Legislative Update for February 16

We are now on the downhill side of the 2024 legislative session with the House and Senate now only considering bills from the other side.  This morning House Public Safety met at 8:00 AM and considered several Senate gun control bills with no public comment as all of the bills on the docket were either identical to or very similar to bills already passed by the House.  This really isn't unusual as they believe they heard all of the arguments during the first half of the session and there is a time crunch to finish the work before the session adjourns.  VSSA's focus now will be on the Governor's office as it is likely that gun ban bills that passed one house during the first half of the session are going to be passed by the other house.  The worst bills (it's almost hard to pick just one but these House and Senate companion bills rate at the top of the list) that are still moving are HB2 and SB2:

HB2/SB2, Introduced by Delegate Helmer and Senator Deeds would ban the purchase, possession, sale, transfer, transport, import, or manufacturing of "assault-style" weapons. It also prohibits a person who violates this from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for 3 years after the date of conviction. The legislation would also ban the sale of a "large capacity" ammunition feeding device and prohibits people younger than 21 from importing, selling, manufacturing, purchasing, possessing, transporting, or transferring a firearm. During debate on SB2, Senator Surovell argued that absolute rights do not exist - and that they all exist with some underlying restriction or regulation (ex. freedom of speech and hate speech); therefore the 2nd amendment should not be treated as an absolute right. The bill ultimately passed in the Senate on a party line vote and is now headed to the house (and HB2 is headed to the Senate) where both will most likely to pass as well.

The Governor will have to use his veto pen on them!

There was some small pieces of good news during the first half as a couple of really bad bills did not make it out of the house of origin before crossover.  A couple aren't completely dead as they were carried over to next year, but they are currently on life support.  Those bills are:

HB 270 - Sale, transfer, etc., of certain firearms and firearm magazines; Virginia Firearm Buy-Back Program and Fund established; penalties. This is an omnibus bills that includes semi-auto and magazine bans, waiting periods, and more.  This bill was carried over to 2025.

HB 319 - Firearms instructors and safety programs; National Rifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association. This bill removes references to the National Rifle Association (the NRA) and the United States Concealed Carry Association from the Code that allow the organizations to certify ranges and instructors and for courses offered by them to serve as proof of demonstrated competence in firearms safety and training for the purpose of obtaining a concealed handgun permit or receiving training as a minor in the use of pneumatic guns.  This bill was carried over to to 2025 (HB 797 which does the same thing and also requires 10 rounds of live fire as part of the training did pass however).

HB 602 - Virginia Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention; Virginia Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Fund; creation; This bill creates a government agency, the Virginia Center for Firearm Violence and Prevention that would make grants to push gun control responses to crime involving firearms.  This bill was carried over to to 2025.

The below bills were defeated:

HB 113 - Possession, purchase, or transportation of handgun by persons convicted of certain drug offenses and operating a boat or vehicle while intoxicated prohibited; penalty. This bill would have taken away gun rights for misdemeanor drunk driving. 

HB 791 - Pneumatic guns; penalties. This bill would have made it  a Class 6 felony to possess a pneumatic gun ( BB gun or air rifle/air pistol).  It is interesting to note that this bill was reported out of Public Safety and referred to Appropriations.  Appropriations added language that changed the prohibitions for day care and private schools which only applies to when these schools are in session to a complete prohibition unless it is part of a program.  When it came up on first reading in the full house it was re-referred to Public Safety.  Because this was done the day before the last day to consider legislation in committee, it died because there was not time for both Public Safety and Appropriations to reconsider the bill.

You can see the complete list of bills that passed and have crossed over by clicking here.  VSSA will alert members when bills have passed both Houses and have been sent to the Governor so that you can contact Governor Youngkin and politely urge him to veto the bad bills.

New Approach to Ban Modern Sporting Rifles

The Reload has a post (behind the paywall) on the lastest effort to ban modern sporting rifles like the AR-15 by rebranding the rifles they seek to ban.

