Virginia
Shooting Sports Association
2010
General Assembly Legislative Tracking Form
Updated 10:00AM 1/25/10
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 Convenes January 13, 2010
Cross Over
Day (last day for house of origin to act on its bills) – February 16, 2010
Adjourn Sine
Die – March 13, 2010
Reconvened
Session to Consider Governor’s Amendments and Vetoes – April 21, 2010
House Bills
Introduced
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Bill No. |
Title |
LIS Bill Summary as Introduced (unless otherwise noted) |
Last Action |
VSSA Position |
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Concealed
handgun permits; renewal by mail. |
Allows a
person who previously has been issued a |
12/03/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed
handgun permit; documentation and information provided by applicant. |
Clarifies
that the clerk of court accepting a concealed handgun permit application
shall not require the applicant to provide any documentation or information
not required by § 18.2-308 or by the application form prescribed by the
Department of State Police. |
12/18/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed
handguns; possession by faculty members at state institutions of higher
education. |
Allows
full-time faculty members of state institutions of higher education who
possess a valid |
12/18/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Handguns;
repeals one-gun-a-month limitation. |
Repeals
the prohibition against purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period. |
12/21/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed
handgun permit; failure to produce upon demand of a law-enforcement officer,
penalty. |
Provides
that failure to produce, upon demand of a law-enforcement officer, a
concealed handgun permit and a government-issued
photo identification while carrying a concealed handgun is punishable by a
$25 civil penalty. A court may waive this penalty if the person presents a
valid concealed handgun permit and government-issued photo identification to
the court. |
12/22/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Handgun;
person with lawful possession may carry into courthouse. |
Allows a
person who may lawfully possess a firearm to carry a handgun into a
courthouse when the courthouse is being used for non-judicial activities. |
12/22/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms,
ammunition, etc.; those manufactured and retained in State not subject to
federal law. |
Declares
that firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in |
12/29/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms;
possession with intent to use on school property Class 1 misdemeanor. |
Changes
the penalty for possession of a firearm on school property from a Class 6
felony to a Class 1 misdemeanor, the same penalty that applies to the
possession of other weapons on school property. However, if a person
possesses a firearm on school property with the intent to use the firearm
unlawfully or to threaten or endanger another person, or if a person actually
uses the firearm in an unlawful manner or threatens or endangers another
person, such person is guilty of a Class 6 felony. If a person unlawfully
discharges a firearm upon school property, upon other property being used
exclusively for school-sponsored functions or extracurricular activities, or
upon a school bus, such person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term
of imprisonment of five years. |
Support |
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Concealed
handgun permits; prohibits clerk of court from providing public access to
applications. |
Prohibits
a clerk of court from providing public access to concealed handgun permit
applications and information regarding identifiable permittees
without the written consent of the applicant or permittee.
The applications and information would be available to law-enforcement
agencies, and the clerk of court would be authorized to release aggregate
information that does not identify individual applicants or permittees. |
12/30/09
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed
handguns; person with valid permit allowed to carry in place of worship with
permission. |
Allows a
person with a valid concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun in
a place of worship with permission of the leader of the religious meeting.
The bill also eliminates the restriction against carrying a concealed handgun
in a restaurant that serves alcohol. |
01/05/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms;
disposition of those acquired by localities. |
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 or be disposed of in any other appropriate manner. |
01/05/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms;
destruction of certain records by clerk of circuit court. |
Repeals
local authority to impose a license tax of not more than $25 on persons
engaged in the business of selling pistols and revolvers. Also, a
recordkeeping requirement for such persons is deleted and the clerk of the
circuit court shall destroy any such existing records. |
01/05/10
House: Referred to Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns |
Support |
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Electronic
security employees; those with valid permits may carry concealed handguns. |
Allows
licensed electronic security employees who have a valid concealed handgun
permit and who may lawfully carry a handgun to carry a concealed handgun for
personal protection during business hours, so long as the employee does not
represent that he is carrying the handgun in the course of his employment. |
01/05/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms
in locked vehicles; immunity from liability. |
Provides
that no person, property owner, tenant, employer, or business owner may
prohibit a person who lawfully possesses a firearm from storing that firearm
in a locked motor vehicle. The bill provides civil immunity for such persons,
property owners, tenants, employers, or business owners. The provisions of
the bill would not apply to possession of firearms on school property, nor
would the provisions apply to vehicles owned or leased by an employer or
business and used by an employee in the course of his employment. |
01/06/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms;
Class 1 misdemeanor to discharge in certain areas. |
Makes it a
Class 1 misdemeanor to discharge a firearm towards a subdivision within the
range of the firearm, or to discharge a firearm towards any person or
structure, when no barrier exists that would prevent the projectile from
striking a person or animal or structure. With these changes, a locality
would no longer be able to prohibit hunting generally within a half-mile
radius of a subdivision, but would still be able to prohibit hunting within a
subdivision. |
01/11/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Self-defense; person who lawfully occupies dwelling may use degree of
force against an intruder. |
