Virginia - Injunction granted to reopen SafeSide/indoor ranges

[il_10]

It appears Governor Northam went a step too far in grouping indoor shooting ranges with 'entertainment' venues in ordering them to be closed ostensibly under his emergency powers due to Covid-19.


Judge Yeatts' opinion can be found here, and is a fascinating read:
https://www.scribd.com/document/458615211/Judge-F-Patrick-Yeatts-opinion-letter

Virginia code 44-146.15(3) prohibits the Governor from using a state of emergency to "...in any way limit or prohibit the rights of the people to keep and bear arms...", and judge Yeatts determined that indoor shooting ranges are part of the core right of bearing (and training with) arms.

From reading the opinion I suppose it could be argued that the scope is only to areas without an alternative outdoor shooting range, but the injunction is granted for now and I'm happy to see another victory in Virginia from VCDL and GOA's efforts.

 

[badkarmamib]

So far, that injunction ONLY applies to the range specified in the lawsuit, Safeside in Lynchburg. From the VCDL's Fakebook page:

"VCDL and GOA have won a partial victory today! A state judge in Lynchburg has placed a temporary injunction against enforcement of Governor Northam's Executive Order that closed indoor shooting ranges, but only for the Safeside indoor shooting range in Lynchburg."

 

[jr45]

Interesting...I wonder how far this decision be applied to other indoor ranges?

 

[badkarmamib]

Per the VCDL, in an email that I just received, a new EO is putting ranges in their own category, and they will be allowed to reopen next Friday, as long as they follow social distancing protocol. From the email:

VCDL and GOA's lawsuit to reopen indoor shooting-ranges, which succeeded in reopening one indoor shooting range in Lynchburg (Safeside Tactical), has now had a wider victory!

Governor Northam's new Executive Order 61 reclassifies indoor shooting-ranges into their own category, removing them from "entertainment." As such, indoor shooting-ranges will be able to reopen on Friday, May 15th, as long as they follow certain social distancing and sanitizing criteria:

8. Indoor Shooting Ranges
Effective 12:00 a.m., Friday, May 15, 2020, indoor shooting ranges may reopen, provided they comply with the following requirements:
a. Occupancy must be limited to 50% of the lowest occupancy load on the certificate of occupancy with at least six feet of physical distancing between individuals at all times. Use every other lane to achieve six feet of physical distancing.
b. Employees working in customer-facing areas are required to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth at all times.
c. Perform thorough cleaning and disinfection of frequently contacted surfaces every 60 minutes in operation, while disinfecting all equipment between each customer use and prohibiting the use of equipment that cannot be thoroughly disinfected.
d. Either thoroughly clean shared or borrowed equipment in between uses, or only allow the use of personal equipment at the range.
e. It is recommended that facilities strongly encourage patrons, members, and guests to wear face coverings over their nose and mouth while in the facility.
f. If any such indoor shooting range cannot adhere to these requirements, it must close.

It's now up to the indoor ranges to determine if they will reopen under the above restrictions.

Let's plan on patronizing our local indoor-ranges, starting Friday. I know I'm ready to do my part! ;-)

 

[boom boom]

Excellent news. Please give us followups via posting on the actual reopening and any legal problems that might come up regarding those.