VCDL Firearm Bill Analysis for the 2017 General Assembly Session January 16, 2017 Philip Van Cleave President 804-639-0600 804-874-8235 president@vcdl.org Page 1 of 18
Table of Contents Bills That VCDL Strongly Supports... 3 Bills That VCDL Supports... 7 Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes... 9 Bills That VCDL Opposes... 15 Bills On Which VCDL is Neutral... 17 Page 2 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Supports SB 1023, Senator Stuart, prohibits the Virginia State Police from providing Virginia concealed handgun permittee information to law enforcement in states that do not recognize Virginia concealed handgun permits. This would prevent states that are hostile to gun ownership, such as Maryland, from going on fishing trips to find an excuse to arrest or harass Virginia concealed handgun permit holders. SB 1297, Senator Vogel, allows active duty members of the Virginia National Guard, Armed Forces of the United States, and Armed Forces Reserves of the United States to carry concealed without a permit and wherever they go in Virginia, including schools, courthouses, etc. SB 1299, Senator Vogel, a protective order will act as a temporary concealed handgun permit for 45 days. If the person who is protected by the order applies for a concealed carry permit, then the temporary permit will be extended another 45 days to allow for processing of the application. The person must be at least 21 years old and be able to purchase, possess, and transport a firearm legally. This bill will actually make a person with a protective order safer, unlike all the other protective order laws. SB 1300, Senator Vogel, provides that DCJS will provide funding to entities that offer free firearms safety or training courses approved by DCJS to victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, stalking, and family abuse. This bill will actually make victims safer. SB 1315, Senator Carrico, allows foster parents to carry a firearm on their person, otherwise it is to be locked in a closet or cabinet, with the key out of reach of the children. SB 1347, Senator Reeves, changes a concealed handgun permit to a concealed weapon permit. This allows the permit holder to have less-lethal options for self-defense, such as knives, spring sticks, etc. SB 1362, Senator Black, allows active duty members of the Virginia National Guard, Armed Forces of the United States, and Armed Forces Reserves of the United States to carry concealed without a permit and wherever they go in Virginia, including schools, courthouses, etc. HB 1406, Delegate Habeeb, automatically restores the firearm rights for non-violent felons when their other civil rights have been restored by the Governor. Violent felons will continue to have to petition a Circuit Court to restore their firearms rights once their civil rights have been restored. SB 1422, Senator Chase, reduces the maximum fee for a concealed handgun permit from $50 down to $15. The Circuit Court Clerk is given the option of charging up to a $10 fee, local law-enforcement cannot charge a fee at all, and the Virginia State Police can continue to optionally charge up to a $5 fee. In theory, if both the State Police and the local Clerk waive their fees, a concealed handgun permit could be free. HB 1432, Delegate Ware, R. Lee, Jr., makes possession, sale, and carry of a switchblade knife legal. In addition a person who is carrying the switchblade to aid in the performance of professional or recreational activities can carry a switchblade knife concealed. Page 3 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Supports (Cont d) SB 1440, Senator Black, allows a person who would qualify to get a Virginia concealed handgun permit to be able to carry a concealed handgun without a permit anywhere that person could lawfully openly carry a handgun. This is referred to as Constitutional Carry, which Virginia currently has only for openly carried handguns. Currently eleven other states have Constitutional Carry: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Twenty other states plan to introduce it or have introduced it: Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. None of the states that have Constitutional Carry have repealed it. SB 1441, Senator Sturtevant, allows citizens to vote absentee if their voting place prohibits guns. SB 1444, Senator Chafin, updates the definition of restricted ammunition based current technology and ties in the extensive research by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives on restricted ammunition. HB 1458, Delegate Lingamfelter, reduces the maximum fee for a concealed handgun permit from $50 down to $15. The Circuit Court Clerk is given the option of charging up to a $10 fee, local lawenforcement cannot charge a fee at all, and the Virginia State Police can continue to optionally charge up to a $5 fee. In theory, if both the State Police and the local Clerk waive their fees, a concealed handgun permit could be free. HB 1466, Delegate Fowler, requires that the Circuit Court Clerk send a renewal notice out to concealed handgun permit holders 120 to 180 days before the person s permit expires. HB 1469, Delegate Bob Marshall, allows K-12 school boards to appoint certain individuals to carry a concealed handgun on school property. The designated individuals will receive special training