|
|||||||||||||
Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
Tech families lobby for gun bill
Dozens of people affected by last year's fatal shootings on the Virginia Tech campus converged on Richmond Jan. 21 in hopes of getting enough support to close the so-called “gun show loophole” in the state.Relatives and friends of Virginia Tech victims, including students from Westfield High School, University of Virginia and Virginia Tech spent their day giving testimony, lobbying and participating in a vigil to garner support for the legislation, despite dwindling chances that it will succeed.
The panel Gov. Tim Kaine (D) formed to review the fatal shooting of 32 people at Tech by 23-year-old Seung Hui Cho recommended that all gun dealers at gun shows be required to conduct background checks before selling firearms, though Cho didn't purchase his firearms at gun shows.
A house bill to do that, introduced by Del. Chuck Caputo (D-Chantilly), was indefinitely deferred by the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee after testimony from victims of the massacre, public safety officials and gun rights activists on Friday, Jan. 18, delegates present said.
"Our children and loved ones weren't people who gave up quickly, and we're not going to give up quickly," Joseph Samaha, a Centreville resident and father of deceased Virginia Tech victim Reema Samaha said Friday.
The Samaha family has started an advocacy group called Angel to “make Virginia citizens aware of gun practices in the Commonwealth and advocate for reasonable, commonsense gun legislation that will balance the ownership of guns by law-abiding citizens for hunting, sport, self-defense or collection with that of society to be safe.”
Members of the organization distributed angel cookies to legislators Monday while talking to them about closing the gun show loophole, said Lu Ann McNabb, a Centreville resident who is heavily involved with Angel Fund. In the afternoon, the group laid down on the Capitol's grounds to represent victims of gun violence.
Westfields High School students Chris McNabb and Sara Feierstein , both 16, join families of Virginia Tech shooting victims at the Virginia Senate's Court of Justice committee legislative hearing on the gun bill and attended the die-in vigil for victims of guns violence at the State Capitol Monday, Jan. 21.
A similar bill, sponsored by Henry Marsh III (D-Richmond), was heard by the Senate's Committee for Courts of Justice on Jan. 21 after testimony from both sides.
Sen. Ken Cuccinelli (R-Centreville), a member of the Committee of Courts of Justice, said he thinks closing the gun show loophole in Virginia is unlikely.
"Getting those votes will depend on the presumption that the Virginia Tech testimonies will dramatically change votes," Cuccinelli recently said.
He doesn't support the legislation – one of dozens of bills relating to firearms being considered by members of the General Assembly and fueled by the Tech massacre – because he thinks precautions taken at Virginia's gun shows are sufficient, he said.
Hoping to revise the bill in the house committee, Del. David Poisson (D-Sterling) and Del. Jim Scott (D-Merrifield) changed their votes to concur with the majority, planning to move that the committee, chaired by Republican Beverly Sherwood (Winchester), reconsider the bill, Poisson said.
The legislation failed in the house committee with the 13 Republicans on the committee voting to defer the legislation, and the nine Democrats on the voting for it, according to Caputo.
“It is very disappointing that we can't put party lines down to act for the safety of our citizens,” Caputo said.
There are eight Democrats and seven Republicans on the Senate's Committee for Courts of Justice, which is scheduled to vote on Marsh's bill on Jan. 23. If the Senate passes the bill, house members will still need to consider the issue.
“Each year both sides have made the same arguments, and each year they have had the same results," Jess Ryer, press secretary to House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith (R-Salem). Griffith is also a member of The House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.
You must be logged in to post a comment.