|
|
|
||||||||||
|
"In the mid '90s of the last century there was a heightened public awareness of the possibility of massacre by gun. Postal workers were viewed with suspicion, fast food venues were seen as buffets for sociopaths with automatic weapons, and schools became free-fire zones. Or so it seemed. In Virginia, Alexandria added a specific prohibition against deadly weapons in the hands of the public in "City worksites" to an existing policy memorandum, and Fairfax County attempted to achieve the same result through an administrative notice. (Fairfax had actually found guns being toted, although no assaults took place). After conflicting court decisions and much lobbying, the issue was brought to some resolution with the Attorney General's opinion of May 1997, which OKs limited regulation but not the banning of lethal weapons by localities in municipal spaces. After the events of September 11 of this year, Virgil R. Hazelett, P.E., County Manager of Henrico, initiated an administrative regulation "prohibiting the possession of dangerous weapons in County buildings by members of the general public." This was on October 23, to take effect October 30. Less than three weeks later, Mr. Hazelett rescinded his regulation. "The ban … came under intense scrutiny both by local Second Amendment activists and members of the Henrico Board of Supervisors. Both worried that the ban conflicted with the state and federal constitutions. Members of the board also expressed concern over the policy's enforceability at every public building operated by the county." (Chris Dovi, Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 17, 2001) Sally Thomas, a long-time member of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, tells us that she "brought up this issue several years ago, prompted by the Fairfax discussion, not by any local situation. I asked if members of the Board would be interested in pursuing anything to ban carrying weapons into our meetings or into the County Office Building (but I didn't include recreation facilities in my question). The answer from most of the men on the Board at the time was to tell me that they have permits to carry concealed weapons, themselves, and, no, they weren't interested. As far as Ella Carey, the Clerk, can remember, this is the only time the subject has been raised." Screening Security checking for potential threats is done, in part, to attempt to detect actual objects that might constitute a threat; in larger part, it is done to deter attempts to introduce threats. And it is done to provide a level of comfort to the rest of us. Screening takes various forms. You might find checkpoints with walk-through metal detectors, conveyor belt x-ray machines and hand-held metal-detecting wands. Add to that bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs or devices. And visual inspection of the contents of your bag, and your documents. The State Capitol in Richmond now employs several checks, including a mirror device to examine the undersides of questioned vehicles.
Of course, screening and consequences are two different things. For instance, although the Capitol in Richmond has these security checks, they can't deprive you of your (legal) weapon (except in specific chambers) when they detect it. Of the local venues we reviewed for this article, only the Alternative Schools in the City of Charlottesville and in Albemarle County routinely employ any type of detection apparatus. How much safety can be bought, for how great a cost and how much inconvenience through screening? Will screening make people feel safer, or heighten anxieties? How long will the lines grow before inconvenience outweighs appreciation? Where are we now? Alexandria The City of Alexandria's administrative regulation is still in effect both for employees and the public, although, according to a city attorney, "we don't take [the weapon] away, we [would] just ask them to leave. If they wouldn't leave, an officer would be called and they would be charged with trespass." He went on to say that it has not been an issue - "we have not had any occurrences where someone did not leave when asked." But there is no record kept of such instances. The County Manager's stated explanation of the need for some level of published regulation is that employees and supervisors ought to have guidance for handling potentially dangerous situations. There are no screening procedures other than a "face check" at the secondary schools in Alexandria, according to Barbara Hunter, Public Information Director for the Board of Education. Every day, teachers and administrators greet each student face-to-face. "The principals [of the City secondary schools] believe [security] begins and ends with trust." Alexandria has School Resource Officers (uniformed members of the city police assigned on a permanent basis) in the secondary schools, teachers trained in crisis intervention, and student peer review for conflict resolution. Fairfax County Fairfax still would like the ability to regulate public possession of dangerous weapons. "It's not just teen centers," says a county attorney. "We have mental health clinics, social welfare agencies - places where people are under stress. …" The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors continues to initiate legislation that would allow localities to prohibit the possession of deadly weapons in county facilities. The Fairfax County schools do not have any method of screening people
for weapons, but each of the 23 High and 23 Middle schools has a permanently-assigned
School Resource Officer (SRO), who becomes, we are told, a very positive
part of the school family. In what may not be a related story, Mr. Hazelett is no longer County Manager - he took medical leave two days after the rescission. "He is scheduled for surgery Monday to relieve chronic pain and problems with his spine." (Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 21, 2001) Janet Binns, Director of Public Relations for Henrico County schools, tells us that there is no screening for weapons in the schools, although random checks with wand-type detectors are conducted at evening events. But a spectrum of security-related procedures and practices is followed. For example, each year each student and a parent must sign a code of conduct that includes the prohibition of even look-alike weapons such as water pistols - the penalty is an automatic recommendation for expulsion. Charlottesville Mayor Blake Caravati argues that, at least for the Council Chamber, the chief of police or his designee serves as the Sergeant at Arms, and in fact there is almost always an armed, uniformed officer present. He tells us that in conversations with Chief Longo, he finds that the issue of guns at places like municipal rec centers is simply not a problem - "we have had no problems, no complaints." And Jeanne Cox, clerk of the City Council has no recollection of the issue coming up on the Council in her 18+ years of association. Neither Mayor Caravati nor Police Chief Longo nor officers of long tenure can recall an instance of a weapons threat in any municipal venue. Nonetheless, the City of Charlottesville has included in its 2002 legislative initiative a section encouraging the General Assembly to pass no laws that would restrict the City's ability to regulate weapons in municipal facilities.
