Gun control advocates aren’t wasting any time in their quest to gut Virginia’s gun laws and make them look much more like California’s or New Jersey’s. Monday morning the state Senate Judiciary Committee meets for the first time, and the agenda is chock full of gun control bills. Here’s a brief rundown.
- SB 12- a universal background check bill that makes it a misdemeanor to sell or transfer a firearm without using an FFL to conduct a background check (with a few limited exceptions).
- SB 22- prohibits the purchase of more than one handgun within a 30-day period, with exceptions for concealed carry licensees (and private sales, oddly enough).
- SB 35- weakens Virginia’s firearms preemption law by allowing localities to ban firearms during permitted events.
- SB 69- another one-gun-a-month bill very similar to SB 22.
- SB 70- another universal background check bill, only the penalty for transferring a firearm without going through an FFL would be a felony.
- SB 240- “red flag” legislation that establishes an Extreme Risk Protection Order that would require police to seize legally owned firearms if a judge determines an individual is likely to pose a “substantial risk” to themselves or others.
- SB 450- another bill weakening Virginia’s firearms pre-emption law that permits local governments to ban legally carried firearms from public meetings.
- SB 505- yet another anti-preemption bill. This would allow local and county governments to declare their buildings “gun-free zones.”
- SB 543- makes background checks mandatory for all sales or transfers at Virginia gun shows.
- SB 615- still another bill attacking firearms preemption. This bill would allow local governments to ban legally carried firearms from public parks and local government buildings.
The Senate Judiciary Committee will also be hearing a number of non-gun related bills as well, so expect little debate over any one piece of legislation. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if state Senator John Edwards doesn’t do all he can to try to limit debate and questions by Republicans.
The NRA will be on hand Monday morning and are asking gun owners to pack the hearing room (the group notes that Magpul will be making an “emergency air drop” of magazines as well). The meeting begins Monday morning at 8 a.m., and given the new rules banning firearms from the capitol building and office spaces, folks who are planning on attending need to show up earlier than normal, since I suspect the new security procedures may slow things down a bit.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League is also asking members to attend Monday morning’s meeting, and given the engagement of Second Amendment supporters in the state at the moment, I expect a good crowd on hand. I’m planning on getting to the capitol early Monday morning, and I’ll be sharing updates on my Twitter feed as well as here at BearingArms.com.