Mr. Riddick, please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance. Mr. Riddick.
Heavenly Father, we come to you this evening asking you to continue to bless our citizens and our residents.
We also ask, Lord, that you go to places in our country that have challenges as far as natural catastrophes are concerned, wildfires, floods, hurricanes.
people in Puerto Rico, the people in Australia.
We ask that you give us the ability to do this job in a fair and just manner.
We thank all the households who are represented here tonight.
We hope we can disagree without being disagreeable.
We ask that you give every person here traveling mercy
that they can get back to their homes safely.
These and all of us asking our name, amen.
Amen.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for
which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
To
clerk, please call the roll.
Ms. Doyle.
Here.
Ms. Graves.
Here.
Ms. Johnson.
Here.
Ms. McClellan.
Here.
Mr. Riddick.
Here.
Mr. Smeagol here. Mr. Thomas here. Dr. Alexander here the motion is to dispense with the reading of the minutes of our previous meeting
Mrs. Doyle. Hi, Mrs. Graves. Hi, Mrs. Johnson. Hi, Mrs. McClellan. Hi, Mr. Riddick. Hi, Mr. Smeagol. Hi, Mr. Thomas. Hi, Dr.
Alexander. Hi, Mr. Clark, please read the resolution certifying the closed meeting
for resolution certifying a closed meeting of the Council of the City of Norfolk in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act about the resolution
Ms. Doyle.
Aye.
Ms. Graves.
Aye.
Ms. Johnson.
Aye.
Ms. McClellan.
Aye.
Mr. Smeagol.
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Aye.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
Good evening.
For the benefit of those who do not regularly attend our council meetings, our procedure
is to take up ceremonial items first.
Next, we take up public hearings, then the Cassin agenda, which will be voted on in
a block.
If any member of the council or the public wishes to discuss an item, it will be removed
from the Cassin agenda and considered separately.
Following the Cassin agenda, we'll take up the Regulagina items in the order as they
appear on the docket.
Upon the completion of the agenda, we'll then take up any new business that comes
up for the council.
To address the agenda, you should have registered to speak in the lobby of the
council chamber before 7 p.m.
When your name is called, please come to the podium, state your name and your address,
and please limit your comments to three minutes.
Mr. Clerk, IB-1.
IB-1 is the next item of the receipt of bids pursuant to imitation of bids and notice
the public hearing scheduled to state pursuant to state law public notice.
I've been inserted into local press by the city clerk to accept bids for long-term wireless facilities franchise agreement.
with a term of 10 years, with up to three renewal terms of five years each in the city's
rights of way, subject to certain terms and conditions.
So how many bids have you received?
We've received one bid, sir.
Please read the bid and mark it for identification.
Mobile ID LLC has submitted the following bid.
Please consider this correspondence a former response to the City of Norfolk's
request for bids for a franchise for the use of city rights of way.
In close review and reference, you will find the non-exclusive wireless facilities franchise
agreement has finalized between Mobile ID LLC and the city pursuant to discussions with
the city staff Mobile ID LLC seeks access to rights of way to install, maintain and
operate wireless facilities in the city.
Are there any additional bids offered?
If there are no additional bids offered, I declare the bidding closed.
Is there any member of the public who wishes to be heard on this matter?
If there's no member of the public who wishes to be heard, I declare the public to be enclosed.
Is there a recommendation from the city staff regarding a bid received from Mobile Light LLC?
Mayor, the city staff recommends that the bid by Mobile Light LLC be reviewed by city staff
and a recommendation be made to the council at the January 28, 2020 meeting.
Is there a motion to continue this man until January 28, 2020, meeting of the city council to receive the recommendation of city staff and to consider the bid from Mobileite LLC?
Mr. Mayor, I so move.
I second the motion.
Is there any further discussion? If not, Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
Certainly, the motion is to continue to January 28. Mrs. Doyle.
Aye.
Mrs. Graves.
Aye.
Mrs. Johnson.
Aye.
Mrs. McClellan.
Aye.
Mr. Riddick.
Mr. Smeagol.
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Aye.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
Mr. Clerk.
Motion to continue PH1 until January 28th.
Motions continue PH1 until January 28th.
Mrs. Doyle.
Aye.
Mrs. Graves.
Aye.
Mrs. Johnson.
Aye.
Mrs. McClellan.
Aye.
Mr. Riddick.
Aye.
Mr. Smeagol.
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Aye.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
Mr. Clerk, PH2.
Public hearing two scheduled to stand at the state law.
Public notice haven't been inserted in the local press
by the city clerk on the application
of the city planning commission for a text amendment
to the Norfolk zoning ordinance to revise
and remove inconsistent definitions
and fixed clerical areas.
Errors in section 3.9.6.B.
Definitions section 3.9.7.G.
Definitions section 5.7.3.
Definition of terms in section 8.3.2
terms defined.
Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
I have an ordinance to amend sections 3.9, 5.7, and 8.3 of the no-folk zoning ordinance
so as to review and remove inconsistent definitions and fix clinical areas dispensed with the Charter
requirement for reading the ordinance twice and adopt with the effective date, Mrs. Doyle.
Hi.
Mrs. Graves.
Hi.
Mrs. Johnson.
Hi.
Mrs. McClellan.
Hi.
Mr. Riddick.
Hi.
Mr. Smeagol.
Hi.
Hi, Mr. Thomas.
Hi.
Dr. Alexander.
Hi.
PH3.
Public hearing three, scheduled to stay under state law.
Public notice having been inserted in the local press by the city clerk to hear commerce
comments approving a non-exclusive telecommunications franchise agreement with Peg Bandwith, Virginia,
LLC.
Please call the roll.
I have an ordinance approving a non-exclusive telecommunication franchise agreement with
Peg Bandwith, Virginia, LLC, dispensed with the Charter requirement for the ordinance
that's twice in a dot with the effective date.
Mrs. Doyle.
Mrs. Graves.
Hi.
Mrs. Johnson.
Hi.
Mrs. McClellan.
Hi.
Mr. Riddick.
Hi.
Mr. Sneagall.
Hi.
Mr. Thomas.
Hi.
Dr. Alexander.
Hi.
PH4.
Public and enforcement until this day
under state law public notice
haven't been inserted in the local press
by the city clerk.
To hear comments authorizing the vacation
of two utility easements
in the closed portion of Wittes Avenue.
I've been ordnance authorizing the vacation
of two utility easements
in the closed portion of Woodus Avenue, dispensed with the Charter of Requirement for Reading
Ordinance twice, not with the effective date, Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. Graves, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs.
McClellan, Mr. Riddick, Mr. Smiggo, Mr. Thomas, Dr. Alexander, P.H.5, public hearing five
scheduled this day under the state law public notice haven't been inserted in the local
press by the city clerk to hear commerce approving a lease agreement with S.B.A.
2012 TC assets LLC for a parcel of land at 1311 Bayville Street. I have an ordinance approving
a lease agreement with SBA 2012 TC assets LLC for a parcel of land at 1311 Bayville Street
dispensed with the charter requirement for reading ordinance twice and adopt with the
effective date Mrs. Doyle, Mrs. Graves, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. McClellan, Mr. Riddick, Mr.
Mr. Smeagol.
Mr. Thomas.
Aye.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
PH6.
Public hearing six, scheduled under the state law.
Public notice having been inserted in the local press by the city clerk to hear comments
approving a lease agreement with Verizon Virginia LLC for a parcel of land at Fairlawn Elementary
School Recreation Center of an ordinance approving a lease agreement with Verizon Virginia
LLC for a parcel of land at Fairlawn Elementary School Recreation Center in
the city of Norfolk.
