More Back-Room Dealing on Gun Issues at Virginia General Assembly

RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A coalition of gun violence prevention groups in Virginia (Protest Easy Guns, the Virginia Center for Public Safety, the Virginia Chapters of the Million Mom March, and the Angel Fund) strongly condemns the decision of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee to hold a surprise subcommittee meeting last night to pass HB 49, a bill that would repeal Virginia's one-handgun-per-month law.  

Late last week, the subcommittee, chaired by Del. Thomas C. Wright, had announced that it would conduct no further meetings, leaving HB 49 unreported.  Yesterday, late in the day, the subcommittee inexplicably reconvened with less than a few hours notice to the public to approve this single piece of legislation.  

"This is back-room politics at its very worst," said Andy Goddard, President of the Richmond Chapter of the Million Mom March.  "The one-handgun-per-month law was a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing illegal gun trafficking in the Commonwealth.  Attempting to repeal this law under the cover of a blizzard, in a surprise meeting, is reprehensible and the type of government that Virginians are so frustrated with right now."

The one-handgun-per-month law limits Virginia residents to one handgun purchase every 30 days.  The purpose of the statute, which was signed into law by then-Governor Doug Wilder in 1993, is to deter straw purchasers and firearm traffickers from buying multiple handguns in a short period of time.  A straw purchase occurs when an individual with a clean criminal record buys a gun(s) for someone who is prohibited under federal law from purchasing firearms.  By prohibiting bulk handgun purchases, the law limits the profit that illegal firearm traffickers can make by reselling handguns en masse to convicted felons and others who cannot pass federal background checks.  In an interview with Politico in July 2009, Wilder indicated that he believes the law should remain in effect.

A 1995 study titled "Evaluating the Impact of Virginia's One-Gun-a-Month Law" found that the law was "effective in reducing the number of crime guns traced to Virginia dealers."  Nonetheless, today Virginia remains a major supplier of trafficked crime guns.  According to a 2008 report released by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Virginia ranks sixth out of the 50 states in terms of exporting crime guns.

"In the wake of the Virginia Tech Massacre, the mass shooting in Appomattox, and countless other tragedies, the General Assembly should be acting to deny dangerous individuals access to firearms, not facilitate it," said Lori Haas, Board Member of the Virginia Center for Public Safety.  "In the interest of public safety -- not special interest groups -- our elected officials and governor should keep the one-handgun-per-month law in effect and address the glaring weaknesses in our state's screening system for gun purchasers and concealed handgun permit holders."

"This attempted repeal should be debated vigorously under the light of day," added Abby Spangler, founder of Protest Easy Guns.  "We will not allow the General Assembly to put our families under even greater danger without holding them accountable for their actions."

The full House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee, chaired by Del. Beverly Sherwood, will meet tomorrow, Friday, February 12, at 9:00 a.m. in House Room C of the General Assembly building to vote on HB 49.

The Virginia Center for Public Safety (formerly known as Virginians Against Handgun Violence) is a statewide organization that was founded in 1992 after a young person was shot outside a school in Hampton Roads.  The organization seeks to create a safer Virginia through education, public forums, youth outreach, and work in the public policy arena.  VACPS believes that a chief cause of gun violence is the easy access that criminals and youth have to guns in the state.

As the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, working with its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.

ProtestEasyGuns.com is a grassroots protest movement of Americans that emerged in response to the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history at Virginia Tech. We are outraged at how easy it is to obtain a gun in the United States and believe it is time to change lax laws that allow criminals and dangerous individuals easy access to guns.  Each of the movement's "Lie-In" protests includes 32 individuals (symbolizing the number of students and teachers murdered at Virginia Tech) who lie on the ground for just a few minutes (signifying the brief amount of time it takes to buy a gun in the United States). Our goal is to encourage like-minded citizens to stage their own protests around the country so that we can influence the public discourse and ultimately the legislative process with regard to this critical national problem.

Angel Fund is the family, friends, neighbors and advocates of Reema Samaha, who was tragically killed on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech by a lone gunman, along with 31 other students and faculty.  There were many complex issues that contributed to the Virginia Tech tragedy: mental illness, campus safety and security, lack of information sharing, privacy and gun laws.  We would like to address those policies and laws we felt contributed to the tragedy and to seek practical and reasonable solutions to avoid another similar tragedy.  We, therefore, would like to honor Reema's memory by making the world a safer place through education, advocacy and implementing practical solutions.

SOURCE Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence