Beshear vetoes bill allowing attorneys to carry concealed weapons in courtroom

Since lawmakers have adjourned, the veto cannot be overridden.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Although the General Assembly session ended April 14, Gov. Andy Beshear is still considering whether he will sign, veto or allow legislation to become law without his signature that lawmakers passed during the final two days before they adjourned.

One that he vetoed after adjournment is House Bill 291, sponsored by Rep. Mark Hart, R-Falmouth. Although the original version dealt with the reports that executive branch agencies must make to the Legislative Research Commission, the final version passed on April 13 added several seemingly unrelated provisions, turning it into what is known in legislative parlance a “Christmas Tree Bill.”

One such provision would give the General Assembly and the LRC control of all parking spaces in the Capitol parking garage, as well as all the surface lots on the Capitol campus, except those allotted to the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State.

In his veto message, the governor said, “I am vetoing House Bill 291, because the role of the General Assembly is not to determine who is assigned which parking spaces at the Capitol through legislation. Moreover, the General Assembly attempts to give itself more favorable terms for rent and services than the Executive Branch receives.”

Since lawmakers have adjourned, the veto cannot be overridden.

Another vetoed bill, and the only one that did not receive an override vote while lawmakers were still in session, was HB 690, sponsored by Rep. C. Ed Massey, R-Hebron.

It originally dealt with the make-up of the Judicial Council, which serves in an advisory capacity on matters related to Kentucky’s court system. However, it was amended to include a provision allowing any licensed attorney to carry a concealed weapon into courtrooms.

Beshear said he vetoed the bill at the request of Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton, the Fraternal Order of Police, the District Judges Association, Commonwealth Attorneys Association, County Attorneys Association, and other individual sheriffs and judges.

“HB 690 places a concealed firearm just inches away from individuals on trial or in custody for violent crimes, with no protection for law enforcement attempting to protect judges, juries, and spectators in a courtroom.”

The governor pointed out that courtrooms are venues of often violent disputes that can be filled with emotion and tension. “A criminal defendant accused of murder, who cannot be placed in restraints in the presence of a jury because it carries a presumption of guilt, will be able to stand within inches of an armed attorney, with courtroom security not knowing the location of the firearm.”

No override vote was taken in either chamber, so the veto was sustained.