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Va. Gun Rights Group compells Newport News City Council to drop gun license scheme

Mike

Site Co-Founder
Joined
May 13, 2006
Messages
8,706
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
Original VA-ALERT posted below in it's entirety:


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http://www.vcdl.org/join
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http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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Congratulations,
VCDL! We had a huge turnout tonight at the Newport News City Council meeting.


At the end of my comments, I asked everyone to stand if they agreed with me.
About 80% of the room stood - we absolutely dominated.

But it was also your
emails, phone calls, along with the turnout that MADE THE DIFFERENCE TONIGHT.


City Council voted 5 to 2 to remove the license-to-possess-a-firearm item
from the City’s legislative agenda!

I was not expecting that good of a result
going into this, but it shows the power that gun owners have when we work as a
team!

And as a team we the put voltage into the 3rd-rail of politics - gun
control. Touch that rail at your own political risk!

I’d like to thank all
the VCDL members who took the time to show up tonight, including Board member
John Fenter and EMs Ron Lilly, Doug Peterson, Mark Spruill, and Chip Marce, as
well as all of you who took the time to email and/or call City
Council!

Photos are posted on the VCDL main web
page.

-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT
is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an
all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the
human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a
fundamental human right.
 
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skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
Mike, do you agree that the council can pass such laws?

Apparently you do not understand what a "legislative agenda" is in Virginia.

It's a list of laws that the local government would like the General Assembly to pass - things like changing the approved color of school buses from "school bus yellow" to "taxicab yellow", or giving local governments the authority to contract to take household and industrial waste from out of state without having to have the Dept of Environmental Quality review the specifics, or a law that requires someone to get a state* license to posses a firearm.

stay safe.

* - it would have to be a state license since the General Assembly preempted the entire field of firearm regulation.
 

scooter348

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Messages
172
Location
Northern Piedmont-Culpeper
"it would have to be a state license since the General Assembly preempted the entire field of firearm regulation."

I don't understand what you mean by this. Could you please explain it? Especially the part about "preemption"? Thanks.
 

Wolf_shadow

Activist Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2006
Messages
1,215
Location
Accomac, Virginia, USA
"it would have to be a state license since the General Assembly preempted the entire field of firearm regulation."

I don't understand what you mean by this. Could you please explain it? Especially the part about "preemption"? Thanks.

Under Virginia Law only the State legislature has the authority to regulate firearms.

Virginia Code Annotated § 15.2-915 provides:
A. No locality shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution or motion, as permitted by [section] 15.2-1425, and no agent of such locality shall take any administrative action, governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof other than those expressly authorized by statute. For purposes of this section, a statute that does not refer to firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof, shall not be construed to provide express authorization.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a locality from adopting workplace rules relating to terms and conditions of employment of the workforce. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a law-enforcement officer, as defined in [section] 9.1-101 from acting within the scope of his duties.
The provisions of this section applicable to a locality shall also apply to any authority or to a local governmental entity, including a department or agency, but not including any local or regional jail or juvenile detention facility.
B. Any local ordinance, resolution or motion adopted prior to the effective date of this act governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof, other than those expressly authorized by statute, is invalid.
 

drewf

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2009
Messages
24
Location
JCC, Virginia, USA
Here in Virginia we are a "Dillon rule" state with regards to legislation on firearms. Only the statehouse can pass laws regulating firearms. So although there are differences between what you are allowed to carry in Newport News (no loaded 30 round magazines in an AR) vs someplace like Louisa county where there is no such restriction, that law was created at the statehouse and signed by the governor. It isn't that Newport News was able to make that law itself, it cannot. The legislative agenda is what the city "lobbies" for at the statehouse. This prevents petty tyrants from passing dumb laws. This offers us some protection, as long as we don't elect bigger tyrants into the Governor's mansion, Virginia Assembly or Senate.



"it would have to be a state license since the General Assembly preempted the entire field of firearm regulation."

I don't understand what you mean by this. Could you please explain it? Especially the part about "preemption"? Thanks.
 
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Grapeshot

Legendary Warrior
Joined
May 21, 2006
Messages
35,317
Location
Valhalla
Here in Virginia we are a "Dillon rule" state with regards to legislation on firearms. Only the statehouse can pass laws regulating firearms. So although there are differences between what you are allowed to carry in Newport News (no loaded 30 round magazines in an AR) vs someplace like Louisa county where there is no such restriction, that law was created at the statehouse and signed by the governor. It isn't that Newport News was able to make that law itself, it cannot. The legislative agenda is what the city "lobbies" for at the statehouse. This prevents petty tyrants from passing dumb laws. This offers us some protection, as long as we don't elect bigger tyrants into the Governor's mansion, Virginia Assembly or Senate.
Aaah well, almost but not quite.

Virginia does subscribe to the Dillon Rule* which is used in interpreting state law when there is a question of whether or not a local government has a certain power - it is not specific to firearms.
http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/dillons-rule/

Municipalitites are free to pass ordinances regarding the discharge of firearms and DGIF can impose regulations.

What we commonly call the preemption statute is § 15.2-915. Control of firearms; applicability to authorities and local governmental agencies.
http://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/15.2-915/

State law (§18.2-287.4) prohibits the carry by a non-CHP holder of a loaded: semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that is (1) equipped with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or (2) designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or (3) equipped with a folding stock and a shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds. Applicable only in these specific municipalities: the Cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, or Virginia Beach or in the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, or Prince William.

The devil is in the details :)

*Read up on the Dillon Rule - follow the links - very enlightening.
https://www.albemarle.org/upload/im...nty_Attorney/Forms/LUchapter05-dillonrule.pdf
 
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