Our Man in Arlington

This is supposed to be a column about Arlington, though at times I have written about other places, such as our vacation destinations and an occasional foray into Richmond topics.

This time, however, it was an event in Falls Church that aroused my interest, and then my ire. As reported in this newspaper last week, about three-dozen pro-gun advocates graced the Falls Church City Council with their presence, most of them packing their pieces on their hips.

That means they were carrying guns to those of you who are ignorant of the language of the gun culture. Yes, indeed they were carrying guns. Doesn't make you feel safe and secure in a turbulent world? Philip Van Cleve, the president of the Virginia Citizen Defense League, led the group and testified against a city manager proposal that any city employee witnessing someone carrying a gun should report it to the local police. Wow! What a radical proposal!

The members of the league claimed they were supporting their constitutional right to bear arms. Hogwash! They are acting like simple thugs using the public display of guns to intimidate those who are simply trying to provide some safety in a violent world, made more violent by the actions of the members of the Virginia Citizen Defense League.

They claim they are "law abiding citizens." Perhaps (though they are certainly supporting those who are not law abiding citizens), but the example they set by walking into the council chamber wearing weapons was remarkably irresponsible and, I hope, remarkably counter productive.

Delegate Jim Scott, who represents Falls Church in the General Assembly, spoke on the floor of the House of Delegates earlier this year about the harrowing experience he had early in his political career when he was on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

In 1972, Scott proposed the first Martin Luther King Day in the country, a proposal that also included honoring Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Scott quickly received a serious death threat by telephone. Fairfax County police swarmed into the County Supervisors meeting, creating something of a stir. Fortunately, they did not find the potential assailant and the incident soon faded into history.

Scott was speaking against a measure in the General Assembly that took away most of the power of local jurisdictions to enact gun control ordinances, including the power to prevent citizens from carrying guns into meetings of county boards of supervisors. Much to the ultimate shame of Virginia, the bill passed.

Don't get me wrong. I am as supportive of the 2nd amendment to the Constitution as anyone. I certainly support Justice Scalia's contention that the Constitution means what it said when it was ratified more than two hundred years ago and that a strict constructionist would not change that. So I emphatically endorse the right of all citizens to own single shot muzzle-loaded rifles so that they can participate in a militia should the need ever arise. To change the meaning of the Constitution to include modern weapons is just something those fuzzyheaded liberals would do, and I am certainly not one of those.

Richard Barton may be emailed at rbarton@towervillas.com