A bill that would require nearly all firearms purchasers at gun show to undergo criminal background checks failed to clear the Virginia Senate for the second time in two days.
Sen. Bill 1257, sponsored by Sen. Henry L. Marsh, III, D-Richmond, was defeated by a vote of 21-19. Five Democratic senators from rural areas voted against the measure, while two Republican Senators voted in favor.
The defeat ends any real possibility of gun show purchasing restrictions being adopted by the General Assembly in 2009. Republicans in the GOP-controlled House of Delegates stood ready to kill the bill if it had managed to survive the Senate floor.
Two attempts at amending the legislation -- including one proposal that would have made the checks voluntary on the part of private vendors at the shows -- were rejected by Marsh, who made a motion for the chamber to vote on the bill without further amendments.
Family members of victims of the Virginia Tech shootings were seated in the Senate gallery for the second straight day in support of the legislation.
Yesterday, they indicated that they did not support further amending of the legislation, which already would have exempted holders of concealed weapon permits and purchasers of antique firearms from undergoing the checks.
Currently only licensed dealers are required to perform criminal background checks of purchasers; private vendors do not have to conduct such checks. Convicted felons, the mentally ill and spousal abusers are prohibiting from purchasing and possessing firearms.
Attempts to close the so-called gun show loophole have been proposed in recent years, only to die in committee. This year, the bill narrowly cleared the Senate Courts of Justice Committee 8-7, but could not muster a majority in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
On Tuesday the state Senate had voted 22-18 against the legislation. It reconsidered the vote today after Sen. Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, discovered he had voted against the legislation by mistake.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement