Hundreds of people flooded Virginia Beach City Hall on Tuesday night to ask the City Council to resist gun regulations, so many that police blocked the front doors of the building.
The City Council chambers and overflow rooms reached capacity before the regularly scheduled 6 p.m. meeting even began. Many of them wore bright orange stickers that said Guns Save Lives as they filled the front steps and the front lawn.
The council’s meeting agenda did not include any gun rights proposals, but Vincent Smith, a city employee who worked in Building 2 where a mass shooting took place on May 31, was among those who urged people to show up. He is working with the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights organization that is advocating for what have become known as Second Amendment Sanctuary ordinances in localities across the state.
Many in the crowd said they fear gun-control measures the Democrats plan to pass once they take control of both chambers of the General Assembly in January.
Smith said he wants the council to tell Richmond that the city won’t enforce “unconstitutional gun control laws” if the General Assembly approves them next year. He asked the council to pass a resolution to make Virginia Beach a Second Amendment sanctuary city.
“The Democrats want to turn thousands of people into criminals overnight,” Smith said after he spoke to the council. “They want to strip us of our ability to protect ourselves.”
This isn’t Smith’s first time advocating for gun rights.
Three years ago, he started an online petition requesting that the city let city employees carry guns at work.
Outside of City Hall, former congressman and current Senate candidate Scott Taylor told the crowd the Virginia Beach City Council should not let the state infringe on residents’ constitutional rights.
“What I see out here tonight are a bunch of law-abiding citizens who care deeply about their rights, their liberties and their families,” Taylor said.
Prominent local Democrats, like Del. Cheryl Turpin blended into the crowd nearly unnoticed until Missy Cotter-Smasal, who recently lost a state senate election, and others began chanting “Warner 2020.” Taylor is challenging Sen. Mark Warner.
The City Council does not broadcast the public comment section portion of meetings. So all of the people outside of City Hall could not watch Smith or any other speakers on their cellphones. The Virginian-Pilot was not allowed into City Hall. Matt Johnson, 51, of Virginia Beach said he was disappointed he won’t get to hear the dialogue between the council and speakers.
“As soon as they were done with their agenda, and it is time for the public to speak, they turned off the live feed,” he said. “It’s not right.”
Alissa Skelton, 757-222-5155, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com