On one legendary occasion 12 years ago, Earl Pullen, then head of Charlottesville's Housing and Redevelopment Authority, brandished and fired a handgun in the air to disrupt what he thought to be a gathering of drug-dealers. The weapon was legal but he was severely chastised as well as being convicted of a misdemeanor (discharging a weapon) - he lost his carry permit for two years. On Friday, January 4, 2002 we were provided with the text of the City Policy on Workplace Violence. The phrase employed in this policy to cover any exception to the ban is "unless such weapon is required to be carried as part of the employee's employment duties." Galloway Beck, Human Resources Director for the City of Charlottesville, says that in fact the only employees of the city of Charlottesville who are authorized to carry weapons as part of their duties are the police. Even Community Safety Officers are not armed.
Council member Meredith Richards notes that "Since September 11, some city employees would prefer to have the security of carrying a concealed weapon into the workplace. The desire to keep a gun in one's desk, purse, briefcase, etc. for protection in the event of a terrorist attack on City Hall is an understandable reaction to our changing times" but believes that "guns in the workplace pose greater risks to our employees than do potential terrorists." Council candidate Searls reinforces this idea: "If someone in City Hall worked late and felt as if he or she might be safer leaving the building with a concealed weapon, I would be open to the discussion [of allowing employees to have carry permits." On the other hand, City Councilor Blake Caravati says, "I do not understand why anyone would see the need to carry a weapon into a school or municipal building. This totally befuddles me." The Charlottesville City Schools do not screen for weapons, except at the Charlottesville Alternative School which has a population that has demonstrated disruptive behavior. There are SROs in the middle and high schools; there have been no incidents in the recent past (other than the discovery of "look-alike" water pistols and a few pocket knives), and the feeling expressed by W.T. Lewis, Director of Human Resources for the system, is that things are working pretty well. Albemarle County As far as Supervisor Sally Thomas is aware, the County does not have a written policy about weapons in the workplace -- Ms. Thomas is reminded of a boy she knew some years ago. He had a rocky educational path, being forced to leave one private school and enroll at another, only to have to leave that one as well. 'I knew I had reached rock-bottom,' she tells us that he said, 'when I went to a school that had a sign, 'don't spit on the steps.' Up until then, I had been at places where it was kind of assumed that you knew you weren't supposed to spit on the steps.' She says that she "suspects that we go a long way [in our region] on the assumption that this is the kind of place where we really don't need to specify every detail about what's appropriate behavior." However, the county does have "Standards of Conduct" in its Personnel Policy. Paragraph 20 of the standards says that "Possession or use of alcohol or controlled substance(s), unauthorized firearms, dangerous weapons, or explosives on the job [is unacceptable] ... and may result in immediate dismissal." According to Marsha A. Davis, Legal Services Assistant in the County Attorney's office, "The only County employees currently authorized to carry firearms are sworn law enforcement officers. Board of Supervisor members are not considered County employees." And, up to now, "no County employees have been found in violation of this policy."
Albemarle County schools do not have weapons-detection systems (with the exception of the Alternative School, that does have a walk-through metal detector in use). The Ivy Creek School (for seriously emotionally disturbed students) is located just behind Albemarle High School. In the spring of 2001, as reported in the Daily Progress, a student had a pistol in his backpack, but arriving at school realized that he did not want it in his possession inside the building, and concealed it in some shrubbery before going in. Other kids who had learned about the gun on the school bus informed an administrator; the student readily told his story when confronted. No manner of screening at the school would have detected this gun - it was the trust that the students felt, and their sense of obligation to the school community. Where are we headed? According to a County Attorney in Fairfax, "The more government wants to regulate, the more the gun people try to resist." A member of the Virginia Senate close to the issue says, "Schools, churches, courthouses … OK. [But] the NRA sees [any] legislation that extends the prohibition to [places like] rec centers as further erosion." Local regulation of firearms is clearly an issue for the "pro-gun" folk - here's an example. But it has often been said that keeping the issue hot keeps campaign contributions flowing -- on both sides. And public interest engaged - on both sides.
The level of public concern for safety has certainly increased since September 11. Will this result in new legislation? Some say the terrorist threat proves the need for an armed citizenry; others that it proves the need for increased regulation. Is weapons regulation an important issue for our area? Why has there been such a wide range of responses in the same state to the same issue? There has not been a local 'triggering' event in any of these places - the creators of the regulations and legislation speak of a heightened awareness of the potential threat, and refer to reports of gun violence in other places. Existing regulations anticipate the disgruntled municipal worker, armed and irrational. Proposed regulations envision the threat from armed, irrational clients or constituents. Why does Alexandria provide a (mild) level of regulation while Fairfax agitates for the right to legislate more forcefully? Henrico tried to clamp down, only to pull back under twin pressures - concerns for gun rights, and concerns about enforceability. But they still ban county workers from possessing deadly weapons at county worksites. Several of the school administrators interviewed feel strongly that safety comes from the trusting relationship among students, faculty and staff creating a positive community within the school - a relationship that would be seriously undermined by metal detectors. It seems that weapons regulation really is more about illusion than reality - about what makes us feel anxious, and what we can do about it to make ourselves feel less anxious. Is the historically weak interest in the issue by Charlottesville and Albemarle simply a result of people here constituting a positive community, one that does not feel very threatened? Are there other issues, related to weapons safety or workplace violence,
that are more important for this community? (Dave Sagarin, January 10,
2002)
|
