Virginia protesters decry move to ban guns on city property

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — With handguns holstered at many hips and a few rifles in hand, about 200 people assembled Saturday in the square in front of the Alexandria City Hall to oppose a proposed ban on firearms in municipal buildings and parks.

Protesters said they want the freedom to carry a gun to defend themselves and that the city imposing its own restrictions could lead to otherwise law-abiding people getting into trouble.

The rally was organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which also staged demonstrations in Richmond this year against Democrats’ largely successful efforts to tighten the state’s gun laws.

“They way overstepped in what they’re doing,” said Philip Van Cleave, the group’s president.

The ordinance being considered by the Alexandria City Council would prohibit people from carrying guns on city property and on streets where special events are being held. Police and private security guards working for the city would be exempt. A violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

The measure was introduced at a council meeting this month and could pass after a virtual public meeting Saturday, taking effect July 1.

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, a Democrat, said he has long supported imposing the ban, saying firearms don’t have a place in the city’s public buildings.

“We have security in city hall. We have a well-trained, capable police force. We have an extraordinarily safe community,” Wilson said. “I don’t think there is any data that would suggest having more guns on the street makes our community safer. I think it’s quite the contrary.”

But protest organizers circulated among the almost entirely white crowd, handing out bright orange stickers printed with the words “Guns save lives.” Others wore T-shirts with the same message, and some of those who attended Saturday said they didn’t always want to rely on the police for protection.

The city previously had the authority to regulate guns in public buildings, but the General Assembly stripped its power two decades ago. Wilson said officials in Alexandria have long been working to regain it. After the mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building last year, city officials passed a version of the ban now under consideration but did not get approval from the state Legislature for it to go into force. The state law was changed during this year’s legislative session.

“We felt it was a core local-control issue for Alexandria,” Wilson said. “We’re happy the General Assembly saw fit to restore that authority.”

The Alexandria proposal is part of change sweeping Virginia after Democrats took control of the Legislature last year. Gun control was one of the party’s major focuses, with lawmakers banning firearms from the state Capitol in the session’s first days.

In the face of a rally by gun rights advocates, Democratic lawmakers ultimately passed laws to expand background checks and limit handgun purchases to one a month, among other new restrictions. But they did not achieve everything on their agenda, which was supported by Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, failing to secure a ban on assault-style rifles.

The policy arm of the National Rifle Association urged its members to organize against the Alexandria proposal, saying it would create “gun free zones” where people could be preyed on by armed criminals.