Desertdog
Member
A follow up to earlier post; Man brings gun to school board meeting
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=160712
School board asks legislators to amend state gun laws
By the Associated Press
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1015alaskaguns15.html
YORKTOWN, Va. -- The York County School Board is asking several state legislators to consider prohibiting firearms at school board meetings--regardless of whether they're held on school property.
The letter asking for the amendment to state gun laws came last week after a local resident attended the board's monthly meeting on Sept. 26 with a .45-caliber gun strapped to his hip.
Chet Szymecki, a 38-year-old father of three, attended the meeting to voice concerns about a cell phone tower proposed at Dare Elementary School.
Szymecki had called the sheriff's office to make sure the law allowed him to take the gun to the meeting being held at York Hall in Yorktown.
Szymecki--who wears his handgun on a daily basis--spoke at the meeting for three minutes.
But his gun, which was in plain sight for anyone attending or watching the meeting on television, upset the school board members.
"We're not infringing upon people's rights to bear arms," said board Chairman Mark Medford. "It's just a commonsense issue. We don't want to have weapons at our School Board meeting, because if someone decided to snap or got angry about a decision we make, we don't want the worst-case scenario."
In the letter, Medford wrote: "Our concern is for the safety and well-being of the students present at this school-related activity. Thankfully, nothing happened. But it would seem prudent to take action before a tragedy occurs."
After the meeting, Szymecki said he didn't realize carrying the gun to the meeting would cause such a controversy.
"I wasn't saying, 'Hey, I'll show you,"' he said. "The primary reason I was there was the cell tower. I had read the code and checked to make sure I wasn't violating any laws, and I called the sheriff's to discuss their interpretation of it."
The board had learned that Szymecki was planning to attend the meeting with the gun and made arrangements to have two deputies present.
Medford said the board's reaction questions whether a citizen has the right to carry a gun to a school-related function.
"This is something that could affect all school boards in the state," he said.
The Virginia School Boards Association, in Richmond, plans to help York County lobby its legislative proposal to change the law.
But the association's executive director, Frank Barham, said he doubts it will win.
"I don't think this will get anywhere, because people with concealed-weapons permits can go to restaurants or walk down the streets where there are children," Barham said. "But I think this will cause most school boards that do meet off school property to meet on school grounds."
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=160712
School board asks legislators to amend state gun laws
By the Associated Press
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1015alaskaguns15.html
YORKTOWN, Va. -- The York County School Board is asking several state legislators to consider prohibiting firearms at school board meetings--regardless of whether they're held on school property.
The letter asking for the amendment to state gun laws came last week after a local resident attended the board's monthly meeting on Sept. 26 with a .45-caliber gun strapped to his hip.
Chet Szymecki, a 38-year-old father of three, attended the meeting to voice concerns about a cell phone tower proposed at Dare Elementary School.
Szymecki had called the sheriff's office to make sure the law allowed him to take the gun to the meeting being held at York Hall in Yorktown.
Szymecki--who wears his handgun on a daily basis--spoke at the meeting for three minutes.
But his gun, which was in plain sight for anyone attending or watching the meeting on television, upset the school board members.
"We're not infringing upon people's rights to bear arms," said board Chairman Mark Medford. "It's just a commonsense issue. We don't want to have weapons at our School Board meeting, because if someone decided to snap or got angry about a decision we make, we don't want the worst-case scenario."
In the letter, Medford wrote: "Our concern is for the safety and well-being of the students present at this school-related activity. Thankfully, nothing happened. But it would seem prudent to take action before a tragedy occurs."
After the meeting, Szymecki said he didn't realize carrying the gun to the meeting would cause such a controversy.
"I wasn't saying, 'Hey, I'll show you,"' he said. "The primary reason I was there was the cell tower. I had read the code and checked to make sure I wasn't violating any laws, and I called the sheriff's to discuss their interpretation of it."
The board had learned that Szymecki was planning to attend the meeting with the gun and made arrangements to have two deputies present.
Medford said the board's reaction questions whether a citizen has the right to carry a gun to a school-related function.
"This is something that could affect all school boards in the state," he said.
The Virginia School Boards Association, in Richmond, plans to help York County lobby its legislative proposal to change the law.
But the association's executive director, Frank Barham, said he doubts it will win.
"I don't think this will get anywhere, because people with concealed-weapons permits can go to restaurants or walk down the streets where there are children," Barham said. "But I think this will cause most school boards that do meet off school property to meet on school grounds."