Dispense with the Charter requirement for the ordinance twice and adopt with the effective date. Mrs. Doyle. Hi, Mrs. Graves
Mrs. Johnson. Hi, Mrs. McClellan. Hi, Mr. Riddick. Hi, Mr. Smigel. Hi, Mr. Thomas. Hi, Dr. Alexander. Mr. Clerk
Motion is to continue C1 to February 25th
Motion continue C1 until February 25th
Mrs. Doyle. Hi
Okay.
Mrs. Graves?
Aye.
Mrs. Johnson?
Aye.
Mrs. McClellan?
Aye.
Mr. Riddick?
Aye.
Mr. Smeagol?
Aye.
Mr. Thomas?
Aye.
Dr. Alexander?
Aye.
Mr. Clerk, the motion is to include C2, C3, C4, C5, C7, C8, C9, C10, and C11 in the
block.
All except C6.
Approve those items with the consent and agenda dispensed with a charter requirement
for reading the ordinances twice and adopt with the effective dates except C6.
Mrs. Doyle.
Aye.
Mrs. Graves.
Aye.
Mrs. Johnson.
Aye.
Mrs. McClellan.
Aye.
Mr. Riddick.
Aye.
Mr. Spiegel.
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Aye.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
Mr. Clark C6.
C6 is an ordinance amending the FY2020 annual appropriations ordinance number 47636 so as to accept, appropriate and authorize the expenditure of grant funds.
up to the sum of 77,467 dollars from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for
the Camp Hope Youth Engagement Program for Victims of Domestic Violence for the Norfolk
Sheriff's Office.
L.S.W. James.
Mr. Mayor,
Mr. Vice Mayor, and members of the Council, my name is L.S.W. James.
I reside at 2021 Ken Lake Place in the City of Norfolk.
I wanted to call attention to this C6 item and put an exclamation mark beside it.
This is a very important area and I'm delighted to see that the Sheriff's Office
this is handling the program, they have an excellent record in this city of doing the
kind of work that this item C6 represents.
The Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for Camp Hope Youth Engagement Program
for victims of domestic violence and it's being handled of course by the Norfolk
Sheriff's Office. This is an extremely important area in my opinion and I would
hope that the council will vote solidly and unanimously in favor of
authorizing the expenditure of the funds that are involved here.
This is a big ticket item, Mr. City Manager, in so many ways.
And I appreciate your patience.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Thank you, Mr. James.
Mr. Clerk, call the roll.
Dispense with the charter requirement for reading the ordinance twice and adopt with the effective date. This is Doyle. Hi, Mrs.
Graves. Hi, this is Johnson. Hi, this is McClellan. Hi, mr. Really? Hi, mr.
Smeagol. Hi, mr. Thomas. Hi, dr.
Alexander. Hi, Mr. Clerk R1. R1 is an ordinance approving the lease of certain property owned by the city of Norfolk located at
204 East Main Street to Philly D, Inc. for a period of up to five years upon certain conditions and authorizing the city manager to
negotiate and execute the lease agreement on behalf of the city.
Spence with the charter requirement for reading the ordinance twice and adopt with the effective
date.
Mrs. Doyle.
Mrs. Graves.
Aye.
Mrs. Johnson.
Aye.
Mrs. McClellan.
Aye.
Mr. Riddick.
Aye.
Mr. Smeagol.
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Abstain.
Thank you.
Dr. Alexander.
Aye.
Mr. Clerk, R2.
R2 is an ordinance to amend and reordering the city's operating budget for a fifth
school year 2020 to add $358,184 to the budget into amend and reordain section 1 of ordinance
number 47636 and section 1 of ordinance number 47742.
So it's to appropriate and authorize the expenditure of St. Paul's area of transformation
designated funds from the general fund balance for administration of St. Paul's area of
transformation.
information.
Ellis W. James.
Mr. Mayor.
Mr. Vice Mayor.
Members of the council.
My name is Ellis W.
James.
I know you don't hear from me very
often, but I'm here to
whisper sweet nothing
in your ears.
This,
the reason I'm concerned
about R2 is
it involves something that the residents of the area that's going to be
impacted have legitimate concerns about. Now I am not a big fan of HUD and I
wanted to say that to you up front.
The problem is that the man who now
runs HUD for the current administration is no friend of those of us who have
fought for years to eliminate discrimination in housing especially
where HUD is involved.
The issue itself is extremely important and I hope
that you will not be swayed by my concerns but if there are residents who come forward
to speak on this issue or express their concerns during the public hearing session afterwards
after the regular agenda that you will pay close attention to what their concerns are.
I know that some of you good people on council have had concerns and have
expressed in the informal session your reservations and you put forward your
questions.
St. Paul's represents an area that is about to be subjected to some
rough and tumble when it comes to the issue of housing legitimately the
residents who are going to be displaced and impacted. I know that is may sound
strange to you but it is said to you from a person who happens to be the
head of Tidewater Fair Housing. I know a little bit about this battle and how
long it's been going on and I do know what some of the pitfalls are. Thank you,
Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Mr. James. Mr. Clerk, call the roll.
Dispense with the charter requirement for reading the ordinance twice and
adopt with the effective date. Mrs. Doyle. Hi. Mrs. Graves. I would just like to
say I want to take the opportunity to thank Susan and her staff for all
hard work. Instead of allowing this money to go by the wayside as unused, is it on?
Yeah, okay. Instead of allowing this money to go by the wayside as unused funds, they
are diligent in making sure that every nickel penny and dime that is allotted for St. Paul's
is used responsibly and is used ethically and therefore the request for the rollover of funds.
So this is operating budget money and we want to make sure we don't fall to the old adage
of use it unnecessarily or lose it, that we roll it over,
and that we use it and use it wisely.
So thanks to the staff, but not for someone
who looks at this, eats, drinks, and sleeps this every day.
Like Susan and her staff do, we may have very well overlooked
this pot of money.
So thank you, and I vote aye.
Thank you.
Ms. Johnson?
Aye.
Ms. McClellan?
Aye.
Mr. Riddick?
Aye.
Mr. Smeagol?
Aye.
Mr. Thomas.
Hi.
Dr. Alexander.
Hi.
R3.
R3 is an ordinance accepting the bid by McKinnon Tower LSE for a long-term garage parking
agreement.
With a term of 20 years for the lease of 81 parking spaces in commercial place garage
located at 520 East Main Street, 118 parking spaces in the Fountain Park garage located
at 130 Bank Street, 91 spaces in the Waterside garage located at 15 Martins Lane and
89 spaces and the bank street garage located at 441 Street in the city of Norfolk and this item was passed by December 10th
And I need a recommendation from the city manager in order to move forward
Mr. Manager
So our city staff is examined the fiscal impact of this bid and we're recommending that council reject this
And if I may, Mr. Mayor, there's been a little bit of confusion that we had two drafts of this
ordinance. One was in the affirmative to vote yes to accept the manager's recommendation.
The draft that you have before you tonight is in the negative. And so to accept the manager's
recommendation, the vote would be no, that we're not accepting the bid. And so that
if you agree with the manager, your vote would be no tonight on this ordinance.
Thanks.
Thank you, Mr. Pishko.
Thank you, Dr. Feiler.
Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
The motion is to reject the bid.
Mrs. Doyle?
No.
Mrs. Graves?
A no vote is a yes vote to support the manager, or a yes vote is a no vote to support the
manager.
I'm sorry.
The clerk read it in the affirmative.
The clerk read it in the affirmative, and the ordinance that I have is in the
negative.
So if I vote yes, is that no, or if I vote no, is that yes?
So, Mr. Clark, strike the previous one, let's start again.
The motion is written in the affirmative, but the ordinance is written in the negative.
So what you'll be loading on is the ordinance accepting the bid, so the manager's recommendation
is in the negative.
Right.
So to go with the manager's recommendation, it would be a no.
All right.
Sorry about the confusion.
Thank you.
So I reaffirm my no vote.
Thank you.
All right.
This is great.
No.
This is Johnson.
Yeah.
This is McClelland.
Epstein.
