51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� Rasheen Aldridge finds himself in a unique position.

He is the only Black man on the 51黑料 Board of Aldermen, and he represents much of the area downtown where he says young Black men have wreaked havoc. He wants to do something to stem gun violence but, like a physician, he wants to follow the mantra of 鈥淒o No Harm.鈥�

鈥淚t weighs very heavily on me,鈥� Aldridge told me this week.

We were talking about sponsored by Alderwoman Cara Spencer. It seeks to make it illegal for people without a concealed-carry permit in the city to openly carry guns.

The bill is mostly targeted at juveniles since Missouri law doesn鈥檛 allow them to have concealed-carry permits. Spencer is trying to take advantage of a loophole in Missouri law that gives cities a very narrow path to try to regulate guns on the street.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a bill that fixes gun violence,鈥� Spencer says, 鈥渂ut I think it can make a difference.鈥�

The bill met resistance from Aldridge and others because of the fear that police might unfairly target young Black men, and thus put their lives 鈥� and perhaps the lives of police officers 鈥� in danger. It鈥檚 a legitimate concern based on the history of 51黑料 鈥� and plenty of other cities 鈥� but it鈥檚 not one that can鈥檛 be overcome.

Aldridge believes that. So does Spencer. The president of the Board of Aldermen, Megan Green, believes it too.

鈥淚 definitely want to see compromise on this bill,鈥� Green says. 鈥淢y office is looking into best practices in other cities. At the bare minimum, we need to create a mechanism so we are tracking the results so we can figure out if it is being equitably administered.鈥�

The optimism of Green, Aldridge and Spencer is guided by two opinions issued by City Counselor Sheena Hamilton. The opinions, which I have posted in the online version of this column, make it clear that Spencer鈥檚 underlying goal is constitutional, as long as police don鈥檛 permanently confiscate guns. Instead, police should process them following normal procedures in cases where a crime is suspected, and be prepared to give them back if they are legally owned.

Hamilton wrote that most of the bill 鈥渋s drafted to regulate open carry in a manner permitted by that statute.鈥�

In a second opinion, issued after the bill had its first hearing, she addressed a concern raised by Aldridge about the bill allowing 鈥渟top and frisk鈥� practices by police that could unfairly target Black people.

The bill 鈥渨ould not require stop and frisk policies,鈥� Hamilton concluded.

That opinion helped convince Aldridge that there is 鈥渁 path forward鈥� on the bill. The unfortunate thing about the letters is that many aldermen haven鈥檛 seen them.

That鈥檚 because, unlike her predecessors as city counselor, Hamilton believes opinions sought by aldermen are closed records 鈥� even though such opinions have for decades helped guide debate over legislation.

The city denied my Sunshine Law request for the letters. Aldermen, following Hamilton鈥檚 warnings, reluctantly declined to share them with me. I obtained the letters from a source.

The decision by Hamilton to keep her detailed and nuanced opinions secret contributed to the early debate over Spencer鈥檚 bill becoming overly politicized. Spencer ran against Hamilton鈥檚 boss, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, in the past mayoral election, and has hinted she might challenge her in the next one.

Public policy decisions in the Board of Aldermen for far too long have gotten caught up in the politics of race. Aldridge says he鈥檚 hoping that doesn鈥檛 happen here.

鈥淎 lot of us ran on doing things differently in this city,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think this board is ready to handle tough issues.鈥�

Having to do so without being able to share legal opinions about important legislation will make that process more difficult.

鈥淭his is the first city counselor I鈥檝e served with who has that opinion,鈥� Spencer says.

Indeed, there are dozens of issues where such letters have had a significant impact, such as airport privatization and the spending of .

鈥淚 respect the opinions that she鈥檚 issued,鈥� Spencer says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 clear to me that these were extremely thoughtful. I would like to share them with the public because I believe it would be helpful to the process.鈥�

Green hopes to meet with Spencer and other aldermen and work on a compromise to the bill. City residents want the Board of Aldermen to do something about gun violence, and there are many strategies in play, including potentially regulating apartment rentals where much of the downtown mayhem has started.

A possible path on Spencer鈥檚 bill can be seen in the current enforcement of a 2017 city ordinance making it illegal to leave guns in unattended vehicles if they aren鈥檛 locked up. Jones鈥� administration is the first to enforce that law, charging violations to people who drove into the city and had guns stolen. When people show up to court, the city is waiving fines or penalties as long as gun owners install locked cases in their vehicles. The city is also tracking the cases by ZIP code and other demographics.

Enforcement of the law has resulted in dozens of gun cases being installed in vehicles in the 51黑料 region. Every gun not stolen is one more kept from the streets.

鈥淲e struggle to figure out what are the appropriate interventions to get guns off our streets, especially when we have a state Legislature that ties our hands in most respects in terms of regulating guns,鈥� Green says. 鈥淭he solution can鈥檛 just be anything; it has to be the correct solution.鈥