Effort to force Norfolk council vote on gun laws falls short. But advocates have asked a judge for a second chance.

Norfolk — An effort by gun-rights advocates in Norfolk to force the City Council to consider a measure preventing staff from enforcing some state gun laws has failed to net enough signatures.

That means the ordinance pushed by advocates won’t appear on the City Council’s agenda any time soon, and there’s no public hearing scheduled on the matter

But that may not be the end of the effort.

Bob Brown, the chief petitioner and chairman of Norfolk’s Republican Party, said the group went to court seeking an injunction to extend the deadline for them to collect voter signatures, arguing coronavirus-related lockdowns had inhibited them from getting enough people to sign during the four-month period allowed by the city code. As of Thursday, a judge had not made a determination or set a date for any hearing.

[ Previous coverage: Gun-rights advocates want Norfolk to ignore new state laws. They could take the issue to voters. ]

The group turned in 1,414 signatures earlier in June, but the city’s registrar had only verified 1,071 of them. The effort would need about 1,200 to force City Council consideration, according to the city code.

However, that same city code section also allows residents to put such a decision directly to the voters of the city, an effort that would need 4,000 signatures.

Brown said his group is likely headed in that direction, with a big push to collect signatures during Tuesday’s primary elections in the hopes that they get an extension from the judge and can add to the thousand signatures they’ve already got.

A different group used the same law in an unsuccessful attempt to get the City Council to overturn its vote approving a land deal for a proposed casino resort. Like the gun-rights advocates, that group could try to get 4,000 signatures and force the question onto the ballot.

Ryan Murphy, 757-739-8582, ryan.murphy@pilotonline.com