Intent of use will determine legality of weapons in West Jordan parks

WEST JORDAN — Whether items such as steak knives or baseball bats could be considered weapons in city parks has been at the heart of a recent debate among city leaders.

The West Jordan City Council recently considered banning all potential weapons from city parks before ultimately deciding to prohibit them only when a person intends to use them as weapons.

West Jordan resident Greg Gust, 50, said the initial proposal was ridiculous.

"Anything could be a weapon," Gust said. "You have to draw the line somewhere. … You should be able to take baseball bats and steak knives to the park. What else are you going to do? Baseball bats can be a weapon, but they're also a toy."

The council has been studying the weapons issue since May.

City attorney Jeff Robinson said the freshly adopted amendment makes it so the ordinance is now aimed at whether the person possessing the item intends to use it to commit harm.

People speaking during the council's public hearing pointed out it takes a pretty big knife to cut a watermelon and people have the right to have sharp eating utensils in the city park.

Resident Matt Hanks said an ordinance simply banning possession of a weapon in city parks gives police officers too much leeway.

"I think intent of the weapon needs to be proven as well," Hanks said. "Yes, a baseball bat can be used to inflict bodily harm, but if it's used to play baseball, then it's not being used (as a weapon)."

Mayor Melissa Johnson said the adopted ordinance gives police officers latitude in determining whether an item is truly a weapon.

"They have to show that it's something that's intended to be used as a weapon," Johnson said. "It's a little less restrictive but still accomplishes the same purpose of having weapons not allowed in the park.

"What we want to do is prohibit weapons from our parks so rival gangs can't come to our park with their brass knuckles and knives and engage in a brawl, since those are things that are designed and intended to be used as weapons. They are not allowed," Johnson said. "But someone coming in with a steak knife and eating their barbecued steak would be allowed."

The impetus for updating the ordinance was to bring city code in line with state law, which permits people to carry a gun. However, it is still against city code to discharge a firearm in the park. The old city ordinance implied no one could carry a gun, which conflicted with state law.

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