Bad House Gun Bills:
HB 1757 Firearm-free zones designated by the Commonwealth or a locality; waiver of sovereign immunity.
Firearm-free zones designated by the Commonwealth or a locality; waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that if (i) the Commonwealth designates any property owned by it as a firearm-free zone or (ii) any locality designates such locality or any part of such locality as a firearm-free zone, the Commonwealth or such locality waives its sovereign immunity as it relates to any injuries sustained by persons lawfully present in such firearm-free zone.
HB 1992 Firearms; purchase, etc., following conviction for assault and battery of a family member.
Purchase, possession, or transportation of firearms following conviction for assault and battery of a family or household member; penalties. Prohibits a person who has been convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. A person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
HB 2231 Group Violence Intervention Board and Division of Group Violence Intervention; established, report.
Group Violence Intervention Board; Division of Group Violence Intervention; Project Ceasefire Grant Fund; Project Exit Grant Fund. Establishes the Group Violence Intervention Board to coordinate and assist federal, state, and local group violence intervention efforts. The bill also establishes within the Department of Criminal Justice Services (the Department) the Division of Group Violence Intervention (the Division), to be headed by an executive director appointed by the Director of the Department. The bill provides that the Division is responsible for (i) coordinating the efforts of members of state and local law enforcement, community members, and social services providers to combat group violence; (ii) serving as a clearinghouse for research, best practices, and strategies that may be utilized in the implementation, execution, and evaluation of group violence interventions; and (iii) implementing and administering various federal, state, and local grant funds that aid group violence intervention efforts. Finally, the bill creates the Project Ceasefire Grant Fund, which provides money to organizations that are involved in group violence intervention efforts, and creates the Project Exit Grant Fund, which provides money to organizations that assist former gang members or individuals attempting to leave gangs.
HB 2276 Plastic firearms and unfinished frames, etc.; manufacture, import, sale, transfer, etc., penalty.
Manufacture, import, sale, transfer, or possession of plastic firearms and unfinished frames or receivers and unserialized firearms; penalties. Creates a Class 5 felony for any person who manufactures, imports, sells, transfers, or possesses any firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a major component, as defined in the bill, is not detectable as a firearm by the types of detection devices, including X-ray machines, commonly used at airports for security screening. The bill updates language regarding the types of detection devices that are used at airports for detecting plastic firearms.
The bill also creates several Class 1 misdemeanors, which are punishable as a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent offense, making it unlawful (i) for any person to possess, sell, offer to sell, transfer, purchase, transport, or receive an unfinished frame or receiver or firearm, unless the party possessing or receiving the unfinished frame or receiver or firearm is a federal firearms importer or manufacturer or the unfinished frame or receiver or firearm is imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer or manufacturer and (ii) for any person to manufacture, cause to be manufactured, assemble, or cause to be assembled a firearm that is not imprinted with a serial number issued by a federal firearms importer or manufacturer in compliance with all federal laws and regulations regulating the manufacture and import of firearms.
Good House Gun Bills:
HB 1757 Firearm-free zones designated by the Commonwealth or a locality; waiver of sovereign immunity.
Firearm-free zones designated by the Commonwealth or a locality; waiver of sovereign immunity. Provides that if (i) the Commonwealth designates any property owned by it as a firearm-free zone or (ii) any locality designates such locality or any part of such locality as a firearm-free zone, the Commonwealth or such locality waives its sovereign immunity as it relates to any injuries sustained by persons lawfully present in such firearm-free zone.
HB 1839 Special hunting and fishing licenses for disabled veterans; 50 percent disabled.
Special hunting and fishing license for disabled veterans; 50 percent disabled. Authorizes any resident veteran who has a service-connected disability of 50 percent or more to receive at no cost from the Department of Wildlife Resources a lifetime license to hunt and freshwater fish. Current law authorizes the provision of such license at no cost to a veteran who is totally and permanently disabled and at half-cost to a veteran who is 70 percent disabled.
HB 1773 Carrying a concealed handgun; permit not required.
Carrying a concealed handgun; permit not required. Allows any person who is otherwise eligible to obtain a concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun without a permit anywhere he may lawfully carry a handgun openly within the Commonwealth.
HB 1793 Concealed handgun permit; local control of firearms.
Local control of firearms; concealed handgun permit. Provides that any local ordinance that prohibits the possession, carrying, or transportation of any firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof on specified public property shall not apply to a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit.
HB 1799 Sunday hunting; allowed on public lands.
Sunday hunting; allowed on public lands. Removes the prohibition against hunting or killing on public lands a wild bird or wild animal, including a nuisance species, with a gun, firearm, or other weapon on Sunday. The bill removes the ability of raccoon hunters to hunt within 200 yards of a place of worship on Sunday and contains technical amendments.
Bad Senate Bills:
SB 1250 Firearm rentals; criminal history record information check required, penalty.
Criminal history record information check required for firearm rentals; penalty. Provides that for the purposes of conducting a criminal history record information check for a firearm transfer, the term “rent” includes a temporary change in dominion or control of a firearm for use at or on the premises of a dealer’s business location in exchange for money or other consideration. Under current federal law, the rental of a firearm for use on a dealer’s business premises is not considered to be a sale, disposition, or delivery of the firearm; therefore, such rental would not allow for a National Instant Criminal Background Check System check to be performed. The bill would allow the Virginia State Police to conduct a Virginia state criminal history record information check instead.
