County Supervisors forward firearms questoin to Public Safety Committee
In catching up on local news I found this story over at the Loudoun Times-Mirror titled, “Guns could be allowed in county parks.” (Cue the scary music!)
Moving in line with state regulations on firearms, the county Board of Supervisors took up the question of guns in county parks at its meeting April 13.
The board voted unanimously to forward the question to the Public Safety Committee, which meets April 22 at 4 p.m.
“I’d like to understand just what kind of protection we’re offering our citizens,” said Chairman Scott York (I-At large), who said he was unclear what the amendments to the county rules would be. “I pick this up and I think, ‘Well that’s great, fine and dandy, but what happens when somebody pulls out a gun at Franklin Park because we have just done this? What protection have we left residents?’
Actually, Chairman York, you’d hit the nail squarely and asked precisely the right question. I, too, would like to understand just what kind of protection you’re offering Loudoun’s citizens. You see, literally every time I’ve entered one of the county’s parks, I have never seen either an armed security guard or a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Deputy there with me at the same time. Considering that an armed criminal won’t care whether the act of carrying a weapon in the park is a crime – carried openly or concealed, I might add – then the absence of either that guard or deputy means you’re offering no protection to Loudoun’s citizens.
Someone who’s in the park pulling a gun on someone who’s minding their own business is, by definition, the aforementioned criminal and they can and will do that with or without the Board’s say-so. When that happens – should the Board neglect to step and and allow Loudouners to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights – then the Board has left Loudoun’s residents with no protection at all.
By all means, Chairman, go through the process and send this matter to the Public Safety Committee. But insist that the Board either get to offering that protection in the form of armed law enforcement or security personnel or clear residents to arm themselves as they see fit while in the parks.
