Hearing canceled on proposal to let Surry supervisors have concealed guns at meetings

An Aug. 1 public hearing on proposed revisions to a Surry County ordinance that would allow county supervisors to bring concealed guns to board meetings has been canceled “due to the required timeline for public notices,” according to a July 26 announcement on the county’s website.

At the start of a July 18 work session, Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Elliott had asked that the meeting’s agenda be amended to include a discussion of the gun ordinance the supervisors had adopted on Nov. 3, 2022, which had prohibited the carrying of firearms inside government buildings.

Bacon’s Castle Supervisor Walter Hardy, according to Assistant County Administrator and spokesman David Harrison, proposed an exception that would “allow board members who possess a concealed weapons permit to be able to be armed.” The draft language specifies the exception would apply only “immediately preceding, during and immediately following a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.”

State law mandates local governments hold a public hearing ahead of any vote to adopt or change an ordinance. The hearing is required to be advertised in a newspaper with “general circulation” in that locality for two consecutive weeks ahead of the scheduled date.