covering the use and display of a firearm, safe carrying and storage of a concealed firearm, and proper response until the police arrive in an emergency situation. This is a step in the right direction, but simply permitting all lawfully armed persons to carry in schools is a better way to protect those schools. Utah and some other states allow concealed handgun permit holders to carry in schools and have had no issues. HB 1582, Delegate Campbell, allows an active-duty or honorably-discharged member of the military to get a concealed handgun permit if they are at least 18-years-old. HB 1710, Delegate Filler-Corn, removes sales tax from metal gun safes that sell for $1,000 or less. This encourages citizens to purchase a gun safe, including those with quick-opening biometric systems. HB 1745, Delegate Rush, improves the mechanism for firearms rights restoration. HB 1792, Delegate Fariss, protects a person who is prohibited from possessing a firearm from being charged with constructive possession of a firearm, if that firearm is 1) in his place of residence, 2) is lawfully owned by a cohabitant of that residence, and 3) is not actually possessed by the prohibited person. This makes things more equitable and more normal for the non-prohibited person as they go about their daily life. HB 1822, Delegate LaRock, codifies that self-defense is a good and sufficient reason for carrying a firearm in a church during a meeting for a religious purpose. (A church can still prohibit the carry of firearms on their premises under existing trespass laws.) Page 4 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Supports (Cont d) HB 1849, Delegate Gilbert, allows for the Circuit Court Clerk to laminate or create a plastic concealed handgun permit. This will make permits look more professional and to stand up better to wear. HB 1852, Delegate Gilbert, a protective order will act as a temporary concealed handgun permit for 45 days. If the person who is protected by the order applies for a concealed carry permit, then the temporary permit will be extended another 45 days to allow for processing of the application. The person must be at least 21 years old and be able to purchase, possess, and transport a firearm legally. This bill will actually make a person with a protective order safer, unlike all the other protective order laws. HB 1853, Delegate Gilbert, provides that DCJS will provide funding to entities that offer free firearms safety or training courses approved by DCJS to victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, stalking, and family abuse. This bill will actually make victims safer. HB 1989, Delegate Webert, allows someone who pleads excusable or justifiable homicide as an affirmative defense, and substantially prevails, to get resonable legal costs reimbursed. For civil cases, the plaintiff would pay the reimbursement and, for criminal cases, the state would pay. If the defendant was engaged in criminal conduct, then a judge can reduce the award amount. HB 2077, Delegate Wilt, removes the restriction on the right to keep and bear arms from emergency shelters. HB 2265, Delegate Cline, allows a person who would qualify to get a Virginia concealed handgun permit to be able to carry a concealed handgun without a permit anywhere that person could lawfully openly carry a handgun. This is referred to as Constitutional Carry, which Virginia currently has only for openly carried handguns. Currently eleven other states have Constitutional Carry: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Twenty other states plan to introduce it or have introduced it: Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wisconsin. None of the states that have Constitutional Carry have repealed it. HB 2321, Delegate Morefield, updates the definition of restricted ammunition based current technology and ties in the extensive research by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives on restricted ammunition. Page 5 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Supports (Cont d) This page left blank intentionally. Page 6 of 18
Bills That VCDL Supports SB 791, Senator Chase, gives the Circuit Court Clerk an option of charging up to a $10 fee for a concealed handgun permit. Under current law the Clerk must charge $10. HB 1458 is a superior bill, as it includes additional reduction in costs. SB 865, Senator Stuart, allows family members to transfer various knives to minor family members for the purpose of engaging in a sporting event or activity. HB 1392, Delegate Lingamfelter, authorizes a school security officer to carry a firearm on school property. Such an officer is a retired police officer and the local school board has given him authority to carry a firearm. Same bill as HB 1907. HB 1907, Delegate Heretick, authorizes a school security officer to carry a firearm on school property. Such an officer is a retired police officer and the local school board has given him authority to carry a firearm. Same bill as HB 1392. HB 1990, Delegate Webert, allows an active-duty member of the military to get a concealed handgun permit if they are at least 18 years old. HB 1552 is a superior bill, as it also allows honorably discharged military members who are at least 18 years old to get a permit. HB 2234, Delegate Cline, gives the Circuit Court Clerk an option of charging up to a $10 fee for a concealed handgun permit. Under current law the Clerk must charge $10. HB 1458 is a superior bill, as it includes additional reduction in costs. HB 2263, Delegate Cline, allows an active-duty member of the military to get a concealed handgun permit if they are at least 18 years old. HB 1552 is a superior bill, as it also allows honorably discharged military members who are at least 18 years old to get a permit. Page 7 of 18
