CLIFTON FORGE, VA (VR) – During the town council meeting Tuesday, September 8th, 2026, town leaders discussed and further amended the “unlawful discharge of firearms” ordinance 62-9, which will now as adjusted, impose harsher penalties on citizens who unnecessarily discharge a gun within Clifton Forge limits. As a subsection of the ordinance reads, “It shall be unlawful for any person, without necessity, to fire or discharge in the town any gun, pistol, or other firearm of any kind”. The law of course makes exceptions for police officers firing in the line of duty, persons protecting their life and property, for hunters who hold permits for “national forest lands within the town”, or for farmers that kill deer who are a threat to crops on “at least 5 acres of land zoned for agricultural use”.
One recent amendment to ordinance 62-9 now allows for violators to be charged with a class 1 misdemeanor instead of a class 4. Virginia State Law already makes reckless handling of a firearm a class 1 misdemeanor, with years of prison time and thousands of dollars in fines depending on where the weapon is fired, especially if near a school. As Clifton Forge Chief of Police Scott Balser clarified, anyone who unlawfully fires a weapon within Clifton Forge limits “can be charged for both violation of the adjusted town ordinance and breaking state law”. Balser also mentioned that with the charge for unlawful discharge of a firearm now being raised to a class 1 for the town, the police department will now be able to “confiscate violators’ weapons and re-sell them. The funds could then be used toward new equipment for law enforcement”.
Town council had previously amended the ordinance to include a $50 fine for unlawful discharge as well, but after more deliberation, it was decided Tuesday among council members to raise that fine to $250. Since this $250 rate would apply to every round discharged, if a person fired off 3 rounds, that would equate to a fine of $750.
The Shadow