Senators Martin Heinrich (D., N.M.), Mark Kelly (D., Ariz.), Michael Bennet (D., Colo), and Angus King (I., Maine), who caucuses with the Democrats, introduced the Gas-Operated Semiautomatic Firearm Exclusion (GOSAFE) Act on Thursday. The bill, which is rather poorly written, is broadly similar in its effect to a traditional “assault weapon” ban. The road it takes to get there is more winding, with a few unexpected twists and turns, but the result is a law that’s, if anything, stricter than its predecessors.

The Reload points out that this bill basically does the same thing as a so-called "assault weapon" ban but the sponsor is calling it something else in the hope that it will attract members who in the past have not supported such efforts.  Senator King says this is to address the main criticism of past attempts, that the bans are based on cosmetics, an instead focus on the way the firearm operates. This bill actuall goes further than previous bills despite the new branding.  

On today's (Wednesday) Dana Show, Dana Loesch talked about the new scheme and wondered if it will come back to bite Democrats in next year's election.

 

2020 Pre-Filed Gun Bills

The gun ban crowd did not waste any time.  This is the list of prefiled bills related to firearms at the General Assembly.  The State Senate has a bill that would ban citizens from carrying concealed at the State Capitol. Senate bill 16 not only bans the sale or transport, but also possession of modern sporting rifles.  You have to read the text of the bill to find the possession part as the title only lists sale and transport then captures everything else under the "etc."

HB 2 Firearm transfers; criminal history record information checks, penalty.
HB 9 Firearms; reporting those lost or stolen, civil penalty.
SB 12 Firearm transfers; criminal history record information checks, penalty.
SB 13 Possessing or transporting a weapon within Capitol Square; penalty.
SB 14 Trigger activators; prohibition; penalty.
SB 15 Carrying weapon into building owned or leased by the Commonwealth; penalty.
SB 16 Prohibiting sale, transport, etc., of assault firearms and certain firearm magazines; penalties.
SB 18 Firearms; criminal history record information checks; age requirement; penalty.
SB 22 Handguns; limitation on purchases, penalty.
SB 35 Firearms, etc.; permitted events.
SB 51 Carrying a concealed handgun; consumption of alcohol in a public park; penalty.

As was mentioned in a previous post, don't wait until the session starts to let your legislator know that you oppose these (and any future) bills that restrict your rights.  Women and youth shooters need to be vocal so if you know women or youth shooters who use modern sporting rifles for sport, self-defense, or competition, please get them engaged in this fight and have them plan to be at the Capitol when these bills are heard.   

House Democrats Keeping the Pressure on McConnell to Take Up Gun Ban Legislation

The Hill has the story here.

In a letter sent to McConnell on Wednesday, leaders of the House Democratic task force on gun-violence prevention requested an in-person meeting with the Kentucky Republican to discuss a pair of proposals designed to strengthen the background checks conducted prior to gun sales.

The two proposals they are pusing are criminalizing private sales and one that would extend the time that the FBI has to screen prospective buyers. Currently, if a negative response is not received withing three days, the dealer may complete the sale.

Be sure to contact Senators Warner and Kaine.  Even though it is highly likely they will support any gun ban proposals that come before them, they still need to know you oppose further restrictions on our rights.

Cory Booker Becomes Second Democrat That Wants to Use Executive Action for Gun Restrictions

The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary is becoming known as the "Disarmament Primary."  Kamala Harris has already said she will give congress 100 days after she takes office to pass restrictions on gun owners or she will do it by "Executive Action".  Cory Booker has joined her and has a list of things he wants to do with Executive Action:

Sen. Cory Booker, the New Jersey senator who’s running for president, is proposing a slate of sweeping executive actions and policy changes to implement gun control measures that have long hit roadblocks in Congress.

Booker’s plan centers around implementing a federal licensing program for gun ownership, requiring gun owners to submit fingerprints and pass a gun safety course to legally possess a firearm

The plan would also mandate universal background checks on all gun sales, closing the “Charleston loophole” which allows people buying guns from private sellers to bypass background checks in 1 of 5 gun sales across the country, and another loophole that allows people convicted of domestic violence or who are under a restraining order to purchase a gun if they are not married to their partner.

“My plan to address gun violence is simple, we will make it harder for people who should not have a gun to get one,” Booker said.

