Firearms are becoming one of the hottest issues of the General Assembly session this year, although Republicans aren’t having much luck with their bills.
For many years, Republicans would kill gun-control bills introduced by Democrats with little or no discussion in a subcommittee. Now the tables have turned, and Democrats are dispatching Republican gun bills.
Philip Van Cleave with the Virginia Citizens Defense League says one of the proposals would have required more security in gun-free zones.
“The public is not going to be more safe for them having killed that bill," he says. "The government is not accountable. They just throw up a sign, and you obey it and the criminal doesn’t and you’re dead.”
Another of the bills Democrats killed was introduced by Republican Delegate John McGuire that would have allowed guns in churches during services. He says Democrats are overreaching in their efforts for gun control.
“It’s in our Constitution. It says shall not be infringed. So it’s very simple English," McGuire explains. "You don’t have to understand a whole lot. Our right to protect ourselves and our family and our children shall not be infringed.”
Meanwhile, several Democratic-led efforts for gun control are moving forward, bills that would limit how many handguns people can buy in a month or allow judges to confiscate guns from people who are a danger to themselves or others. And then there’s the key priority, universal background checks.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
