As Congress struggles to make any headway on gun control, Virginia is set to implement a new set of gun regulation.
In 2014, 66 people in the state were killed by a spouse or partner, using a firearm. One new measure seeks to lower that number.
The new law, touted as an important step for bipartisan gun control, prohibits individuals who have permanent protective orders from possessing a firearm.
Brian Moran, Virginia’s Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, explains.
“This law applies to permanent protective orders in cases of family abuse, and those are the cases where we’ve seen the most violence," says Moran. "A woman is 5x more likely to be killed with a firearm in the house.”
Taking guns away from those abusers was first proposed in Virginia’s General Assembly 20 years ago. But it wasn’t until this year, that a compromise finally passed. It gives abusers 24 hours to sell their weapons, give them to a friend or family member, or hand them over to police.
“We would like the firearms to be turned over to law enforcement, that ensures safe keeping," Moran says. " "Ensures the abuser would not have access to those firearms, and so we’re working with our law enforcement community.”
Not all police stations though, are willing to accept those firearms. Some of the jurisdictions with the highest number of protective orders -- including Richmond City, Virginia Beach, and Prince William County -- have yet to sign on board.