Mr. Riddick.
No.
Mr. Smigiel.
No.
Mr. Thomas.
No.
Dr. Alexander.
No.
Is there any additional?
That's all I have to say.
We're about to start our new business.
When your name is called, please come to the podium, state your name and your address
Please limit your comments to three minutes.
Danny Lee Gen.
My name is Danny Lee Gen.
I reside at 3844 Dare Circle.
I know many of you have gathered in this chamber tonight
because you're concerned about your constitutional rights,
and you should be, and you should stand up for them.
But I think you need to change your priorities somewhat
because I think you're probably ill-informed
that in this very city, in the city of Norfolk,
There is a written ordinance that gives the mayor of this city the right to strip you
of your First Amendment rights, your freedom of speech.
It enables him the power that if he decides not to hear what you want to say, or he feels
that it's cumulative in presentation, it's repetitive, it has been adequately discussed,
He has the power by the city council to stop this presentation and discussion if he so desires.
So I think that you should be aware that not only your second amendment or rights may be challenged,
but in this very city, your freedom of speech and your first amendment rights have already been denied
Denied if the mayor of the city so desires to exercise it and it is in writing
so you you may want to take a very good look at
having this portion of the
Statement removed as I have tried to do for years in order to ensure that you will have your first amendment rights
guaranteed in this city
Thank You, Mr. Ginn
Carl Poole, Carl Poole the second, the third, Carl Poole, maybe downstairs, okay yes sir come right
forward.
Mr. Mayor, Mr. Vice Mayor, City Council, good evening. Good evening. First thing, I'm not
going to talk about guns. Just so you know, just so you know you say. If you state your name
and your address. Well I'm just going to get that out. Okay. My address is 234 West 33rd
Street, Norfolk, Virginia, and Park Place.
Thank you.
Although this is new business, what I am going to talk about is something that should be
older business to you.
In August of 2017, you passed an unanimously resolution expressing the desire to relocate
the main street statue honoring Confederate soldiers and requesting that the Attorney
Attorney General to expedite providing an opinion regarding the legality of relocation.
Mr. Mayor, you said that night that it was the Council's consensus that the time had now
come to move the monument.
Councilman Graves, you further asked to clarify about that ask of the Attorney General that
But if it was to see if it was illegal for the city council to ask to move the monument,
and you also stated that it would help to begin to heal this our city and continue conversations
about our past because we cannot forget about our past.
However, in the last few months, I've been wondering whether or not you guys have forgotten
your real recent past.
End of October last year, I believe the Attorney General, after some legal suits
had been filed, had finally given an opinion on the matter, and although I'm not a lawyer,
I've been made to understand that he said you could move the monument, that he wasn't
going to do anything, that his office wasn't going to do anything, and that the law that
you were concerned with didn't apply to the monument downtown.
That was October.
November, what did you do?
I don't know.
December, what did you do?
I don't know.
So, January, I'm here to ask just one question, and you don't have to answer me verbally because
I was raised by, with the mantra of my words don't mean anything to reflect my intentions
more than my actions do.
So my question is simple.
What are you all going to do?
The Attorney General said he's going to do nothing because it's legal for you to move
that monument.
And in that resolution, you did state that you expressed your desire to relocate the monument.
So what are you going to do?
You don't have to answer that question here.
Like everyone in Norfolk, I'll be watching your actions.
And your actions will tell me what your intentions are.
Thank you. I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Robert Brown.
To reoff the agenda already.
Thank you.
I'm Robert Brown, I'm an 8507 Troy Street, and I'm Chairman of the Norfolk Republican
Party.
I'm here in support of the Second Amendment.
You've been reached out to by a number of citizens in Norfolk, asking you to put a second-minute
resolution on the agenda.
We've heard very little from you, so I'm here to ask you, to your face, once you
put a Second Amendment, Constitutional Amendment on the agenda.
Our founding fathers believed that the right to keep and bear arms was fundamental to our
very freedom as a people and Virginia is the birthplace of freedom in our country and I
will not sit idly by and watch those freedoms be diminished.
The second amendment is not about honey, it's not about target practice, it is a political
right.
History makes it clear it was necessary to write it into our constitution.
They want a protection for a good reason.
When the British made their first attempt to squash liberty and failed, it was because
the colonists were armed.
Because our founding farmers were armed, we gained independence.
That's why the second minute was added to our constitution so that we would remain free.
We the people believe our rights come from our Creator.
We hold these truths to be self-evident that we are all created equal and we are
and the pursuit of happiness.
This is what American exceptionalism is all about.
That's why the Constitution begins with we the people,
not we the elected, not we the elite, but we the people.
Our rights come from a creator and not from government.
The Constitution said that our rights are on an ill-billed.
The Bill of Rights does not say the Constitution
gives you the right to bear arms.
It says the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.
The founding fathers believed that the right to bear arms comes from our creator and not
our government.
Our founding fathers knew that if they didn't have the right to bear arms, they would have
been crushed.
The right to bear arms is a political right designed to safeguard freedom so that no
government can take away these rights.
That God is willing to give you those written by the people who spent their lives fighting
the greatest power in the world at the time, the British Empire.
They gave their fortunes, their sacred honor, and their lives to found this
county and preserve that freedom. They knew if they didn't have the right to
bear arms, they would have been enslaved. They didn't want us to be enslaved either
and that's why they guarantee us the right to protect ourselves. The Second
Amendment is a political right of the deepest importance of the societal of
the freedom in America. Control of our legislators was bought by outside
entities with millions of dollars to buy control of the Commonwealth. We
to solve most expensive statewide races in Virginia history. Mayor Bloomberg spent over
two and a half million. Globis, George Soros spent millions. We want Virginians deciding
our political future, not outsiders. What we are seeing in Virginia is a phenomenal grassroots
effort to hold a line on the Second Amendment.
Mr. Brown, thank you so much for coming.
Not the grassroots that brought control, but a real organic grassroots like Dutthings
Everything. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Thank you, Mr. Brown.
Victoria
Hainline. Victoria, yes.
Good evening. My name is Victoria Hainline and my address
is 323 West 34th Street in Norfolk.
According to the annual crime data, the crime rate in
Norfolk is 111 percent higher than the average of the whole state of Virginia. And when compared
with the national average is 52% higher. When looking at violent crimes, Norfolk has a 132%
higher violent crime rate than the Virginia average, while remaining 22% higher than the
national average. In property crime, Norfolk, Virginia is 108% higher than the average of
Virginia and is 57% higher than the national average. For every 100,000 people, there
There are 10.76 daily crimes that occur in Norfolk.
Norfolk is only safer than 13 percent of the cities in the United States.
That means that 87 percent of the cities in the United States are safer than the city
of Norfolk.
In Norfolk, you have a one in 26 chance of becoming a victim of any crime.
In Norfolk, Virginia, you have a one in 216 chance of falling victim to a violent
crimes such as rape, robbery, assault, or even murder. In terms of property crime, your chances
of being a victim are 1 in 29. These crimes include theft, vehicle theft, and burglary.
Your overall chance of being a victim of crime in Norfolk is 1 in 26, as I stated a minute
ago. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not saying that to you to disparage the city of Norfolk,
to disrespect the city of Norfolk. I have lived in Norfolk for 24 years. I could
have moved out of the city of Norfolk at any time. I have moved once within the
city of Norfolk. I actually moved from Granby Street, 6700 block of Granby
Street, 15 years ago to Park Place and I know all of you know about Park Place.
When I moved into Park Place I heard gunfire in my neighborhood and what
That sounded very close, although it's difficult to think about how far away gunfire is.
But I heard gunfire, I would say, probably on a weekly basis, that was back in 2004.
We actually had two cars drive the wrong direction down 34th Street, the second car shooting
out of the window with a sawed-off shotgun, and the police were out in front of my house
the next day picking up casings off the street.
