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Norfolk — Norfolk’s City Council will consider a proposal to ban guns in city buildings, parks and recreation centers and at city-permitted events.
Anyone who violates the new ordinance could face up to a year in jail, up to a $2,500 fine or some combination.
A vote is scheduled for Tuesday, but Mayor Kenny Alexander said it’s likely to be continued to give the public time to weigh in. Alexander noted the council has not had any discussion on the issue and said the proposed ordinance “may not be ready for prime time,” suggesting the scope of gun restrictions could change before any vote.
Before July, it was impossible to prevent legal gun carriers from bringing their firearms into city buildings, other than a courthouse.
But a new law, originally proposed by Del. Cia Price, a Newport News Democrat, allows local governments to bar the carrying of guns and ammunition in government buildings, public parks, recreation centers or at permitted events happening on the city’s streets or sidewalks.
The bill was adopted earlier this year by the General Assembly, part of a swath of gun legislation that was a high priority for Democrats after they seized control of the statehouse for the first time in nearly two decades.
The law went into effect on July 1, opening the way for localities to put restrictions into place. Newport News is the only Hampton Roads city to adopt such measures so far. Norfolk would be the second.
Norfolk’s proposed law would not apply to law enforcement or military in the course of their official duties, guns kept locked in a car or boat on city property or firearms used for theatrical, historical or educational programs.
The legislation also notes that any restrictions would have to be posted at the entry to any facilities where firearms were not allowed.
Critics of the new state law raised concerns about consistency, saying it would be confusing if guns were allowed in one City Hall, but not in the next town over.
Other Hampton Roads cities have considered it, too. It took Newport News, where Price’s father is the long-serving mayor, just two weeks after the law went into effect to ban guns in city buildings, except weapons legally concealed or carried by law enforcement.
The draft ordinance coming before the Norfolk council Tuesday does not mention an exception for concealed carry permit holders.
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Before the state law went into effect, Hampton’s mayor also said they’d be taking a look at restricting guns at parks and events, but there’s been no formal discussion since July 1.
In Virginia Beach, there have been discussions about pressing legislators to enable gun-free zones in public buildings following the mass shooting in a city building last May that left the gunman and 12 victims dead. But the council has not discussed the issue since the state law went into effect.
Any action by the Norfolk council is expected to draw the ire of gun rights advocates, who flooded local council and board meetings across the state early this year to speak out against gun control laws that were then working their way though the General Assembly.
Despite those efforts, those laws went on to be approved by the Democratically-controlled General Assembly. A petition effort to preemptively stop Norfolk from implementing the local gun measures collected more than 1,000 signatures but fell short of the mark needed to force council action earlier this summer.
Norfolk’s City Council will meet virtually on Tuesday, Aug. 25. Its work session starts at 4:30 p.m. and could include discussion of the gun bill. The formal voting session is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Information on how to watch online or on the city’s Cox cable channel — as well as how to comment on an agenda item either ahead of time or live during the meeting — is at norfolk.gov/200/City-Council. Or you can call the city clerk’s office at 757-664-4253 for more information.
Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com