House Version of Bill Raising the Age to 21 to Purchase Certain Firearms to be Heard This Afternoon

Delegate Filler-Corn's HB2797 will be heard in Militia, Police, and Public Safety Subcommittee #1 this afternoon at 4:00.  This is the House version of the proposal to raise the age to purchase a firearm to 21.  It includes some interesting exemptions for those who are 18-20 however.

To purchase from a dealer a handgun or an assault firearm as herein defined, a person shall (i) be 21 years of age or older; (ii) have attained the age of 18 by July 1, 2019; or (iii) be 18, 19, or 20 years of age and have received a high school diploma, have passed a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education, or be a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or the National Guard of the Commonwealth or of any other state and shall consent in writing, on a form to be provided by the Department of State Police, to have the dealer obtain criminal history record information.

This bill was introduced on the last day to introduce legislation for the 2019 General Assembly.  It appears to address some of the questions that arose (i.e. those in the military) when Senator Saslaw's bill raising the age to purchase a firearm was heard in Senate Courts of Justice.  The bill is not expected to be reported out of the sub-committee.