With Democrat legislators pushing the most anti-gun bills in recent history through the Virginia General Assembly, including a very restrictive ban on semi-auto firearms and gun magazines, many gun owners in the state thought things couldn’t get much worse.
Time to think again.
HB 1542 would prohibit carrying “assault firearms” in public places, including streets, sidewalks, and parks. And according to a report from the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), the way the measure is written makes it far more dangerous than it seems.
“Because of vague definitions, HB 1524 effectively criminalizes carrying any center-fire semi-automatic firearm in the Commonwealth,” NRA-ILA reported.
According to the bill summary, the measure: “Prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public, with certain exceptions.”
Of particular concern is what the bill actually outlaws. According to the measure’s language, it bans: “A semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds.”
Of course, that definition takes in the vast majority of concealed carry pistols. For instance, the Springfield Hellcat, a favorite of many concealed carriers and the pistol I carry, obviously expels a single projectile by an explosion of combustible material and holds more than 10 rounds of ammo. So do most Glock pistols, which are popular for concealed carry.
Ultimately, NRA-ILA wants Virginia gun owners to get engaged and fight not only this bill, but all of the punitive measures under consideration this session.
“We encourage you to contact your legislators by calling 804-698-1619 for the House of Delegates or 804-698-7410 for the Senate to continue urging them to oppose gun control,” NRA-ILA stated.
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) is also speaking out against the measure, warning members about its danger
“Concealed handgun permit holders and licensed security guards are no longer exempt from this code section, even though neither one has caused any legal issues by carrying such loaded firearms publicly for over a decade,” VCDL said in a member alert. “Of course, the government, our servant, exempts itself from all this nonsense. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that citizens have the right to carry firearms outside of their homes and in public, so this bill is unconstitutional on its face.”
About the only bright spot in Virginia so far was the proposed tax on firearm suppressors, also called silencers. House Bill 207 would have created an entirely new section of Virginia’s tax code dedicated solely to suppressors. If enacted, licensed firearms dealers would have been required to collect a $500 tax on every retail suppressor sale beginning July 1.
Fortunately, on February 10, that measure was unanimously tabled by members of the House Finance Subcommittee.