Bill Allowing Firearms at Private and Religious Schools Prefiled at General Assembly

Delegate Mark Cole has introduced HB114 that would repeal the prohibition for possession of a firearm on the property of a private or religious elementary, middle, or high school.  It would also apply to a school bus owned or operated by such school; or any property being used for functions or extracurricular activities sponsored by such school of a stun weapon, knife, or other weapon (currently a Class 1 misdemeanor) or a firearm (currently a Class 6 felony). The bill does not affect the criminal penalties for the possession of such weapons on public school property.

Should the bill pass, it will be good news for parents who have children attending private schools in that they would be able to carry their self-defense firearm when attending activities at the school or picking up the children at school.  It would also open the opportunity for private schools who want to allow teachers and staff to carry while at school.

Compensated Gun Confiscation Bill on Final Vote in Senate

HB 2528, Delegate Mark Cole's bill targeting "compensated confiscation" schemes is on the Senate Calendar today for a final vote. UPDATE - Passed by for the Day

In the House, the following bills are on Second Reading in the House (to be moved on to final vote Tuesday).

SB 1035, Senator Hanger's bill repealing the "restaurant ban". UPDATE - Read second time

SB 1383, Senator Stolle's bill repealing Virginia's statute related to firearm silencers. Federal would still apply (uncontested calendar). UPDATE - Read second time

SB 1513, Senator Smith's bill awarding court costs, etc., to entity that prevails in action challenging locality that pass ordinances in violation of preemption. UPDATE - Read second time

SB 1528, Senator Cuccinelli's bill making it clear that the required training for a concealed handgun permit may be on-line training. (uncontested calendar) UPDATE - Read second time

Freelance Star Gets it Right

The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star has a great editorial this morning about Delegate Mark Cole's HB 2528 - the bill aimed at requiring localities that engage in "compensated confiscation" schemes to sell any firearms taken in through the "buy backs" to sell them to an FFL. Says the FFS:

The crucial fact is that there is no evidence that the programs reduce crime. Criminals don't want to undersell the tools of their trade any more than a carpenter wants to part with a favorite saw.

If only cities like Newport News, Washington DC and Chicago understood this. But the FFL knows the real purpose of these schemes and as much as says so - it's to get all guns out of the hands of citizens, and offer them a bribe to do so. The FFL however applied the same logic to HB 2538 that Delegate Cole did to the Washington Times earlier this week:

Why should a piece of property worth two or three hundred dollars be destroyed when a city could sell it to recoup--or perhaps more than recoup--what it paid for the item?

Kudos to the Free Lance-Star for applying common sense. Hopefully, the State Senate will do the same when it takes up the bill later this month.

First Firearm Related Bill Prefiled for General Assembly

Delegate Mark Cole is first out of the box with a firearm related bill for the 2008 Session. HB 109 is a pro-gun bill. The bill titled "Regulation of firearms by state entities", prohibits a state agency, council, commission, or other entity from adopting any rules, regulations, or policies governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage, or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combinations thereof, unless expressly authorized by statute. The prohibition does not apply to state, local, and regional correctional facilities or mental health facilities, nor is it to be construed to prohibit a law-enforcement officer from acting within the scope of his duties. Any rule, regulation, or policy adopted prior to July 1, 2007, except for those specifically authorized by statute, will be invalid.

VSSA will soon have its legislative tracking tool on the VSSA website. In addition, gun owners will be able to get up-to-date information on all the goings on at the General Assembly right here on the Blog.