UPDATE on PREVIOUS MENTION (OC PREEMPTION VIOLATION) an OCer who was ejected from a public zoo in Evansville, IN
I briefly mentioned this in a previous post. The open carrier just won the appeal--handily (3-0). I bring this up again here because the lawsuit was initially filed on September 16, 2011, nearly
four years ago. The city of Evansville has done everything in its power to drag this lawsuit out, first by delay tactics, then admitting that they did it but that the plaintiff missed the cutoff date for filing a notice that they were going to sue with the city and its risk management commission (not applicable for several reasons, one of which is the plaintiff filed the actual lawsuit immediately (6 days, well within the 180 notice of upcoming lawsuit provision)). Whether they plan to appeal to the Indiana SC is unknown.
Indiana Court of Appeals DecisionInteresting quote from opinion:
Indiana has several statutes with similar provisions, authorizing private citizens to bring suit to “redress wrongs that involve the public interest, and to recover attorney fees if they prevail.” These provisions are meant to “encourage[e] the private prosecution of certain favored actions, by requiring defendants who have violated plaintiffs’ rights to compensate plaintiffs for the costs they incurred to enforce those rights.” In recent years, our legislature has seen fit to create, and to encourage the private prosecution of, several such favored actions relating to firearms.
Brief description of preemption violation:
On September 10, 2011, Mr. Magenheimer, his wife and four-month old child were enjoying an afternoon in the petting zoo ot the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanical Garden, owned and operated by the Evansville Department of Parks & Recreation. Mr. Magenheimer was lawfully carrying a handgun at the time, with his Indiana License to Carry Handgun in his possession. After a zoo employee apparently called police, Mr. Magenheimer was approached by four members of the Evansville Police Department, who first ordered him to conceal his firearm (which he had no legal obligation to do), then ordered him to leave the zoo property. When Mr. Magenheimer attempted to explain to the officers that their actions were illegal, the officers forcibly removed him from the property.
