02.10.00

By Sylvia Moore

A Fairfax County teen center recently had to take down signs prohibiting guns in the building. Why? Because state law doesn't allow localities to ban weapons in public places.

County officials wanted state permission to put the signs back up, but they were blocked last month by a House subcommittee.

The subcommittee of the House Committee on Militia and Police killed the bill co-sponsored by Delegate Jim M. Scott, D-Fairfax. It would have prohibited possessing dangerous weapons in county-owned or -operated facilities throughout the state.

Opponents of Scott's bill said it was unnecessary because guns aren't a problem in public places. "This is a solution looking for a problem," said a representative of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

But Trudy Brisendine, Fairfax County's legislative liaison, and Scott, a former county commissioner, said the bill was needed for the safety of children and others.

That need, Brisendine said, was underscored recently when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to post signs barring guns from the teen center.

"The National Rifle Association took us to court and won," she said. The NRA cited Dillon's Rule, the legal principle in Virginia that says cities and counties cannot pass laws without state authorization.

"Most people don't realize that the state has the authority to ban ordinances made by the county," Brisendine said. "So we had to come begging, hat in hand before the committee."

She told the Militia and Police subcommittee, chaired by Delegate Morgan Griffiths, R-Salem, that Fairfax has about 1 million people. They should have the right to protect themselves and their children by prohibiting guns from county buildings, she said.

She was not trying to violate the rights of hunters, she said. In sparsely populated areas like Southwestern Virginia, where hunting is popular, people don’t fear gun-wielding criminals, Brisendine said. But she said Fairfax is hardly rural, and residents there want protection against firearms.

Subcommittee members discussed the bill, which also would outlaw possessing a dangerous weapon on access roads and parking areas of county-owned or -operated facilities. They questioned whether an individual with a valid concealed handgun could be arrested for a first-class misdemeanor for carrying the gun on access roads.

Tim Evans, a former law enforcement officer and a member of the Shooting Sports Association, posed this scenario: Suppose a stranger came into a county building because he had a flat tire, and he happened to be legally carrying a gun.

"The primary victims in this type of situation are innocent people," Evans said.

Griffiths also expressed skepticism about Scott’s bill. "Does it reach through all of the good and grab somebody who shouldn't be arrested?" he asked. "If it does, then it isn't a good law."

Virginia’s secretary of public safety, Gary Aronholt, opposes the bill, a spokesman for Aronholt told the subcommittee.

The panel summarily killed the legislation. Members said they had to consider the bill’s effect on the entire state, not just Fairfax County.

Also at its Jan.21 meeting, the subcommittee delayed a bill to penalize people for firing guns in public places.

That bill was sponsored by 27 delegates, including Delegate Jim H. Dillard, R-Fairfax, and six senators, including Sen. Fred M. Quayle, R-Chesapeake.

The legislation had support from Virginians Against Handguns, the Virginia Education Association, the Peninsula Crime Line, the League of Women Voters and some Virginia school board members.

"We don't want to endanger our children," said Pam Pouchot, an anti-gun activist from Newport News. "Many elementary, middle and high school children are in school buildings before, during and after school."

But Evans, the shooting enthusiast, said the bill would prevent schools from having shooting ranges and shooting teams. He said that shooting is an excellent sport and that it needs the schools’ support to succeed.

"Schools have the space for properly constructed shooting ranges that would prevent ammunition from straying past the target," Evans said.

Legislators cited other reasons why guns may be innocently brought onto school grounds. Some parents might legally be toting guns when they drop their children off at school or a technician working at school may have a license to carry a concealed weapon.

One legislator asked how the law banning firearms from school property would affect military academies, and nobody had an answer.

Delegate William P. Robinson, D-Norfolk, said he wants to promote school safety but "we need more information in helping us make an informed decision."

Subcommittee members said they would act on Dillard’s bill at their next meeting. At that time, they also will consider a bill to expel students for carrying firearms onto school property.

The panel hopes to combine the bills into one piece of legislation, Griffiths said.