Virginia: Legislative Committees Scheduled to Consider and Vote on Numerous Consequential Gun Bills This Week

The Senate Courts of Justice Committee and the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee 1 will meet again this week to consider and vote on several bills of importance to Virginia gun owners, sportsmen and supporters of the Second Amendment.

Tomorrow, January 23, the Senate Courts of Justice Committee will convene in Senate Room B a half hour after the Senate adjourns for the day.  The following bills will be considered tomorrow:

Senate Bill 1001, sponsored by Senator Henry Marsh (D-16),would require a background check on all private firearm transfers at a gun show.  Under current law, only licensed dealers must obtain such a check. (NRA opposes)

Senate Bill 1299, sponsored by Senator John Edwards (D-21), would provide that certain criminal history record information and protective order registry information be made available to the federal government for the purposes of determining a person's eligibility to possess a firearm. (NRA supports)

Senate Bill 1363, sponsored by Senator Jill Vogel (R-27), would provide that residency for members of the armed forces shall include both the member’s permanent duty post and the nearby state in which the member resides for the purposes of firearms purchases. (NRA supports)

This Thursday, January 24, at 5:00 p.m. the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee  1 is scheduled to meet in the 4^th Floor West Conference Room of the General Assembly Building.  The following bills will be considered by this House subcommittee:

House Bill 1582 , sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88) would permit armed security guards to carry firearms on school property and prohibits the Board of Social Services from adopting any regulations that would prevent a child day center from hiring an armed security officer. (NRA supports)

House Bill 2240, sponsored by Delegate John Cosgrove (R-78), is the House companion of S.B. 1299, and would provide that certain criminal history record information and protective order registry information be made available to the federal government for the purposes of determining a person's eligibility to possess a firearm. (NRA supports)

House Bill 2251, sponsored by Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-49),would ban the sale, transfer and possession of magazines that hold more than twenty rounds. (NRA opposes)

House Bill 2281, sponsored by Delegate Jeion Ward (D-92), would mandate the reporting of lost and stolen firearms. (NRA opposes)

House Bill 2317, sponsored by Delegate Rich Anderson (R-51),  is the House companion of S.B. 1363, and would provide that residency for members of the armed forces shall include both the member’s permanent duty post and the nearby state in which the member resides for the purposes of firearms purchases. (NRA supports)

House Bill 2327, sponsored by Robert Brink (D-48),would reenact the repealed “one gun a month” (gun rationing) statute. (NRA opposes)

House Bill 2342, sponsored by Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R-31), would require that the Department of State Police provide an expedited process by which Virginians who present a concealed handgun permit may receive an expedited criminal history information background check when purchasing a firearm. (NRA supports)

Please contact your state Senator or Delegate NOW to oppose or support the legislation listed above if he or she serves on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee or the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee 1.  For help identifying members of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee, please click here.  Members of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee 1 can be found below:

Delegate Thomas C. Wright, Jr. (R-61), Chairman

Delegate C. Matthew Fariss (R-59)

Delegate C. Todd Gilbert (R-15)

Delegate Lynwood W. Lewis, Jr. (D-100)

Delegate Michael J. Webert (R-18)

For help identifying your state Senator and Delegate, please click here.

The NRA-ILA will continue to monitor all pro-/anti-gun bills as they move through the legislative process.  Please continue to contact your state legislators and encourage them to support your Right to Keep and Bear Arms this legislative session.