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#1620199 - 04/10/20 04:27 PM gun control bills signed
VaGunTrader Offline
The Dictator

Registered: 11/19/08
Posts: 4023
Loc: Petersburg Va
City or County: Petersburg
Virginians will be subject to more gun control under legislation Gov. Ralph Northam signed Friday that he and advocates say will save lives.

Northam signed five of the seven gun control measures his administration backed that cleared the legislature this year - bills that drew an estimated 22,000 protesters to Richmond in January. They were among the most controversial of a flood of progressive bills Democrats passed while in power for the first time in a generation.

“We lose too many Virginians to gun violence, and it is past time we took bold, meaningful action to make our communities safer,” Northam said. “I was proud to work with legislators and advocates on these measures, and I am proud to sign them into law. These commonsense laws will save lives.”

The bills Northam signed include expanding background checks; mandating the reporting of lost and stolen guns; a measure meant to prevent children from accessing guns; reinstating Virginia's one-handgun-a-month policy; and a "red flag" law that would allow the temporary removal of guns from a person deemed "a substantial risk" to himself or others.

He proposed technical amendments to bills allowing local control of gun regulations in public buildings, parks and during events, and barring people subject to protective orders from having a gun.

His administration had supported eight gun control bills this session. The eighth, a proposed ban on assault weapons, died in the state Senate, which carried over the measure for study.

Northam vowed Friday to propose an assault weapons ban again next year.

“We do not need weapons of war on our streets,” he said on a press call with gun-control advocates and Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax.

Filler-Corn praised the bills that the legislature did pass.

“In November, Virginians called out loud and clear for meaningful legislation to address gun violence in the commonwealth. They demanded action and we delivered,” she said. “I am grateful to the governor for his leadership and for signing these bills that will save lives.”

House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, raised issue with the timing of Democrats' "victory lap", calling it counterintuitive given the record gun sales reported by the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center for March - a total of 80,228 transactions that's the highest total for any month on record.

"To do so at a time when we need all Virginians unified in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic is counterproductive," Gilbert said of the timing. "It was clear from the moment these bills were introduced that they would impact law-abiding gun owners far more than criminals. It’s an unfortunate last chapter in the story of Michael Bloomberg’s efforts to reshape Virginia.”

Last year, during a special session Northam called following the mass shooting in Virginia Beach, Republicans adjourned the gathering less than two hours after its start without voting on any of the gun-control measures Northam had proposed.

That helped fuel a blue wave in the 2019 legislative elections that flipped the Republican-led House of Delegates and Senate to Democratic majorities.

Gun-control advocates spent millions on last year’s statewide elections, where every seat in the legislature was up for grabs. Everytown for Gun Safety, founded by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, for example, spent $1.6 million in 2018-19, making it one of the largest donors that election cycle, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

“Voters were fed up with inaction; fed up with 'thoughts and prayers' and we replaced gun lobby politicians with gun-sense champions,” said Everytown President John Feinblatt on Friday.

The outside influence in a traditionally gun-friendly state, which is home to the National Rifle Association’s headquarters, served as a major point of contention during the debates on the gun-control bills and during a January protest that brought an estimated 22,000 people to the Capitol.

The gun-rights proponents’ rally included about 6,000 people inside Capitol Square - unarmed after Northam and Filler-Corn banned guns on the grounds and inside legislative buildings - and 16,000 more outside, where guns were allowed.

Attendees vowed to oppose the gun-control measures - some chanting “we will not comply” - that Northam has now signed into law. The bills take effect July 1.

Still pending are Senate Bill 35 from Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, and House Bill 421 from Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, which would allow localities to ban guns at events, parks and public buildings, an issue ahead of the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville. Northam has proposed an amendment to clarify that colleges are exempt.

In the April 22 reconvened session the legislature also will take up Northam's proposed amendments to Senate Bill 479 from Sen. Janet Howell, D-Fairfax, and House Bill 1004 from Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News. As is, the bills would prohibit people with protective orders against them from having guns, require them to turn in their guns within 24 hours of being served with the order and to certify to the court that they've turned the guns over.

Northam's proposed amendments would allow judges to hold the person in contempt of court if the individual did not comply with the certification requirements.

Senate Majority Leader **VOTE IN NOVEMBER** Saslaw, D-Fairfax, called Friday a “monumental day.”

“Virginia will be safer thanks to universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders, and restoring a one-handgun-a-month policy,” he said. “I am proud to have worked side by side with our governor to get this done.”

Gov. Doug Wilder signed Virginia's one-gun-a-month measure in 1993. It was in place until Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a measure to repeal it in 2012.

While Northam signed the gun control bills, a number of prominent measures are still pending.

For example, the chief executive has yet to act on bills to raise the minimum wage, decriminalize marijuana and give localities the power to take down Confederate monuments, among others. He faces an 11:59 p.m. Saturday deadline to sign, veto or propose amendments to legislation.
_________________________
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.
Thomas Jefferson

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#1620249 - 04/10/20 06:15 PM Re: gun control bills signed [Re: VaGunTrader]
jr45 Offline
Full Auto

Registered: 11/30/08
Posts: 1258
Loc: VA
City or County: Stafford
Big outside influence while we were asleep at the wheel in Nov is showing the consequences. It’s not over, additional proposed gun control amendments come up for review on 22 Apr...we must keep up the fight?

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#1622069 - 04/14/20 01:38 PM Re: gun control bills signed [Re: VaGunTrader]
vaforlife Offline
Just Your Everyday Super Nerd

Registered: 03/19/20
Posts: 5
Loc: VA
City or County: Woodbridge
I saw this too in an email today from NRA.

Talk about this happening at a worse time.

Signed into law:

Senate Bill 70 and House Bill 2 criminalize private sales of firearms without first paying fees. There are no exemptions for sales between friends, neighbors, collectors, or fellow hunters. These proposals would have no impact on crime and are completely unenforceable.

Senate Bill 69 and House Bill 812 arbitrarily ration an individual’s right to lawfully purchase a handgun to once within 30 days.

Senate Bill 240 and House Bill 674 allow the seizure of an individual’s firearms on baseless accusations without a hearing or other opportunity for the person to be heard in court. They permit 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” schemes and how the procedure might lead to abuses of the process because of insufficient due process protections.

House Bill 9 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 48 hours of discovering them missing.

House Bill 1083 severely restricts parental decisions about firearms in the home while attaching excessive penalties for violations.

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#1623849 - 04/17/20 09:49 PM Re: gun control bills signed [Re: VaGunTrader]
redskins17 Offline
Addicted

Registered: 02/21/14
Posts: 426
Loc: Tidewater
City or County: virginia beach
Re-open Virginia Rally in Richmond Wed. APRIL 22ND 11AM-2PM! Check facebook. Our 2nd amendment rights are under attack! Northam is trying to pass more restrictions July 1st! Research Senator Amanda Chase. Please be there April 22nd.

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#1624576 - 04/19/20 11:39 AM Re: gun control bills signed [Re: VaGunTrader]
vwjetty Offline
Bolt action

Registered: 09/04/11
Posts: 146
Loc: Virginia
City or County: Prince William
Sorry late to the party. I just heard about this wow.

Looks like while everyone is fighting for their lives and putting food on the table, our government has the audacity to put these laws into effect. Something about that, just isn't right to be honest.
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