GUN BAN IN PUBLIC HOUSING WOULD LIKELY MISFIRE

The accidental shooting of a 4-year-old Suffolk boy is more proof that
adults should lock up their weapons at home or not keep them at all.

But the Aug. 1 incident, in which the boy's finger was injured, hardly
seems reason for the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority to ban all
firearms from public housing projects.

The idea, weighed by the authority as a means of curtailing gun violence,
is flawed on several fronts.

First, the authority has the wrong poster child for its well-intentioned
but overzealous campaign.

The boy is not the victim of violent drug crime; rather, he is another
unfortunate example of what follows from irresponsible gun ownership.

His 5-year-old brother found the loaded, unsecured weapon behind his
mother's bed while she was out. He was playing with the gun when it
discharged into his little brother's hand.

Second, after the incident, the authority sent an erroneous, threatening
letter that residents could lose their leases if firearms were found on
SRHA property.

It turns out the leases don't contain such a prohibition. If they did, they
likely would have been violating state law.

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, as amended in 1991, bars
enforcement of any public housing lease that attempts to restrict the
lawful possession of a firearm.

Housing authorities in Portsmouth and Norfolk don't ban firearms, for
example. A Portsmouth housing official said last week that Suffolk was
"stepping on dangerous ground" by contemplating a ban. He's right.

Third, barring guns in public housing would be questionable even if such a
prohibition could be included in leases. Residents don't give up rights
just because they live in subsidized homes.

The courts, at least, have seen it this way in recent years. In two closely
watched cases, high state courts have thrown out gun bans in public housing
in Portland, Maine, and Austin, Texas.

Ironically, the Suffolk debate is coming just months after the city took a
strong step to combat violent crime in public housing and elsewhere.
Suffolk enlisted this spring in Project Exile, which promises mandatory
sentences for gun-related crimes.

The housing authority would be wise to give the program more time to make a
difference before jumping into a legal and political quagmire by attempting
to ban all firearms from its properties.