Virginia: House Subcommittee to Consider Gun-Related Legislation Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in the 4^th Floor West Conference room, House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee #1 is scheduled to hear the following pro-gun and anti-gun legislation listed below. Please contact members of this Subcommittee and respectfully request that they oppose HB 364 and HB 458 and support HB 20, HB 22, HB 26, HB 375 and HB 940.

Delegate Tommy Wright (R-61), Chairman

Delegate Todd Gilbert (R-15)

Delegate Michael Webert (R-18)

Delegate Matt Farris (R-59)

Delegate Lynwood Lewis (D-100)

Anti-Gun Legislation:

House Bill 364, sponsored by Delegate Jennifer McClellan (D-71), would prohibit the private sales of firearms at gun shows by requiring that all sales conducted at a gun show go through a federally licensed dealer.  Make no mistake, if passed, supporters of this legislation will soon be calling for a ban on all private sales in Virginia.

House Bill 458, sponsored by Mamye BaCote (D-95), seeks to weaken Virginia’s preemption law by allowing localities to adopt an ordinance that prohibits firearms, ammunition, or components, or a combination thereof, in libraries owned or operated by the locality.

Pro-Gun Legislation:House Bill 20, drafted by the NRA and sponsored by Delegate Tony Wilt (R-25), would update Virginia’s Emergency Powers doctrine by adding lawful carrying and transportation to the list of actions that cannot be prohibited during a declaration of emergency.

House Bill 22, drafted by the NRA in 2009 and sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), would establish that no locality or entity may participate in a gun “buyback” program where individuals are given anything of value or money in exchange for surrendering a firearm to the locality unless the governing body first passes an ordinance authorizing the gun “buyback.” This legislation also requires that any locality holding gun "buybacks" sell the firearms to a federally licensed dealer “or be disposed of in any appropriate manner” if they could not be sold.

House Bill 26, 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 handgun permit when requested by a law enforcement officer.

House Bill 375, sponsored by Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96), would prohibit localities from adopting any workplace rule that prevents an employee from storing a lawfully possessed firearm and ammunition in his locked motor vehicle. The firearm must be in a secured container or compartment in the vehicle.

House Bill 940, drafted by the NRA and sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), would eliminate Virginia’s gun-rationing scheme which prohibits the purchase of more than one handgun in a thirty-day period.