Booker likely could not do most of what he wants to do by "Executive Action" otherwise former President Obama would have done it.  He also should know that nothing he is proposing would stop a criminal from getting a gun.

But that doesn't matter to the Democrats running for President.

UPDATE:  Cam Edwards of NRATV asks a great question about Booker's proposal:

Will he attempt to jail Americans who refuse to get a federal license to own a firearm?

Keep in mind, there are around 90-million legal gun owners. Right now the federal prison population is a little more than 200,000, of which about 30,000 are in for weapons offenses. https://t.co/FJ2PaVLZS9

— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) May 6, 2019

Will the Focus on Guns Hurt Democrats in Mid-terms

A poll released last week seems to indicate that the extreme focus on guns has hurt Democrats as they seek to take control of the House and Senate in November's mid-term election.  The Washington Post has the story:

The poll finds that the gap between support for Democratic vs. Republican House candidates has dropped by more than half since the beginning of the year. At the same time, there has been a slight increase in President Trump’s approval rating, although it remains low. Measures of partisan enthusiasm paint a more mixed picture of the electorate in comparison with signs of Democratic intensity displayed in many recent special elections.

One potentially new factor in the mix of midterm issues is gun policy, which has emerged as a major voter consideration two months after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. More than 4 in 10 registered voters say it is extremely important that ­candidates share their views on gun issues. Fewer voters say it is critical that candidates share their views on Trump or House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), leaders who are most likely to be targets in partisan messaging this fall.

According to the Post, white voters are responsible for closing the gap.

The survey shows the GOP making a more pronounced shift among white voters, who now prefer Republicans by a 14-point margin over Democrats, up from five points in January. Republicans lead by 60 percent to 31 percent among white voters without college degrees, slightly larger than an 18-point GOP advantage three months ago.

Sebastian at Shall Not Be Questioned posed the rhetorical question "what issue could that demographic possibly care about that could account for this?"

The Post noted that the renewed gun-control debate is a "wild card" in the midterm election. Several polls have shown increased support for restrictions aimed at curbing violence involving firearms following February’s Parkland school shooting.  But as is usually the case, support for gun control jumps after events like Parkland, then subside.  The same is true this time as a new Gallup Poll shows that those mentioning gun control as the most important issue facing the country has dropped by over half in April.  Gun control however still continues to be one of the highest-ranked issues named by Americans -- ranking fourth behind dissatisfaction with government, immigration and race relations.

Seven months is an eternity in politics.  Much can change between now and November.  The best way to make sure that the gun ban lobby does not win in November is to get active for pro-rights candidates in this year's campaign.

California Style Gun Control Introduced in Congress

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman and Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman Shultz wants a federal law that would require background checks for people who buy ammunition. This is just like one of the new laws that went into affect statewide in California in January of this year.  That law was part of new gun laws that passed in 2016. The law requires anyone selling ammunition to have a license from the Department of Justice. Ammunition purchased over the internet must go through a licensed ammunition vendor. And buyers have to pay a $1 fee to pay for the background check.

“I really think it’s important to underscore that without bullets a gun is just a hunk of useless metal, and a would-be killer lacks the means to actually kill or maim,” she said Monday.

Just to show you how some of these people think, she continued later in her remarks:

“You do not have the right to bear bullets,” Wasserman Schultz said at a news conference at the Pembroke Pines Police Department, where she was joined by political leaders, a police representative and teachers and students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

It is legislation and comments like this that shows just how important this year's election really is.

General Assembly Convenes January 10th - Repeal of Reciprocity Agreements Tops List of Bills

The Virginia General Assembly convenes tomorrow and there are already a number of firearm related bills pre-filed, many of which are bad bills.  At the top of the list is HB498 by Delegate Marcus Simon that would undo the bi-partisan concealed carry reciprocity legislation that was negotiated and signed by Governor Terry McAuliffe and House and Senate Republicans.  Also included in the list are bills to ban so-called "bump stocks", a bill banning standard capacity magazines, several bills to reinstate handgun rationing, bills to begin undoing state-wide firearm law preemption, and a bill that would impose civil liability against a gun owner who sells a privately owned firearm to someone who later uses it to harm someone.  You can find the complete list if legislation currently prefiled, as well as track legislation throughout the session on the VSSA Legislative Tracking page.  I had the opportunity to speak with NRATV's Cam Edwards last week about the upcoming session and what gun owners can do to make sure that no bad legislation makes it to the Governor's desk.

