Tosta Dojen
Regular Member
Every year, the City of Roanoke partners with the Roanoke Times to operate an Independence Day festival in Rivers Edge Park. I attended last year's festival with my wife and daughters, while openly carrying my pistol. Shortly after we arrived, I was confronted by three on-duty Roanoke police officers who ran me out of the park, threatening to arrest me for trespassing if I did not leave. I opted to comply with their demand and follow up afterward.
The officers claimed that the park had been rented by the Roanoke Times, and that the festival and its "no firearms" rule had nothing to do with the City of Roanoke. This was only partly true. According to records I received in response to a FOIA request, the park was rented to the Roanoke Times, but it and the City had a contract to operate the festival as a joint enterprise, with the two parties sharing the costs. According to these records, the City spent $5,787.47 on the 2010 festival, and wrote down the park rental from $8,800.00 under the standard rates to just $1.00. Between the writeoff and the actual expenditures, the City put $14,587.47 toward the festival, not including the salaries of the numerous public employees I saw working at the event. It can hardly be said that the festival had nothing to do with the City of Roanoke.
The legality of the prohibition is therefore highly questionable. It's clear that if the festival were operated solely by the City of Roanoke, the prohibition would be preempted. It's also pretty clear that if the festival were operated solely by a private entity on property they had lawfully rented, the prohibition would be valid. But for a joint public/private enterprise, which rule applies?
I've been probing at that question for a while, filing complaints and additional FOIA requests with the City, and I was pleased to find that for this year's festival, the prohibition has been lifted. The web page for last year's festival included "firearms" on the list of things not allowed. The word has been removed from the list on the page for this year.
Of course, there's only one way to be sure that the prohibition is no longer in effect. I'll be taking my girls to the "Family Fun Zone" area as soon as it opens, with my pistol in plain view. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there too.
The officers claimed that the park had been rented by the Roanoke Times, and that the festival and its "no firearms" rule had nothing to do with the City of Roanoke. This was only partly true. According to records I received in response to a FOIA request, the park was rented to the Roanoke Times, but it and the City had a contract to operate the festival as a joint enterprise, with the two parties sharing the costs. According to these records, the City spent $5,787.47 on the 2010 festival, and wrote down the park rental from $8,800.00 under the standard rates to just $1.00. Between the writeoff and the actual expenditures, the City put $14,587.47 toward the festival, not including the salaries of the numerous public employees I saw working at the event. It can hardly be said that the festival had nothing to do with the City of Roanoke.
The legality of the prohibition is therefore highly questionable. It's clear that if the festival were operated solely by the City of Roanoke, the prohibition would be preempted. It's also pretty clear that if the festival were operated solely by a private entity on property they had lawfully rented, the prohibition would be valid. But for a joint public/private enterprise, which rule applies?
I've been probing at that question for a while, filing complaints and additional FOIA requests with the City, and I was pleased to find that for this year's festival, the prohibition has been lifted. The web page for last year's festival included "firearms" on the list of things not allowed. The word has been removed from the list on the page for this year.
Of course, there's only one way to be sure that the prohibition is no longer in effect. I'll be taking my girls to the "Family Fun Zone" area as soon as it opens, with my pistol in plain view. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there too.