Provides
that any person who lawfully occupies a dwelling is justified in using any
degree of physical force, including deadly physical force, against another
person when the other person has unlawfully entered the dwelling, has
committed an overt act toward the occupant or another person in the dwelling,
and the occupant reasonably believes he or another person in the dwelling is
in imminent danger of bodily injury. The bill also provides that a person who
uses justifiable force against an intruder shall be immune from civil
liability for injuries or death of the other person. (Castle Doctrine) |
Support |
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Possession of firearms on school property; concealed handgun permits. |
Allows a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit to carry a
concealed handgun in a part of a school building not being used for
school-related functions or extracurricular activities. The bill also allows
persons with a valid concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun
while in a parking lot or traffic circle of a school, regardless of whether
such person is in a vehicle. Current law only allows such a person to carry
the concealed firearm in a parking lot or traffic circle while in a vehicle. |
01/12/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Reorganizing the law related to concealed weapons and concealed handgun
permits. |
Reorganizes existing § 18.2-308 of the Code of Virginia, relating to
concealed weapons and concealed handgun permits, into a new article 6.1 in
Chapter 7 of Title 18.2 of the Code of Virginia. The reorganization does not
make substantive changes to existing law, but instead seeks to clarify and
make easier to use the existing laws regarding carrying concealed weapons and
obtaining a concealed handgun permit in the Commonwealth. |
01/12/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed handgun; development of plan for issuance of lifetime permit
by Virginia State Police. |
Directs the Department of State Police, in cooperation with the
Secretary of Public Safety, to develop a plan to allow for the State Police
to issue lifetime concealed handgun permits to |
01/12/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Concealed handguns; restaurants. |
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. |
01/12/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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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 |
01/12/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Castle doctrine. |
Encodes a version of the "castle doctrine," allowing the use
of physical force, including deadly force, against an intruder or attacker,
with no duty to retreat and without criminal or civil liability. |
Support |
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Concealed handgun permit applications; fingerprints. |
Removes the option for a locality to require that an applicant for a
concealed handgun permit submit fingerprints as part of the application. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms; locality may adopt an ordinance that prohibits thereof in
libraries. |
Provides that a locality may adopt an ordinance that prohibits
firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof in libraries owned
or operated by the locality. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Possession of concealed weapons |
Creates a new exemption to the general prohibition against carrying
concealed weapons by allowing a person who may lawfully possess a firearm to
carry a handgun in a private motor vehicle or boat if the handgun is secured
in a container or compartment. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition manufactured and retained
in |
Declares that firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition made in |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Firearms; purchaser may present military identification card or
concealed handgun permit. |
Allows a prospective purchaser to present a current or retired military
identification card or a concealed handgun permit in order to establish
citizenship or lawful admission for permanent residence in order to purchase
an assault firearm. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Carrying of concealed handguns in emergency shelters. |
Provides that a person who has a valid concealed handgun permit may not
be barred from carrying a concealed handgun in any place or facility
designated or used by the Governor, any political subdivision of the
Commonwealth, or any other governmental entity as an emergency shelter or for
the purpose of sheltering persons. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Carrying concealed handguns; retired law-enforcement officers. |
States that a retired law-enforcement officer who receives proof of
consultation and favorable review to carry a concealed handgun without a
concealed handgun permit shall have the same ability to carry a concealed
handgun wherever he may travel in the Commonwealth as a law-enforcement
officer authorized to carry a concealed handgun without a permit. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Firearms; possession by certain persons who have had parental rights
terminated. |
Prohibits a person who has had his parental rights terminated based
upon a finding of aggravated circumstances from purchasing, possessing, or
transporting a firearm. The bill defines aggravated circumstances as torture,
chronic or severe abuse, or chronic or severe sexual abuse of a child of the
parent or a child with whom the parent resided at the time such conduct
occurred. A violation of this section would be a Class 1 misdemeanor. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Issuance of concealed handgun permits; clerk of court. |
Allows a circuit court judge to authorize the clerk of court to issue
concealed handgun permits in instances where the application is complete, the
background check does not indicate that the applicant is disqualified, and,
after consulting with the local sheriff or police department, there are no
other questions or issues surrounding the application. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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Crimes; registration of machine guns. |
Requires that the Superintendent of State Police be notified in writing
of the change of address of the registrant or the change of the address of
the permanent physical location of a machine gun. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Carrying concealed handguns; judges. |
Allows a judge to carry a concealed handgun without a permit at all
times. Currently, judges are authorized to carry a concealed handgun without
a permit while in the discharge of their official duties. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Possession of firearm on public school property; penalty. |
Prohibits a person from possessing an unloaded firearm that is in a
closed container in or upon a motor vehicle located at a public elementary,
