Cracking down on gun violence is a top priority for Democrats who run the House and Senate in Virginia.
Purchasing a firearm could require a license in the near future. That's if a bill now under consideration in the Senate lands on the governor's desk. The five-year licenses would be available to adults over the age of 21 who submit fingerprints and complete a safety course. The bill was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell.
"There are no Second Amendment issues. And I'm sure there are going to be people who come up and say, ‘This violates my Second Amendment rights,’" Surovell says. "The United States Supreme Court has held otherwise."
Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle worries about federal overreach.
"It is mind boggling to me that to exercise your constitutional right that you would have to biometric information to go into a federal database," McDougle says. "That's just wrong, and I hope y'all vote against it."
The bill passed a Senate panel on a party-line vote.
