RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — Months after Virginia lawmakers passed a handful of new gun-control laws, many are finally being enforced and their enactment has generated a mix of reactions from people across the state.
“Guns and large gatherings don’t mix,” Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said in a tweet Tuesday night, shortly after the City Council passed an ordinance banning firearms from city buildings as well as events in public spaces.
“This ordinance will make our city safer,” he added.
Richmond’s law, passed unanimously, is nearly identical to a gun ban at events and city buildings passed in Charlottesville the same evening. The power to enact such limits locally came from changes approved earlier this year by the Virginia House, Senate and governor’s office, which are now all controlled by Democrats for the first time in more than two decades.
Both cities are also united by events that have brought firearms and their owners into their streets with deadly or intimidating results.
While Charlottesville’s 2017 Unite the Right Rally left one woman dead after a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, similar hate-driven events have disrupted the city for years. Meanwhile, Virginia Citizens Defense League, a pro-gun group that has since overtaken the NRA as the state’s largest gun rights group, brings thousands of its members to the capitol in Richmond annually, many armed to the teeth, to support pro-gun policies.
VCDL’s rally in January saw three people arrested for an alleged link to “credible threats of violence” at the event, while at least one elected official went into hiding during the protest after numerous online threats were made against his life.
But VCDL President Phillip Van Cleave pushed back on the idea that these new bans would make either city safer.
“These restrictions are going to harm lawful gun owners,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s not going to lower crime but it’s going to put restrictions on me, someone who's never committed a crime in my life.”
Van Cleave’s concerns have ironically been echoed by activists and observers who often counterprotest his events.
Kristopher “Goad” Gatsby, who has used his online presence to observe both the Unite the Right rally as well as VCDL’s lobby day, said the gun bans could endanger the lives of Black Lives Matter protesters who have taken to the streets in the last five months.
“If a violent fascist group shows up, being able to have firearms at an agreed upon location would deter those groups from showing up,” he said.
He also expressed concern about how police will enforce the law. He and other BLM activists have accused local police of excessive force during recent events and this distrust of cops, along with concerns for those who come to Richmond heavily armed, have put the activist in a tough spot.
“I hate giving Van Cleave his dues but there are lawful protesters who are engaged in protesting… and there are people who want to come at them,” Gatsby said. “They should be able to have firearms to prevent that.”
Virginia Capitol Police spokesman Joseph Macenka said while his agency has helped with crowd control and law enforcement during past events like VCDL’s rally, he’s not sure how they will help enforce the new city law.
“Since it was just passed this week, I am not aware that there have been any meetings yet to discuss its implications and enforcement,” he said in an email.