JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes, Ward 3, said he wants to pursue a public safety proposal during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Stokes said he’s concerned about business safety in Jackson.

“A lot of the stores, they’re are saying no guns on premises. But yet, they keep bringing these guns, these assault rifles. It’s not like they’re trying to bring the handguns. They bring assault rifles, and they even got to the point that they’re wearing masks,” he said.

Stokes said they cannot regulate guns, but they do have an ordinance that says people cannot come into a business with a gun.

“But we want to do is make sure we get some enforcement from the Jackson Police Department and Capitol police and everyone else if there are signs posted. No guns allowed. No weapons allowed. No guns on premises. Then we want to make sure that when a child going to a convenience store to get candy, there’s not someone coming in that same convenience store with an assault rifle scaring the child, a mother going to the gas station to get gas,” he said.

One pastor said he decided to place “No Weapons Allowed” signs around his church. 

“This is a preventive measure that we hope that we don’t have to deal with that situation. It’s a preventive measure, and we know that these kind of things do happen and robberies take place. And we don’t want to be exposing our congress to those type of experiences,” said Pastor C.J. Bolton with Trinity Church of God in Christ.

Stokes said he will introduce an enforcement measure at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.