Thursday, July 26, 2007
Editorial: Gun shy in Norfolk
A weapons ban at Harborfest conflicted with the state's overly friendly gun law.
From the RoundTable blog
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Norfolk got a civics lesson at this year's Harborfest. The city can't keep people from bringing guns. The General Assembly took that public-safety tool out of the hands of localities years ago.
In Virginia, cities and counties get their powers from the state, and the state mainly bows to gun-rights advocates.
Roanoke came up against the gun lobby back in 1995, and lost, when it asked the General Assembly for permission to amend its charter so the city could ban handguns in city parks. The bill died in the House of Delegates -- though Virginia bans guns in state parks.
Norfolk apparently was late in realizing the state maintains iron control over gun control and allows guns to be carried openly just about anywhere in public. In May, Norfolk City Council voted to ban weapons, including handguns, from the annual Harborfest celebration in June. Crowds, beer and guns seemed like too potent a mix.
The council had enacted a similar ban for a May event called Afr'Am Fest, without controversy. But Harborfest was different.
Chester Szymecki Jr. came from Yorktown with his wife, three children, a couple of neighborhood kids and his .45, a handgun he carried in a holster on his belt. Police noticed he was packing and, he says, invited him to leave or be arrested. He protested. Police took him away. He was issued a summons and released.
He went to court June 22 and the city withdrew the charge. The gun ban, the city attorney explained, was a mistake, a bit of sloppy ordinance-writing. Szymecki plans to sue, and the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights group, is up in arms, so to speak.
The state forbids localities to enact gun controls so lawful gun owners won't face a patchwork of regulations that could lead them, unknowingly, to run afoul of the law. Localities, though, are left powerless to make common-sense public safety rules. If Richmond insists on keeping its tight hold, it should exercise more control.
A ban on guns in all parks in the state, rather than just state parks, for instance, would be clear.
