Seven gun bills pass Virginia House, including 'red flag law'
RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) -- The Virginia House of Delegates has passed a package of gun control measures they said were needed to improve public safety a week after tens of thousands of pro-gun advocates from around the country rallied at the state Capitol.
The Virginia Senate passed their version of the bills last week.
Those bills include limiting handgun purchases to once a month; universal background checks on gun purchases; allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas; and a red flag bill that would allow authorities to temporarily take guns away from anyone deemed to be dangerous to themselves or others.
"While [Thursday's] actions will not lessen the grief of those who have lost loved ones to gun violence, the legislation passed in the House of Delegates will prevent more senseless deaths and make our Commonwealth safer," said House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn.
Seven out of the eight gun bills that Governor Ralph Northam has said were his priority passed the House and Senate over vocal opposition from Republicans, who said the measures infringe on law-abiding gun owners’ rights.
The bill that has not been included is an assault weapon ban.
GALLERY | Lobby Day in Richmond
The Senate has already killed off its version of the bill and some moderate Democratic senators said they won’t support the legislation, which would outlaw the popular AR-15-style rifles.
Virginia has become a key flash point in the national debate over gun violence.
Northam and Democratic lawmakers have credited their focus on gun control for helping them win full control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than two decades. Guns were a key topic of last year’s legislative elections — particularly after a mass shooting in Virginia Beach claimed a dozen lives — and gun-control groups heavily funded Democratic candidates.
Gun-rights advocates have accused Democrats of wanting to confiscate such rifles from current gun owners. Northam has said he has no interest in doing so.
An estimated 8 million AR-style guns have been sold since they were introduced to the public in the 1960s. The weapons are known as easy to use, easy to clean and easy to modify with a variety of scopes, stocks and rails.
Details of the bills and who voted for or against them are below:
- HB 2: Firearm transfers; criminal history record information checks, penalty.
- HB 9: Firearms; reporting those lost or stolen, civil penalty.
- HB 421: Firearms, ammunition, etc.; control by localities by governing possession, etc., within locality.
- HB 674: Firearms; removal from persons posing substantial risk, penalties.
- HB 812: Handguns; limitation on purchases, penalty.
- HB 1004: Protective orders; possession of firearms, surrender or transfer of firearms, penalty.
- HB 1083: Minors; allowing access to firearms, Class 6 felony.
The legislation will now go to the Senate for a vote. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats, but the Senate is the more conservative of the two chambers on gun issues.
The chambers will hash out any differences between their respective gun-control measures in coming weeks.
Several Senate Democrats have already said they are unlikely to back the governor's ban on so-called assault weapons, such as the popular AR-15-style rifles — a key part of Northam’s gun-control package. The House version of the bill has also not advanced.
An estimated eight million AR-style guns have been sold since they were introduced to the public in the 1960s. The weapons are known as easy to use, easy to clean and easy to modify with a variety of scopes, stocks and rails.
