Henrico supervisors to consider ordinance banning firearms in county facilities

At its Feb. 27 meeting, the Henrico Board of Supervisors will consider adoption of a revised version of an ordinance that would ban firearms from county-owned and county-operated facilities. The board previously opted to delay consideration of the proposed ordinance at its Dec. 12 meeting in order to allow staff members the chance to review comments received from the public.

The revised proposal still would prohibit firearms, ammunition and components in all county buildings and those like the Henrico Sports and Events Center that are owned by the county but operated by another entity, but violation of the law now would result in a Class 2 misdemeanor in most cases, rather than a Class 1 misdemeanor as the initial proposal would have. (A Class 2 misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum of a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, whereas a Class 1 misdemeanor carries maximums of $2,500 in fines and one year in jail.)

Violation would be considered a Class 1 misdemeanor, however, if they included the intent to intimidate or harass another person.

County officials proposed the change after hearing from Henrico employees last year, Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas told the Citizen in December.

“The impetus was staff concerns we have heard over the past year,” Vithoulkas said. “The concerns are particularly acute in our larger governmental buildings like the Parham Road complex, the eastern government center, our two large mental health buildings and our libraries.”

But members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League showed up in December to oppose the proposal, arguing that banning guns from specific areas would only empower criminals to take them there with evil intents.

“Studies have shown that the vast majority of mass murders are in gun-free zones,” the organization posted on its site, as part of a sample letter for members to send to supervisors.  “The massacre in a Virginia Beach government building a few years ago [in 2019, when a city employee fatally shot 12 people and injured four others] is a classic example.”

The composition of the board of supervisors has changed since the ordinance's initial consideration last year; it previously included three Republicans and two Democrats, but three new Democratic members were elected in November, shifting the balance of power to Democrats, 4 to 1.

The board's public meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors Room at the Western Government Center, 4305 East Parham Road. Among other topics scheduled to be addressed by the board: amendments to the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 budge and the authorization of $45 million in bonds for public improvement projects.

Prior to its public meeting, the board will host a work session in the County Manager's Conference Room at 4:15 p.m. to discuss an update about J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and proposed changes to the county's regulations on vaping/smoke shops and enterprise zones (are areas in the county that can be approved for targeted business and job development incentives).

Both meetings are open to the public. Those who wish to attend the public meeting in person or via livestream can find more information on the county's website.

– Joseph Maltby contributed to this article.