SARATOGA SPRINGS — With concerns that the party scene on Caroline Street is growing more violent, the City Council is considering outlawing carrying a firearm while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The ordinance, which will be discussed on Tuesday at a City Council meeting, is in response to a Nov. 20 incident when a bar dispute between an off-duty Vermont sheriff’s deputy and three men from Utica spilled out into the street and erupted in gunfire. City police responded by shooting the sheriff deputy who allegedly pointed his weapon at them after shooting one of the Utica men. The incident took place after a night of drinking on Caroline Street, the hub of the city’s night life. If approved, violating the ordinance would be a violation, or akin to a ticket to appear in City Court.
“In the aftermath of Nov. 20, I did some research,” Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino said. “I discovered there are 20 states that have this as a state law, an armed while intoxicated statute. In New York, there were two attempts of passing something like this, but it died once in the Senate and once in the Assembly. … The goal is to act as a deterrent. Cars are a deadly weapon, that’s why you don’t drive drunk. And firearms are deadly weapons, and you should leave your revolver secured somewhere else if going out to the bars.”
The standard for proving intoxication would be the same as officers do with state Vehicle and Traffic Law.
Many of the bars on Caroline Street security-wand patrons including Gaffney’s, which was a condition of its reopening agreement with the state Liquor Authority. Night Owl says it wands patrons on Saturdays and the Soundbar said it has been wanding guests since 2015. Brian Miller, a spokesman for the Soundbar, said wanding “is a very simple way to be proactive.”
Miller also said that he didn’t think wanding…
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