There are people who would think that that should make me very strongly against guns,
against so-called assault weapons.
But I'm a patriot first, an American citizen first before a Norfolk citizen, but I do
love my city.
But I'm concerned about the crime rate in Norfolk.
I recently put the neighbor's app on my phone, and you get notifications.
So I just wanted to say that we have the right to protect ourselves, and I ask you to support
a Second Amendment resolution and a hearing so that we can come back and speak and vote
on that.
Thank you so much.
James Leterno?
My name is Jim Leterno.
I live at 137 West Ocean Avenue in Norfolk.
Distinguished council, thank you for taking our time to listen to our voices.
I had a speech lined up.
I was going to quote some Constitution at you guys, you already know it.
I'm sure every one of you have read the Constitution and understand how it works.
I was going to make some quotes on some famous
Historical people. But I don't think I need to do that. This lady just presented exactly
one of our main immediate reasons why we need to be armed, especially in this area. I didn't
own guns. I didn't own handguns for many, many, many years. I stopped using a gun when I could
afford to put meat on my table. It was primarily used for honey. I gave it up for many years.
about two years ago a young man was murdered there, two houses down from my
house. A week later I went out and bought a shotgun because I thought I needed to
defend my family. And that's all irrelevant because that's not what the
Constitution is is there for and that's not what the Second Amendment is
there for.
You guys know this. The big problem I have right now is I made
phone calls and sent emails to this council two weeks ago. I received one
response and in that response the council member assured me that in the event
unconstitutional laws were passed down from Richmond that this council would
direct the city's attorneys to fight those unconstitutional laws.
I respect that.
In my opinion, that's not good enough.
In my opinion, we should not be here tonight having this conversation.
Another gentleman has come forward and was obviously displeased with the council's
inaction on another matter. And in my position, this is another issue that there's been an
inaction taken, you as members of the council should have already drafted up a resolution
and absolutely, unequivocally told Richmond that we will not comply with unconstitutional laws
and Mr. Smeagol, you're an attorney, correct?
I'm sorry, there is an attorney here.
I'm sorry, Mr. Thomas.
You should know that a law that is unconstitutional,
you have no moral or legal responsibility
to follow those laws.
And you have every responsibility to resist those.
Thank you so much for coming.
You're welcome.
Thank you for your time.
Ben Leola, Ben
Leola, followed
by James Quell.
Mayor, good evening, City Council.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak here tonight.
My name is Ben Loyola, 3261, Wilderness Lane, Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Got blessed the ability to be able to assemble here and speak and share our concerns.
I ask you to support a Second Amendment constitution to support our ability to write to self-defense.
I want to share my humble beginnings because it's first-person experience of what happens
when a country can be taken over by the disarmingist people.
I was born in Havana, Cuba and Fidel Castro promised the masses prosperity and opportunity and how he took over a country was first
to disarm the people and after he disarmed those people
he summarily arrested many of them and killed tens of thousands of them and
That has been repeated throughout history too many times and that's my history. I live that
Second amendment is there for a reason. It's it's a reason that God given inalienable rights to defend ourselves from tyranny
Individual tyranny, yes.
From an individual that might want to hurt us, but also government tyranny.
The founding fathers here in Virginia wrote it in the Constitution,
a Constitution oath that I took numerous times,
and that same authors have brought it into the American Constitution.
We've taken the oath. You've taken the oath.
I served in the military. I went to Naval Academy.
I served 30 years as a combat naval aviator.
I retired as naval captain.
Throughout my career, I took that oath to defend the Constitution
against all enemies born in domestic.
The same constitution that you took us to follow as well.
It's unbelievable that we're here even questioning that fundamental God-given right, that inalienable right.
So I asked you to support the support of the Second Amendment.
It's God-given. It's a human right.
It's embodied our constitution.
And we are here today because of that ability.
I mean, King George III sent his redcoats died here in Virginia to disarm the colonists
because they don't like what they were doing.
And he took their guns away.
And that is in American history.
It's in my history that I was born
because of we fled Communist Cuba.
So I can't say enough of the importance of that.
It's sad that it's not supported here in Norfolk,
like all the other municipalities across Virginia
where tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people
have supported that.
It's a clear message to what's going on
where a governor wants to take our rights away
and basically make felons of individuals that want to defend themselves.
We want to run our lands, run our businesses, take care of our family, just live the American dream like I am.
And we have to have the ability to defend ourselves and defend ourselves against tyranny,
like the founding fathers, like our constitutional rights gives us that.
God bless you, God bless America, and God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
James Quill, fathered by Cameron Carson.
Hello, my name is James Quayle. I live on 9329 Mason Creek Road. Mr. Mayor, members of
the council, I've never been accused of a crime or ever convicted of a crime. I've been
a service member in the Army since 2014. I've been overseas multiple times. And with the
laws that are being proposed by Richmond, I would be instantly made a felon not only
by the firearms I own, but by maintaining possession of the weapon magazines that
the government's issued me. I'm concerned for myself because if I'm pulled over for
whatever reason and a police officer under the new laws are being proposed sees the stuff
the government's issued me, I could be arrested until I get someone from my unit down to validate
that they were signed over to me. My unit does not get enough funding to train for
firearms regularly, so I own an AR-15 so that I can maintain my own proficiency for
when I go overseas on my own time and my own money. If the new laws are passed,
I'll be made a felon for possessing that weapon.
I do not believe that someone being afraid of a scary rifle that I may own trumps my
right to have it, just as I believe that if someone does something I disagree with, they
have a right to do it.
I don't have a right to take that ability from the do that away from them.
I feel like that's the American way, and that's the only fair way to go about this.
I thank you for letting me speak, and thanks for your time.
Thank you.
Cameron Carson, followed by Kim Shroutz.
Good evening, honorable mayor, city council members.
This is Doyle.
It's good to see you again.
My name is Cameron Carlson.
Actually, as of yesterday, Dr. Cameron Carlson.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
I live at 1611 La Salle Avenue in Norfolk, Virginia, in accordance with the rules of
the decorum of the city council chambers.
All members and residents in support of a 2-Alpha resolution, please rise.
Thank you all.
Please be seated.
Again,
my name is Dr. Cameron Carlson. I'm a proud but frustrated resident of the city
of Norfolk. Honorable Mayor Alexander and council members,
Virginians have a long and proud history of protecting the citizenry of this state.
In the American Revolution, Virginians fought and died at Trenton, Monmouth Courthouse,
Germantown and many other battlefields whose names are inexorably linked to our country's
proud heritage. At first bull run, General Bernard B. in an effort to rally his exhausted
troops was reported to have said, look, men, there stands Jackson like a stone wall. Let
us be determined to die here today and we shall be victorious. Rally behind the Virginians.
Thank God they are here. Virginians here tonight have that same spirit as our ancestors.
We have previously asked you to support a Second Amendment constitutional city resolution.
We have asked and we ask again for your help to fight the unconstitutional actions
of our representatives in Richmond.
Once more, we seek your help.
I call on the city council to draft the resolution
dedicating Norfolk as a second amendment
constitutional city.
To lose this constitutional right is to open the door
to further degradations of our other rights.
You and the citizens of Virginia and Norfolk
have a duty to protect our rights.
We beg you to do this tonight.
Not everyone owns a firearm, carries a firearm
or even wants to be around a firearm.
And that is their right.
Others, like those before you tonight, are advocates of responsible firearm ownership,
and that is our right.
We ask you to respect and honor everyone's right tonight.
Billions of firearms already exist in our country.
Individuals with evil and illegal motives will obtain firearms.
We can't stop them by legislation.
How do we stop them?
I don't know.
But the present attack on the Second Amendment rights of all citizens, honorable or otherwise,
is not the answer.
I remind you of one of the most recent church shootings.
had it not been for an armed parishioner, many people could have died.