Bills That VCDL Supports (Cont d) This page left blank intentionally. Page 8 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes SJ 229, Senator Favola, has the Virginia State Crime Commission investigate the feasability of a statewide firearm registration scheme. Washington, DC, and Illinois have gun registration. DC s crime rate is over 8 times higher than that of neighboring Northern Virginia. Chicago had 4,000 shootings in 2016, alone. Based on CDC data for homicides, Virginia is in the middle of the pack (5.2 per 100,000), but well below many states that have registration, such as DC (25.9), Illinois (7.1), California (6.1). Finally, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that criminals in localities that have gun registration cannot be required to register their guns, as that would be a violation of the criminal s Fifth Amendment right to self-incrimination. SB 809, Senator Favola, requires that a person report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours of discovering the firearm is lost or stolen. The penalty is $50 for the first offense and between $100 and $250 for subsequent offenses. A person in good faith who reports such a lost or stolen firearm is immune from any criminal or civil damage from acts using the firearm. The victim gets punished twice: once by the theft or loss and next by the government for not reporting the loss quickly enough. Who s to say exactly when the victim discovered the loss or theft? The bill also is setting a precedent that the victim is somehow liable for the misuse of a stolen firearm if he doesn t report it stolen quickly enough. SB 893, Senator Howell, requires firearms dealers to provide either a locking device or a written statement with firearms sold to anyone other than other dealers or to the government. It would be a Class 1 misdemeanor for failure to do so. All new and used firearms sold by dealers already must come with locking devices per federal law (18 U.S.C. 922(z)). The required written statement falsely makes it seem that a person would have immunity from any potential civil or criminal liability if the various conditions in the statement are met by the gun owner. If these safety devices and written statement are both so important to safety, why is the government exempted from having to receive them? This is a feel good, do nothing piece of legislation. SB 915, Senator Edwards, is an inadvertent step towards Universal Background Checks. The bill requires someone who is not a licensed firearm dealer, but who conducts businesses as a merchant of firearms, to only sell firearms through a licensed dealer. Violation is a Class 3 misdemeanor. It is not clear where the line is drawn that determines if someone is classified as a merchant of firearms or not. This bill will have a chilling effect on all private sales because of its lack of clarity. Federal law already handles the issue of someone effectively being a dealer without actually being a licensed dealer. Virginia should not step into that quagmire and shoulld just let federal law take care of it. SB 1039, Senator Howell, requires someone with a permanent protective order to certify in writing that they have sold or transferred all their firearms. It is already a felony for the person to possess firearms during the protective order period, so this bill puts an unnecessary requirement on the subject of the protective order. Worse, it is a felony if the person doesn t file on time. SB 1112, Senator Edwards, destroys current firearm preemption laws by allowing localities to ban the otherwise lawful carry of firearms at local government meetings. It also reinstates all local firearms ordinances that were on the books between January 1, 1978 and July 1, 2004. This bill will send Virginia back into the Dark Ages, when gun owners had to constantly be wary of a quilt-work of local gun laws, that confused even the police who were supposed to enforce them. Page 9 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes (Cont d) SB 1185, Senator Dance, requires that a person report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours of discovering the firearm is lost or stolen. The penalty is $50 for the first offense and between $100 and $250 for subsequent offenses. A person in good faith who reports such a lost or stolen firearm is immune from any criminal or civil damage from acts using the firearm. The victim gets punished twice: once by the theft or loss and next by the government for not reporting the loss quickly enough. Who s to say exactly when the victim discovered the loss or theft? The bill also is setting a precedent that the victim is somehow liable for the misuse of a stolen firearm if he doesn t report it stolen quickly enough. SB 1194, Senator Lucas, requires that all private sales of firearms go through a federal firearms licensed dealer ( Universal Background Check ). This bill will do