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Surry County Prohibition on Loaded firearms

Thundar

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2007
Messages
4,946
Location
Newport News, Virginia, USA
Wow, Surry County, get ready for the hurricane. The prohibition on loaded handguns is clearly preempted!

Surry County, Virginia
Sec. 20-66. - Restrictions on loaded weapons.

Except as otherwise provided by law, no person shall have in his possession or under his control, or have in any vehicle in which he may be in charge or have in control, any loaded shotgun or rifle or other firearm while he or such vehicle is upon any public street in the county, or, while either is unlawfully upon the land of another; provided, that law enforcement officers, and members of the armed forces of the United States or the military forces of the state when acting under competent orders, shall be excepted; and provided, further, that such person who shall be able to show at the time apprehended that his possession of the loaded rifle or shotgun was required or reasonably necessary, under the then appearing circumstances, for the protection of his person or family from bodily injury or his property from serious damage by another shall also be excepted.
Link: http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=14669&stateId=46&stateName=Virginia

Italics are mine.
 

All American Nightmare

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Joined
May 25, 2009
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Never Never Land
Wow, Surry County, get ready for the hurricane. The prohibition on loaded handguns is clearly preempted!

Surry County, Virginia
Sec. 20-66. - Restrictions on loaded weapons.

Except as otherwise provided by law, no person shall have in his possession or under his control, or have in any vehicle in which he may be in charge or have in control, any loaded shotgun or rifle or other firearm while he or such vehicle is upon any public street in the county, or, while either is unlawfully upon the land of another; provided, that law enforcement officers, and members of the armed forces of the United States or the military forces of the state when acting under competent orders, shall be excepted; and provided, further, that such person who shall be able to show at the time apprehended that his possession of the loaded rifle or shotgun was required or reasonably necessary, under the then appearing circumstances, for the protection of his person or family from bodily injury or his property from serious damage by another shall also be excepted.
Link: http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=14669&stateId=46&stateName=Virginia

Italics are mine.
There time is coming!!!!
 

TFred

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Oct 13, 2008
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Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
From the end of the paragraph in the Municode linked above we have their cite to authority as:

State law reference—Authority to so provide, Code of Virginia, § 14.2-915.2.

However, a quick look at the Code of Virginia Table of Contents reveals that there is no longer a Title 14 in the Code of Virginia.

Apparently this ordinance is quite outdated. No doubt, the reference should be to

§ 15.2-915.2. Regulation of transportation of a loaded rifle or shotgun.

which has been updated to include reference only to "loaded shotgun or loaded rifle", and not "or other firearm".

There are probably many examples if this in local ordinances throughout the state.

TFred
 
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TFred

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Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
Wonder if that's why the whole screw up arrest? Imagine the trial. What do you mean this law is no longer valid. Oh crap!!!
I seriously doubt it, but it sure would be funny if they tried to tack that on too...

ETA: If they did that, when they lost, they could be liable for all the defense costs!

TFred
 
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user

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Northern Piedmont
I seriously doubt it, but it sure would be funny if they tried to tack that on too...

ETA: If they did that, when they lost, they could be liable for all the defense costs!

TFred

So how many plaintiffs can I line up for the suit?
 

skidmark

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Jan 15, 2007
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Valhalla
So how many plaintiffs can I line up for the suit?

Well, there was that trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and then the other meal at the Surry House, and ....

You are taking this one on a contingency basis, right?

stay safe.
 

Grapeshot

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Joined
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Messages
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Valhalla
So how many plaintiffs can I line up for the suit?

Well, there was that trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and then the other meal at the Surry House, and ....

You are taking this one on a contingency basis, right?

stay safe.

I heard that bids were being put out, just for the privilege of providing representation :lol:

Then there is the other option by popular demand - a group rate.
 
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user

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Well, there was that trip to Colonial Williamsburg, and then the other meal at the Surry House, and ....

You are taking this one on a contingency basis, right?

stay safe.

Sorta. Kinda. I bill at a normal hourly rate, and keep track of the time. Then I present an affidavit to the court about the fees due and owing. That statute provides for an award of attorney's fees. So when I collect the fees awarded by the court from the defendant, I get paid.

And since I primarily do defense, I will, of course, have a couple of co-counsel assisting me.
 
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wylde007

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Jan 23, 2009
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Location
Va Beach, Occupied VA
Like has already been noted, the ordinance references a superseded code section.

Generally all it has taken in the past is a letter to the CA, City Council (or Board of Supervisors) explaining that their ordinance is in violation of statute and they make the change with little resistance or fanfare.

Most of the time they do not want to be in the wrong any more than you or I would. Bringing it to their attention and asking for them to follow up should serve sufficient.

