Anti-Gun Bills Defeated in Senate Local Government Committee

The Senate Committee on Local Government defeated two anti-gun bills today, both by a 10-5 vote.

Introduced by State Senator Maime Locke (D-2), Senate Bill 832 would have banned firearms in any building owned or operated by a locality (such as a recreation center, administrative building, or public library) while any official governmental meetings were being held inside.

Senate Bill 1053, authored by State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple (D-31) would have given localities the authority to outlaw firearms in any buildings or facilities used for governmental purposes.

Anti-gun advocates, including the Virginia Center for Public Safety, spoke in support of these bills. Both bills would have endangered public safety by restricting the rights of law-abiding Right-to-Carry permit holders from defending themselves in a public place. In addition, these bills would have gutted Virginia’s preemption statutes by creating a confusing patchwork of firearms laws throughout the state.