Senate defeats gun-show bill
The ability of Virginians -- including convicted felons, the mentally ill and spousal abusers -- to go to a gun show, purchase a firearm from a private seller and not be subjected to a background check was preserved yesterday.
The state Senate defeated the "gun-show loophole" bill, which would have required most purchasers at gun shows to submit to background checks as a condition of sale.
The vote was 21-19 on Senate Bill 1257, sponsored by Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond. Four Democrats whose constituencies include rural areas sided with the Republican minority. Two GOP senators voted for the measure, which had the backing of Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and family members of the victims of the Virginia Tech shootings of April 16, 2007.
"We think this is legislation that the citizens of Virginia wanted," said Lori Haas, mother of Tech shooting survivor Emily Haas. "And I think that our senators failed the citizens of Virginia in not voting for this bill."
Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin also survived being shot in the massacre that left 32 dead, said: "Nobody wins out of this."
No legislators spoke against the measure yesterday. In the past, opponents expressed concern that tightening the restrictions on gun-show purchases would open the door to more regulation that would infringe upon the rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms.
Marsh rejected attempts to amend the bill to make the checks voluntary on the part of private sellers, as well as an amendment that would have exempted purchasers of rifles from checks.
"This issue is too important to risk the lives of people in Virginia," Marsh said.
"There isn't any reason why somebody who is dangerously mentally ill, or a felon should be able to get a gun under any circumstances in the commonwealth," Kaine said before the vote. "And I continue to be surprised that people feel like that is OK."
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or
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Reader Reactions
I finally understand what a “loophole” is - a loophole is the expression or performance of the rights and freedoms guaranteed to all American citizens by the United States Constitution! No wonder the politicians and other enlightened individuals are so distressed by people who want to legally purchase firearms for sport of self-defense (let alone smoke). As for “convicted felons, the mentally ill and spousal abusers,“ well, depriving Americans of their rights will in no way reform the felons, cure the mentally ill or show the spousal abusers the error of their ways. Shame on you, Mr. Nolan, for equating law-abiding citizens with the ill, the deranged and the sociopathic.
Memo to JN - At first I thought Michael Paul Williams wrote this column, but then I realized I was still in the NEWS section. So would you be willing to publish as NEWS a summary of the University of Maryland research study on the precise question of the relationship between firearms purchased at gun shows and the crime rate in those cities / states? I sent to you twice…unless your Inbox spam filter automatically throws out anything that disconfirms your already strongly held opinion.
Clearly this article should be on the “opinions” page; who edited this spiteful little jem of disinformation? Let’s be clear: gun legislation and additional taxes on guns and ammo mean nothing - nada, zip, zero, zilch - to criminals. Legislation of this nature is intended as a means of (1) behavior modification for law-abiding citizens and (2) increased revenue for politicians. This Nolan character and other like-minded goody-goodies only care about telling other people what to do, but will be crying like a baby when there’s nobody there to protect them from the bad nasty people out there. Mr. Nolan, I cary a gun because I can’t conceal a police officer. Do us all a favor and write for The Nation or the NYT. In the meantime, I’ll be at the RIR this weekend shopping for my next purchase.
Wow…and this is in the news section? I’ve read letters to the editor that are more objective than this. My personal favorite is the second paragraph. It is obvious that Jim Nolan has never been to a gun show. Saying most of the purchases at a gun show are between two private individuals is way off base. I’ve been to a number of gun shows and have noticed that the number of these types of transactions are always in the minority.
I know that times are tough in the newspaper industry these days, but that does not mean you do not have a responsibility to check your facts before you print them. Thanks for the laugh Times-Dispatch.
Dear Jim, could you possibly write a more politically biased piece? The first paragraph sounds like a press release from the Brady campaign. I thought political opinion was supposed to be expressed on the editorial page. So much for objective journalism. Perhaps you should consider a career in politics instead.
Glad to see this unholy piece of legislation die. This bill was a solution to a problem that DOES NOT exist. Senator Marsh needs to mind his own d.. business, and leave the rest of us alone!
When will the Tech Gang of 32 realize that they don’t speak for all of Virginians. They need to quit trying to tell others how to live their lives and get on with theirs. Mr goodard should either run for an elected office or quit telling me how to live my life.
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