Hearing reset in firearm lawsuit

SANDPOINT — A status conference was postponed Tuesday in a lawsuit Bonner County filed against the city over a firearms prohibition during the Festival at Sandpoint.

Bonner County Courthouse staff advised the public that the hearing was called off because 1st District Judge Lansing Haynes had fallen ill.

The hearing was reset for Jan. 28, 2020, court records show.

The county filed suit against the city this fall for allowing organizers of the annual summer concert series to develop security protocols when the Festival rents War Memorial Field, a public facility. Idaho law forbids the prohibition of firearms in public places, although the city contends the Festival is within its rights to restrict firearms because it leases the facility from the city.

The county’s litigation seeks to prevent the Festival from prohibiting firearms. Commissioners said they brought the suit at the request of constituents who said their safety was jeopardized by the firearms ban during the Festival. Festival officials announced prior to this year’s run of concerts that they would be prohibiting concertgoers from bringing firearms onto the grounds in order to meet contractual obligations of performing artists.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.