After gun deaths, Lexington legislator files ‘Trinity Gay’ bill

A Lexington lawmaker has pre-filed a bill that would allow local governments in Kentucky to pass their own gun control rules.

State Sen. Reginald Thomas, D-Lexington, said his bill is in response to three fatal shootings in the past month, including Trinity Gay, the 15-year-old daughter of Olympic runner Tyson Gay. Police said Trinity was shot in the neck in the early hours of Oct. 16 during an exchange of gunfire between cars in the parking lot of Cook Out restaurant on South Broadway.

Thomas said he will name the law in Gay’s honor if it passes the Kentucky General Assembly.

“It is time,” he said. “No, it is past time that we addressed this problem. We must look seriously at this issue and find a way to reduce the number of victims of gun violence.”

The bill faces long odds in the legislature, which approved a state law in 1984 that explicitly prohibits local government entities from attempting to regulate guns. In 2012, the law was amended to include more types of local government, including special districts, local boards and quasi-public agencies.

Under the proposal, urban county governments and consolidated local governments, such as Lexington and Louisville, would be able to pass ordinances that regulate the manufacture, sale, purchase, taxation, transfer, ownership, possession, carrying, storage, and transportation of firearms, firearms components, ammunition, and ammunition components, as long as the regulations do not conflict with the U.S. Constitution.

“The intent of this legislation is not to take people’s guns, but rather to put into place regulations that in essence will save lives,” Thomas said. “I do not want, nor do I want anyone else, to have to mourn the loss of another young person or an elderly person whose life was cut short by gun violence.”

Lexington Urban County Councilwoman Jennifer Mossotti said she favors the proposal.

“I think it certainly gets the conversation started, and it’s a conversation we definitely need to have,” she said.

Shortly after Gay’s death, Lexington Mayor Jim Gray called for a review of the city’s response to gun violence and how it can be improved. Gray, who is running for U.S. Senate, was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

City spokeswoman Susan Straub said city officials had only just learned about the bill.

“The city has a process we go through in evaluating all pre-filed legislation that includes a legal analysis,” Straub said. “We have to go through that process before we take a position on a bill.”

The legislation, BR 172, will be considered during the regular session of the General Assembly, which will convene Jan. 3.

Thomas said he knows the bill will face an uphill climb, but “that should never stop you from doing the right thing.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2016 at 3:27 PM with the headline "After gun deaths, Lexington legislator files ‘Trinity Gay’ bill."