nothing about crime, but will make it harder and more expensive for a citizen to sell or trade one of his firearms to another citizen. No dealer is required to make such a transfer, possibly making a private transfer all but impossible or not possible in a timely manner. The dealer may charge a fee of up to $15, raising the price of the firearm. Finally, this bill will also lead to an inevitable Universal Registration scheme at some point in the future to provide for enforcement. Firearms confiscation is the end goal, as is happening right now in California. SB 1266, Senator Ebbin, makes it a crime for someone to authorize a child four-years-old or younger to use a firearm or an air gun under any circumstances. It also lowers the age for supervised use of a firearm down to five-years-old. Determining the maturity of a child is not the job of government, but of the parents. SB 1267, Senator Ebbin, makes it an additional crime for a person openly carrying a firearm to be intoxicated. It also makes openly carrying a firearm and consuming alcohol in a restaurant or club licensed to serve alcohol illegal. A violation of either provision makes a person ineligeable to get a concealed handgun permit for five years. There are already laws on the books for being intoxicated in public. Also, under current law a person who is openly carrying a firearm can drink in a restaurant or club because the restaurant or club is aware that the person has a firearm. This bill is just another solution in search of a problem. SB 1269, Senator Ebbin, while increasing the amount of marijuana one can legally possess for personal use, disqualifies a person from getting a concealed handgun permit for three years or purchasing or transporting a handgun for five years for possession of marijuana that is so minor that it is subject only to a civil penalty. Only felonies should strip a person of their civil rights. HB 1418, Delegate McQuinn, gives localities the option to ban firearms from their public libraries. A solution in search of a problem. SB 1439, Senator Surovell, requires that all private sales of firearms go through a federal firearms licensed dealer ( Universal Background Check ). This bill will do nothing about crime, but will make it harder and more expensive for a citizen to sell or trade one of his firearms to another citizen. No dealer is required to make such a transfer, possibly making a private transfer all but impossible or not possible in a timely manner. No fee limit is placed on what a dealer can charge for such a transfer, either. Finally, this bill will also lead to an inevitable Universal Registration scheme at some point in the future to provide for enforcement. Firearms confiscation is the end goal, as is happening right now in California. Page 10 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes (Cont d) SB 1443, Senator Barker, creates a sweeping new order for someone to have their firearms confiscated solely based on a sworn probable cause statement by law enforcement or a Commonwealth Attorney that the person is in substantial risk of personal injury to himself or others. Probable cause is not the same standard we use to convict someone of a crime. Historically, due process protections have required that in order to strip someone of fundamental rights, that person would be afforded those higher levels of protections. A person should not have their civil rights stripped away from them without having proper due process. HB 1758 allows any warrant to strip away a person s gun rights away while that warrant is in effect. It doesn t have legal protections if the firearms are damaged or lost by the police. It has no penalties if the police do not comport with the requirements to return seized items in a timely fashion or penalies for failure of the police to follow any of the other provisions. HB 1683, Delegate Simon, makes it illegal to carry a loaded shotgun or rifle in certain specific localities. It also adds the City of Roanoke to the list of localities where such a ban exists. The code section needs to repealed in its entirety, not made worse by this bill. The Second Amendment and Article 1, Section 13 of the Virginia Constitution allow citizens to possess loaded rifles and shotguns. Also, it is easy for a law-abiding gun owners to inadvertently break this law as they travel from location to location. Gun laws need to be consistent across the Commonwealth. HB 1684, Delegate Simon, takes away the requirement that a person be reckless before he can be charged with leaving a loaded firearm where a child under 14 can have access to it. One size does not fit all. A child can be both very mature and have had training with firearms where leaving the loaded firearm out is not reckless or dangerous to the child. In fact children have used firearms to stop criminals during home invasions. HB 1685, Delegate Simon, reinstates the old One Handgun a Month law. There was no evidence to show that the old One Handgun a Month law did anything to reduce crime or gun trafficking. Improvements in the background check system have also made the bill unnecessary. HB 1700, Delegate Danny Marshall, makes it an additional crime for a person openly carrying a firearm to be intoxicated. It also makes openly carrying a firearm and consuming alcohol in a restaurant or club licensed to serve alcohol