You cannot bring suit against an unlawful ordinance (as far as I am aware) unless you are personally infringed or materially inconvenienced by its enforcement.
 

peter nap

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Valhalla
Like has already been noted, the ordinance references a superseded code section.

Generally all it has taken in the past is a letter to the CA, City Council (or Board of Supervisors) explaining that their ordinance is in violation of statute and they make the change with little resistance or fanfare.

Most of the time they do not want to be in the wrong any more than you or I would. Bringing it to their attention and asking for them to follow up should serve sufficient.
.

You aren't too familiar with the Surry County Government Wylde. Starting later tonight, we'll start learning about the abuses by the elected officials in Surry.
 

wylde007

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Va Beach, Occupied VA
You aren't too familiar with the Surry County Government Wylde.
Generally you would be right, at least for the past 15 years or so. Remember, I have also been "screened" at Scotland Wharf... but I did not point my finger at anyone.
Starting later tonight, we'll start learning about the abuses by the elected officials in Surry.
I only made the point to see if anyone has addressed this through non-confrontational channels first.

Granted, my first instinct is to confrontation, but I have been trying to learn from some of you old salts that sometimes you actually do catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.

Now, if you are saying that these blokes in Surry are just plain ign'ant and would not even entertain the suggestion that their ordinance violates statutory law, then by all means. I was just trying to play the "better man" position and try to address the matter with civility prior to engaging in some legal vendetta.
 

jmelvin

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Jun 12, 2008
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Location
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
I suppose I could give them a call and point out the error of their ways. It's worked for me with Tazewell and Campbell County just in the last half of this year.

*Working on a letter to send out through the "Contact Us" form provided by Surry County. This assumes no one else has addressed this issue yet.
 
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TFred

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Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
I suppose I could give them a call and point out the error of their ways. It's worked for me with Tazewell and Campbell County just in the last half of this year.

*Working on a letter to send out through the "Contact Us" form provided by Surry County. This assumes no one else has addressed this issue yet.
Was this the story about your efforts with Tazewell County?

TFred
 

jmelvin

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Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
Was this the story about your efforts with Tazewell County?

TFred

Yup, that's it. We also have new Park Rules signs in the Campbell County parks, which are nicely done and don't have the illegal restriction on carrying arms. I ought to take a picture of them and post them up. They really are sharp, especially compared to the 8.5"x11" sheet on the park bulletin board that appeared to be written by someone only half literate.
 

jmelvin

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Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,195
Location
Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
I just sent the following to the Surry County Administrators:

Greetings Surry County Administrators,

I was recently reading some news stories regarding activities that occurred within the county and this reading prompted me to take a gander at the existing Surry County Code of Ordinances. As I looked over the Code of Ordinances I noticed a restriction within Part 1, Chapter 20, Article III, Division 2, Section 20-66 which states:

“Except as otherwise provided by law, no person shall have in his possession or under his control, or have in any vehicle in which he may be in charge or have in control, any loaded shotgun or rifle or other firearm while he or such vehicle is upon any public street in the county, or, while either is unlawfully upon the land of another; provided, that law enforcement officers, and members of the armed forces of the United States or the military forces of the state when acting under competent orders, shall be excepted; and provided, further, that such person who shall be able to show at the time apprehended that his possession of the loaded rifle or shotgun was required or reasonably necessary, under the then appearing circumstances, for the protection of his person or family from bodily injury or his property from serious damage by another shall also be excepted.

State law reference—Authority to so provide, Code of Virginia, § 14.2-915.2”

As you may or may not know Code of Virginia Title 14 no longer exists, therefore the citation to authority provided with the county ordinance is void. Further, Virginia Code Section 15.2-915 now (since 2004 I believe) restricts localities from enforcing existing or new local laws regarding the carry of handguns by the public. As a result a portion of the existing Surry County ordinance stands in direct violation of the Code of Virginia.

Attempts to enforce the existing county code or any new code that attempts to restrict the carrying of handguns in Surry County put the county at a significant financial liability since a portion of the county code is void as a result of state law. Please consult with the County Attorney and the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Surry County and remove the existing wording of Surry County Code of Ordinances Part 1, Chapter 20, Article III, Division 2, Section 20-66. If I can be of help, please do not hesitate to write or call.


We'll see what they do.
 

TFred

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
7,750
Location
Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
I just sent the following to the Surry County Administrators:

Greetings Surry County Administrators,
It will be interesting to see. The correct code reference was moved to Title 15, same sub-sections, etc., and all they have to do to be compliant is remove the three words "or other firearm" from their local code.

TFred
 
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