Virginia
Shooting Sports Association
2009
General Assembly Legislative Tracking Form
Updated 02:55PM 3/01/09
Legend: _ Code clean up/no impact on gun owner rights
: _ Improves gun owner rights
: _ Restricts gun owner rights
:
* VSSA has taken no position at this
time
The General
Assembly Adjourned Sine Die – February 28, 2009
Reconvened
Session to Consider Governor’s Amendments and Vetoes – April 8, 2009
House Bills
Introduced
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Bill No. |
Title |
LIS Bill Summary as Passed House (unless otherwise noted) |
Last Action |
VSSA Position |
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Firearms;
award of court costs, etc. to entity that prevails in action challenging
locality |
Requires
a court to award reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs to any
entity that prevails in an action challenging an ordinance, resolution,
motion, or an administrative action taken in bad faith, as being in conflict
with a locality's authority to control firearms pursuant to § 15.2-915. |
Passed
Senate with amendment (30-Y 10-N) Bill Passed as amended by Senate Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Concealed handguns; allows faculty members at
institutions of higher education to carry on campus. |
Allows full-time faculty members of state
institutions of higher education who possess a valid |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Dead for 2009 |
Support |
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Concealed handgun permits; amends various
processes, procedures, etc., for obtaining a permit. |
Amends various processes, procedures, and
requirements for obtaining a The bill allows permit applications to be
submitted and returned by mail, and specifies that the court may not require
any additional information with a permit application other than what is
required or authorized by § 18.2-308. If a current permit holder wishes to
obtain a replacement permit indicating a change of address, the permit
holder is no longer required to provide proof of the new address. The bill allows a court to consider only specific
acts of the applicant within the immediately preceding three-year period to
determine if the applicant is disqualified from obtaining a permit because
the applicant is likely to use a weapon unlawfully or negligently. If the
court finds that a person is disqualified from obtaining a permit, it must
include the specific Code section that is the basis for the denial. Finally, the bill adds special conservators of
the peace to the definition of a "law-enforcement officer" for
purposes of § 18.2-308, thereby allowing special conservators of the peace
to carry a concealed handgun anywhere in the Commonwealth without a permit,
and exempting special conservators of the peace from limitations placed on
concealed handgun permit holders, including carrying concealed handguns in
restaurants that serve alcohol and carrying handguns on elementary, middle,
and high school property. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Dead for 2009 |
Support |
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Firearms; possession or transportation thereof by
persons under the age of 18, penalty |
Increases from a Class 1 misdemeanor to a Class 6
felony the possession or transportation of certain firearms by persons under
the age of 18. |
01/23/09
House: Stricken from docket by Militia, Police and Public Safety by
voice vote Bill Dead for 2009 |
(Note -Inclination is to Oppose
but patron is strong on our issue and the legislative team is working to
determine why this bill was introduced) |
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Concealed handgun permit; no requirement for fingerprinting if previously
issued permit |
Clarifies
that no locality may require a person who has previously been issued a
concealed handgun permit in the Commonwealth to submit to fingerprinting for
a new permit. |
01/30/09
House: Stricken from docket by Militia, Police and Public Safety by
voice vote Bill Dead for 2009 |
Support |
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Concealed handguns; prohibits person who carries in restaurant from
consuming alcoholic beverages. |
Prohibits a person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of
a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on the
premises. A person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a
restaurant or club shall inform a designated employee of the restaurant or
club of that fact. A person who consumes alcohol in violation of the
provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and a person who
becomes intoxicated in violation of the provisions of the bill is guilty of a
Class 1 misdemeanor. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Dead for 2009 |
Support |
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Handguns; exempts permit holders from prohibition against carrying onto
school property. |
Exempts concealed handgun permit holders from the prohibition against
carrying handguns onto the property of a public, private, or religious
elementary, middle, or high school. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Dead for 2009 |
Support |
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Firearms; purchase by members of United States Armed Forces. |
Allows active duty service members of the United States Armed Forces or
the Virginia National Guard to purchase more than one handgun within a 30-day
period. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2010. |
Passed Senate (31-Y 8-N) Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto |
Support |
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Firearms; localities may adopt ordinance prohibiting thereof in
libraries owned by locality. |
Provides that localities may adopt an ordinance that prohibits
firearms, ammunition, or components or combinations thereof in libraries owned
or operated by the locality. |
01/29/09
