Archives - Gun Possession, Political Conventions and Polling Places
September 2001
Gun Safety: Gun Possession, Political Conventions and Polling Places
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Gun safety seems to be all the rage in political campaigns these days.

For some folks, this means gun safety locks and prohibiting guns in recreation centers. For others, however it means packing a 9mm concealed weapon close to your chest or, if you don't have the permit, strapping a cowboy-style six shooter to your leg.

At a recent GOP convention in Utah, participants were allowed to bring their guns but were asked to keep their weapons in storage lockers while Vice President Dick Cheney spoke. Two knives and 25 guns and ammunition clips were checked at the door. For a while, the Utah Gun Owners Alliance was urging members to picket the convention with signs reading 'GOP Doesn't Mean Gun Owners Prohibited,' but in the end it appears that disgruntled gun owners were satisfied.

One of the first to part with her gun was Sarah Thompson, executive director of the Utah Gun Owners Alliance. "'Delegates are entitled to the same right to be safe as anybody else, including the vice president, and the vice president and the Secret Service are not above the laws. In Utah, they should adhere to Utah law.'

But, she added, 'this was a reasonable agreement'" (Michael Janofsky, The New York Times, August 26, 2001).

Another participant, David Root, proclaimed, "'I'm an asset to the community. I feel that if I have the permit, I should carry. Criminal behavior is kept in check if they fear an armed, law-abiding populace,' Root said" (AP-Sandy, Utah, The Daily Progress, August 26, 2001).

[In case you are wondering, there was no mention in the press that members of the GOP felt the need to protect themselves from one another.]

So I asked myself. How safe are political partisans here in Virginia? Is our criminal element kept in check by fear of an armed, law-abiding populace?

In contrast to Utah, where Republicans successfully fought back an effort to ban guns in churches and schools, Virginia does have some restrictions with regard to bringing weapons onto school property and into a place of worship. And, Universities and colleges typically have policies about bringing weapons onto campus.

Piedmont Virginia Community College, for example, lists the "use or possession of firearms, fireworks or other weapons, including sheathed or unsheathed knives …" in its catalog and student handbook (page 16) as one of "the violations of law that are applicable on the PVCC campus" which may result in suspension or dismissal."

According to Bill Jackameit, this "is interpreted to mean that, with the exception of police officers, guns and other weapons are not permitted on the PVCC. Campus. This has not up to now posed any particular problem for us" (Bill Jackameit, electronic mail, August 28, 2001).

For most of us, this would seem to preclude packing weapons at the recent local Democratic convention at the V. Earl Dickinson performing arts building. However, I am not aware of what security arrangements exist at PVCC, and I certainly did not notice people frisked down at the door.

Does this make us feel more or less safe when we frequent our local school, college, university or place of worship?

And what about our safety in polling places?

Did you know there are laws against distributing literature too close to the door of your polling place? And that there are laws against bringing alcohol into a polling place? And there are laws against smoking in polling places? And that there are laws against carrying a concealed weapon into a place that serves alcohol for on-premises consumption? But there are no laws with respect to carrying concealed or unconcealed weapons into polling places in the state of Virginia.

In the City of Charlottesville, there are eight polling places, four of which are at public schools (Clark Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Venable Elementary and Walker Middle School). The remainders are at Alumni Hall, Downtown Recreation Center, Tonsler Park and Frys Spring Beach Club.

According to the University of Virginia Undergraduate Record 2001, "The possession, storage or use of any kind of ammunition, firearms, fireworks, explosives, air rifles and air pistols on University-owned or operated property, without the expressed written permission of the University police, is prohibited" (Undergraduate Record, 2001).

Assuming that legal restrictions do not change because a location is being used as a polling place rather than as an educational institution or religious establishment, one is free to pack a gun at the Downtown Recreation Center and at Tonsler Park but restricted from doing so at Alumni Hall and at our local public schools. As a private concern, gun toting at Frys Spring Beach Club would depend upon whatever policy their board of directors has adopted.

Which polling places in the city do you feel are safest? For Republicans? For Democrats? For Independents? How safe do you feel walking out of your local polling place? Which neighborhoods do you think would benefit most from keeping the criminal element in check by a law-abiding populace?

In Albemarle County, there are twenty-six polling places. Of these, sixteen are in public schools, one is at CATEC and one is at University Hall, while five are in churches.

According to Albemarle County General Registrar Jackie C. Harris, "There is no piece of election law regarding the presence of guns at the polls. However, since many of our polling places are public schools, the law(s) regarding guns on school property do apply ( I believe it is a 1000 foot prohibition, but I cannot quote that code section). All other rules applying to school properties apply as well (no smoking, etc.). We have no enforcement authority for those rules; it is the responsibility of the school personnel and/or police to enforce" (electronic mail, August 24, 2001).

The remaining polling places in Albemarle County are at the Senior Center, the Elks Lodge Hall and Kappa Sigma Auditorium, where board policies about gun use would prevail.

According to Executive Director of Kappa Sigma Fraternity Mitchell B. Wilson, their policy with "regard to use of [their] facilities as a voting precinct" is "The Kappa Sigma Fraternity expects our visitors and organizations using our facility to follow the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia" (fax, August 30, 3001).

Absent any other policy, on the face of it this suggests that one could legally carry concealed weapons (if one had a permit) or unconcealed weapons into the Kappa Sigma Fraternity Auditorium on polling day.

Which polling places in the county do you feel are safest? For Republicans? For Democrats? For Independents? How safe do you feel walking out of your local polling place? Which neighborhoods do you think would benefit most from keeping the criminal element in check by a law-abiding populace?

Please send your thoughts to george@loper.org where the most representative comments will be placed on my web site with full attribution.


Comments? Questions? Write me at george@loper.org.