Losing is bad. When Republicans lost the majority of the General Assembly in 2019 elections, we all knew what the radical leftwing Democrats would do; offer as much gun control as they can. Well, they didn’t get everything passed, like an “assault weapons ban,” but they did a lot of damage to 2nd Amendment Rights. Here’s a summary of some of the gun control Democrats did pass that go into effect today.
HB2/SB70 More Background Checks. Requires a background check for all firearm transfers. Family transfers are excluded, so are gifts, and a few other exemptions. The bill needlessly removes voluntary background checks at gun shows to make them mandatory, but we’ve all seen plenty of background checks take place at gun shows.
HB9 Reporting a Stolen Gun. Requires a person to report a stolen firearm to local law enforcement or state police within 48 hours of learning that the weapon is missing. This bill must be intended to add injury to insult. First your gun gets stolen, then maybe it is used in a crime within 48 hours of the theft, but you didn’t notice the missing weapon until 3 days later. That means you are now guilty of some bullshit in addition to having lost your gun. This law makes no sense.
SB35/HB 421 Local Gun Control. This law allows for local government gun control in regard to banning the possession, carrying, storage or transporting of firearms in specific local government buildings and areas. Be careful when traveling.
SB69/HB812 One Handgun a Month. But I have two hands! Pretty much the same bill as before, one that Republicans were able to repeal when we had the votes.
SB240/HB674 Red Flag law. Never mind Due Process, this new law is worrisome. Basically, this law allows any local Karen to call the cops to take guns away from gun owners as the threshold to begin the confiscation of firearms is so low. Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) does a great job of breaking down this bad law-
When served, the subject will be given the ESRO [Emergency Substantial Risk Order], the petition, and the affidavit.
A maximum of 14 days can transpire between the time the subject is served the ESRO and when he is to appear in court to contest the order. This may be extended by the subject if he has a good reason to do so. It cannot be extended by the Commonwealth.
The subject can have a lawyer present at his hearing, but none shall be provided by the Commonwealth if he can’t afford one (too bad for the poor people).If the subject is found not to be a threat, his guns will be returned after 5 days, if the subject makes a written request to get them back and includes a copy of the firearm inventory that he was given by law enforcement when he turned over his firearms. If the guns are not requested to be returned within 120 days, they can be destroyed.
SB436 Voluntary Do Not Sell List. This law amazes me. Here a person can voluntarily add their name to a list making them ineligible to own a gun. So who’s first? Maybe Governor Northam should lead by example and sign-up.