Gun rights activists converged on government meetings in York and Gloucester counties Tuesday night, to demand that leaders declare those counties what’s become known as Second Amendment sanctuaries.
Democrats won a majority in the General Assembly in the November elections, in part on promises to enact tighter regulations on firearms. Gov. Ralph Northam then promised to pass “common sense gun safety legislation.” In turn, gun rights groups in Virginia turned to local governments to mount a resistance. So far, more than 20 localities — mostly in more rural areas — have passed resolutions declaring themselves such sanctuaries. It is not clear what, if any effect, they would have on law enforcement.
One version of such a local ordinance, for example, states that local governments “have the legal authority to refuse to cooperate with state and federal firearm laws that violate (an individual’s right to bear arms),” although the constitutionality of any new firearm regulations has not been decided in court.
The Gloucester County Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a similar resolution Tuesday night. Their counterparts in York County plan to discuss a different resolution Dec. 17. Isle of Wight’s board will discuss the issue Dec. 12.
Hundreds of people showed up to encourage the Gloucester board to pass the resolution.”No firearm regulations that I’m aware of have ever made anyone safer,” said Howard Montjoy, a Gloucester resident. “All it does is take away the right of the individual citizen to defend themselves.”
The resolution says the board is “concerned about the passage of any bill containing language which could be interpreted as infringing the rights of the citizens of Gloucester County to keep and bear arms or could begin a slippery slope of restrictions on the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Gloucester County.”
It also says the county will not use public funds to restrict or aid in the restriction of Second Amendment rights, that it will oppose unconstitutional restrictions through legal means, including court action.
York supervisors seemed less receptive to the idea at their work session Tuesday. So many people attended that there was standing room only in the meeting room and others had to watch in the larger meeting room in York Hall.
The board agreed to add the resolution to the agenda for its Dec. 17 meeting and said it agreed with the spirit of protecting gun rights. But members also questioned the purpose of the resolution and what it may accomplish. Board Chairman Tom Shepperd called it a political action without much teeth. He also noted that the county has no authority to set gun laws.
“Some resolutions I have seen out there — sample resolutions — directs the Board of Supervisors or the City Council to direct law enforcement to do or not do certain things,” said York-Poquoson Sheriff J.D. “Danny” Diggs.
The Board of Supervisors can encourage the sheriff’s office to do something, but they don’t have the authority to require it, Diggs said. Since the possible resolution is something he supports, he says he wouldn’t have a problem enforcing it in York County.
“I took an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of Virginia — both those constitutions have the right to keep and bear arms in them. I see that some of the bills that have been introduced in the General Assembly go way beyond any kind of reasonable attempt at gun control,” Diggs said.
Diggs called some of the proposed bills “an outright assault” on the Second Amendment and unconstitutional. He’s part of a local group of sheriffs drafting their own proclamation to be released in the near future.
Some of Northam’s bills include requiring background checks on all gun sales and transactions, limiting handgun sales to once a month and requiring lost or stolen firearms to be reported to the police within 24 hours.
Northam’s proposed bills also include a “red flag” law that would allow the law enforcement and courts to temporarily take an individual’s firearms if that person is deemed a threat to themselves or to others and a proposed ban on “dangerous” weapons and accessories. Northam hasn’t specified what weapons he wants to ban, but the ban could include things like high-capacity magazines, bump stocks and silencers.
A group of about a dozen citizens asked the Isle of Wight County Board of Supervisors at its last meeting on Nov. 21 to consider adopting a resolution or statement in support of the Second Amendment, said Donald T. Robertson, assistant county administrator. The board has not taken any formal action because it’s still researching and trying to gauge potential impacts along with community support, Robertson said. He expects the topic will be addressed again during the Dec. 12 meeting.
The Poquoson City Council also plans to discuss a resolution Monday.
“I’m a hunter and a gun owner myself, so I’m watching very closely, but we’re not going to solve this by declaring each locality an independent authority,” Mayor Gene Hunt said.
Jessica Nolte, 757-247-4513, jnolte@dailypress.com
Staff writers Tamara Detrick, Josh Reyes and Marie Albiges contributed to this report.
