City in Washington Proposes Ban on Alcohol and Gun Sales in Coronavirus Emergency Plan Power Grab


The city council of Bellingham, Washington, will vote Monday on various “emergency” proposals that include a curfew; banning the possession, transfer, and carrying of firearms, banning alcohol sales; closing city streets, businesses, and community buildings; and prohibiting the sale of fuel in any container other than a fuel tank installed in a motor vehicle. The meeting notice declares, “There will be no public comment taken at City Council meetings until further notice.” Council members will meet from remote locations, allowing them to avoid facing unhappy citizens. -GEG

It doesn’t take long for wannabe alphas to seize the day, does it?

Not letting the current crisis go to waste, the city council of Bellingham, Washington, will vote Monday on various “emergency” proposals that include a curfew; banning the possession, transfer, and carrying of firearms as well as banning alcohol sales; closing city streets, businesses, and community buildings to the public; and prohibiting the sale of fuel in any container other than a fuel tank properly affixed to a motor vehicle.

The planned draconian moves are a response to the coronavirus pandemic. The actions are part of an “Emergency Ordinance Modifying Bellingham Municipal Code Chapter 2.57, ‘Emergency Services Council,’ to Improve the City’s Ability to Respond to Emergencies,” as outlined in the 61-page March 23 city council meeting agenda.

Not interested in public input

Most disturbing of all, the meeting notice declares, “There will be no public comment taken at City Council meetings until further notice.”

Further, pages 7 and 8 of the meeting notice lays out the apparent expectation that council members will safely attend such meetings “from time to time” going forward from remote locations.

It doesn’t take much to imagine that dial-in meeting attendance would be designed to shield officials from the pitchfork-and-torch crowd.

The sweeping power grab by the city council includes, among other points …

4. An order requiring the discontinuance of the sale, distribution, or giving away of alcoholic beverages in any or all parts of the city;

5. An order requiring the discontinuance of the sale, distribution, or giving away of firearms and/or ammunition for firearms in any or all parts of the city;

6. An order requiring the discontinuance of the sale, distribution, or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank properly affixed to a motor vehicle;

7. An order requiring the closure of any or all business establishments where firearms and/or ammunition for firearms are sold or otherwise dispensed; provided, that with respect to those business establishments which are not primarily devoted to the sale of firearms and/or ammunition and in which such firearms and/or ammunition may be removed or made secure from possible seizure by the public, the portions thereof utilized for sale of items other than firearms and ammunition may, in the discretion of the mayor, be allowed to remain open;

8. An order closing to the public any or all public places, including streets, alleys, public ways, schools, parks, beaches, amusement areas, and public buildings;

9. An order prohibiting the carrying or possession of firearms or any instrument which is capable of producing bodily harm and which is carried or possessed with the intent to use the same to cause such harm; provided, that any such order shall not apply to peace officers or military personnel engaged in the performance of their official duties

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