Stephen Paddock’s Las Vegas assault rifle killing spree has again highlighted the dangers of Virginia's and America’s much-too-lax firearms environment. Virginians know the dangers of high-powered weapons having experienced snipers Malvo and Muhammad and the Virginia Tech massacre. Some of us have been steadily, but unsuccessfully, trying to pass reasonable firearms violence prevention laws in Virginia for years.
For example, after Jared Loughner’s 2011 attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, I cosponsored legislation to prohibit the sale of firearm ammunition magazines that hold more than 20 bullets. The legislature has rejected the bill every year since.
In 2015, a Fairfax attorney told me about a client he defended in a mental commitment proceeding in which his client was found to be a danger to himself or others. Virginia law prohibits these people from obtaining a concealed weapon permit or possessing a firearm, but the law does not prohibit the possession of ammunition. I tried to prohibit mentally-incapacitated people from purchasing or possessing ammunition, but the legislature struck it down.
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