CHRISTIANSBURG — Steve Huppert says he has nothing against the Second Amendment and people who own and carry firearms.
But there’s an appropriate place for them, the Christiansburg councilman said.
“People shouldn’t have sex out in the middle of Christiansburg,” Huppert said. “That’s how I feel about gun control. There’s a place for everything.”
Huppert is asking that Christiansburg consider adopting stricter gun control measures.
The councilman’s call comes after the Blacksburg Town Council’s recent passing of an ordinance that will ban the carrying of firearms in town-owned buildings, parks and streets when they are used for permitted events.
Blacksburg’s ordinance, which goes into effect March 1, is allowed by a local option measure that was passed by the General Assembly last year and that went into effect in July.
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“If [the Christiansburg] council felt this way, I would be happy to put it on the agenda for the next meeting,” Huppert said during a previous meeting.
Huppert said he’s not asking for a carbon copy Blacksburg’s actions. He said his proposal for now would cover town facilities and parks and not necessarily festivals that require use of the streets.
“You just want to take small bites,” he said.
Huppert has extensive experience with firearms due, in large part, to his time in the Army, where he spent several months as a platoon leader during a tour in Vietnam in the late 1960s. He saw combat.
Huppert said he doesn’t see the need for bringing firearms into town buildings and in recreational facilities during athletic events. He also said those who visibly carry can create discomfort among those around them.
Huppert said he felt that uneasiness some time ago when he entered town hall one day and noticed a man standing just outside the entrance with a gun on his hip.
Huppert said it’s not uncommon for Christiansburg’s council — and numerous other locally elected boards — to tackle divisive issues. He said he’ll never know when someone who feels strongly about a topic decides to take their discord to a violent level.
“Last summer, we had some very divided meetings,” he said. “Things got really testy.”
Huppert said he’s not sure if his call will gain much traction as he’s heard no direct feedback from his colleagues since he brought up the matter during the most recent meeting.
“It’s a very delicate topic, especially around here,” he said, adding that he’s even lost some friends over the years due to his views on gun control. “This part of the state is very big on guns.”
The councilman regularly submits opinion letters to The Roanoke Times and has occasionally addressed the issue of guns in the past.
Huppert said he’s received a significant number of emails and phone calls on the few pieces he penned on gun control.
“Unfortunately, most of them were negative,” he said.
Huppert said he plans to bring the topic up again at the next council meeting on Tuesday, even if it appears that he is alone in the case.
“I feel this is something that is right,” he said. “Somebody needs to say something about it.”
If Christiansburg was to adopt some additional gun control measures, it would be among several other municipalities in the Commonwealth — Blacksburg included — to take advantage of the local option passed by the General Assembly last year.
Other localities that have passed similar ordinances include Fairfax County and the cities of Alexandria and Newport News. Roanoke is currently considering banning guns from city hall.
When Blacksburg passed its ordinance, a few of its council members mentioned the painful memory of the April 16, 2007, mass shooting at Virginia Tech and each said residents had for years asked for the type of measure the town adopted last month.
Almost exactly six years after the tragedy at Tech, Christiansburg became the site of another campus shooting when a gunman opened fire and injured two women at New River Community College’s satellite location inside the New River Valley Mall — now known as Uptown Christiansburg. The gunman was apprehended at the scene and was sentenced to 38 years in prison the following year.
Other Christiansburg Town Council members interviewed by The Roanoke Times are mixed on Huppert’s recent suggestion.
Councilwoman Johana Hicks said she’s familiar with the feeling of uneasiness around strangers and has dealt with harassment, particularly since she’s held public office. But she said she views those worries as more reasons for a person to legally arm themselves for self defense.
“It’s my right to have a weapon if I want to,” Hicks said.
Hicks said she lived a tough childhood in Colombia where she witnessed gruesome violence. That difficult experience, she said, has made her more supportive of Second Amendment rights.
The councilwoman said she believes gun control laws are only effective with law-abiding citizens and doesn’t want to infringe on people’s constitutional rights.
“A bad person is going to find a way to get a gun no matter what,” she said.
Then on the specific issue of banning guns in municipal buildings, Hicks said police officers are normally present during town hall meetings to provide security.
Gun bans have long existed in other kinds of government buildings such as courthouses, but the provisions for those venues make sense because they regularly deal with criminal cases and make for much more naturally hostile environments, Hicks said.
Also, Hicks said she doesn’t want stricter gun control measures to discourage people from attending town council meetings and inadvertently reduce public involvement in local government.
If an ordinance is ever proposed, Mayor Mike Barber said he would only vote on it if the rest of council is equally split on the issue. Still, he said he’s “right in the middle of it” for now.
Barber said he understands the concerns over public safety. But he said the town would need to do legal research on the issue.
“That’s up to council if they want to pursue that,” he said.