Please Contact Your State Legislators!

On Tuesday, February 16, both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly will be casting votes on an unprecedented number of NRA supported bills and your help is needed to ensure passage!

The legislation being heard will range from repealing the egregious gun-rationing law, reforming the concealed carry permit process to improving the self-defense rights of Virginians.

It is important that you contact both your State Senator and Delegate and urge them to support the bills in their respective Chambers.  Contact information can be found here.

Virginia Senate:

Senate Bill 334, sponsored by State Senator Emmet Hanger (R-24), would allow concealed carry permit holders to carry concealed into restaurants that serve alcohol provided they do not consume alcohol. Similar legislation has consistently passed both Chambers but ultimately vetoed by former Governor Kaine.

Senate Bill 3, sponsored by State Senator Smith (R-22) would allow the renewal of resident concealed carry permits by mail.

Senate Bill 408, sponsored by State Senator Jill Vogel (R-27), would allow any person who may lawfully posses a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private vehicle or vessel, to keep the firearm secured in a locked container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel.

Senate Bill 533, sponsored by State Senator Ryan McDougle (R-4), would clarify that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit for the first time has the same right to an ore tenus (verbal or oral statements) hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a concealed handgun permit.

Virginia House of Delegates:

House Bill 49, sponsored by Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), would repeal Virginia’s “one-gun-a-month” gun rationing law enacted by the Wilder Administration in 1993.  This law has only restricted the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.

House Bill 8, sponsored by Delegate Charles Carrico (R-5), would allow the renewal of concealed carry permits by mail.

House Bill 26, authored by Delegate Thomas Wright (R-61), would prohibit the Clerk of the Court from requiring an applicant for a concealed handgun permit to provide any documentation or information not authorized by the law or prescribed by Virginia State Police.

House Bill 52, sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), would allow a court to waive a $25 dollar fine upon presentation of the permit to the court, if a person fails to display his concealed carry permit when requested by a law-enforcement officer.

House Bill 79, sponsored by Delegate R. Lee Ware (R-65), prohibits the Clerk of Court from publicly disclosing concealed handgun permit application information unless the permittee has provided written consent for the release of the application or information. The information would still be available to law-enforcement acting in the performance of their duties.

House Bill 108, also introduced by Delegate Cole (R-88), would prohibit agents of localities or localities themselves from participating in “gun buy-backs” unless the governing body of such a locality authorizes such a program. The locality would then have the option of selling the firearms by auction to a federally licensed dealer (FFL) or disposing of the firearm in any other appropriate manner.

House Bill 109, also sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), would repeal the statute which allows the governing body of any county to require the sellers of pistols and revolvers to furnish the Clerk of the Circuit Court with the name and address of the purchaser, date of purchase and the number, make, and caliber of the gun.

House Bill 171, authored by Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96), would prohibit property owners, employers, or a business entity from establishing or enforcing any policy prohibiting a person who may lawfully possess a firearm from storing a firearm in a locked motor vehicle in a publicly accessible parking lot.

House Bill 236, sponsored by Delegate Bill Janis (R-56), would remove the prohibition imposed by localities on hunting within a half-mile of subdivisions.

House Bill 637, introduced by Delegate Ward Armstrong (D-10), would exempt a boarding team member or boarding team officer in the United States Coast Guard from the concealed handgun permit issuance fee, provided they have completed 15 years of service or reached the age of 55. 

House Bill 854, sponsored by Delegate Will Morefield (R-3), would provide immunity from civil prosecution if someone uses force, including deadly force, to defend themselves and their loved ones if attacked in their home by someone who has entered unlawfully.

House Bill 870, sponsored by Delegate Benjamin Cline (R-24), would repeal the language that allows localities to fingerprint applicants for a concealed handgun permit.    

House Bill 871, authored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), would clarify that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit for the first time has the same right to an ore tenus (verbal or oral statements) hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a concealed handgun permit.

House Bill 885, sponsored by Delegate Cliff Athey (R-18), would allow any person who may lawfully posses a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private vehicle or vessel to keep the firearm secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel.

House Bill 1092, sponsored by Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark (R-6), would give retired law-enforcement the ability to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.

House Bill 1191, introduced by Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8), would allow a circuit court judge to authorize the Clerk of Court to issue concealed handgun permits in instances where the application is complete, the background check does not indicate that the applicant is disqualified, and, after consulting with the local sheriff or police department, there are no other questions or issues surrounding the application.

House Bill 1256, sponsored by Delegate Paula Miller (D-87), would provide that certain law-enforcement officers who resign from their position in good standing to accept a position covered by the Virginia Retirement System, shall be eligible to carry a concealed handgun if he or she has received written proof of consultation with and favorable review of the need to carry a concealed handgun, issued by the chief law-enforcement officer of the agency from which the officer resigned.

House Bill 490, sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), would direct the Department of State Police, in cooperation with the Secretary of Public Safety, to develop a plan to allow the State Police to issue lifetime concealed handgun permits to Virginia residents. The Department and the Secretary shall submit the plan, and any recommended legislative changes to implement the plan, to the Chairmen of the House Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety and the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice by October 15, 2010.

House Bill 1217, sponsored by Delegate Lynwood Lewis (D-100), would allow local school boards to offer firearm safety education programs in the elementary grades. To assist local school boards opting to provide such instruction, the Board of Education must establish a standardized program of firearm safety education for students in the elementary school grades to promote the protection and safety of children. The bill requires that the program objectives incorporate, among other principles of firearm safety, accident prevention and the rules of the National Rifle Association's Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program. Local school boards offering the program must comply with Board curriculum guidelines and integrate the instruction in appropriate subject areas, if feasible, to ensure that every elementary school student receives instruction in firearm safety education.

House Bill 1070, sponsored by Delegate Clay Athey (R-18), would provide that a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit may not be barred from carrying a concealed handgun in any place or facility designated or used by the Governor, any political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or any other governmental entity as an emergency shelter or for the purpose of sheltering persons.