To paraphrase William Douglas, the amendments to our constitution, all of them, including
the Second Amendment, makes confidence in the common sense of our people and in maturity
of their judgment, the great postulate of our democracy.
In closing, if you feel how we feel, if you see the injustice being perpetrated
all around us, I ask you to become champions for our city and fight for the people
People in this room, downstairs and around the country, because these people will do the
same for you.
We ask the city council, beg the city council to please draft and pass a resolution to declare
Norfolk a Second Amendment Sanctuary City.
Thank you.
Kim Shroutz, followed by Eric Hoveck.
Hi, I'm Kim Shorts.
Shorts, okay.
Good evening, Mayor Alexander and the city council members.
I'm very nervous.
I'm Kim Schwartz, I was at 227 Sir Oliver Road, Norfolk and the Cromwell Farms area.
I'm third generation owner of my home.
My father was raised there.
Through the years I've seen many accomplishments in this city and I come to you out of concern
this evening for my rights as a Virginian.
You may recall the horrible rain event that took place in 2009 I'm sure.
My husband was working to help those trapped in the rising water in the Tidewater Drive underpass.
While he was there, he was beaten and left for dead on the street to die.
It chokes me up to talk about it.
The result of this attack left him with PTSD, as you can imagine.
And as a result, my husband never leaves our home without his firearm.
He's an avid hunter. He's taught my three children how to respect the respect of a firearm as well as handling firearms, and he takes them hunting as well.
My concern over the proposed legislation is it doesn't seem to have been thoroughly thought out.
The fact is our governor has proven to be less than honest and will do and say anything to make amends to those he has harmed.
Those amends and his restitution should not come at my expense or these people's expense.
He is removing the citizens' rights to protect us from the very people, such as unvetted refugees coming into our communities,
as well as unleashing criminals back out onto the streets.
Our legislature continues to talk out of both sides of their mouth.
They tell me my children aren't allowed to bathe or smoke or drink until they're 21, yet they're able to go and get birth control or an abortion at the age of 15.
My son can go to war at the age of 18, and he can die for his country.
But when he comes back to Virginia, he's not going to be allowed to handle a gun until he's 21.
I'm sorry, the truth is, I just feel like the truth is nobody wants to address the real
mental health issues going on in this country.
They want to take care of the low-hanging fruit, which is the gun.
It's easy to go in and take a gun from somebody, even though we are rifle law-abiding citizens
every day.
My gun does not jump out of a closet and assault anyone.
I'm sorry, and I urge the council to please protect my rights, protect my husband's right
to defend himself and my children.
Thank you.
Here's a call-up by Robert Allen.
Before my three-minute start, I got a question.
This is my third time here.
I came November.
I came December.
November, I asked the same thing, and then when I came back in December, I was told, hey,
here's the process.
So I followed the process, I crafted an email, I sent it to you, Mr. Smeagol, you, Mrs. McClellan,
you, Mayor Alexander, and you, Mr. Bull.
So this is really inefficient.
Give me your address, and...
My name's Eric Hovick, HOV is in Victor I.K., my address is 169 West Ocean Avenue.
So if I correspond with you again in the future, I expect to be acknowledged.
I don't work for you.
Alright, so this is my third time here.
The last time I was here I spoke with you and I wrote a written resolution.
Requesting that you make Norfolk a sanctuary city, so it's already, the work's been done
for you. I'm just asking that you vote on it. The legislation be proposed by the
governor and the assembly is unconstitutional, so there's no obligation
to follow those laws. The government's conduct, the governor's conduct and the
assembly's conduct in this legislation basically violates my
First Amendment rights, my Second Amendment rights, and my Fourth Amendment rights.
By doing that, their conduct is criminal.
I urge you to read Section 242 of U.S. Code Title 18.
It states, Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for any person acting under color
of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the
Constitution or laws of the United States.
For the purpose of Section 242, acts under color of law include acts only done, not only
done by federal, state, or local officials within their lawful authority, but also acts
done beyond the bounds of that official's lawful authority.
If the acts are done while the official is purporting to or pretending to act in
the performance of his or her official duties, persons acting under color of law within
in the meaning of this statute include police officers,
prisons, guards, and other law enforcement officials,
as well as judges, care providers in public health
facilities, and any others who are acting as public officials.
It is not necessary that the crime
be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion,
sex, handicap, familial status,
or national origin of the victim.
The offense is punishable by a range of imprisonment
up to a life term or the death penalty depending upon the circumstances of the crime and the
resulting injury, if any. If gun confiscations are to take place in the city where you come
to an otherwise law-abiding person's home and attempt to disarm them, people are going
to get hurt. And it is going to be on this council and on the governor and on the Virginia
the assembly. Thank you so much. Robert, what do I have to do? What have I not done? I understand.
Your time has expired, sir. I get that, but I've been ignored. I want to know what I have
to do to get you to vote on this, Mr. Mayor. What email do I have to send? What memo do
I have to write? What do I have to do for you to take action, Mr. Mayor? Thank you
for coming, sir.
Robert Allen, followed by Rich Williams.
Robert Allen,
okay. All right,
so, um, Williams, Rich Williams. Rich Williams. Come on here, come on here.
Followed by Terry
Secretary Sancher?
Secretary.
Sancher.
You followed?
Rich.
Uh, Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council, uh, thank you for being here tonight and for
having us this meeting.
It's an exercise in democracy and people know it better than you ask for their government.
My name is Rick Williams.
I live at 1-6-1-2, God-I-N-Grile.
I want to urge City Council to adopt a resolution that would make Norfolk a
sanctuary city in defense of our Constitutional Second Amendment rights.
It is my thought that standing in such a manner with other localities that have
defend our rights and to make clear to legislators that it is not worth the time
and effort to assure those legislations that in fact are unconstitutional and
will not work.
By by defending the second amendment we do in fact enhance
public safety. When we defend the rights of one, we defend the rights of all, and we put
the owner where it needs to be, which is crafting laws that aptly, honestly, enhance public
safety by keeping criminals off the street and addressing problems without threatening
and undermining the rights of law-abiding citizens.
One example of what I consider to be a threat to our second constitution amendment is the
so-called red flag laws which would presumably address the issue of people who have mental
issues having their fire taken away until those issues are advocated.
Well, the fact of the matter is, the way those modern legislation is written, what would
happen is those complaints can be fired against an individual without any co-operating evidence.
The individual making the complaint doesn't have to be unrecorded to their name.
That flies in the face of being able to confront your accuser.
It puts the onus on somebody who is accused, who had the fire in Catholic Stadium, as it
were.
It puts the onus on them to prove they're not a problem.
It says, you're guilty until you prove you're innocent.
That stands our basic premise of American Jew Apprentice on its head.
We say you're innocent until proven guilty.
Thank you so much, sir.
Thank you.
Terry
is followed by John Appomethy.
Hello.
My name is Terry Allen Santuri.
I live at 6389 Parker Street, Novel.
And I, is this man behind me, spoke of deprivation of rights under color of law?
That was what I wanted to talk about.
Hey, the governor is saying this stuff is all constitutional what he's proposing.
And that's not true.
It hasn't been to the Supreme Court yet.
And if someone is God forbid killed in a red flag incident, the law you enforce today is maybe the law that is overturned later on.
And I don't think that's a shit sandwich. I don't think we want to take a bite off.
and it could get you prosecuted later.
I don't think anybody would get locked up over it
or put to death about it,
but I could see somebody losing everything they got
and everything they're ever gonna get.
And I don't think we wanna go there
so I recommend you adopt a resolution
to not use any city resources to enforce this kind of
stuff.
And as far as the universal background checks go,
Hey, one time I was in favor of them, you know, but the lowest learner in the IRS scandal
showed me that the government has a tendency to collect information for one reason and abuse
it for another one.
