NATCHEZ — A request from a Natchez alderwoman for the city to review its gun ordinances revealed the city has only a single gun-related law. City attorney Bob Latham said the gun-related ordinance stipulates that discharging a firearm and/or air rifle within city limits is prohibited, aside from special instances such as military salutes or locally approved firing ranges.

Latham said he has not yet researched the matter much, but he was unsure whether the Natchez Board of Aldermen could pass any sort of ordinance that would make obtaining a firearm more difficult.

“I don’t know whether they could pass an ordinance that would limit the sale of firearms to persons under the age of 21 and persons with mental disabilities and whatnot,” Latham said.

Earlier this week, Ward 1 Alderwoman Joyce Arceneaux-Mathis requested a review of the city’s ordinance in terms of requirements for background checks to obtain weapons. She also mentioned concern about bump stocks, which allow a semi-automatic rifle to fire at a more rapid pace that mimics that of a fully automatic weapon.

Arceneaux-Mathis said the rash of gun-related violence in the country prompted her to make her request, especially the deadly shooting last month at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.

State law currently has Mississippi as one of a handful of states that allow concealed carry of a firearm without obtaining a permit.

Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong said aside from the ordinance already on the books, he sees little more that the city can do.

“When they passed the law to where everybody can pretty much have a gun, then that’s left a lot of municipalities and counties with very little to do as it relates to enforcing these types of situations,” Armstrong said.

While he said the city is doing about as much as it can in terms of enforcing the law, one aspect of the law that he said could be improved is the punishment for firing a weapon in the city.

The current penalty for discharging a firearm in city limits is a fine of up to $1,000 and no more than six months in jail.