy kids smoking pot while driving to school than residents exercising their constitutional right to own high capacity assault weapons

yes and no. The likelihood of me going into someones home who doesnt know I am a supporter of the second amendment is slim. But I also respect peoples feelings and if I were somewhere and they asked me to leave because of a firearm I would oblige. Its not about forcing people to like guns, its about respecting my right to protect myself and my family. I've said it a hundred times before to others, I completely understand that many people aren't comfortable with civilians owning firearms.

I just had a great idea. I'll just put up a sign on my property saying "No Guns Allowed" and that will protect me at home from any gun toting criminals. Unfortunately that would keep the police away from my place too and they are certainly always welcome. I can't remember any of my friends with an LCC ever bringing a firearm onto my property. Just because someone has a LCC doesn't mean they are "Packing".

Whoa. I just read the 'by-law' that you linked to. I cannot find the the wording you mentioned, "you can't bear arms" - did I miss something? I find you cannot discharge - but..... Please clarify.

There is lots of 'packing' going on these days in town but I am willing to bet it's mostly the packing of ganja into pipes variety,
What next new low is there for us in town that will have us the laughingstock of neighboring towns? I remember when we used to have prestige

Andrew, I agree with Max, if you look closer at the bylaw you will see that you only need written permission to discharge a firearm on private property not to possess a firearm. Additionally, in section 95.3. of the bylaws it specifically excludes 5 situations from the requirement for written permission, one of which is "the lawful defense of life or property". I also recall that this bylaw was originally intended to restrict hunting with a firearm on private property without first requesting the landowner’s permission.

See Andrew, as you now can see first-hand, this subject is complex. People would be well advised to do some research and gather knowledge before making statements. From what I have read here, the most well-informed are those who have been opposed to this Article. The rest, although well in their right to express themselves, are not well versed in the subject matter. I would suggest that the origins of the Article were not in a true desire to reduce violence or protect innocent life, but rather based on an inherent dislike of firearms in general. There was no logical basis for this proposed Article.
If Americans were truly concerned to reduce these events they would more successful in expending half as much energy on the issues regarding mental health treatment and the issue of violence in movies,tv and videos. The two events in Colorado, and West Virginia most certainly involved people suffering from some form of psychosis.

2 Selectmen up for re-election this year. Both supported Article 30. Vote them out of office!

Andrew, when you put Editor next to your name on a web page, it carries with it a responsibility to make sure comments and statements you make are correct and error free, INHO. Misrepresenting the bylaw, changing discharge to right to bear arms on private property just to 'stir' discussion was out of line. It was not an 'error', it was a gross misrepresentation to stir the pot. INHO.

Thanks for your work Andrew, don't let the fanatic hard liners tell ya different! Talk about issues like Civil Rights for Americans of all stripes and these folks are silent, talk about limiting Their 'right' to high capacity military style semi auto weapons and they come out with pitchforks!

To Andrew Silvia:

You wrote: “With the exception of law enforcement personnel, the right to bear arms doesn't apply to airplanes, schools, courthouses and many other places.”

Are you aware that these 'rules' are in VIOLATION of our 2nd Amendment?

As a reporter/publisher – you should be our first watchdog on any attempt to trample our rights, - and liberals are ALWAYS doing just that – 'for our own good' they always reassure us.

The creeping destruction of our rights has been going on for a long time. It doesn't make it legal.

Knowledgeable citizens – people who have faced down evil – now want to ARM teachers. Teachers should have the CHOICE - to be armed – or helpless. It took the police 22 minutes to reach the Sandy Hook school.

You should read Evan Todd's letter to Obama. He was shot during the Columbine Massacre – so he speaks with more authority than any of the folks posting comments here.

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/02/20/columbine-survivor-pens-bold-open-letter-to-obama-rejecting-gun-control-whose-side-are-you-on/

I guess 'Iron' Mike's interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and the US Constitution takes precedent over the rulings of the United States Supreme Court as well as the courts repeated assertion over the past 200 years that no right is absolute (guess some of us would have folks be able to say whatever whenever no question)

Mike do you raise your voice equally loudly when minorities, and gays, lesbians, and transgender Americans are treated unequally by the US Govt (in violation is the 14th Amendments equal protection under the law protection?) I am guessing you aren't as concerned about this one!

Ghost, can you please tell me where in the second amendment it says what kind of firearms we are limited to? And can you also tell me what the great state of Massachusetts considers "high capacity"? Many of the anti-2a folks don't understand that we are already subjected to some of the strictest laws in the nation, and even acquiring a license to own a firearm is an ordeal that we should not have to face.

No, every 12 year old should be able to walk into Walmart and buy an UZI right? Because there is no specific language 'shall not be infringed' prohibiting it than any sensible restriction is unconstitutional (maybe the 12 year old needs to hunt wild boar with AK -47s?)

Give me a break already!

Mike, when the US deports a foreigner because it doesn't recognize the gay marriage certificate given by a state is discriminatory unequal a constitutional infringement and YES who someone is having sex with most certainly matters (gay parter not eligible to become us citizen through marriage as per heterosexual marriage) or when benefits for soldiers spouses a re withheld from their gay partner .

Guess you care more about the GUN applications

Maybe read the SCs decisions involving guns and 2nd Amendment starting with Heller, NOT an absolute right

You still didn't answer my questions. Do you understand how a firearms purchase works here? No one can just walk into a walmart and buy an Uzi. Again you are showing your ignorance of Mass firearms law. Please research them before using your emotion to drive your argument. And before you ask me how I feel about other issues I'll make it as simple as possible. Marry who you want, get an abortion if you want, and so on. And for your information, I'm also not opposed to mental health checks before firearms purchases. The process in this state, although unconstitutional, is something I'm not 100% against. What I'm against is people trying to eliminate that right altogether. You seem to enjoy your 1st amendment rights, what is your reaction going to be once that comes under fire?

keep the discussion on track, gay marriage is a whole separate can of worms for many. And again, I'm all for gay marriage, who you love is your business.

When you elevate gun talk to talk of constitutional rights it's all fair game!

Old fashioned is doublespeak for racist and homophobic! Right at home in the 1950s when white men ruled.

When give is not respecting rights it's no longer a private issue but an I fringe mentioned. Agreed? I hope when the transgendered students want their own bathrooms in the schools 400 residents will show up in support of rights

Who the hell are you to say someone is racist and homophobic? do you know him personally? His name is Mike how do you know what color he his based on anything he's said here? People can believe that marriage is between a man and women and not be racist or homophobic. Can i ask you what color you are? whats your sexual preference? Are you a man or woman?

It seems to be very common when antigun folks can't support their weak arguments with facts that they instead call us racists, biggots, haters and every other possible loaded word

The anti-gun people view pro second amendment people as rednecks and cretans. Not to say some aren't rednecks and cretans! But the majority aren't. They're your friends and neighbors.

“We sleep safe in our beds because rough men with guns stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.” Orwell

"The best slaves are the ones who think they are free."

"I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused." -- Declan Patrick Aloysius Macmanus

``Somebody that's not truthful, that's big, to me. I'm a big fan of the `Judge Judy' show. And when you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over. Your credibility is completely lost. You have no chance of winning that case,'' San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said Friday. ``I learned that from her. It's very powerful, and true. Because if somebody does lie to you, how can you ever trust anything they ever say after that?''