That's why I don't believe in the UBCs or the registration of the rifles or anything
like that because I don't want it to be an electronic star of David that's going
used to stigmatize people, keep them off juries, target them for audits, use it to
deny, delay services and benefits. People don't need that. As far as the safety
issues go, I'll tell you what, if the revolution, if the Nazi Germany, Miles
China, that's too long ago, we got Venezuela today. Chavez took over, the
One of the first things he did was registration and one of the second things he did was confiscation
of privately owned arms and then he's proceeded to run that country into the dirt.
And I don't think we want to go there either. And as far as safety goes, prison isn't safe
and they don't have guns there. And to quote Thomas Jefferson, I prefer dangerous freedom
rather than safe slavery. Thank you very much.
John's followed by Diane Sexton.
Good evening. Thank you, Mayor.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is John Abernathy.
I live at 448 Cummings Road, Virginia Beach.
I've been at nine of these meetings.
This is some serious stuff.
And everything everybody has said here is so factually true,
that all you need to be worried about is two things
or be concerned about is two things.
What are you going to do come August 1st if all these laws pass as written?
Are you concealed carry?
Your family is going to be in danger because the criminals are still going to have guns and you're not.
All this is doing and the lawyer can tell us it's not law-abiding.
It's common sense.
No such thing as common sense safety gun laws.
That's a load.
It's the people right here that want you to stand up with them
and tell that tyrannical blackface liar in Richmond that you stand for us, that you are
here to back the people here. And I see a couple of smug faces up there on the tax dollar.
You work for us. And we just ask you to stand with us. We just ask you to not agree that
these laws are good, bad, or whatever. I don't care if you're a Democrat, Democrat,
independent, Republican, whatever, all we're asking to do, all we're asking for you to
do is stand with us, put it on the agenda, let it get voted on, and you put it on the
agenda and I'll bet a paycheck, you have three times as many people at the next meeting
to make sure that you vote on it.
And if you don't vote on it, there's a little checkmark by your name, sharpen your pencils,
clear out your desk, write your resume, because you will be voted out of office.
The people want to hear that you are with them and for them.
That's all.
Thank you.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you.
Diane Sexton followed by Robert Allen.
Yes, sir.
Hi.
My name is Diane Sexton.
I live at 7020 Gale Drive in Norfolk.
I'd like to thank you guys for doing the job that you do for us first.
I am from a long line of a military family.
My father was a World War II veteran.
He was a mighty man of God and served the United States of America in the military
for 40 years. His brother also was a World War II veteran. I'm a Marine Corps widow. I
have two children, Timmy and Cory, that I have raised since my husband was killed 21
years ago. Two out of the three military members in my family and household died serving
this country because they believed in the God whose government has the shoulders of
this whole, the whole government is upon his shoulders. They believed it. They believed
We did so much that they died for it.
They died for it.
I'm without an uncle.
I'm without a husband.
And for the city of Norfolk and each one of you not to consider to uphold and make Norfolk
a sanctuary city is a slap in my face because I have family members that die defending
this Constitution.
You sit where you sit because of my father, because of my uncle, and because of my husband.
Please honor their memory.
And thank you for the job you do for the city in Norfolk.
You have a tough job.
I wouldn't want it, but thank you so much, and we will pray for you.
God bless you guys.
Thank you.
Robert Allen,
followed by Matthew Adams.
Good evening.
Born in Norfolk, Raising Hampton Roads, 48 years.
U.S. Army veteran, son, nephew, uncle, brother of Virginia's police officers.
We are – lawful gun owners are force multipliers of the police department.
They need us.
The burden should not be on them to protect our citizens.
We can protect ourselves, but we can't have our hands tied.
We need each other.
My mother said if you haven't heard it tonight, my mother says it all the time.
I carry a gun because I cannot carry a police officer.
My wife and my little girl have been involved twice in situations where they were outnumbered at a stoplight.
Their car was surrounded just because they tapped their horn to let them know they were at a green light.
And if my wife were not armed, who knows what would have happened.
They literally drove over the hood of my wife's car to stop her from leaving.
I'm very shaken because my brother was murdered in Norfolk because he didn't have the ability
to arm himself because of where he was.
You know the right thing.
Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, tonight Portsmouth is considering the same thing.
We got this.
We're all neighbors.
We're right down the street from you in Virginia Beach.
They did the right thing.
you guys please stand with us, stand with the people.
Stan, what is your address?
557-76, Glen V Drive.
What city?
Virginia Beach.
Thank you, sir.
Yes, sir.
Matthew Adams, call it by.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Matthew Adams. I live at 73 Kirby Crescent, Norfolk, Virginia.
And I represent the average guy, okay? When I say the average guy, I'm talking about 20
years in the service. I was law enforcement in the Navy. I served on five different continents
supporting five different countries defending five different peoples. I
fought pirates, I fought terrorists, and I fought sailors and marines.
So as an
average guy, let me tell you a little bit about my family. My wife's Hispanic, my
daughter lives in California. I have seven grandkids. Her husband is a strong
black man. Color means nothing to me. I've heard this argument is about race.
I've heard we're all racist. I've heard we've all got prejudices.
I bleed blue.
I bleed red. We all do. Okay.
This right is not granted by the Constitution.
This right is an inalienable human right, just like our right to worship and our right to speak.
Somebody's feelings don't matter.
I don't know why it is that somewhere in between the 1950s and the 1960s,
we decided that we should make our decisions based on feelings rather than facts.
And the facts say that an armed citizenry is a safer citizenry.
Look at Chicago.
Look at most of our major cities.
This is a fact that is undeniable.
Okay?
We all want our kids to be safe.
We all want our loved ones to be safe.
Taking long-abiding citizens' guns away does not make them safe.
In fact, it probably puts them in danger.
And that is an indisputable fact.
So Richmond says that it's okay to abort a baby after he's born,
but we want to take away your guns to protect our children.
So which is it?
At what point is my child's life valuable?
Does anybody have an answer for me?
because I say conception in the womb
until God takes him home.
Thank you so much.
One more thing.
When the Romans came to take Jesus...
Sir, your time has expired.
After 20 minutes talking to the Lieutenant Governor yesterday
and he did interrupt me once, I don't expect to be interrupted here.
Sir, your time has expired. You have other people who want to speak.
When the Roman soldiers came to take Jesus away, the apostles were armed.
The rest won't, because I will adjourn the meeting and all the people who signed up, sir,
will be disrespected because of you.
Josiah Hunter.
Good
evening, Mayor, City Council.
Thank you for having us.
My name is Josiah Hunter.
I live at 301 East Randall Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia.
I'm representing Mr. Smeagol, Mrs. McClellan, and of course yourself, Mayor.
Thank you.
I came to Norfolk from the Navy.
I've been a proud Norfolk resident for 27 years.
I love Norfolk.
Could have moved somewhere else.
Stayed here because I like it.
I'm here also to ask you to represent me and my fellow citizens to stand up and stand up for the civil liberties of all Norfolk residents
and join our neighbor cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake in declaring Norfolk a Second Amendment constitutional city.
I'm passionate about the Second Amendment for a lot of reasons, one of which is I'm only
here speaking to you tonight because I carried a gun.
In December 2003, I was violently attacked in the Oakdale Farm section of town in front
of my house by a stranger I'd never seen.
It was a four minute response before the Norfolk Police showed up.
I'm happy they showed up.
They were outstanding once on scene, but in those four minutes, if I hadn't had
a gun, I was going to die.
Going to jump ahead, just a few months ago, I had a friend who was killed, Christopher
Rapp on May 31, 2019, at Virginia Beach City Complex.
I like to think he might have been alive had Ms. Nixon had her gun on her that day.
Gun-free zones do not make us safer.
The Governor and a lot of the General Assembly is putting forth a lot of legislation that
even by their own admittance wouldn't have stopped that, wouldn't have done anything and
quite frankly it's not going to make anyone any safer.