House: Subcommittee recommends passing by indefinitely by voice vote Bill Defeated |
Strongly Oppose |
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Firearm silencer; shifts burden of proof that firearm is registered
from State to defendant. |
Shifts the burden of proof that a firearm silencer is registered or not
from the Commonwealth to the defendant. Possession of an unregistered firearm
silencer is unlawful, a Class 6 felony. |
01/30/09
House: Stricken from docket by Militia, Police and Public Safety by
voice vote Bill Defeated |
Oppose as drafted |
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Purchase of handguns of certain officers |
Allows a retiring law-enforcement officer of the State Lottery
Department to purchase his handgun for $1. |
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
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Concealed handgun permits; access to permittee
information |
Protects from public disclosure permittee
names and descriptive information held by the Department of State Police for
purposes of entry into the Virginia Criminal Information Network. However, the
information would still be available to law-enforcement agencies, officers,
and agents in the course of law-enforcement duties, and nonidentifying
statistical information would be available to the general public. |
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Note: This
bill codifies the AG’s opinion prohibiting the State Police from releasing
names of permit holders but allows individuals seeking the information to get
it from local circuit courts. |
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Possession of ammunition by convicted felons; prohibited |
Summary as Passed Prohibits a convicted felon from possessing ammunition for a firearm
and adds a definition of ammunition. A violation is a Class 6 felony. |
Passed
Senate with substitute (40-Y 0-N) Bill Passed as amended Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
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Concealed weapons |
Adds weapons designed to expel a projectile at a speed of more than 250
feet per second by action of compressed air or gas, such as an airsoft gun, to the list of weapons that are prohibited
from being carried concealed. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Defeated |
Oppose |
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Requires any person who has a fixed location at a firearms show to
display and sell firearms and any person who sells three or more firearms at
a firearms show, regardless of whether he has a fixed location, to be
licensed as a |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Defeated |
Oppose |
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Criminal law; registration of machine guns |
Requires any registrant to forthwith notify the Superintendent of State
Police, in writing, of the change of address of the registrant or permanent
change of the physical location of the machine gun. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Defeated |
Oppose |
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Disposition of firearms |
Provides
that no locality may participate in any program in which individuals are
given a thing of value in exchange for surrendering a firearm to the locality
unless the governing body of the locality has enacted an ordinance
authorizing the participation of the locality. The ordinance shall require
that such firearms shall be sold by public auction, or sealed bids, to a
person licensed as a dealer |
Passed
Senate with amendment (28-Y 12-N) Bill Passed as amended Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Firearms
show; |
Provides
that Fairfax County may by ordinance require the promoter of any show held in
Fairfax County to make available to all vendors or exhibitors at a firearms
show at least one location on the premises where the vendor or exhibitor
shall conduct criminal history record information requests for the sale of
firearms. |
02/10/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Defeated |
Strongly Oppose |
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Senate Bills Introduced |
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Bill No. |
Title |
LIS Bill Summary as Passed Senate (unless otherwise noted) |
Last Action |
VSSA Position |
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Firearms; possessing
or carrying dangerous weapon in public buildings during official meetings |
Provides that localities may adopt an ordinance that prohibits
firearms, ammunition, or components or combinations thereof in community or
recreation centers, administrative buildings, or public libraries owned or
operated by the locality during an official meeting of the governing body. |
01/27/09
Senate: Failed to report (defeated) in Local Government (5-Y 10-N) Bill Defeated |
Oppose |
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Law-enforcement
officers, retired; clarifies that officers are not subject to concealed
weapon laws |
Allows retired law-enforcement officers who are qualified under federal
law to carry concealed firearms to carry a concealed handgun into a
restaurant that serves alcohol. |
Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Concealed
handguns; restaurants; penalty. |
Prohibits a person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of
a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on the
premises. A person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a
restaurant or club shall inform a designated employee of the restaurant or
club of that fact. A person who consumes alcohol in violation of the
provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor and a person who
becomes intoxicated in violation of the provisions of the bill is guilty of a
Class 1 misdemeanor. |
Passed
House with Amendments (66-Y 33-N) Bill Passed as amended Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Dangerous
weapons in government facilities. |
