Newport News seeks Second Amendment sanctuary status
Newport News City Council chambers were overflowing Tuesday night with people sporting “guns save lives” stickers and pushing for the council to declare the city a Second Amendment sanctuary, part of the movement that’s swept across Virginia in recent weeks.
There wasn’t a vote at the meeting, but council members shared their stances on the issue.
Mayor McKinley Price and Councilmen Dave Jenkins and Marcellus Harris are against declaring the city a sanctuary, while Councilwoman Pat Woodbury is in favor of the measure.
Vice Mayor Tina Vick and Councilwoman Saundra Cherry said they were not well-informed on the issue and wanted time to review it. Councilwoman Sharon Scott wasn’t at the meeting.
More people came to the meeting than the chambers could accommodate, and about 20 people spoke about sanctuary cities, guns and the Second Amendment. All but two pushed for resistance to potential state gun control measures, frequently encouraged with bursts of applause from the crowd.
Each speaker only had a minute at the podium rather than the usual three minutes allotted. At the start of the meeting, the council voted unanimously to reduce the amount of time each speaker would have.
Several speakers used part of their minute to criticize the reduced time limit. They also spoke about the Second Amendment and the importance of being armed for the sake of defense and peace of mind. Many drew attention to Senate Bill 16, which would prohibit the sale and possession of what lawmakers call “assault firearms” and certain types of magazines, saying the bill would turn them into criminals because of the guns and magazines they currently own.
Democrats won a majority in the General Assembly in the November elections, and Gov. Ralph Northam then promised to pass “common sense gun safety legislation.” Proposals have included requiring background checks on all gun transactions, limiting handgun sales to one a month and a “red flag” law that allows courts to temporarily take away someone’s firearms if they’re deemed a threat to themselves or others.
Gun rights groups turned to local governments to resist possible changes, and many across Virginia have passed resolutions declaring themselves sanctuaries. Some localities have shied away from the word “sanctuary” and adopted resolutions affirming commitment to the Constitution. In Hampton Roads, people have turned out by the hundreds to push for these resolutions.
It is not yet clear what, if any effect, the resolutions would have.
Jenkins encouraged the crowd to take up the issue with state level legislatures since no laws have actually been passed. Price also noted that the state’s Attorney General has not provided an official opinion on the sanctuaries.
Harris said he supports responsible gun ownership and also “responsible gun laws.” He said as a school counselor, he knows the violence that some kids in the city face. He asked the crowd why there wasn’t similar passion in the aftermath of violence in the community. Several people walked out of the room during his comments.
Woodbury said she’s not supportive of any measure that would limit gun rights and would champion support for the Second Amendment. “Bad guys will always get guns,” she said, arguing gun control wasn’t a solution to crime.
The council’s next meeting is Jan. 14. It did not make a formal plan to talk about a gun-related
resolution at that meeting.
Business as usual
Along with gun advocates Tuesday, regular meeting speakers were there to talk about Riverview Farm Park and Huntington Middle School as they usually do, though this time with a much larger audience in the room.
Discussions on gun regulations are often quick to heat up, but a moment of levity came when one advocate for Newport News being a sanctuary city had a few leftover seconds left at the end of his comments.
“I hope you take (a sanctuary resolution) up,” he said before a brief pause. “And fund Huntington Middle School.”
Daily Press, Virginia Gazette and Virginian-Pilot archives contributed to this story.