Members of the General Assembly are considering a bill that would crack down on gun owners who leave their firearms unattended in their cars.
Leaving a gun unattended in a car may soon come with a new penalty. Senator Dave Marsden is a Democrat from Fairfax County who says criminals often look for guns in cars so they can steal them.
"I've tried not to criminalize this," he says. "We are going with a light touch here. But let's get started in trying to solve this problem that's putting the guns in the hands of young people here in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we cannot have our vehicles act as vending machines for firearms."
His bill would create a new $500 penalty. Plus, it would allow for the car to be towed. When the bill was debated on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Scott Surovell tied the issue to the arena proposal in Alexandria.
"Crime has gotten so bad around the [Capitol One] Arena in D.C., a lot of people coming from Virginia to visit are bringing a gun with them," Surovell said. "Which has caused a lot of people who want to steal guns to focus on cars with Virginia license plates in parking decks to take guns out of because it's a target-rich environment for people that want to steal guns."
The bill passed the Senate on a party-line vote, and a similar version will be considered in the House in the next few days.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