Provides that the governing body of any locality may, by ordinance,
make it unlawful for any person to possess a dangerous weapon upon the
property, including buildings and grounds thereof, of any facility that is
owned or leased by that locality and used by it for governmental purposes. |
01/27/09
Senate: Failed to report (defeated) in Local Government (5-Y 10-N) Bill Defeated |
Strongly Oppose |
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Criminal
records check; purchase of firearms. |
Increases the fee paid to firearms dealers for criminal history record
information checks from $2 to $5 for Virginians and from $5 to $8 for persons
living out-of-state. The bill also provides that data and forms submitted to
and maintained by the Department of State Police for such criminal history
checks and purchases may not be inspected by the public. |
02/09/09
Passed Senate (27-Y 13-N) 02/28/09
House: Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety Bill Defeated |
Oppose (Note – while VSSA supports closing
public access to the forms, we strongly oppose trying to balance the budget
on the backs of gun owners) |
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Concealed handgun permits |
Makes changes to the procedures governing the application for a
concealed handgun permit and the carrying of a concealed handgun in the
Commonwealth. The bill clarifies that a conviction from another state for
driving while intoxicated or for drunkenness in public disqualifies an
individual from obtaining a concealed handgun permit, and that any training
to show competence with a handgun must be completed in person. The bill also
requires that a nonresident carrying a concealed handgun in the Commonwealth
with either a reciprocal permit from another state or a Commonwealth-issued
nonresident permit display photo identification along with the permit, upon
request of a law-enforcement officer. |
01/29/09
Passed Senate (40-Y 0-N) with amendments 02/23/09
House: Tabled in Courts of Justice by voice vote Bill Defeated |
Oppose Note: While
the requirement for in person training has been removed, it still requires that
a reciprocal permit holder display a separate photo-id even if the permit
includes a photo |
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Transfer
of firearms; criminal records check; penalties. |
Adds a definition of "firearms show vendor" and requires that
a criminal history record information check be performed on the prospective
transferee before the vendor may transfer firearms at a gun show. Under
current law, only licensed dealers must obtain such a check. The bill also
adds a definition of "promoter" and requires that the promoter of a
gun show provide vendors with access to licensed dealers who will conduct the
criminal background check. |
02/04/09
Defeated by Senate (19-Y 21-N) Bill Defeated |
Strongly Oppose |
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Firearm silencers;
repeals provision that makes it a Class 6 felony to possess if not
registered. |
Repeals
the provision that makes it a Class 6 felony to possess a firearm muffler or
silencer that is not registered in the National Firearms Registration and
Transfer Record. |
Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Firearms
shows; state police presence. |
Requires
the promoter of a firearms show to arrange and pay for a law-enforcement
officer from the Department of State Police to be present at all times during
a firearms show. Also allows the Superintendent of State Police to enter into
agreements with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives whereby law-enforcement officers with the Department of State Police
may be granted federal law-enforcement authority for the purposes of
enforcing firearms laws of the |
01/14/09
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice 02/11/09
Senate: Left in Courts of Justice Bill Defeated |
Oppose (Note -This bill seeks to address a
problem that does not exist. Gun Show
Promoters should not have to pay for law enforcement to monitor gun
shows. Federal studies have shown that
gun shows are not a source for guns used in crimes.) |
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Purchase of
service handgun; designated law-enforcement officers to purchase their
handgun. |
Allows
designated law-enforcement officers to purchase their service handgun for $1
if they are receiving disability payments for a service-incurred disability
with no expectation of returning to their former employment. |
Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Firearms; award
of court costs, etc., to entity that prevails in action challenging locality. |
Requires a
court to award reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs to any
entity that prevails in an action challenging an ordinance, resolution,
motion, or administrative action as being in conflict with a locality's
authority to control firearms pursuant to § 15.2-915. |
Passed
House with Amendment (84-Y 13-N) House
Amendment rejected by Senate Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
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Concealed handgun
permits; completion of firearms training, etc., may be done electronically. |
Provides
that the completion of a firearms training or safety course conducted by a
state-certified or National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor
may be done electronically or on-line. |
Bill advances to
Governor for signature, amendments or veto. |
Support |
House of Delegates Contact List
DGIF
Hunting and Fishing Bill Tracking Web Page
Note!!! Legislation is subject to
change at a moment’s notice. VSSA may
take a position on a bill based on current information and change its position
later based on amendments or other actions.
Please check the tracking form and the VSSA Blog
regularly for the most up-to-date information.
Virginia Shooting
Sports Association ∙ P. O. Box 1258 ∙ Orange, VA 22960-0741 ∙ Phone: (540) 672-5848