Segment rights as stated before, they're not my rights, they're our rights, they're
women's rights, they're minority rights, they're gay rights, they're straight rights,
they're everybody's rights, they're human rights.
I'm asking for you, my elected representatives, to stand with us in telling Richmond that
the rights of the citizens of Norfolk shall not be infringed.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Thank you.
Richard Baldwin, followed by Bruce Sherman.
Mr. Mayor, City Council, ladies and gentlemen, President, my name is Richard Baldwin.
I reside at 339 East Leicester, East Leicester Avenue in the Ocean View.
I'm a retired Navy Mustang.
I am a retired North Church deputy.
As of tonight, 125 out of 133 jurisdictions in the state of Virginia, they declared
themselves for the Second Amendment, for the rights of its citizens.
I'm here to urge you in the strongest possible terms to adopt a resolution to that effect
that you stand for the rights of the citizens of Norfolk.
I know resolutions don't carry the power of law.
They speak very loudly.
125 out of 133 jurisdictions in the state.
There aren't very many people here tonight.
Come with me Monday, come with me to Richmond
and look at the people that are going to be there
for this very same purpose.
The General Assembly is supposed to represent me
and my rights.
It's not just me, but my rights also.
City Council represents me and is supposed to represent my rights.
Please do it.
I should not come here and beg for something as simple as that.
Stand up and stand for freedom.
It's not about gun control as much as it's about control, as much as it's about freedom.
freedom.
When the Constitution of the country and the state both say the right to keeping
bare arms shall not be infringed and shall be protected,
I don't want us to say to you,
I don't want you dragging your feet on this. Stand up and do the right thing for us, for
all of us, us and us. It's about your freedom.
Thank you.
Bruce, followed by Ken Reid.
Mr. Mayor, Council people, thank you for having this session.
If the Commonwealth of Virginia were considering a law where a person can only post 10 times a month to social media,
or needs a permit to open a Facebook account.
Sir, can you give us your name and your address?
Oh, I'm sorry. Bruce Sherman, 1127 Llewellyn, Norfolk.
Or, if you need a permit to open up a Facebook account, you would stand with the people and
make your voice known.
I urge you to join the 91 of 95 counties, 13 of 38 independent cities, and 24 towns
who have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries.
This symbolic action will show that Norfolk stands with decent law-abiding Virginia citizens
and not with outside state big-money interests.
As part of a targeted community, any restriction on our rights will negatively impact us,
my community, and Norfolk directly.
Exactly. A few months ago, on my way to go worship,
I heard a commotion coming from a
nightclub next to where I worship. I personally stopped a woman from being beaten by her partner
that night. When his anger turned towards me, I showed that I was able to defend myself
with the lethal force. He second guessed his actions and left. Police on the scene told
me that I was justified and legal in my actions. At the court case, the person received two
years probation along with a no contact order with the victim. And I'm not a police officer.
I'm not a veteran. I'm a regular citizen who prevented something that could have been very
horrible. I urge you to join 95-plus percent of the land mass of the state of Virginia
in declaring us a Second Amendment sanctuary location. I know that it's symbolic. I know
Now it does not carry the weight of law, but it carries the will of the people, and that's
what you're elected to do.
Thank you.
Ken Reid, followed by Carolyn Fight.
Thank you for the time, Dr. Mayer.
I guess it's Dr. Mayer.
And members of the council, my name is Ken Reid, 506 Spotswood Avenue.
I'm a new resident, relatively, and I love the city a lot.
It's got a lot of potential.
It really does.
I moved here from Northern Virginia and I'm a proud member of this great Orthodox Jewish
community.
You see a lot of our members here in the audience tonight in support of the Second Amendment
and here's why.
I think we all know there's been a surge of anti-Semitism in this country and it's
been horrible and it's been one of the worst anti-Semitism probably since the 30s.
And even in the 30s I'm not aware of people being shot and killed in synagogues as
they have been in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and in California, all of which have very restrictive
gun laws. Recently, a member of our community mentioned that he was walking along, and as
you know, we all walk because we walk on Shabbos. We don't use our cars. We don't use our cars
on holidays, Jewish holidays. And someone said to him on a bike, get out of my way,
why you effin' Jew." And I couldn't believe this. And neither could he. And so we spoke
to a member of our community, said, I want to get a gun. What do I have to do to get
it? And he says, well, there is no requirements, really. You just go down and you get it. You
should take training, whatever. You should do this, get a concealed permit, is something
else. So a lot of our members have that ability. And I think that's probably one
of the reasons why you don't see people praying upon the Orthodox Jewish community
in Norfolk. It's because probably a lot of criminals know that people are armed. However,
Virginia's General Assembly and the governor are now poised to do the same mistake that
New York and New Jersey are doing. And what they're doing up there in New York and New
Jersey is not just making it more difficult to own a firearm, but they're also relaxing
criminal enforcement. And that's why I'm coming to you tonight. It's because in
your legislative agenda, you support safe neighborhoods. That's a quote. And what they're
talking about by eliminating certain cash bill requirements and by making that a felony
only if you steal over $900 and going back to parole is going to create more of a problem
coupled with the restrictions on firearms ownership. That's what concerns me.
And
that may not happen here.
That's always what people say.
And it seems to me just from listening to the people tonight
that you have been kicking the can down the road
and you have refused to even offer a debate
on a second amendment sanctuary or a constitutional city.
Why don't you amend your legislative agenda?
Bring your sheriff, your police chief,
and your legislators in and ask them,
do you really want to relax criminal enforcement
in this state?
Do you really want to expose
is my community, Muslims, Sikhs, or anybody who looks different to criminals, that's the
problem and can you live with that if something like that were to happen in this great city.
Thank you very much.
Thank you so much.
Carolyn is followed by William Jackson, senior.
Mr. Riddick, you need a cup of coffee, sir.
Sir.
Hi.
My name is Carolyn.
Hi.
My address is 9430 Atlands and Oceanview, Norfolk.
I was, for a living, I helped handicap people be mobile.
One of my clients came in today and made me aware of this meeting tonight, and I had to be here.
Been in Norfolk for about a year, wasn't in my house for about four months,
and I had a bullet go through my window.
I'm just happy I have a gun.
I'm happy I'm able to defend myself.
if somebody comes in my house single parent you know I just want to be able
to defend myself and I hope you guys don't let that go away it's all I gotta
say William
Jackson followed by Dustin Edwards good
evening Mr. Mayor the
City Council particularly Angela and Mamie know both well and our great
people.
I'm 78 years old and I've been in Norfolk, Virginia since 1971. I spent four
years in the U.S. Air Force and Military Police. I worked at Norfolk Naval Shipyard
for 31 and a half years and I crawled in some holes that you wouldn't want to go
in.
I spent all day yesterday in the Pocahontas building in Hirschman,
in Virginia.
Wavy TV last night said that there was approximately 200 people in favor
of the guns. That's a lie because I was in that building and there had to be well over
2,000 people. I went from floor one to the fifth floor and you couldn't move around
in the place.
I didn't prepare a text tonight because I really didn't plan to come here
but I
want to ask all of you to contact your representative and tell them vote no
on all this garbage that they're trying to push through. Even the three that they
want to pass through to give you the authority to ban guns at a parade or
any city function, okay? You can ban guns. They want to let you ban guns in all of
your city buildings. City parks. City parks are safe places, aren't they? Okay? At night
in particular.
I'm going to tell you what those bills are if you want to write
them down. SB 35 parades and marches, SB 615 buildings and parks,
S.B. 450 chambers of local governing bodies, guess where that is? If they pass
that, I've seen a number of these great people here are carrying. I don't carry
yet but I'm about to start I think.
Please give very serious consideration to
this Sanctuary City Constitutional Amendment, whichever they want to call it. Sanctuary
Cities is great with me. If you want to add constitutional, it's okay. But give a serious
consideration and give us a chance to vote on it. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Dustin, followed by Adam Nassbaum.
