Dear Friends,
Tomorrow, Thursday, June 21, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors (BoS) will consider a proposal from Supervisor Kristen Umstattd (D-Leesburg) to amend the Loudoun County ordinance dealing with the discharge of firearms, which will effect both hunting and shooting. If this passes, there are likely to be serious consequences.
Supervisor Umstattd is overreacting to a rare incident in Loudoun where a firearm was discharged carelessly and resulted in minor property damage.
Discharging a weapon is always a serious matter. If the Board reacts hastily to an isolated incident, that would be a serious mistake, but that may be what is about to happen in Loudoun County.
The proposal would ban shooting if there is another occupied structure within a half-mile of where you are shooting. That would pretty much ban shooting in the entire county!
Click here to view Umstattd's proposed ordinance.
Click here to view a review of current ordinances, laws, and the single incident
If you think we have a deer over-population problem now, banning the use of firearms to harvest deer will cause it to escalate enormously. It is safe to say the loss of property and even human life will jump as the deer population grows unchecked by hunting. Lyme disease is at an epidemic level in Loudoun, and this policy change could cause Lyme to increase as well.
The BoS may also consider other changes, as well.
If you live in Loudoun County, I strongly suggest you attend this meeting. The meeting starts at 5 pm at:
Loudoun County Government Center
Board Room, First Floor
1 Harrison Street, S.E.
Leesburg, VA 20177
Also, especially if you cannot attend the meeting tomorrow, please email BOS@Loudoun.gov to make your opposition known to all supervisors. Please also copy me.
