On Tuesday, October 14th at 7pm the Fairfax City Council is going to get public comment on their proposed ordinance that would prohibit firearms at permitted, or should have been permitted, events and adjacent streets; prohibit firearms at some additional parks; and to raise the penalty for a violation from a Class 4 misdemeanor to a Class 1 misdemeanor.  They are also open to considering exempting CHP holders.  The vote, which will not take any public input, is expected to be on Tuesday, October 28th at 7pm.

 I believe that your messages and attendance at the hearing could help to sway City Council.  Numbers matter, so let’s make sure they hear from us in a polite, but firm manner.

 Here’s the agenda for this Tuesday:

 https://fairfax.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=13&event_id=2863

 ACTION  ITEM 1:

Click here to leave a comment for City Council:

https://fairfax.granicusideas.com/meetings/2863-city-council-meeting/agenda_items/68e6f1ea7d7965db3a000bfa-d-public-hearing-on-an-ordinance-amending-chapter

Click the “Oppose” button. Here is a sample message:

I urge City Council to exempt concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders from Section 54-4. CHP holders are an asset, not a liability. They are among the most law-abiding, peaceful citizens, and carry only to protect themselves and their families. Some have active threats to their lives. Disarming good people does not make them, or anyone else, safer.

The Police Chief recently told City Council that there have been no incidents with a firearm at any City permitted events for the last 10 years. He said that other localities around the City also reported no such incidents. He also said that there were only three incidents in parks for the last 10 years. Two were related to possible criminal activity before the City made park carry illegal and one minor event afterward. There is really no need to prohibit firearms at permitted events or at any additional parks.

ACTION ITEM 2:

Attend the hearing on October 14th at 7pm and speak if possible. Location:

Council Chambers, City Hall

Room 100

10455 Armstrong Street

Fairfax, VA 22030

You can sign up to speak either at the hearing or you can call the City Clerk's office at (703) 385-7935 to do so (say you want to speak on agenda item 7-D).

I plan on attending, so hopefully I will see you there!

On Tuesday, October 7, the Manassas Park City Council held their public comment meeting on a proposed ordinance to ban firearms in their government buildings.

 The driving force behind the proposed ordinance is the Vice-Mayor.  Not everyone on City Council was onboard with the idea.  There was also quite a bit of discussion about exempting CHP holders.

 The Vice-Mayor said he was concerned about the political violence and wasn’t sure that if there was an attack at a Council meeting that CHP holders didn’t have enough required training and might just start shooting into the room.

 When I spoke, I said that 90% of localities did NOT have any local gun control.  I also said that CHP holders are not police.  We don’t need to train and qualify as if we were police.  We carry guns to protect ourselves and our families.  If police were in the meeting room when an attack started, I’m going to let the police do their job and not get involved.  I said that police have special legal protections that CHP holders do not have.

No one that spoke during the comment period supported the ordinance and City Council had received over 200 emails about the ordinance in one day, which clearly got their attention.  (This is why it is so important that you send emails when asked to do so by VCDL.)  One speaker was a pastor who said his church encourages parishioners to conceal carry as a deterrent.

 City Council will make any final changes to the proposed ordinance and vote on it at some point in the future.

 I’ll let you know what happens here on VA-ALERT.

n April of 2024, Virginia gun owner and young father, Tyler Wenrich, went on a cruise with some friends as part of a bachelor party.  Tyler, airport security in Richmond, and security for Royal Caribbean Cruises all missed two rounds of 9mm ammunition that had managed to slip into a deep crevice in Tyler’s backpack.  Those rounds were finally noticed by Royal Caribbean Cruises when Tyler was reboarding after visiting the Grand Turk island.

 What Royal Caribbean did to Tyler at that point was horrendous and created a living nightmare for him, his father, Michael, and the rest of his family. (Royal Caribbean is officially on my s**t list.)

 “2 Bullets, 12 Years,” which is cowritten by Tyler and Michael, documents Tyler’s legal nightmare in Grand Turk.  Tyler was truly blessed to have an incredible father like Michael, who moved Heaven and Earth, and spent a small fortune, to save his son from spending a mandatory 12 years in a third-world prison.

 Tyler’s plight was covered on some VA-ALERTs at the time and many of us donated to the fund that was set up to help offset the huge legal fees and other expenses to save Tyler.  (VCDL is acknowledged for its efforts in the book.  I had the chance to meet Tyler and Michael when Tyler spoke at a VCDL meeting Richmond about his time in Grand Turk.)

 The book covers what happened from both Tyler’s and Michael’s perspectives.

 You can purchase the book on Amazon, here: https://www.amazon.com/Bullets-12-Years-Caribbean-Cruise/dp/B0FR3RJ6ZJ/