Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
WASHINGTON — Two Virginia Democrats want to make the recent gun-control laws adopted by the Virginia General Assembly a national law.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, D-Va., said Wednesday that they plan to introduce in the U.S. Senate the Virginia Plan to Reduce Gun Violence Act of 2020, a bill to federally enact a series of gun violence prevention measures that were backed on the state level by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and majority Democrats in Richmond.
While Democrats control the governor's mansion, the state Senate and the state House in Richmond, the gun-control measures backed by Northam and the Democratic members of the Virginia General Assembly are largely unpopular in Southwest Virginia. Many counties in the region recently voted to become Second Amendment Sanctuaries in response to the state-level gun-control laws in Virginia.
Tazewell, Buchanan, Giles and Bland counties all recently voted to become Second Amendment Sanctuaries, along with Mercer and McDowell counties in neighboring West Virginia.
Warner and Kaine said the federal legislation will include measures to remove firearms from those at risk of harming themselves or others, will close current background check loopholes, mandate reporting of lost and stolen firearms, prevent children from accessing firearms, and implement a one-handgun-a-month national policy.
“Too many communities across the Commonwealth have been affected by gun violence. That’s why earlier this month, Virginia led the charge by adopting reasonable measures to help prevent future tragedies. Now it’s time for Congress to act,” Warner said in a prepared statement. “Today, we are introducing a commonsense approach to help make our communities safer by helping to keep guns out of the wrong hands while still respecting the rights of law-abiding gun owners. We owe it to victims and their families to stop talking about the problem and start doing something to address it and this bill is an important step in that direction.”
“We have seen the scourge of gun violence in the tragedies of Virginia Tech and Virginia Beach, drive-by shootings, domestic violence, the hundreds of suicides by firearm every week, and other crime in cities and towns across our country,” Kaine added. “For too long, Congress has remained a bystander while states like Virginia have taken action. While no single piece of legislation can eradicate gun violence, as elected officials we have a responsibility to act. We must learn painful lessons from these horrific events and follow the Commonwealth’s example to take commonsense steps that can help save lives.”
According to Warner and Kaine, the federal gun control act builds upon the state law with the following provisions:
• Universal background checks: Closes loopholes in existing federal law by requiring background checks on all firearm sales and transfers, with exemptions for certain family members, law enforcement officers, service members, hunting, target shooting, and self-defense.
• Extreme risk protection orders: Establishes a federal extreme risk protection order process to temporarily remove firearms from individuals who pose a high risk of harming themselves or others, incentivizes states to implement their own extreme risk protection laws and court protocols.
• One-handgun-a-month: Limits purchases of handguns to one per month to curtail firearm stockpiling and trafficking.
• Reporting of lost or stolen firearms: Requires gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms to the appropriate state or local law enforcement agency within 48 hours. State and local law enforcement agencies would be directed to report data collected to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center.
• Preventing firearm access to minors: Promotes responsible gun ownership and safe storage practices by holding individuals liable for recklessly leaving a loaded, unsecured gun in the presence of a minor.
• Protection order prohibitions: Bolsters safeguards for victims of domestic violence by closing the “boyfriend loophole,” expanding firearms laws to prohibit persons convicted of dating violence from possessing firearms, and prohibiting persons convicted of stalking from possessing firearms.
— Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com. Follow him @BDTOwens