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Gun Control Measures Killed in General Assembly

A series of gun control measures – fervently backed by Governor McAuliffe - has been defeated by a Republican-controlled Virginia Senate committee. 

  

The Senate Courts of Justice panel voted against bills aimed at beefing up Virginia's gun control laws. The proposals include limiting handgun purchases to one a month and closing the so-called "gun show loophole" that allows sales by private sellers without a criminal background check.

Committee chairman Senator Thomas Norment said that a bill making it illegal for those convicted of certain violent crimes, including domestic violence and stalking, from transporting or possessing guns had passed the committee. But the General Assembly's database of vote results later showed that the vote failed by a large margin.

The Washington Post reports that Norment claims he accidentally misspoke and thought the bill had failed. But some Senate Democrats released a statement saying that Norment and Republican Senators Jill Holtzman Vogel and Ryan McDougle appeared to have changed their votes. Vogel and McDougle maintain that they did not.

The panel did approve a bill that would allow guns on school property outside of school hours, and one that repeals local measures against carrying loaded shotguns or rifles.

Democratic Senator Adam Ebbin also proposed his own omnibus gun control package. It included a measure that would have made it a misdemeanor to allow a child 4 years old or younger to use a firearm. The package was voted down – including that measure. A lobbyist for the NRA said it would impose an “arbitrary minimum age at which a person would be allowed to receive firearms training.” 

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