12 dead and 6 more injured as long time city employee opens fire in Virginia Beach...

Three years ago, Vincent Smith started an online petition asking Virginia Beach leaders to let properly-licensed city employees carry guns to work for protection.

The effort on change.org gained about 260 signatures then.


This weekend, still reeling from the May 31 mass shooting at the Princess Anne municipal complex, Smith reactivated his push.

By Monday afternoon, about 500 new people had signed on to support the idea. Some even said they worked in Building 2, where a city employee opened fire and killed 12 people before police fatally shot him.

Smith, a public works engineer who has worked for the city for five years, said he had crossed paths with all who died.

"As time goes by, it gets harder," said Smith, who had an office in Building 2 but was not inside at the time of the shooting.

City policy bars employees from bringing guns to work, but state law prevents municipalities from restricting weapons in most municipal buildings.

The General Assembly will hold a special session next month to tackle gun legislation. State Del. Kelly Fowler of Virginia Beach has raised the possibility of allowing cities to control who carries weapons into municipal buildings.

On Monday, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney said he wanted to ban people from carrying weapons in city-owned buildings or parks.


Last week, Virginia Beach City Council members Sabrina Wooten and Guy Tower tried unsuccessfully to gain support for a similar proposal.

Some speakers at that council meeting feared that if everyone was allowed to bring in a weapon, it would be harder to discern who was there to do harm.


Leaders should strive to create a work environment in which employees feel safe so they don't need to bring a weapon, Wooten said.

"The workplace is a place of work — not a war zone or place of confusion," she said.

Smith, 49, said he has been around guns for more than 40 years and has a concealed carry permit. His experience is that people become more responsible when they carry weapons.

Still, Smith does not support every city employee bringing a gun to work. He suggested that those who want one must pass a vetting process more stringent than the one for obtaining a concealed carry permit.

Smith says he shares common ground with Wooten and Tower: They all want city employees to be safer. They simply disagree on the best approach.

The answer is a serious conversation where city employees and leaders come together, Smith said.

"A genuine look at the issue and what we can do that's a better solution," he said

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