City lawyers have shot down the mayor's idea to ban guns in Hamilton.

"Given the extent of federal and provincial legislation, there is little room left for the City to exercise its general jurisdiction … without duplicating or conflicting with that legislation," city solicitor Lisa Pasternak wrote in her report to council, which outlines the current provincial and federal legislation around guns.

The suggestion to outlaw firearms — a clear misfire — came from a frustrated Mayor Fred Eisenberger last month after a brazen midday shootout in downtown Hamilton.

"I think anything we can do to make guns less accessible is a positive step. We ban a lot of things in the city. My question would be 'Can we ban guns?'" he said at the time.

On Wednesday, after reading the report — which points out the limited jurisdiction of municipalities — Eisenberger's expectations were tapered.

"We're probably doing as much as we can, save for some amendments we can make," he acknowledged.

While the purchase and storage and of guns are covered under strict federal and provincial legislation, the city can and does ban the firing of guns in city limits under the Municipal Act (with exceptions for hunting, military and police use).

The only amendments — enhancements, really — that could be made to that bylaw, the report says, would be to improve the maps outlining permitting hunting boundaries, and to "indicate explicitly" that handguns or other prohibited weapons can not legally be used for hunting.

But banning them outright? Not going to happen.

Councillor and Police Services Board Chair Lloyd Ferguson said Wednesday that he was not surprised by the report — and questions what a gun possession bylaw would do to deter crime.

"Quite frankly, it's already illegal to carry a loaded firearm and walk around with it," he said.

Ferguson pointed out that if the laws are not going to stop them, criminals would not likely be intimidated by a bylaw.

While the suggestion of a ban certainly had people shaking their heads at the time, Eisenberger does not regret the inquiry.

"At that point … I had great concern about the safety of our citizens and making sure we did everything humanly possible to prevent that from happening again," he said.

Ferguson, too, says he can see where the mayor's coming from.

Now, Eisenberger says we need to advocate for stricter gun laws at a national and provincial level. He stresses that he's not looking to crack down on people using weapons legitimately, say, for hunting — but "I don't think we need them (guns) in an urban centre."

"Is there a reason to have a gun in the home? I don't believe there is. That's where the trouble starts, in my view. The accessibility and availability of guns … leads to crime."

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Hamilton Police Service ran a gun amnesty program last year that resulted in 374 guns and almost 20,000 rounds of ammunition being turned over to police, according to police spokesperson Catherine Martin.

The report will be presented at the General Issues Committee meeting Monday. Eisenberger said he plans to ask staff at that meeting to add the proposed amendments to the bylaw.