My name is Dustin Edwards. I live at 6127 Edward Street. I had a whole list of stuff
here to say, but everyone's already said it. There's only one question. There's only one
thing that hasn't been addressed. I hear all these plans about how you're going to get
the guns from the slaughtered by the citizens. Now, one time I've heard how you're going to
get it from the criminals. The ones that are actually doing the crimes. The one that
are killing people. The one that are robbing. That's one of the questions. You have all
these laws. How are you going to get it from me? Which, you're not going to get
it from me. I can tell you that right now. And most of them, too. You ain't
going to get it from them, either. How are you going to get it from the bad guys?
The Second Amendment isn't a guarantee of safety, it's a guarantee of a fighting chance against
tyranny, even if it comes from our own government, which it is.
Adam is followed by Robert Duncan.
Good evening.
My name is Adam Nussbaum, and I live at 201 Westover Avenue.
I hope everyone here had a good holiday season.
Just to be clear, any of my viewpoints shared here tonight do not reflect any of my places
of work.
Throughout my time serving in the U.S. Navy as a current graduate student at American
University as a current employee of NATO, I have given my all to uphold American values
and defend this country from foreign threats.
Even though I took that oath today, I enlisted, I never actually thought I would have to defend
this great nation from domestic threats.
However, these are trying times and defend these threats I will.
The Bill of Rights was not written as a suggestion or even as rights bestowed upon
us by the government.
These rights are simply recognized as fundamental inalienable rights and as such are protected
by both the U.S. and Virginia constitutions.
Even the current U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres states peace, security, and human rights
are mutually reinforcing and rights violations signal threats to security, but rights upheld
contribute to peace.
A fellow Virginian Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers shared these beliefs and
even wrote down their thoughts regarding this in the Federalist Papers.
Throughout my studies and my work in international affairs, I have seen firsthand what happens
to countries whose leaders forcefully take guns away from law-abiding citizens.
These leaders were above the law.
By not becoming a second member of Sanctuary City, you are in effect telling all of us
and your constituents that you agree with the unconstitutional laws come down from
a legitimate Richmond.
The latest one, HB961, is even more restrictive than the previous SB16.
However, these laws exclude those in the legislator, police officers, and military
veterans.
This truly means that this assumed higher class of people is above the law.
law. These laws discriminate against anyone who hasn't worked for the government and even
some that have. With the grandfather clauses, they also discriminate against those who do
not yet own a firearm, children, and our future generations. The 1 percent can still
afford armed security for self-defense, also granting them the status that they are better
than the rest of us. This notion of having an upper class above the rest of us has
already plagued America's past for hundreds of years. Frankly, I am astonished that
that you are willing to re-enact and support such laws as this idea should be anathema
to each and every one of you. Personally, I side with the Declaration of Interdependence
and Jefferson's words, that all men are created equal. They are endowed by the Creator with
certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.
That secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, driving their powers
from the consent of the government. In the Virginia Declaration of Rights, George
The Lord's mission also says certain inherent rights of which they cannot be deprived.
I, for one, do not consent.
I implore you to take these words to heart.
Be guided by real common sense, not emotions.
Make Norfolk a second amendment sanctuary city and join the 90-plus percent of Virginia localities.
Otherwise, you are unequivocally telling us, your constituents,
that you and your common parts in Richmond are above the law.
Thank you for your time.
Thank you.
Robert Duncan followed by Julie Besko.
Good evening my name is
Robert Duncan. I reside at 11 and a 4 taller place in Norfolk, Virginia.
I'm
really shocked that we're here today to even talk about something that when I
was growing up was it's a constitutional right but here we are a lot of this
grounds are been covered so I don't want to go over the history lesson of
course.
Just Saturday, we had to dispute in a house right behind mine. I had to call the
police. It took 17 minutes or longer for the police to get there. There were three phone
calls put in, and I don't blame the police. They're spread then. They can't be everywhere
at once. But luckily, I knew in the back of my head that I had the power to take
care of myself if need be. And luckily that didn't arise. I've had a gun since I was probably
about 10 years old. I started caring since I was about 21 and bartending. And I've luckily
never had to pull my gun to use it. And I pray to God I never have to. But to know
that I can defend myself, my family, my little three-year-old and my seven-year-old and
keep that right, I urge you guys to let us keep that right. I think what it comes
down to is basically it's a tool and it's like a plunger. If you ever need one
of those, whether it's a plunger or a gun, you better have one or it's going to be
in a really bad position.
Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Julie Vascoe. I
live at 1214 East Ocean View Avenue and I thank you for your polite
attention.
We are a port city. Norfolk's history shows that enemies have
arrived here from over the sea and from all directions on the land side as
I'm sure people know just right out here on the street, there's a cannonball that was fired by the British in the church wall.
Many years have passed during which our forefathers and our foremothers have lived through differing scenarios in the interplay between weapons and government and war.
Thousands of those years, as Europeans have experienced them, are the ones I know most about as my forebearers are Europeans.
After thousands of years trying different political systems in these many countries of Europe,
early Americans came here to America and wrote what they had learned
through those prior centuries into a hopeful document that we still call the American Constitution.
And our Constitution has served America almost 250 years,
having been tweaked ever since America's founding.
Well, now we're here in Virginia and we're leading the nation again in our thinking
in our debate about whether the collective wisdom on guns and government of these past
1,250 years needs alteration now in this new age, this age in which we also have to deal
with the internet and the bombardments of 24-hour news and pressures from those who advocate
a world government and the cries of those who believe that the end times are already
upon us and advances in shooting technology, and so they cry that the second amendment,
which simply put, says that the average citizen shall have the right to keep and bear arms
needs to be altered, or they do so in a sneakier way, wishing to adopt new laws that would
undercut this right.
I think not.
What's really changed in the 250 years since we had the second amendment?
Well, the buzzing of the Internet does not alter the need to defend our bodies and our
homes against invasion.
Of the bombardments of 24-hour news, we are wisest to limit our daily intake, but they
do not remove our need to be ready to defend ourselves.
Of the pressures of those who advocate world government, to them I ask, do you really
want to hand America over without a fight?
The history of Europe shows that such a thing could happen any minute and does happen all
the faster when the citizens are denied arms.
For the cries of those who believe that the end times are upon us, why does this make
it necessary to alter our Second Amendment rights?
On the contrary, I would say that our forebears suffered thousands of years of abuse at
the hands of various governments and that our sacred U.S. Constitution has put the
situation right via the Second Amendment.
And so just to quickly finish, although – to the technology, although the bullets fly faster
now as a freedom-loving American wanting to protect my little home in Ocean View, I just
know if someone comes at me with a fast gun, I want to have a gun that's faster.
Thank you.
We have no speakers left.
So is that the last speaker?
Okay.
All right.
Thank you very much, Mr.
Clerk.
Okay, concerning the Second Amendment Sanctuary City, I'm prepared as the clerk to send this
letter to Governor Northam, Lieutenant Governor Fairfax, Attorney General Herring and members
of the General Assembly and members of the Norfolk City Council.
We have been presented with a petition requesting the City of Norfolk adopt the resolution
declaring Norfolk a Second Amendment sanctuary city is enclosed along with the correspondence
and formal remarks provided by citizens regarding this matter which will include emails and comments
this evening. Upon taking office, in accordance with Section 49.1 of the Code of Virginia members
of the City Council swear in oath to support the Constitution of the United States,
this includes the Second Amendment, support the Virginia Constitution of 1971,
and faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon them.
Neither U.S. Constitution or Virginia's Constitution provides municipalities with illegal means
to choose not to uphold the laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Norfolk City Council members respect and hopefully will deliberate,
hope that you will deliberate this issue during the 2020 session of the General Assembly.
respectfully submitted in Richard A. Boll.