Capital News Service
RICHMOND – In Virginia, as in most states, you can get a gun
without ever having fired one.
A push for new gun laws was one of the hot topics of the
General Assembly’s 2015 session. Both the gun lobby and gun
control advocates sought legislation regarding firearms.
Second Amendment groups wanted to loosen the laws to allow,
for example, concealed handgun permit holders to carry loaded
shotguns or rifles in their vehicles. Gov. Terry McAuliffe
vetoed that bill.
Gun control groups wanted to restrict access to firearms.
They backed bills to prohibit letting children under 5 fire a
gun, and to reinstate Virginia’s prohibition on buying more
than one handgun a month. Those bills died in a legislative
subcommittee on unrecorded votes.
The Virginia Catholic Conference opposed a bill that would
have permitted concealed carry of guns on school property,
which was defeated, and supported a bill that would have
closed the gun show loophole.
To gun control advocates, the issue is all about safety: In
recent years, more Virginians have died from guns than from
car accidents.
In 2013, there were 855 gun-related deaths in Virginia,
according to a Capital News Service analysis of data from the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The deaths
included 10 accidents, 233 assaults and 601 suicides (with
the remainder undetermined).
That same year, 741 Virginians died in motor vehicle
accidents.
That trend holds true nationally as well. According to CDC
data, 33,168 people died from gun-related incidents in 2013;
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported
32,719 deaths due to motor vehicle accidents that year.
The governor’s gun agenda
Against the backdrop of such statistics, McAuliffe sought to
address the issue of guns in 2015.
In his State of the Commonwealth Address in January, the
governor proposed “several common-sense bills aimed at
keeping Virginians safe from gun violence without infringing
on the rights of responsible, law abiding citizens.”
McAuliffe, a gun owner himself, wanted to close the so-called
“gun show loophole.” Currently, Virginia does not require
background checks on people buying firearms from private
dealers at such events.
McAuliffe also said he wanted to prevent “violent criminals
and domestic abusers from obtaining firearms” and revoke the
concealed carry permits of people behind on child support
payments. Additionally, McAuliffe called for reinstating a
state law allowing Virginians to purchase only one handgun
per month – a limit the governor said would curb gun
trafficking to other states.
“Even one Virginian’s precious life is too high a price to
pay for our inability to reach a reasonable compromise on gun
safety,” McAuliffe told the General Assembly.
Democratic lawmakers tried to accomplish McAuliffe’s goals,
but the close of the legislative session left both the gun
lobby and gun control advocates at a standstill. Neither side
made any significant strides to advance its agenda or change
the way Virginia deals with guns.
Despite the stalemate, the gun lobby and gun control
advocates are optimistic about the future of gun laws in
Virginia.
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
Gena Reeder heads the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action
for Gun Sense in America, which was founded after the mass
shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.,
in 2012.
Reeder and the organization have three objectives: require
universal background checks on all gun sales to avoid guns
getting into the hands of criminals; prevent children from
getting hold of unsecured firearms; And put what the group
sees as reasonable limits on where and how guns are used in
public settings.
Turning those objectives into laws has been difficult because
the gun lobby has had several decades of a head start when it
comes to politics and influence, Reeder said. Organizations
like Moms Demand Action are trying to catch up.
Reeder said she believes there is a vocal minority of gun
owners who are afraid that any restrictions will lead to a
loss of their right to bear arms – something she said will
never happen.
“Any kind of law that restricts where and how you can carry
your gun, they feel like, is a great imposition to
law-abiding gun owners,” Reeder said.
Moms Demand Action is seeking to change not only laws but
also culture.
The group started a corporate responsibility campaign that
teams up with different businesses to prohibit open-carry in
their stores. Target, Chipotle and Starbucks are among the
establishments that have adopted policies barring people
openly carrying weapons.
“In our schools, we’re teaching kids that if a man with a gun
– a woman with a gun, person with a gun – comes into your
school, hide, take cover, be quiet, don’t say anything,”
Reeder said.
“And it’s a message that we think is confusing and dangerous
if they are going to be out with their parents shopping at
Kroger or wherever, that they’re going to see people who are
openly carrying guns. What are they supposed to do? Be at
ease in public but hide at school?”
By changing how people view and talk about guns, Reeder and
her allies hope the public and legislators will support the
group’s proposals to promote gun safety.
“Ultimately we feel like we’re going to be successful, but we
just know that we’re in it for the long haul,” Reeder said.
Virginia Citizens Defense League
Philip Van Cleave, the president of the Virginia Citizens
Defense League, has the same mentality but the opposite view
on the topic. Van Cleave said groups like Moms Demand Action
are trying to pass gun control laws – not gun safety laws. He
believes they will ultimately fail because most Virginia
legislators are for gun rights, not against them.
To Van Cleave, gun safety is knowing how to properly use a
gun, and training people to do so – not infringing on their
constitutional rights.
“I think that the other side has a huge mountain in front of
them – a gigantic mountain,” Van Cleave said. He said his
organization’s goal is to keep guns in the hands of Virginia
citizens and ensure that they can exercise their right to
bear arms.
“We also work as a watchdog, keeping our eye open for
localities violating the laws when it comes to guns,” Van
Cleave said.
Van Cleave said constitutional rights should not be abridged
simply on a fear that somebody someday may do something bad
with a gun. He said the courts should punish people who
commit horrible crimes and not let them off easy. That is
more effective, Van Cleave said, than limiting how much
ammunition a gun can hold.
“We don’t see any advantage to restricting a law-abiding
citizen’s magazine size,” Van Cleave said.
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Lori Haas is the Virginia state director of the Coalition to
Stop Gun Violence, which is pushing for education, research
and legislation regarding guns and gun safety.
“I think there is a tendency by our political culture to
ignore the effects of good policies on reducing gun
violence,” Haas said.
“Virginia is one state of many where gun deaths now outpace
motor vehicle deaths. And we know there are things you can do
to mitigate bad and drunk driving habits, such as speed
limits and safety features of vehicles.
“We know there are things you can do. The states in this
country that have strong gun laws have the lowest deaths, and
the states that have the weakest laws have the most gun
deaths,” she said.
A recent report from the John Hopkins School of Public Health
showed what can happen when a state changes its gun laws.
Three years ago, Missouri repealed its law requiring everyone
seeking to purchase a firearm to pass a background check.
Since then, the number of gun-related homicides has
increased. Missouri’s murder rates have risen as much as 25
percent since 2012.
