Reconvened Session to Take Up McAuliffe Anti-Gun Amendment at Noon Today

The Reconvened Session of the 2014 General Assembly is at noon today to take up Governor Terry McAuliffe's vetos and amendments to bills passed this year.  There is only one bill, SB377, that has implecations to gun owners.  SB 377 sets up a voluntary process for licensed firearm retailers who are taking a firearm in trade or sale from a non-dealer, to check to see if the firearm in question has been reported lost or stolen.  The non-dealer seeking to trade or sell the firearm would be required to sign a consent form allowing the check.  As passed, if the firearm was found to not have been reported lost or stolen, the consent forms would have to be destroyed within two weeks.  Governor McAuliffe amendmend the bill to specify the forms could not be destroyed prior to 90 days and also makes no mention of a requirement to destroy the forms, setting up a backdoor registration process.  VSSA has asked Senators to reject the amendment.  As soon as the bill comes up for action on the floor, we will share the results on the VSSA Twitter feed and on Facebook.

McAuliffe Adds Anti-Gun Amendment to Senate Bill 377

Governor Terry McAuliffe has struck again.  Earlier this week, he added a VSSA opposed amendment to Senate Bill 377. Sponsored by state Senator Bryce Reeves (R-17), SB 377, as passed by the General Assembly, would allow federally licensed firearm retailers seeking to purchase, trade or transfer a firearm from a non-dealer individual, to submit information on that firearm to law enforcement to determine if it has been reported lost or stolen. Included in the process is a consent form which must contain all identification taken in writing from the person selling, trading or transferring the firearm to the dealer, as well as information about the firearm. As passed, SB 377 stipulates that if the firearm has not have been reported lost or stolen, the dealer is required to destroy the consent form within two weeks. SB 377 was passed unanimously by the House of Delegates on February 25 and the state Senate concurred unanimously on February 27.
 

McAuliffe’s amendment has serious anti-gun implications. While SB 377 as passed by the Assembly would require the licensed retailer to destroy the consent forms for all firearms determined not to be lost or stolen, the Governor’s amendment would mandate that those consent forms be kept by the FFL for at least 90 days and includes no requirement to ever destroy them. This is a nothing short of a backdoor registration of those seeking to sell, trade or transfer their lawfully owned firearms to a gun dealer.

 

Please contact your state senator today and urge him or her to vote no on the amendment.  Also please contact your member of the House of Delegates and urge him or her to oppose the amendment in the event that the amendment makes it out of the State Senate.  The reconvened session will take place April 23rd. 

McAuliffe's First Veto Aimed At Gun Owners

You may recall that Governor Terry McAuliffe tried to amend HB962, a bill that simply clarified current law related to storing a loaded firearm in a compartment in a vehicle or boat.  McAuliffe's amendment would have completely changed the meaning of the bill.  HB962 clarified current law by expressly stating that when a loaded firearm is stored in a closed container in a vehicle or boat, that the container does not have to be locked.  Former Governor Bob McDonnell signed that into law in 2010.  However a few localities have caused gun owners some inconvenience because the law was appearently not clear enough because the code currently uses the word "secured" but not "locked."  McAuliffe tried to insert an amendment that would require the compartment to be locked.  The original bill passed both the House and Senate overwhelmingly.  The House overwhelmingly rejected the amendment.  So, he vetoed the bill.  McAuliffe's veto message stated:

I believe the bill as originally passed does not offer adequate protection to our citizens and law enforcement personnel and, accordingly, I veto this bill.

Interestingly enough, because of the way the House dispatched with the amendment, they may not have the opportunity to try and override the veto, which in this case is fine.  Nothing changes.  Those without a concealed handgun permit can still store a loaded firearm in compartment in a vehicle or boat and it does not have to be locked. Does this still open some gun owners up to inconvenience because some law enforcement may not fully understand the law? Probably.  But in the end, McAuliffe tries to tip his hat to Michael Bloomberg and the gun ban lobby and ends up looking like a fool because his veto of the bill changes nothing.

What Happens Next for House Bill 962 on Concealed Handgun in Car

Friday, the House of Delegates rejected Governor Terry McAuliffe's anti-selfdefense amendment to Delegate Ben Cline's bill that clarified that the term closed container in the code section related to storying a loaded handgun in a vehicle or boat does not mean a "locked" container. McAuliffe amended the bill to have just the opposite effect. The House rejected the amendment. Roanoke's WDBJ TV 7 had the story.
If the Governor decides to veto the bill and both chambers do not override the veto, there will be no harm as the bill was just a clarifying piece of legislation. It will mean that the handful of jurisdictions who don't know the law may still cause some short term inconvenience to some gun owners. HB962 was intended to fix that. However, it is already lawful to keep your firearm in an unlocked container in your car, truck or boat.

