Update on Pending Virginia Firearms Legislation
On Wednesday, January 28, the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Sub-Committee #1 stood up for Virginia’s law-abiding gun owners by defeating two anti-gun measures. The committee also passed a number of pro-gun advancements which will be heard by the full committee next Friday, February 5.
House Bill 1234 was defeated by a vote of 4 to 1. HB1234, sponsored by Delegate Jennifer McClellan (D-71), was a broad and vague bill which would have required that all sales at a gun show go through a federally licensed dealer. This bill imposed impractical requirements on the promoter and broadly defined a vendor as someone who “exhibits, sells, offers for sale, transfers or exchanges any firearms at a firearm show.” The intent of the bill was to lay the groundwork for an eventual prohibition on the private sales of firearms in Virginia.
Please contact the following Sub-Committee members who voted to defeat HB1234 and thank them for their support of the Second Amendment.
Delegate Thomas Wright (R-61)
Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8)
DelMGriffith@house.virginia.gov
Delegate David Nutter (R-7)
Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31)
DelSLingamfelter@house.virginia.gov
Unanimously, the Sub-Committee defeated House Bill 879. Introduced by Delegate Mamye BaCote (D-95), this bill would have whittled away Virginia’s preemption law by allowing localities to ban the possession of firearms and ammunition in libraries.
Please contact the members of the Subcommittee and thank them for protecting gun owners of Virginia from a patchwork of local laws that would ensnare the law-abiding.
Delegate Thomas Wright (R-61)
Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8)
DelMGriffith@house.virginia.gov
Delegate David Nutter (R-7)
Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-31)
DelSLingamfelter@house.virginia.gov
Delegate Mark Keam (D-35)
The following pro-gun bills were defeated due to ambiguous language. They were, however, supported in principle by the Sub-Committee:
House Bill 152, sponsored by Delegate John O’Bannon (R-73), would allow an electronic security employee who possesses a concealed handgun permit to carry while on the job, as long as he does not represent that he is carrying in the course of employment.
House Bill 1210, sponsored by Delegate G. Manoli Loupassi (R-68), would give judges the ability to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
The Sub-Committee also passed ten pro-gun bills. These bills will be heard by the full committee next Friday.
House Bill 8, sponsored by Delegate Charles Carrico (R-5), would allow the renewal of concealed carry permits by mail.
House Bill 26, introduced by Delegate Thomas Wright (R-61), would prohibit the Clerk of the Court from requiring an applicant for a concealed handgun permit to provide any documentation or information not authorized by the law or prescribed by Virginia State Police.
House Bill 52, sponsored by Delegate Mark Cole (R-88), would allow a court to waive a $25 dollar fine upon presentation of the permit to the court, if a person fails to display his concealed handgun permit when requested by a law-enforcement officer. HB52 was referred to the House Courts of Justice Committee to ensure that concealed carry permit holders rights are protected.
House Bill 79, authored by Delegate R. Lee Ware (R-65), would prohibit the Clerk of Court from publicly disclosing concealed handgun permit application information unless the permittee has provided written consent for the release of the application or information. The information would still be available to law-enforcement acting in the performance of their duties.
House Bill 108, also introduced by Delegate Cole, would prohibit agents of localities or localities themselves from participating in “gun buy-backs” unless the governing body of such a locality authorizes such a program. The locality would then have the option of selling the firearms by auction to a federally licensed dealer (FFL) or disposing of the firearm in any other appropriate manner.
House Bill 637, sponsored by Delegate Ward Armstrong (D-10), would exempt a boarding team member or boarding team officer in the United States Coast Guard from the concealed handgun permit issuance fee, provided they have completed 15 years of service or reached the age of 55.
House Bill 870, sponsored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), would repeal the language that allows localities to fingerprint applicants for a concealed handgun permit.
House Bill 885, introduced by Delegate Cliff Athey (R-18), would allow any person who may lawfully posses a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private vehicle or vessel to keep the firearm secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel.
House Bill 1092, sponsored by Delegate Anne B. Crockett-Stark (R-6), would give retired law-enforcement the ability to carry a concealed handgun without a permit.
House Bill 1256, authored by Delegate Paula Miller (D-87), would provide that certain law-enforcement officers who resign from their position in good standing to accept a position covered by the Virginia Retirement System, shall be eligible to carry a concealed handgun if he or she has received written proof of consultation with and favorable review of the need to carry a concealed handgun, issued by the chief law-enforcement officer of the agency from which the officer resigned.
The Sub-Committee tabled the following bills so that language could be improved or clarified. They will be revisited next week.
House Bill 171, introduced by Delegate Brenda Pogge (R-96), would prohibit property owners, employers, or a business entity from establishing or enforcing any policy prohibiting a person who may lawfully possess a firearm from storing a firearm in a locked motor vehicle in a publicly accessible parking lot.
House Bill 871, sponsored by Delegate Ben Cline (R-24), would clarify that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit for the first time, has the same right to an ore tenus (verbal or oral statements) hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a concealed handgun permit.
House Bill 995, sponsored by Delegate David Nutter (R-7), would add a valid concealed handgun permit and a current or retired military identification card as documentation needed to establish citizenship or permanent residence in order to purchase an “assault” firearm in Virginia.
House Bill 1191, authored by Delegate H. Morgan Griffith (R-8), would allow a circuit court judge to authorize the Clerk of Court to issue concealed handgun permits in instances where the application is complete, the background check does not indicate that the applicant is disqualified, and, after consulting with the local sheriff or police department, there are no other questions or issues surrounding the application.
House Bill 1209, sponsored by Delegate Jeion Ward (D-92), would require owners of machine guns to notify the State Police of a change in the address of the owner.
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