Virginia

Status
Not open for further replies.

badkarmamib

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2016
Messages
2,465
Location
VA
First, I am wanting to keep this from becoming, "The sky is falling!" As some may know, our Governor went public with a gun-control plan that would make Virginia one of the worst, if not the worst, state for gun owners. The plan is so over-the-top that I don't see how it could pass, but it could just be a flag to see which way the wind is blowing. So, I am urging every member from VA to write your representatives, and politely remind them how we feel about these issues. The General Assembly opens tomorrow, so now would be a good time to write, so they have our perspectives for the committee. Thanks.
 
First, I am wanting to keep this from becoming, "The sky is falling!" As some may know, our Governor went public with a gun-control plan that would make Virginia one of the worst, if not the worst, state for gun owners. The plan is so over-the-top that I don't see how it could pass, but it could just be a flag to see which way the wind is blowing. So, I am urging every member from VA to write your representatives, and politely remind them how we feel about these issues. The General Assembly opens tomorrow, so now would be a good time to write, so they have our perspectives for the committee. Thanks.

I’ve posted about the dangers we’ve faced for the last few years. In that time few have taken action and were now close to a disaster. To compound the problem antigun AG Mark Herring announced he is running for Gov in 2021.

Calls are good, but calls backed up by physical letters are begetter. And office visits are even better.

Also please help me to work against Herring. I’d like to see anyone but him get the Dem nomination. And I’d like to see a strong GOP candidate against them.
 
This plethora of antigun bills isn't going anywhere this year, because the Republicans control the legislature (by a margin of 1 vote in each House). But the package establishes a marker for what's to come if the Democrats take over the legislature. The elections for the Virginia legislature (both Houses) take place in November of this year, with the new legislature taking office in January of 2020. It's almost a foregone conclusion that the Democrats will be able to flip at least 1 seat in each House, given the political trends in the state.

The signs of hope, however, are as follows: First, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. https://www.vcdl.org/About-Us This group has been very effective in pro-gun lobbying in the past, probably more so than the NRA. Everyone should join and support them.

The second point in our favor is that not all Democrats are as rabidly antigun as the governor. I don't think that, even among Democrats, there's much support for the draconian AWB being proposed (it would outlaw any semiautomatic that could accept a detachable magazine holding more than 10 rounds -- which would include practically all semiautomatic pistols).

A third point is that gun ownership is very widespread in Virginia. These legislators have a very serious problem with all the guns extant in Virginia, that are proposed to be banned. Obviously the state can't afford to pay fair compensation. How are they going to do this, without bankrupting the state or having the whole plan declared unconstitutional?

Another point is that Virginia already has a scheme -- the Virginia Uniform Machine Gun Act -- that regulates full automatics. If this is not taken into consideration, you could end up with an anomalous situation in which full automatics were legal, but semiautomatics were not.
 
Hing in there, We survived the Army of the Potomac and hopefully we will survive this.
 
The signs of hope, however, are as follows: First, the Virginia Citizens Defense League. https://www.vcdl.org/About-Us This group has been very effective in pro-gun lobbying in the past, probably more so than the NRA. Everyone should join and support them.

Thanks for that link! Been looking for an org to support that is more "offensive", and local-minded, than the NRA...
 
Thanks for that link! Been looking for an org to support that is more "offensive", and local-minded, than the NRA...
Same here. I am "disappointed" in the NRA's response to the bump-stock ban, among other things. VCDL and GoA are on my short list for this year's donations.
 
Do you have example letters from VCDL and others that VA members can tailor to their legislative members to help make this more than a warning?
 
I will definitely be writing our representatives with my recommendation to squash this bill that does nothing for crime and hurts law abiding Virginians. I am hoping many of the Democrats see how bad this proposed legislation is as well.
 
Here is my last comms:

Senate Bill 1163, sponsored by Senator Richard Saslaw (D-35), was passed by a 9-6 vote to be referred to the Senate Finance Committee. It contains very broad and overreaching language to ban items that increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic rifles, but do not fundamentally alter the way they operate. It could be interpreted to ban firearm modifications such as match grade triggers, and ergonomic changes that are commonly done by law-abiding gun owners to make their firearms more suitable for a variety of lawful purposes.

Senate Bill 1084, sponsored by Senator David Marsden (D-37), was passed by indefinitely with an 11-4 vote. It would have imposed a vague and unpredictable standard of firearm storage upon law-abiding citizens and made them civilly liable for injury resulting from actions by a criminal who acquired a firearm stored in a non-compliant manner.

Senate Bill 1096, sponsored by Senator Janet Howell (D-32), was defeated by a 6-9 vote. It would have restricted the ability of young people to use firearms for lawful purposes and increased penalties on adults who violated it.

Senate Bill 1162, sponsored by Senator Saslaw, was passed by indefinitely with a 9-6 vote. It would have criminalized private firearm transfers and denied adults under the age of 21 their Second Amendment rights by prohibiting them from purchasing firearms.

Senate Bill 1454, sponsored by Senator Louise Lucas (D-18) was defeated by a 6-8 vote. It would have criminalized private firearm transfers.