illegal. A violation of either provision makes a person ineligeable to get a concealed handgun permit for five years. There are already laws on the books for being intoxicated in public. Also, under current law a person who is openly carrying a firearm can drink in a restaurant or club because the restaurant or club is aware that the person has a firearm. This bill is just another solution in search of a problem. HB 1706, Delegate Filler-Corn, gives civil and criminal immunity to law enforcement from any damage, deterioration, loss, or theft of firearms that law enforcement is storing for a person who is under a protective order. Also allows the police to turn down such a request for storage. This is a horrible idea, which gives police carteblanche to recklessly and carelessly handle and store someone s property. A valuable collector s firearm worth many thousands of dollars could be tossed into a bin, scratched, dented, ruined, lost, or stolen without any fear of a penalty. Even police must be held accountable for reckless and careless behavior that damages, destroys, loses, or allows to be stolen, the property of another. Page 11 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes (Cont d) HB 1758, Delegate Sullivan, creates a sweeping new order for someone to have their firearms confiscated solely based on a sworn probable cause statement by law enforcement or a Commonwealth Attorney that the person is in substantial risk of personal injury to himself or others. Probable cause is not the same standard we use to convict someone of a crime. Historically, due process protections have required that in order to strip someone of fundamental rights, that person would be afforded those higher levels of protections. A person should not have their civil rights stripped away from them without having proper due process. HB 1758 allows any warrant to strip away a person s gun rights away while that warrant is in effect. It doesn t have legal protections if the firearms are damaged or lost by the police. It has no penalties if the police do not comport with the requirements to return seized items in a timely fashion or penalies for failure of the police to follow any of the other provisions. HB 1773, Delegate Plum, requires all private sales at gun shows go through a background check. The Virginia State Crime Commission did not recommend this approach when asked nine years ago. A gun show may not even be able to find a willing dealer to do such background checks due to the paperwork and the mandatory 20-year retention of that paperwork. This bill will unnecessarily raise the price of privately sold guns and puts an unreasonable burden on the gun show promoter to identify all private sellers before the show even begins. The result will be to make it much harder to hold a gun show in Virginia. Gun shows bring a lot of revenue to the Commonwealth. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Justice, less than 1% of guns used in crimes are purchased at gun shows, so this bill will have no noticeable affect on crime. Finally, the private sale background check requirement is just the first step in ultimately setting up a Universal Background Check scheme that can only be enforced by means of a Universal Gun Registration. HB 1778, Delegate Plum, takes away a person s right to purchase or transport a handgun for five years for a conviction of misdemeanor assault and battery against someone because of race, religion, color, or national origin. Misdemeanors are not meant to take away someone s civil rights, but that s exactly what this bill does. It also makes some people s lives more important than other people s lives. HB 1864, Delegate Lopez, makes it a crime for someone to authorize a child four-years-old or younger to use a firearm or an air gun under any circumstances. It also lowers the age for supervised use of a firearm down to five-years-old. Determining the maturity of a child is not the job of government, but of the parents. HB 1865, Delegate Lopez, increases the time that the Virginia State Police can drag their heels in completing a background check for a firearms purchase and delay that purchase from 1 business day to 5 business days. It is supposed to be an instant check, so 1 business day is already too long. HB 2044, Delegate Murphy, requires someone with a permanent protective order to certify in writing that they have sold or transferred all their firearms. It is already a felony for the person to possess firearms during the protective order period, so this bill puts an unnecessary requirement on the subject of the protective order. Worse, it is a felony if the person doesn t file on time. HB 2094, Delegate Price, totally guts firearms preemption, which would have the effect of making a complicated maze of gun laws that would serve only to entrap gun owners. Gun laws need to be consistent across the Commonwealth. HB 2098, Delegate Price, a parent, grandparent, or legal guardian would have to give prior permission for a person under 18 years old to possess a firearm on the property of that parent, grandparent, or legal guardian. This is a private, family matter, not a matter for the Commonwealth to turn into a crime. Page 12 of 18
