Norfolk Delays Council Vote On Gun Ban In City Buildings

NORFOLK, Va — The Norfolk City Council delayed a vote Tuesday on a proposed ban on guns in public buildings after the city attorney asked that it be pulled from the agenda because it needed more work.

About four hours before the city council meeting was to begin on Tuesday, the city announced the proposed measure was being removed from the agenda to allow what City Attorney Bernard Pishko called “further deliberation and revision,” The Virginian-Pilot reported.

Pishko said in an email to council members that some language in the ordinance was unclear and had led to questions from members of the community, specifically whether it would be illegal to carry a gun on Norfolk’s streets and sidewalks.

Pishko wrote that the reference to public rights-of-way was tied to a later section — one which would prohibit guns at city-permitted events that would take place on city streets or sidewalks.

A law passed earlier this year by the General Assembly allows the city to prohibit guns on public streets during city-permitted events, but does not give cities the latitude to ban guns on all city streets or sidewalks regardless of time or place.