Editing Virgil Earp (section)

===Conflict with Cowboys===
{{further|Cochise County in the Old West}}

To reduce crime in Tombstone, the City Council enacted an [[Cochise County Cowboys#Weapon ordinance|ordinance]] in April 1881 that prohibited anyone from carrying a deadly weapon in town. Everyone was required to deposit their weapons at a [[livery stable|livery]] or saloon soon after entering town. A long-simmering feud between the Earps and some of the Cowboys played a big role in a gunfight that broke out when Virgil decided to enforce the ordinance on Wednesday, October 26, 1881.<ref name="ordinance" />

Virgil was told by several concerned citizens that several [[Cochise County Cowboys|Cowboys]], who had been threatening the Earps for several months, were in town and armed in violation of the ordinance. Assisted by his deputy Morgan Earp and temporary deputies Wyatt Earp and [[Doc Holliday|John "Doc" Holliday]], Virgil went to disarm [[Frank McLaury|Frank]] and [[Tom McLaury]], [[Ike Clanton|Ike]] and [[Billy Clanton]], and [[Billy Claiborne]]. That confrontation turned into a shootout now known as the [[Gunfight at the O.K. Corral]].