When the Virginia legislature voted to repeal preemption, you had to know that we’d see a lot of cities at least consider passing some form of gun control, even if for no other reason than because they can.

Several have passed it. Others have declined for whatever reason.

Now, Norfolk is considering passing some regulation as well.

The City of Norfolk is set to consider an ordinance in its August 25 council meeting that would ban most people from carrying or transporting guns in government buildings, parks, roads and properties.

The proposed amendment would change Article 47 from the city’s code, which has been in place since 1979.

Here’s how the proposed, amended ordinance is worded:

No person shall possess, carry, or transport any firearm, ammunition, or components or combinations thereof (a) in any public building, (b) in any public park, (c) in any recreation or community center facility or (d) in any event area; provided that such area has been marked with signage describing the provisions of this article posted at all entrances to each such public building, public park, recreation or community center facility, or event area. 

Of course, military or police carrying out official duties would be exempt, but the rest of the people? Not so much, and that’s a problem.

I don’t get where they get that the law applies to roads, unless they mean park roads or something, but that’s kind of irrelevant. What we can see clearly is enough of a problem.

You see, public parks are prime places for some criminals, especially when it’s fairly deserted. How many times have we seen news reports about people being shot by criminals while they took an early morning or late evening walk or while jogging? It’s happened numerous times, of course, and we all know it.

Further, some parks aren’t in great parts of town, yet someone may have to go there for whatever reason. While the law doesn’t preclude them from securing a firearm in their vehicle, that doesn’t protect people to and from their vehicle, now does it?

Of course, I’d argue it’s on the city when some guns are stolen out of locked vehicles sitting in park and event center parking lots. After all, those guns wouldn’t have been stolen if they’d been on their owners’ persons instead of locked in a car.

And at the end of the day, what will a law like this accomplish? Nothing. Nothing at all. The criminals will still carry guns wherever they want to. By definition, they don’t obey laws if they don’t want to. Believe me, they won’t want to.

As a result, the only people complying are the people you don’t have to worry about in the first place. You can give a law-abiding citizen and rocket launcher and he won’t hurt a soul with it while the violent felon will use his fists if he can’t get anything else. Cities can’t legislate away violent tendencies, but they can apparently take away a decent person’s ability to defend themselves from it.