Senate Bill 1303, sponsored by Senator Edwards (D-21), was defeated by a 6-8 vote. It would have allowed local governments to prohibit law-abiding citizens from carrying firearms for self-defense at meetings of a local government body.

Senate Bill 1324, sponsored by Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-9), was defeated by a 6-8 vote. It would have further victimized law-abiding gun owners who suffered loss or theft of their firearms if they did not report them within a certain time.

Senate Bill 1446, sponsored by Senator Mamie Locke (D-2), was defeated by a 5-9 vote. It would have reinstated a handgun rationing law that was in place from 1993 until it was repealed in 2012. It would have limited handgun purchases to one per 30 day period.

Senate Bill 1458, sponsored by Senator George Barker (D-39), failed to report by a 7-7 vote. It would have allowed for individuals to be stripped of their Second Amendment rights without due process on baseless accusations.

Senate Bill 1473, sponsored by Senator Deeds, was defeated by a 6-8 vote. It would have allowed local governments to suspend Second Amendment rights at public events.

Senate Bill 1482, sponsored by Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25), failed to report by a 7-7 vote. It would have added Albemarle county and the City of Charlottesville to the jurisdictions in which law-abiding citizens would not be allowed to carry certain firearms without a concealed carry permit.

House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee – Subcommittee #1

House Bill 1654, sponsored by Delegate Sam Rasoul (D-11), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-2 vote. It would have prohibited law-abiding citizens from carrying long guns in certain jurisdictions without a concealed carry permit.

House Bill 1856, sponsored by Delegate Delores McQuinn (D-70), was laid on the table by a 4-2 vote. It would have allowed local governments to prohibit law-abiding citizens from defending themselves while visiting public libraries.

House Bill 1992, sponsored by Delegate Cia Price (D-95), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-2 vote. It would have allowed local governments to enact their own gun control ordinances, potentially resulting in a patchwork of laws and the Second Amendment not being equally protected across the state.

House Bill 1644, sponsored by Delegate Jeffrey Bourne (D-71), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-2 vote. It would have further victimized law-abiding gun owners who suffered loss or theft of their firearms if they did not report them within a certain time.

House Bill 1691, sponsored by Delegate Marcus Simon (D-53), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-2 vote. It was a vaguely worded attempt at banning “undetectable firearms” already banned under federal law. It would have likely banned many commonly owned firearms made with modern materials that are not actually undetectable.

House Bill 1763, sponsored by Delegate Rip Sullivan (D-48), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-2 vote. It would have allowed for individuals to be stripped of their Second Amendment rights without due process on baseless accusations.

House Bill 1956, sponsored by Delegate David Toscano (D-57), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have allowed local governments to suspend Second Amendment rights at public events.

House Bill 1957, sponsored by Delegate Toscano, was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have allowed courts to restrict the self-defense rights of parents who have a child in their household found to be needing services or who is a status offender.

House Bill 2244, sponsored by Delegate Sullivan, was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have expanded the misdemeanor offenses that would result in a loss of Second Amendment rights.

House Bill 2285, sponsored by Delegate Cliff Hayes (D-77), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have restricted the ability of young people to use firearms for lawful purposes and increased penalties on adults who violated it.

House Bill 2399, sponsored by Delegate Alfonso Lopez (D-49), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have allowed state police to delay firearm transfers up to five business days to process instant background checks instead of the current end of business day requirement.

House Bill 2479, sponsored by Delegate Kenneth Plum (D-36), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have criminalized private firearm transfers.

House Bill 2492, sponsored by Delegate Kathy Tran (D-42), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have banned many commonly owned semi-automatic rifles and handguns as well as ammunition magazines greater than ten rounds in capacity, encompassing most standard capacity magazines in use by law-abiding citizens. In addition, it would have banned the carrying of certain shotguns by individuals who do not have a concealed carry permit.

House Bill 2604, sponsored by Delegate Jeion Ward (D-92), was passed by indefinitely with a 4-1 vote. It would have reinstated a handgun rationing law that was in place from 1993 until it was repealed in 2012. It would have limited handgun purchases to one per 30 day period.
 
What is the bill number?

Where is a listing for contact info?

Do you have a sample letter?
@627PCFan did a great job of listing them. As he posted, they are dying in committee. I just searched the internet for contact info for my representatives, and free-formed my letter. I know a form letter is better than no letter, but they tend to be viewed as one letter, especially by the media. Fortunately / unfortunately, I live in a very conservative district, so my representatives are already in agreement with my comments, but I still make sure that they know where I stand.
 
What the beck are they trying to do, be Illinois or California? Or worse.
 
What the beck are they trying to do, be Illinois or California? Or worse.
Trying to pander to the liberals around D.C., Richmond, and Norfolk, and Bloomberg that helped get the idiot elected. There was never any real hope that these over-the-top bills would pass, but they showed their stripes, for better or worse. After reading comments in editorials, it seems that a lot of people who called us paranoid ("the government won't take your guns"), are feeling betrayed and violated. I hope that they remember all of this come November.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top