ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 2, 1996 TAG: 9602020008
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-6 EDITION: METRO
MUCH can be said for the consistency of laws among localities throughout Virginia. This surely: In the name of such consistency, the National Rifle Association may prove Roanoke's Big Brother.
For the second year in a row, the pro-gun lobby is working overtime to stop Roanoke City Council from prohibiting guns in city parks. In this crusade, the lobby has made an ally of the Dillon Rule, according to which local governments may do only what is specifically permitted by state lawmakers. Because assembly approval is needed to ban handguns in city parks, the gun lobby is helping its legislative lackeys find their way to saying no.
Consistency, don'tcha know. Why, if Roanoke were allowed to outlaw guns on its playgrounds, other cities might want to do likewise. Northern Virginia counties might try again this session, after the gun lobby has already said no, to keep people from carrying concealed weapons into county buildings. Soon, the wonderful consistency of state law, which welcomes guns nearly everywhere, might be threatened.
And yet, for the sake of consistency, consider: Why should the General Assembly prohibit guns in state parks, but say Roanoke can't outlaw guns in city parks? How can legislators recognize the threat to public safety by prohibiting concealed weapons in schools and courthouses, but disavow similar concerns regarding other public spaces? How do they justify having grandfathered in local gun-control statutes in Virginia Beach, while nixing any new local gun-control ordinances?
Why, for that matter, should Roanoke be permitted to forbid spray paint in city parks, but not guns? Why? Because, in Richmond, the spray-paint lobby doesn't carry the gun lobby's clout.
(Curiously, another lobbying behemoth, the tobacco industry, has been confident enough of its position and power to allow Roanoke to prohibit the feeding of tobacco to squirrels in city parks. Wouldn't want the critters to die from nicotine poisoning before someone with a gun gets a good shot at them.)
If lawmakers were answering to the public instead of the NRA, they might outlaw gun-toting in all public parks, not just Roanoke's. They might do so not just for consistency's sake, but for the safety of those, children among them, who use the parks.
LENGTH: Short : 47 linesby CNB