Gun Owner and Property Rights
Victory in
On or around April 15th,
Wayne Stephens, a Culpeper County resident and gun owner, contacted his NRA-ILA
Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) to find out what NRA could do about a
proposed ordinance that would limit the ability of gun owners to discharge a
firearm on private property that was less than 20 acres. The EVC immediately contacted his NRA
Grassroots Coordinator, who put the EVC in touch with Joel Partridge, the
NRA-ILA State Legislative Liaison. VSSA
was also made aware of the situation.
Mr. Partridge said that NRA had noticed a recent up-tick in localities
attempting to pass similar measures or to restrict the activity of gun ranges
and that they planned to address the matter and would do so in coordination
with VSSA.
On Tuesday, May 10, the
Culpeper County Rules Committee met before a packed room (probably 100 or more
concerned hunters), and the result was very productive. The committee staff
began by explaining that the document produced by County Attorney Dave Maddox
was not "proposed changes" to the county firearms discharge
regulations, but rather, some options worth exploring that the Committee might
consider recommending to the entire Board. In general, the Committee Staff went
to great lengths to explain that they are opened-minded about this process, and
were simply trying to see if there was something that they could do to ensure
public safety.
Culpeper County Sheriff
H. Lee Hart then took the podium to explain that the Sheriffs Office does not
seek any new regulations, and would rather be left alone to enforce the laws
currently on the books. Captain Branch from the Sheriffs Office then offered
that the Board cannot legislate common sense, and that from his perspective,
the only problem in
Mr. Partridge spoke
after that, and offered that NRA would gladly provide input to the Board prior
to them considering any further action, and stressed that before anybody does
anything, the Board needs to determine what, if any, problem actually exists.
Following his comments, County Administrator Bossio asked if a situation
arises, can NRA recommend a local Certified Instructor to intervene and provide
a possible solution. About 15 attendees raised their hands and said that they
would offer their services.
Several attendees spoke
after Mr. Partridge, and generally echoed the same concerns.
In the end, Board
Chairman Coates explained that the only issue that needs to be explored is the
possibility that some new subdivisions may not be suitable for firearms
discharge, and that the Board needs to explore the "highly populated"
or "densely populated" definitions to see if there is some room to
work within existing code.
Finally, Supervisor
Nixon made a motion to "table the issue pending further study." So,
the highly controversial "20 acre minimum" and ban on anything larger
than .22 seems to be dead. It doesn't seem likely that the Committee has any
desire to act on any regulations anytime soon, if at all. NRA will follow up
with the Committee members to see what direction they plan to head, but for
now, it seems as if all will be quiet for a while.
If you live in Culpeper, please contact members of the
Rules Committee and thank them for their openness to listen to their
constituents. Also, please contact
Sheriff Hart and thank him for standing up for law-abiding gun owners.
StarExponent.com
- The Culpeper Star Exponent | Group hears presentations on gun issue