BearingArms.com: Democrats Plan Scripted Gun Control "Day of Out Rage" Today

Bearingarms.com has the story here:

A memo from minority leader Nancy Pelosi’s office calling for a “gun violence prevention day of action” today includes a long itinerary of scripted actions to be taken by Democrat representatives under orders from the 76-year-old gun control zealot.  The actions called for are tightly controlled, right down the the tweets the powerful California Democrat wants the staff of representatives to use on social media on her orders.

Characteristically, the tweets scheduled to begin at a 12:30 PM ET “tweetstorm” are factually inaccurate.

The tweets referred too include rants with inflated numbers of  "mass shootings" that have supposedly taken place during the summer, tweets about the so-called "gun show loophole" and more of the same tired rhetoric of the gun ban lobby.  Expect this stunt to do as much to advance gun control as the Twitter hashtag campaign by the White House did to release the young girls kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram two years ago.

Democrats Include Current Wishlist of Gun Control in Party Platform

Ahead of the Democratic National Convention, the Democratic National Committee has released their proposed platform for the party to run on this election cycle.  From Guns.com:

“We will expand background checks and close dangerous loopholes in our current laws, hold irresponsible dealers and manufacturers accountable, keep weapons of war—such as assault weapons—off our streets, and ensure guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists, domestic abusers, other violent criminals, and those with severe mental health issues,” states the platform.

The list mirrors the position taken by presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who also advocates closing the “Charleston Loophole,” revoking licenses of firearms dealers found to have high rates of straw purchasers and gun traffickers, and seeking to add those who have been the subject of some outpatient treatments to the list of prohibited possessors.

“Make no mistake about it: The 2016 Democratic platform represents an ambitious, progressive agenda that all Democrats can and should be proud of,” said Clinton senior policy advisor Maya Harris, who was a representative to the platform committee, noting that it “reflects the issues Hillary Clinton has championed throughout this campaign.”

This follows the report in the Christian Science Monitor that Democrats are "reveved-up" to see if gun control can be a winning election issue. With the gun ban crowd being so up-front with their plans, look for gun sales to continue their record setting pace.

Busness Week: Clinton Can't Win By Going After NRA

Well this is refreshing!  Paul Barrett writes over at Bloomberg Business Week on how the culture war against the NRA is a losing proposition for Clinton and by extension the Democrats:

Clinton sees the gun issue as a way to motivate her progressive base while simultaneously outflanking her main primary challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders of rural firearm-friendly Vermont. Asked during the debate whether Sanders is “tough enough on guns,” Clinton answered, “No, not at all,” noting he’d voted repeatedly in the early 1990s against the criminal-background-check law. The liberal wing of the Democratic Party likes what it’s hearing from Clinton. “For a major presidential candidate to break the logjam in the way she’s doing is a momentous shift,” says Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

But Clinton may be making a mistake framing her argument in culture-war terms—as a battle against the National Rifle Association, which is a conspiracy-minded extremist group that thrives when under attack. Moreover, while some of her ideas make sense, others, including her emphasis on “assault weapons,” come straight from a tired, ineffective gun-control playbook.

Barrett also points out that every time one of these "high profile" mass shootings occurs, the Democrats trot out their favorite target - "assault weapons."  He notes that need to stop talking about things that we know have no impact on crime:

Focusing on assault weapons remains futile today. In 2014, according to the FBI, less than 3 percent of the roughly 12,000 murders in the U.S. were carried out with rifles of any sort, ranging from wooden-stock .22 squirrel plunkers to AR-15s, the civilian equivalents to the weapons used by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Americans killed each other far more often with knives (13 percent) and hands and feet (6 percent) than they did with semiautomatic rifles. Handguns—concealable and plenty lethal—are the source of the overwhelming amount of gun crime, and that’s where the focus ought to be. We need to deny all prohibited individuals access to all guns, not just to particular types of weapons.