middle, or high school or an unloaded shotgun or rifle in a firearms rack in
or upon a motor vehicle located at a public elementary, middle, or high
school. |
01/13/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Firearm safety education program. |
Allows local school boards to offer firearm safety education programs
in the elementary grades. To assist local school boards opting to provide
such instruction, the Board of Education must establish a standardized
program of firearm safety education for students in the elementary school
grades to promote the protection and safety of children. The bill requires
that the program objectives incorporate, among other principles of firearm
safety, accident prevention and the rules of the National Rifle Association's
Eddie Eagle Gunsafe Program. Local school boards
offering the program must comply with Board curriculum guidelines and
integrate the instruction in appropriate subject areas, if feasible, to
ensure that every elementary school student receives instruction in firearm
safety education. |
01/14/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Support |
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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. |
01/15/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Resignation of law-enforcement officers; carrying concealed weapon. |
Provides that certain law-enforcement officers who resign from their
position in good standing to accept a position covered by the Virginia
Retirement System shall be eligible to carry a concealed handgun if he has
received written proof of consultation with and favorable review of the need
to carry a concealed handgun issued by the chief law-enforcement officer of
the agency from which the officer resigned. |
01/19/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Purchase of service handguns; resignation in good standing. |
Provides that certain law-enforcement officers who resign from their
position in good standing to take another position covered by the Virginia
Retirement System may purchase their service handgun for $1. |
01/19/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
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Regulating firearms by educational institution. |
Provides
that the board of visitors or other governing body of an educational
institution has the power to establish rules and regulations for the
possession or transportation of firearms or ammunition on property owned or
operated by the institution. |
01/20/10
House: Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety |
Oppose |
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Bill No. |
Title |
Senate Bills Introduced LIS Bill Summary as Introduced (unless otherwise noted) |
Last Action |
VSSA Position |
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Concealed
handgun permits; renewal thereof by mail. |
Allows a
person who previously has been issued a |
11/30/09
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Support |
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Handguns;
allows law-enforcement officer retiring at age 70 with 10 years service to
purchase. |
Allows a
law-enforcement officer who retires at or after age 70 with at least 10 years
of service to purchase his service handgun for $1. |
01/04/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Support |
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Concealed handgun permit applications; removes option for requiring
fingerprints. |
Removes
the option for a locality to require that an applicant for a concealed handgun
permit submit fingerprints as part of the application. |
01/05/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Support |
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Firearms;
petition to restore right to possess or transport to be served on attorney
for State. |
Provides
that if a person acquitted by reason of insanity files a petition to restore
his right to possess or carry a firearm, a copy of the petition shall be served
on the attorney for the Commonwealth who shall be entitled to respond and
represent the interests of the Commonwealth. The court shall hold a hearing
on the petition if requested by either the petitioner or the attorney for the
Commonwealth. |
01/06/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
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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. |
Oppose |
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Petition
to restore right to possess, etc., firearm; notice to attorney for the
Commonwealth. |
Provides that if a person acquitted by reason of insanity files a
petition to restore his right to possess or carry a firearm, a copy of the
petition shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth of the city or
county in which the petition is filed. The attorney for the Commonwealth
shall be made a party defendant to the proceeding and may file an objection
or answer to the petition within 21 days after service. |
01/12/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
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Concealed
handguns; restaurants; penalty. |
Allows a person with a concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed
handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club and prohibits such person
from consuming alcoholic beverages while on the premises. 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. |
01/12/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Support |
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Concealed
handgun permits; disqualifying convictions. |
Provides that a conviction from another state for driving while
intoxicated or for drunkenness in public within the preceding three years
disqualifies an individual from obtaining a concealed handgun permit. |
01/13/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
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Concealed handgun permit applications; right to ore tenus hearing. |
Clarifies that a person who is applying for a concealed handgun permit
for the first time has the same right to an ore tenus
hearing if the permit is denied as a person who has previously held a
concealed handgun permit. |
01/13/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Support |
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Airsoft guns on school property; penalty. |
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 possessed on school property. |
01/13/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Oppose |
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Transfer
of firearms; criminal records check; penalties. |
Adds a definition of "firearms show vendor" and requires that
a criminal background check be performed on the prospective transferee, if
such transferee does not possess a concealed handgun permit, 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. |
01/13/10
Senate: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
Oppose |
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