CHESTERFIELD • The City Council voted Wednesday to revise a measure that would limit the use of firearms and projectile weapons, before casting a final vote.

The measure would still make it illegal to fire a projectile weapon within 150 yards of a residence in the city. The revised proposal deletes wording that said "to protect crops or other property."

A vote on the measure is now set for Feb. 6.

Officials said the measure was proposed in response to complaints from a neighbor of Chesterfield resident Gene Schenberg that he was shooting squirrels with an air rifle.

At Wednesday night's meeting, council members said complaints had been made about other residents doing the same thing. In one case, Councilman Randy Logan said, the resident used a .22-caliber handgun.

Of the 13 people who spoke about the issue at the meeting, 12 were against the city's proposed limits on the use of firearms. Many cited constitutional concerns.

"I understand this came out of one incident, but the ordinance doesn't limit itself to squirrels," said Dave Roland, the director of litigation for the Freedom Center of Missouri, a nonprofit group in St. Louis dealing with constitutional litigation. "This is a blanket ordinance on the use of firearms in one's home."

Harvey Rosenberg was the sole speaker who favored the measure. He said passing the ordinance would send the right message to residents.

"The real issue is the arrogance of a resident to place his level of comfortability above that of other residents," Rosenberg said.

Schenberg, a former Chesterfield councilman, said the proposal would affect the right of everyone to protect their homes, and mentioned that it could leave the city open to lawsuits. He said during his public comments that he had emailed the council with suggested ordinance wording.

City Attorney Rob Heggie said the Legislature gave cities the right to control the use of firearms.

"We live fairly close to each other," Heggie said, 'so there has to be some regulations."

---

EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story contained an incorrect spelling of Dave Roland's last name. This version has been corrected.