Virginia: Senate Passes Anti-Gun House Bills

On February 26^th and 27^th, the Virginia Senate voted to pass a number of the anti-gun bills that crossed over from the House. Your NRA and law-abiding citizens have opposed these bills each step along the way and will continue to do so.

House Bill 2 passed by a vote of 23-17. It criminalizes private transfers of firearms without first paying fees, with limited exceptions. Most transfers between friends, neighbors, or fellow hunters are not exempted. These proposals would have no impact on crime and are completely unenforceable.

House Bill 674 passed by a vote of 20-20 after Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax broke the tie. It allows the seizure of an individual’s firearms on baseless accusations without a hearing or other opportunity for the person to be heard in court. It permits the government to seize firearms based on weak and nebulous standards of evidence.

A person subject to a suspension of a Constitutional right should be entitled to high evidentiary standards, an opportunity to be heard, and the right to face his or her accusers. Civil liberties advocates from across the political spectrum have expressed concerns on these “red flag” bills and how the procedure might lead to abuses of the process because of insufficient due process protections in the bill.

House Bill 421 passed by a vote of 22-18. It allows local governments to enact their own gun control ordinances, potentially resulting in a patchwork of laws and the Second Amendment not being protected across the state.

House Bill 812 passed by a vote of 21-19. It arbitrarily rations an individual’s right to lawfully purchase a handgun to once within 30 days.

House Bill 9 passed by a vote of 20-20 after Lt. Gov. Fairfax broke the tie. It victimizes gun owners who suffer loss or theft of their property with a fine if they don’t report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours of discovering them missing.

House Bill 1083 passed by a vote of 22-18. It severely restricts parental decisions about firearms in the home while attaching excessive penalties for violations.

House Bill 1080 passed by a vote of 21-19. It limits the ability of school boards and school administrators to make their own decisions to provide for the security of their students and faculty.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org and your email inbox for further updates.