But most interesting was what he said about background checks and mass shooters.  While he calls "universal background checks" the "low hanging fruit" for the gun ban crowd as something they could probably get, he at the same time points out a few paragraphs lower how futile this likely would be in stopping a mass shooter:

While background checks may deter an interstate gun trafficker or a gang-banger who bothers to buy at retail, the FBI record system is unlikely to flag the next campus shooter. That’s because most mass killers lack serious criminal records or formal determinations that they’re mentally disturbed. As was the case in Roseburg, these deranged individuals, typically self-hating young men, plan their suicidal attacks carefully and obtain their arsenals legally. 

I don't agree with everything in the long article but there are some very good points.

Hat tip to Jim Geraghty.

CT Congresssman Says McAuliffe Election Proves Gun Control Winning Issue

The Washington Times has the story here:

“Last November, there was actually a battle for the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia where one of the candidates played to the pundits, the cheap cynics, that campaigning against Terry McAuliffe’s position on background checks was his ticket to the governor’s mansion and Terry McAuliffe, to his credit, stood firm,” Mr. Courtney said at an event on Capitol Hill Tuesday honoring the 26 victims of the December 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings.

Maybe Congressman Courtney should stick to representing his constituents and stop trying to analyze Virginia politics.  There was a lot that went in to McAuliffe's victory, the first of which was the fact Cuccinelli ran a terrible campaign.  McAuliffe also avoided talking about the gun issue like the plague until polls started showing him with a double digit lead.  It can be argued that his pivot to gun control had something to do with his only winning by about 2.5%.

I would also remind Congressman Courtney that gun control was a real loser for two recall candidates in Colorado - another "purple" state.  So, go ahead, run on gun control, and let's see just how much of a winner it turns out to be this year.

A Tale of Two Platforms

Last week, delegates to the Republican National Convention approved a party platform that contained a 300 word plank related to the right to keep and bear arms. Today's Guns and Patriots e-newsletter had a link t0 the entire 300 word plank, but here is how it starts:

"We uphold the right of individuals to keep and bear arms, a right which antedated the Constitution and was solemnly confirmed by the Second Amendment. We acknowledge, support, and defend the law-abiding citizens' God-given right of self-defense,"

This writer never really doubted that the RNC Platform would come out strongly pro-rights given the Fast and Furious debacle and the fact most of the delegates are far more conservative than the establishment GOP.  

The larger question is what would the Democrats do.  Four years ago, then candidate Barack Obama tried to convince gun owners that they had nothing to fear from him when it came to their right to keep and bear arms.  He even had an astro-turf gun organzation, American Hunters and Shooters Association, which apparently is now defunct, schilling for Team Obama.  Fast forward to 2012.  Team Obama has tried to use the fact he signed two bills with pro-rights amendments as proof he is no threat to the 2nd Amendment Rights of Americans, omitting the fact that he did not push for the amendments, and also omitting the fact that he wanted the underlying bills more than he did not want the pro-rights provisions. Would Team Obama try and at least mouth support for the rights of gun owners in their party's platform?

Well, we got our answer yesterday.  The Hill Newspaper reported that the Democratic Platform calls for gun gontrol, but that some advocates don't believe the plank goes far enough.

The draft language of the Democrats' 2012 platform — set for a final vote this week in Charlotte, N.C. — argues that current safeguards protecting the public against gun violence are insufficient and urges "an honest and open conversation about firearms."

The document also calls for "reasonable regulation" governing guns, including laws banning assault weapons and requiring all gun sellers — not just licensed dealers — to perform background checks on potential buyers.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) think the drafters are being too timid.

"The platforms are largely irrelevant, except as evidence of how confident a party feels on a topic, and the Democratic language on guns is a terrific example of how completely they blow this issue," Glaze said Friday in an email.

With polls showing a yearly decrease for support of the anti-rights position, it appears that it is MAIG who doesn't understand the issue.  The Hill notes that the 2012 Democratic plank mirrors the language in the 2008 Platform, with the exception that they haved added the part about an "honest and open conversation about firearms."  When it comes to an "honest" conversation on firearms, don't look to MAIG.