T Dubya
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http://www.richmondfreepress.com/news/currentPageA.pdf
[align=left]Gun-friendly Virginia is poised to return to the Wild West-type era when a person could buy dozens of guns in a single purchase without raising an eyebrow.[/align]
[align=left]Over the objections of the Legislative Black Caucus and most other Democrats, the Republican-dominated House of Delegates voted 61-37 to repeal the 17-year-old law that limits purchases to one gun per month.[/align]
[align=left]The repeal is part of the ambitious pro-gun legislative bundle that cleared the House on Tuesday, the constitutional deadline for the House to complete passage of its own bills and for the Senate to do likewise.[/align]
[align=left]The landmark monthly handgun-purchase limit was the 1993 legislative triumph of then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. Considered a monumental achievement at the time, the law was enacted as homicide rates soared in Virginia’s capital city and as the state gained a reputation as an East Coast armory for violent criminals.[/align]
[align=left]The fate of the repeal now depends on what happens in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee headed by a prominent member of the Caucus, Richmond Sen. Henry L. Marsh III.[/align]
[align=left]He’s appalled that the House passed the repeal, but he said Wednesday he’s not sure he has the votes to halt the wipeout of the law. Still Sen. Marsh is vowing to do all he can to stop the momentum of the bill.[/align]
[align=left]“We’ve got too many guns already,” Sen. Marsh told the Free Press. “Anyone who wants a gun can get one. Who needs more than one gun a month?” He was among the legislators who voted to pass the original restriction that was aimed at deterring firearms traffickers from making bulk purchases and reselling to convicted felons and others who cannot pass background checks.[/align]
[align=left]But arguments about the value of limiting sales failed to impress the House majority, whose push for the repeal has the backing of Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell. He promised to support the repeal during his successful run last year.[/align]
[align=left]Norfolk Delegate Kenneth C. Alexander, chairman of the Caucus, said every Caucus member, including the 13 House members and five senators, are adamantly opposed to the change. In the urban districts the members represent, “too many of the street crimes stem from guns being stolen from cars and homes,” said Delegate Alexander, who voted for several of the other gun laws that House Republicans have pushed.[/align]
[align=left]The Caucus’ view, he said, is that allowing multiple gun sales raises the risk of guns getting into the hands of the wrong people. “If we do not want guns used in the commission of crimes, we need to do all we can to restrict the sale,” said the delegate, who is one of several Caucus members with a concealed weapon permit.[/align]
[align=left]During debate over the bill, Henrico Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey, who represents a sliver of North Side, was among those who argued strongly for keeping the restriction on sales in place. “Right now you can buy up to 12 guns a year — a huge arsenal. We all know that gunrunning is real,” the former Richmond prosecutor told the House. “We have been successful in the city of Richmond by reducing homicides by guns, and right now we are unraveling almost two decades of progress.”[/align]
[align=left]The bill’s sponsor, Delegate L. Scott Ligamfelter, R-Prince William County, responded that the one-gun-a-month restriction only benefits criminals. “Making it harder on a law-abiding citizen to acquire a handgun legally will not stop felons from acquiring a handgun illegally,” Delegate Ligamfelter said.[/align]
[align=left]Up until now, the law had easily weathered previous attacks by Republicans and some Democrats — including state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who lost the governor’s race last year — who have argued that the monthly sales legislation is outmoded given the technology that allows instant background checks of purchasers.[/align]
[align=left]Sen. Marsh, along with other repeal foes, calls that argument bogus. Like Delegate Alexander, he points to the gaping loophole that the legislature has refused to close that allows people to buy weapons at gun shows without any restrictions or background checks.[/align]
http://www.richmondfreepress.com/news/currentPageA.pdf
[align=left]Gun-friendly Virginia is poised to return to the Wild West-type era when a person could buy dozens of guns in a single purchase without raising an eyebrow.[/align]
[align=left]Over the objections of the Legislative Black Caucus and most other Democrats, the Republican-dominated House of Delegates voted 61-37 to repeal the 17-year-old law that limits purchases to one gun per month.[/align]
[align=left]The repeal is part of the ambitious pro-gun legislative bundle that cleared the House on Tuesday, the constitutional deadline for the House to complete passage of its own bills and for the Senate to do likewise.[/align]
[align=left]The landmark monthly handgun-purchase limit was the 1993 legislative triumph of then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. Considered a monumental achievement at the time, the law was enacted as homicide rates soared in Virginia’s capital city and as the state gained a reputation as an East Coast armory for violent criminals.[/align]
[align=left]The fate of the repeal now depends on what happens in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee headed by a prominent member of the Caucus, Richmond Sen. Henry L. Marsh III.[/align]
[align=left]He’s appalled that the House passed the repeal, but he said Wednesday he’s not sure he has the votes to halt the wipeout of the law. Still Sen. Marsh is vowing to do all he can to stop the momentum of the bill.[/align]
[align=left]“We’ve got too many guns already,” Sen. Marsh told the Free Press. “Anyone who wants a gun can get one. Who needs more than one gun a month?” He was among the legislators who voted to pass the original restriction that was aimed at deterring firearms traffickers from making bulk purchases and reselling to convicted felons and others who cannot pass background checks.[/align]
[align=left]But arguments about the value of limiting sales failed to impress the House majority, whose push for the repeal has the backing of Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell. He promised to support the repeal during his successful run last year.[/align]
[align=left]Norfolk Delegate Kenneth C. Alexander, chairman of the Caucus, said every Caucus member, including the 13 House members and five senators, are adamantly opposed to the change. In the urban districts the members represent, “too many of the street crimes stem from guns being stolen from cars and homes,” said Delegate Alexander, who voted for several of the other gun laws that House Republicans have pushed.[/align]
[align=left]The Caucus’ view, he said, is that allowing multiple gun sales raises the risk of guns getting into the hands of the wrong people. “If we do not want guns used in the commission of crimes, we need to do all we can to restrict the sale,” said the delegate, who is one of several Caucus members with a concealed weapon permit.[/align]
[align=left]During debate over the bill, Henrico Delegate Joseph D. “Joe” Morrissey, who represents a sliver of North Side, was among those who argued strongly for keeping the restriction on sales in place. “Right now you can buy up to 12 guns a year — a huge arsenal. We all know that gunrunning is real,” the former Richmond prosecutor told the House. “We have been successful in the city of Richmond by reducing homicides by guns, and right now we are unraveling almost two decades of progress.”[/align]
[align=left]The bill’s sponsor, Delegate L. Scott Ligamfelter, R-Prince William County, responded that the one-gun-a-month restriction only benefits criminals. “Making it harder on a law-abiding citizen to acquire a handgun legally will not stop felons from acquiring a handgun illegally,” Delegate Ligamfelter said.[/align]
[align=left]Up until now, the law had easily weathered previous attacks by Republicans and some Democrats — including state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds, who lost the governor’s race last year — who have argued that the monthly sales legislation is outmoded given the technology that allows instant background checks of purchasers.[/align]
[align=left]Sen. Marsh, along with other repeal foes, calls that argument bogus. Like Delegate Alexander, he points to the gaping loophole that the legislature has refused to close that allows people to buy weapons at gun shows without any restrictions or background checks.[/align]
