Charlottesville’s Senator Creigh Deeds and Delegate Katrina Callsen have introduced bills that would make it illegal to possess a firearm on state-owned property – including college campuses.
Another bill would ban auto sears -- small chips or switches that convert a conventional firearm into a machine gun, and a third measure would impose a 5-day waiting period on purchase of a firearm.
A ban on assault weapons has passed both houses of the General Assembly, and Delegate Marcus Simon’s bill to require safe storage was approved in the House.
“Anyone who owns a handgun and lives in a house with someone under 18 is required to store their gun safely in a locked container, separate and apart from the ammunition,” he explains.
Also okayed by the House, his bill to ban so-called ghost guns – plastic weapons that can be made or finished at home with a kit. They evade metal detectors, have no serial numbers, so they cannot be traced and can be obtained without a background check.
Simon is hopeful but not certain any of these measures will become law.
“Whether the governor signs them or not is really where the trick is.”
Glenn Youngkin has pleased his Republican base by pledging unfettered support for the second amendment, but he needs backing from Democrats to fund a sports and entertainment complex in Northern Virginia – a key component of his legacy and might be willing to cut a deal.
