From Staff Reports

Two hours after a Feb, 23 gun rights rally in downtown Asheville, City Councilman Cecil Bothwell issued a press release calling for “enforcement of Asheville’s ordinance banning the carrying of guns while picketing in the city.”

He said his statement was in response to a story in that day’s Asheville Citizen-Times reporting that some gun advocates gathering for the Second Amendment rally intended to carry weapons to the event.

In the aftermath of his statement, some of the event’s organizers and other gun-rights advocates expressed — to the local news media — sharp disagreement with Bothwell’s interpretation of the city ordinance. Several Second Amendment-backers also emphasized that the event was a “rally” and did not constitute “picketing” or a protest.

Conversely, Bothwell asserted, “Carrying guns while picketing is strictly prohibited under our municipal code. The law is very clear, and the Second Amendment Rally obviously falls within the definition of ‘picket’ in our ordinance.

“Furthermore, if someone is injured during this event, through intent or by way of accidents, a failure of the city to enforce its ordinance would invite a lawsuit from any injured party.”

The councilman, who recently announced plans to seek re-election to another four-year term and writes a monthly opinion column for the Daily Planet, cited what he termed the “pertinent sections” of the city ordinance.  follows:

“‘Picketing’ means the stationing of any person by standing, lying, walking, sitting, kneeling, bending or in any other similar manner at a particular place so as to persuade, or otherwise influence, another person’s actions or conduct, or to apprise the public of an opinion or message.”

Regarding weapons, Bothwell cited the following from the ordinanance:

 “With the exception of law enforcement officers acting within the scope of their duties, no firearms or dangerous weapons of any kind, as defined by federal, state and local laws, may be possessed by any participant in a parade or by any person engaged in picketing.”

The press release ends by referencing Bothwell’s bid for re-election, noting that he “ is an investigative reporter, builder, organic gardener and public servant. In addition, he leads a jail ministry affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville.”

Bothwell has said that, if re-elected, he will continue to seek environmental sustainability, “equal rights” for all citizens, retaining control of the city water system, support of local businesses and public financing of local elections.

Bothwell was first elected in 2009. Filing for council opens in July.

In a letter to the editor in the Feb. 28 edition of the Citizen-Times, John Huie praised Bothwell’s accomplisments on council and said he looked forward to his next term.

“During his first term, Cecil’s voice has been strong, independent, creative and visionary in speaking out for all the citizens of our city, not merely the privileged few,” wrote Huie, who is the former director of N.C. Outward Bound School, former director of Warren Wilson College’s Environmental Leadership School and a national educational consultant.

“Cecil Bothwell is fearless. I know him personally as a man of honesty, integrity and intelligence. He is as real as they come. And while you may not always agree with Cecil on the issues (though I do the vast majority of the time), you will always know where he stands,” Huie stated.

Meanwhile, the Asheville Tea Party said in a recent statement promoting a discussion on a local radio talk show that “Cecil Bothwell, Asheville City Council member, wants to have conceal carry permit holders arrested who attended the Day of Resistance Rally on Saturday, 2/23, at the Vance Monument.

“He ignores his own city attorney. MACPAC organizers asked permission and got it.

 Also, “The law as stated to us by Captain Stoney Gonce of the Asheville Police Department is that it is legal to conceal carry as long as you have the proper permit and it is also legal to open carry at Pack Square Park. So if you would like to open carry this Saturday, feel free to do so. If you do decide to open-carry, please be responsible with your firearm. ALSO KNOW THAT THE ASHEVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS FULLY AWARE OF OUR RALLY. If you break the law, you will be arrested.”

 This (the aforementioned statement) was posted on FB at MACPAC site last week, the Asheville Tea Party noted.

 A response from gun rally organizers

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Daily Planet received the following statement on Feb. 26 titled “MACPAC response to Cecil Bothwell on 2A rally:”

•

MACPAC looks to Councilman (Cecil) Bothwell for cooperation, not divisiveness.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, over a hundred Western North Carolina citizens took to Pack Square in support of their constitutional right to bear arms. This was one of the largest peaceful rallies in recent Asheville history.

Speakers at the event included Dr. Dan Eichenbaum, former congressional candidate; Dr. Carl Mumpower, former Asheville city councilman; and Kevin King, managing editor of The Asheville Tribune.

City Councilman Cecil Bothwell responded to the event by saying that the event organizers were “apparently ignorant of the law.” MACPAC, as organizers of the event, take great offense at such a divisive comment made by a public servant.

“We worked very closely with local law enforcement when planning this event,” said King, event speaker and founding member of MACPAC. “We wanted to make sure that all laws were obeyed in our peaceful event. That’s why our first phone call was to the Asheville Police Department.”

MACPAC received not only a complete clarification of APD’s expectations, but followed them to a “T” and had the full support of law enforcement that was on hand at the rally to ensure there were no issues.

“If there were ordinances broken, it was not intentional, as we followed the rules laid out by APD, who referenced the city attorney,” stated Timothy Elkin, event organizer. “We abided by every expectation given to us.”“I think that Councilman Bothwell should be with us, not against us. His campaign website states, ‘The intent of the resolution is to make it absolutely clear that Asheville embraces the Bill of Rights and that our law enforcement officers will not target enforcement efforts based on… political beliefs… or any other arbitrary categorization,’” added King.

“The Second Amendment is part of the Bill of Rights, and every American should be able to stand behind every amendment, regardless of political affiliation. Councilman Bothwell has a record of being vocal about changing current policies in the name of equality. I encourage him to join us in changing city policies to be more favorable to the Bill of Rights. Stand with us, Councilman.”(MACPAC is an unaffiliated group of concerned citizens. Our goal is the promotion of limited, and responsible government. Open to any party affiliation. For more information go to iMACPAC.org, follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/iMACPAC or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .)