Friday's Gun Control Bills on 1st Reading in House

There were nine bills scheduled to be on the agenda for the House Public Safety Firearms Subcommittee this morning but the meeting was cancelled.  However, the gun control bills that were reported out of committee on Friday will be on 1st reading in the House with final passaged expected on Thursday.  Those bills are:

House Bill 2  - "Universal" Background Checks would criminalize private transfers of firearms without first paying fees, with limited exceptions. Most transfers between friends, neighbors, or fellow hunters are not exempted. These proposals would have no impact on crime and are completely unenforceable.  This bill is different than what passed earlier in the Senate.

House Bill 9 Requires the reporting of lost or stolen firearms within 24 hours of gaining the knowledge that this has occurs.  This bill victimizes gun owners who suffer loss or theft of their property with a fine if they don’t report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours of discovering them missing.

House Bill 421 Rolling back pre-emption.  This bill allows local governments to enact their own gun control ordinances, potentially resulting in a patchwork of laws and the Second Amendment not being protected across the state.  It goes much further than the bill that passed the Senate earlier.

House Bill 1083 Minors access to firearms.  This bill severely restricts parental decisions about firearms in the home while attaching excessive penalties for violations.

House Bill 674 ""Red Flag" bill.  This bill allows the seizure of an individual’s firearms on baseless accusations without a hearing or other opportunity for the person to be heard in court. It permits the government to seize firearms based on weak evidence and nebulous standards of evidence.  While the Senate bill that passed last week is bad (HB240) is bad  this bill is much worse.

House Bill 812 Handgun rationing (one gun-a-month) arbitrarily rations an individual’s right to lawfully purchase a handgun to once within 30 days.  This bill is different than what passed the Senate as HB812 does not include an exemption for people with a concealed handgun permit.

Please continue to call and email your delegate and urge them to opposed these bills.

On the Senate Calendar on Final passage today is SB 479 Protective orders; possession of firearms, surrender or transfer of firearms, penalty.  This bill takes away the right to possess a firearm if an individual is subject to a permanent protective order that does not deal with family abuse.

There is one good bill on final vote today in the State Senate - SB 173. Prohibition on possession of stun weapon on school property; exemption for holder of concealed handgun permit. Allows the holder of a valid concealed handgun permit to possess a stun weapon on school property while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular ingress or egress to the school.  This bill reported out of committee unanimously last Wednesday.  Please contact you Senator and urge them to support this bill.

Also, please continue to contact your delegate and urge them to oppose HB961 - the Governor's bill to ban the future sale of modern sporting rifles and handguns that are capable of holding a magazine larger than 10 rounds.  This bill would ban most of the firearms currently sold in Virginia and would require you to register existing firearms that you own that fit the description in the bill.

Bearingarms.com: GOP, 2A Groups Reject Virginia “Red Flag” Proposal

In Friday's eBullet, VSSA shared the article about SB 240 - Senator Barker's "Substantial Risk" or "red flag" bill, from Bearingarms.com.  A follow-up article was posted on Saturday that shared comments from Delegate Todd Gilbert and from VSSA.   From Delegate Gilbert:

“Our concern with this bill and others like it is that these bills go too far, and open the door for abuse that would not only endanger citizens but also law enforcement. There is room to tweak our existing, proven system of dealing with those who may be a threat to themselves or others while preserving due process, but this bill comes up short.”

And comment from VSSA:

“As with other laws of this type, it does nothing for those ruled to be a risk to no longer be a risk other than taking the firearms. It takes guns prior to a hearing to determine if the individual is a risk, and it gives immunity to law enforcement if someone’s firearms are damaged or stolen while in law enforcement custody. It has none of the constitutional protections that for instance, Dave Kopel, recommends for the law to be constitutional.”

I did not go into detail in my comment on those protections but I will list them here. In testimony before congress last spring, Independence Institute Research Director Dave Kopel listed the following constitutional protections that should be part of any "Extreme Risk Protection" or red flag laws:

• Petitions initiated by law enforcement, not by spurned dating partners or relationships from long ago.
• Ex parte hearings only when there is proof of necessity.
• Proof by clear and convincing evidence, which has been corroborated.
• Guarantees of all due process rights, including cross-examination and right to counsel.
• Court-appointed counsel if the respondent so wishes.
• A civil remedy for victims of false and malicious petitions.
• Safe and orderly procedures for relinquishment of firearms.
• Strict controls on no-knock raids.
• Storage of relinquished firearms by responsible third parties.
• Prompt restoration of concealed carry permits for the falsely accused.
• Prompt return of firearms upon the termination of an order.
• Renewal of orders based on presentation of clear and convincing proof.
• Not allowing time-limited orders to be bootstrapped into lifetime federal prohibition.

When you read SB 240, it does include allowing firearms to be stored by third parties.  Also, only law enforcement can go to a judge to request such an order as Kopel mentions in his list, but the bill only requires that a judge determine there is “probable cause” that someone poses a “substantial risk” to themselves or others, not the "clear and convincing evidence" that Kopel listed.  Probable cause is a very low legal bar.  SB 240 is more about confiscating firearms that providing assistance to those in crisis or public safety.

Will GOP Help Pass Some Gun Control?

State Senator Tommy Norment seems to think so.  He believes that so called "universal" background checks and so called "red flag" laws will be two likely candidates.  From Cam Edwards at Bearingarms.com:

He made the statement at the annual Kaufman & Canoles Business Leaders Forum at the Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach. During the luncheon, Norment and Virginia Beach Del. Barry Knight (R-81st District) talked about some legislation Virginia can expect to see.

Norment’s official position as co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee makes him the man at the tip of the spear for all things budget-related. His position as Senate majority leader has changed as Democrats take control of the Senate.

Norment said it’s clear recent gatherings at local government meetings supporting gun rights are making a statement. There’s no legal impact, but the protests are expressions of pro-gun values.

“Universal background checks, I predict, is coming out no matter what the governor has said. It is going to happen because there is majority of Republicans and Democrats who will pass it,” he said.

Cam mentioned that he has heard that some legislators in suburban districts seem to think that the uprising of gun owners is tied to SB 16.  I agree with Cam that these legislators need to reconsider that position because SB 16 is only one of the bad bills.  Make sure you are contacting your legislators and let them know your position on all of the bills that would restrict your rights.

GOP Congressional Leaders Look to President Trump for Signal on Gun Control

The Wall Street Journal has the story here.

Mr. Trump later met with GOP leaders at the White House for a conversation that included gun policies. A person with knowledge of internal deliberations described it as a robust conversation, adding that the lawmakers made clear to the president that he needed to signal what he supported, and the president indicated he understood.

Aides plan to brief Mr. Trump this week on his legislative and policy options on guns, said the person familiar with the conversations. The White House has received ideas and proposals from agencies, lawmakers and outside groups.

Topics that White House officials have discussed include improving background checks, removing guns temporarily from people considered dangerous—sometimes called red-flag laws—enhancing public-safety funding and subjecting mass shooters to expedited capital punishment.

White House officials have also said they are considering the use of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to alert state law-enforcement officials when a person prohibited from purchasing a firearm tries to buy a gun.

The most likely thing that would be considered by the Senate are changes in the background check requirements or some sort of Red Flag law, either the proposal that Lindsey Graham is pushing which would be a grant program to states to implement red flag laws.

Last night on Tucker Carlson's Fox News program, Dana Loesch laid out the problems with red flag laws.  She has been out front on the issue via her Twitter feed.


Continue to contact your congressmen, senators, and the White House and politely tell them that you oppose all new restrictions on our right to keep and bear arms.

Update: To see Dana's 10 Reasons to oppose Red Flag Laws click here.

Governor Northam Outlines Gun Control Policy For General Assembly

On Friday Governor Ralph Northam rolled out the gun control bills he will be pushing in the 2019 General Assembly. WHSV in Harrisonburg has the story here.
Included in the package of seven bills is a so-called "universal background check" bill with the goal of prohibiting the private sale of firearms, firearm confiscation without due process via so-called "red flag law", reinstate Virginia’s handgun rationing law, prohibit individuals subject to final protective orders from possessing firearms; ban modern sporting rifles; prevent children from accessing firearms; and require individuals to report lost or stolen firearms to law enforcement.  All of these proposals have failed in the past.  But Virginia's once strong pro-rights majority in the House of Delegates is down to a one member majority with the same in the State Senate.  It is not certain if Republicans will remain unified in opposing the "red flag" bill.  A similar measure was passed by the Republican majority legislature in Florida and signed by Republican Governor Rick Scott after the Parkland school shooting.  The 2019 General Assembly gavels into session on Wednesday January 9th.