Amherst County considering new shooting restrictions COUNTYW

[OakRidgeStars]

VA-ALERT: ACTION ITEM: Amherst County considering new shooting restrictions COUNTYWIDE!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------


No, this is not an April Fool’s joke. Another infringement is in the works.

Amherst County is considering an ordinance that would create new shooting restrictions throughout the county!

The ordinance would prohibit outdoor shooting on or along any public road and a ***100-yard buffer around any residence or public gathering place that is not the shooter’s own dwelling.*** The proposal also restricts shooting across someone else’s property, unless permission has been given.

The County already allows people to ask for restrictions on a case-by-case basis. This is a huge overreach, especially in such a rural county!

The hearing is THIS TUESDAY, October 20th, at 7 PM.

It is being held at:

School Board Meeting Room
153 Washington St.
Amherst, VA 24521

(NOTE: School Board rooms or buildings are NOT normally considered “schools”, so I expect carry to be legal, but I am verifying.)

ACTION ITEM

If you live in Amherst or are otherwise affected by this proposed ordinance, you need to show up for the meeting.

I am planning on being there and will have some Guns Save Lives stickers for those attending to wear.

I’m hoping a good turnout by our side will nip this in the bud.


Here is an article on this. Board of Supervisors member Claudia Tucker is on the side of gun owners:

http://m.newsadvance.com/news/local/amh ... l?mode=jqm

or

http://tinyurl.com/onofrqu

Amherst County Supervisors consider countywide 'no-shoot' ordinance Nicole Steenburgh Posted 3 days ago

A no-shoot ordinance that aims to enact restrictions throughout all of Amherst County was presented to the Board of Supervisors in draft form last Tuesday.


The newly proposed ordinance comes directly on the heels of the board’s last meeting when members passed an ordinance designating a portion of the Sage Lane community in Madison Heights a no-shoot zone.

The draft presented to the board last week detailed a prohibition on outdoor shooting on or along any public road and a 100-yard buffer around any residence or public gathering place that is not the shooter’s own dwelling. The proposal also restricts shooting across someone else’s property, unless permission has been given.

County Administrator Dean Rodgers said this proposal basically applies hunting rules, which already are established, to shooting in general.

“People are comfortable with hunting rules,” Rodgers said. “We’re simply applying it to shooting in terms of distance from structures and the road.”

County Attorney Ellen Bowyer told the board last week she retained the ability for residents in less heavily populated areas, as defined in the ordinance, to come before the board and request a no-shoot zone.

“I understood that there was an interest in seeing maybe some broader prohibitions so that citizens would not always have to come before the board, but there would be some basic prohibitions established,” Bowyer said.

The board addressed two concerns after looking over the draft. The first requested input from the Amherst County Sheriff’s Office since it would have to enforce the proposed restrictions, as board member Donald Kidd pointed out. The other largely discussed the definition of “heavily populated” areas.

According to the draft, “heavily populated” is defined as “an area having dwellings located within 1,320 feet or fewer of one another.”

Board member Claudia Tucker called the distance “too expansive” and said it doesn’t make sense.

After hearing the board’s concerns, Bowyer said she would share the draft with the Sheriff’s Office and bring back comments.

A revised draft is set to come before the supervisors at its meeting Tuesday.




***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]