NRA-ILA | Virginia: House Continues Gun Control Push Giving Public Minimal Notice Before Vote

Today, the Virginia House of Delegates added half a dozen gun control bills to the floor agenda for votes and promptly passed the bills giving little notice to the public. These extreme gun control measures will now move to the Senate, clearing a major hurdle in reaching the Governor’s desk.  The bills passed include bans on commonly owned semi-automatic firearms and liability bills intended to cripple firearm related businesses. 

Bills passed by the House include:

House Bill 217 bans certain semi-automatic firearms, including many semi-automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns, arbitrarily limits magazine capacities, and prohibits possession by legal adults under the age of 21. This bill is an attempt to redefine and ban firearms that are in common use by law-abiding citizens—plain and simple gun confiscation by definition.

House Bill 21 creates sweeping new standards of “responsible conduct” for members of the firearm industry, including manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. The bill requires these businesses to establish and implement vague and subjective “reasonable controls” over the manufacture, sale, distribution, use, and marketing of firearm-related products. Further, it establishes a broad civil cause of action, allowing the Attorney General, local government attorneys, or private individuals to sue firearm businesses for injunctions, damages, and costs. This is a direct attack on the firearm industry and are designed to regulate the industry out of existence through litigation—despite longstanding federal protections.

House Bill 40 ends the centuries-old practice of individuals building lawful firearms for personal use without government interference by prohibiting the manufacture of firearms without serial numbers. Transfer and possession of an unserialized or plastic firearm would be prohibited. This legislation would also penalize individuals who lawfully purchased unfinished frames and receivers before the bill’s effective date.

House Bill 110 places further restrictions on the ability for a law-abiding individual to keep a firearm in their vehicle for self-defense. 

House Bill 229 prohibits the possession of any weapons in a hospital that provides mental health services or developmental services, and provides that any weapons seized in violation are forfeited to the Commonwealth.

House Bill 871 creates a mandatory storage requirement for homes where minors or prohibited persons are present.

These bills will now be transmitted to the Senate for consideration and committee assignment. With less than 10 working days remaining before the legislative crossover deadline, radical anti-gun legislators are sure to continue their assault and criminalization of law-abiding Virginians while refusing to hold convicted offenders accountable. 

Please stay tuned to the NRA-ILA website and your inbox for updates as the legislative crossover deadline approaches.