Bills That VCDL Strongly Opposes (Cont d) HB 2187, Delegate Boysko, requires that all private sales of firearms go through a federal firearms licensed dealer ( Universal Background Check ). This bill will do nothing about crime, but will make it harder and more expensive for a citizen to sell or trade one of his firearms to another citizen. No dealer is required to make such a transfer, possibly making a private transfer all but impossible or not possible in a timely manner. The dealer may charge a fee of up to $15, raising the price of the firearm. Finally, this bill will also lead to an inevitable Universal Registration scheme at some point in the future to provide for enforcement. Firearms confiscation is the end goal, as is happening right now in California. HB 2188, Delegate Boysko, is backdoor scheme to coerce private firearms sellers into selling their firearms through a federal firearms licensee. The is done by threatening the private seller with civil liability if the firearm ends up being used in a crime. HB 2212, Delegate Plum, requires that all private sales of firearms go through a federal firearms licensed dealer ( Universal Background Check ). This bill will do nothing about crime, but will make it harder and more expensive for a citizen to sell or trade one of his firearms to another citizen. No dealer is required to make such a transfer, possibly making a private transfer all but impossible or not possible in a timely manner. The dealer may charge a fee of up to $15, raising the price of the firearm. Finally, this bill will also lead to an inevitable Universal Registration scheme at some point in the future to provide for enforcement. Firearms confiscation is the end goal, as is happening right now in California. HB 2266, Delegate Filler-Corn, requires that a store or restaurant that allows guns on their property, post a prominent sign so stating, or face a civil penalty. This makes no sense, except as a form of intimidation for the stores and restaurants, dragging them into a political issue. Should stores and restaurants also post a list of all clothes, cell phones, necklaces, wrist watches, purses, wallets, and shoes that customers are allowed to possess, too? Page 13 of 18
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Bills That VCDL Opposes SB 904, Senator Obenshain, allows a commissioner or deputy commissioner of the Worker s Compensation Commission to carry a concealed handgun without a concealed handgun permit anywhere he may go in the state. This is the government giving itself special perks again, while denying those same rights to the citizens of the Commonwealth. There s no reason a commissioner can t get a concealed handgun permit just like everyone else. And as far as carrying anywhere he goes, we need to apply that wording to anyone who has a concealed handgun permit! That fixes it for commissioners and for Virginia s 425,000 permit holders. Our lives are equally valuable. SB 1049, Senator Edwards, reduces the number of photographs to be furnished by non-resident concealed handgun permit applicants, allows 30 days for a person with a machine gun to update his registration information with the State Police if he moves, clarifies that a person who has had a Temporary Detention Order and voluntarily committed themselves cannot purchase a gun from a dealer, and simplifies the procedure when the purchase of a firearm has been delayed to investigate the purchaser for disqualifications. Opposition to this bill is based on the new crime created by not updating a person s machine gun registry with a new address in time. If that provision is removed, this bill would move to the Support category. HB 2325, Delegate Fariss, requires photo identification when applying for a new permit or renewing an existing permit. For new permits, photo identification is also required for aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence. This is a solution to a non-existing problem. Page 15 of 18
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Bills On Which VCDL is Neutral SB 832, Senator DeSteph, makes a minor clarification to the voluntary gun-show background check law. SB 953, Senator Ruff, clarifies the definition of muzzleloader. SB 989, Senator Stanley, changes who is honored by the Commonwealth s Twenty Marksmanship award to be simply the top twenty marksmen in Virginia, as determined by the Virginia Shooting Sports Association. HB 1879, Delegate Pogge, adds that a person adjudicated deliquent for public drunkeness is disqualified from applying for a concealed handgun permit for three years. This is the same as for an adult found guilty of the same crime. HB 2079, Delegate Lingamfelter, prohibits someone from knowingly selling, bartering, giving, or furnishing an assault firearm to a person who is not in the United States legally. HB 2253, Delegate Lingamfelter, increases penalties for using a firearm to commit certain violent crimes, but there is no penalty for any of the other weapons that could be used to commit the exact same crimes, such a knives, clubs, hatchets, crowbars, etc. HB 2258, Delegate Filler-Corn, creates a taskforce, which includes federal firearms licensees, shooting range operators, and other parties to develop a web site and provide free information on suicide prevention. There is no mandate requiring gun dealers, gun range operators, or others to disseminate the information. Page 17 of 18
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