McAuliffe Amends Cline Bill on Storing Firearms in Vehicles

Governor McAuliffe has used a bill that simply clarifies existing law, to make a statement against self defense.  Delegate Ben Cline's HB 962 provides that for purposes of the exception to the prohibition against carrying a concealed weapon if it is in a secured container or compartment in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel, the term "compartment" includes a console, glove compartment, or any other area within or on the vehicle or vessel that possesses the ability to be closed. The bill also provides that the term "secured" does not require that a container or compartment be locked, but merely closed.  The bill passed both Houses of the General Assembly by large bi-partisan margins (27-13 in the Senate and 70-27 in the House of Delegates).  But Governor Terry McAuliffe amended the bill and sent it back to the Assembly.  His amendment strikes the work "secured" everywhere it appears in the bill and  replaces it with "locked".  

Please contact your member of the House of Delegates and urge them to reject Governor McAuliffe's Amendment.  If the amendment is rejected, McAuliffe's options are to sign the bill as passed or to veto it.

Legislative Update

As we approach the final week of the Virginia General Assembly, it is likely we will end with no new gun control laws and few advancements in our rights.

A quick look at the VSSA Legislative Tracking Form tells the story.  A number of pro-rights bills were either carried over to next year (a soft way of killing a bill) or were killed out right in the State Senate after the anti-rights crowd took control of Senate Courts of Justice mid way through the session.  For instance, HB 878, a bill that would have improved the process for purchasing firearms and accessories covered by the National Firearms Act (NFA) passed the House, but was killed by the new anti-rights majority on the Senate Courts of Justice Committee.  Lifetime concealed handgun permits made it out of the Senate on a bi-partisan vote but has been stalled in the House because of concerns with the State Police handling the application process.

On the bright side, all of the anti-rights bills have been defeated.  Thankfully, most of the bad bills went through Senate Courts of Justice before the power shift.  There are two minor bills (companion bills) HB 810 and SB 65, dealing with so-called "Celebratory Gun Fire" that are still hanging around.  It's not that VSSA supports the practice, but the fact that there are already laws dealing with negligent discharge and the fact that unless you see the individual violate the law, exactly how will it be enforced?  HB 810 had been significantly neutered to a bill dealing with the original issue, was amended to address malicious wounding.  It passed the House but was amended back the the version of Senator Marsh's bill (SB 65) when it got to Senate Courts of Justice.  The House of Delegates rejected the amendments and it is now headed to conference.  The House has amended SB 65 to the way HB 810 left the House of Delegates and is currently in the Appropriations Committee.  It is likely to meet the same fate as HB 810 if it gets back to the Senate, and both bills may be killed for lack of action by a conference committee.

Also on the positive side, working with the NRA, NSSF, and other pro hunting groups, we were able to pass a bill allowing Sunday hunting on private property.  This is a win for property rights while balancing the interests of those who wish to use public land on Sundays for the purpose of hiking, horseback riding, or biking.  A spokesman for the Governor indicated he would sign the bill.  That has not stopped opponents from trying to gut the bill however.  A move is underway to encourage local Board of Supervisors to pass resolutions encouraging McAuliffe to amend the bill with a provision making it a local option allowing Sunday hunting on private land.  Supporters of Sunday Hunting should contact Governor McAuliffe and urge him to sign HB 1237.

With one week left, the general assessment of the 2014 Session is that we are ending about as we expected - with the status quo.  For all his bluster late in the campaign, McAuliffe has not lifted a finger to help pass the large number of gun control bills introduced.  The gun ban lobby's attempt to push bills like SB 510, part of a new strategy that would take away a person's civil rights for certain misdemeanor conviction, failed.  Rest assured they will be back next year, and this time they have a willing majority in Senate Courts of Justice with which to work..

McAuliffe Says He will Sign Sunday Hunting Bill

Yesterday, the Virginia Senate passed the House bill allowing hunting on private property on Sunday.  The News and Advance reports that a spokesman for Governor Terry McAuliffe said the Governor will sign the bill.  This is good news and a change of position as reported by the Free Lance Star earlier this year:

The last two governors said they supported Sunday hunting on private land, but candidate McAuliffe stated in our interview with him last October that he favored the status quo. Sources, though, say a veto would be unlikely.

The news of the bill's passage cheered the pro-Sunday hunting folks who have been working on this for years, but really stepped up their lobbying this year.  This victory was achieved when they were able to get the bill assigned to the House Agriculture Committee instead of the killing field of the subcommittee that had deep-sixed the bill the last several years.  The News and Advance caught of with one hunter that will be impacted by the bill and he sounded happy about the vote:

The vote cheered hunters in the Roanoke Valley, including Daniel Hartman, 16, an avid baseball player who was looking at guncleaning supplies at Roanoke’s Sportsman’s Warehouse on Tuesday evening with his father. 

“Once I started playing travel ball, I noticed I wasn’t getting much hunting time,” said Daniel, who lives in Roanoke County and does much of his hunting on family land.

There is possibly another benefit this new law will have not only for hunters, but all Virginians, courtesy of Mark Holmberg at CBS6 back in November..