Virginia Governor Announces Special Session on Gun Control

[DonViejo]

Source: Associated Press


Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam is going to recall lawmakers to the state Capitol to take up a package of gun-control legislation.

By Associated Press, Wire Service Content June 4, 2019, at 10:17 a.m.

BY ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Tuesday that he'll recall lawmakers to the state Capitol in the coming weeks to take up a package of gun-control legislation, which he said is urgently needed to prevent killings like Friday's mass shooting in Virginia Beach.

Northam said he plans to convene a special legislative session this summer.

The Democrat said in an Associated Press interview ahead of his announcement that he wants the Republican-controlled General Assembly to hear from the public about the need for "common-sense" law related to guns and accessories.

Republicans have previously rejected Northam's gun control bills out of hand, but a top GOP lawmaker signaled Monday that he's open to a legislative debate.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-06-04/apnewsbreak-virginia-gov-to-call-special-session-on-guns

[47of74]

1. Should do what the Romans do when electing a Pope

Make all the legislators stay in a locked room without cell phones, computers, regular phones, tablets, etc. Or even newspapers. With only two functional bathrooms and only the bare minimum of food and drink required for health. And make them stay in there until they've agreed on some common sense gun control legislation that the Governor is willing to sign.

[Blue_Tires]

2. Personally, I *AM* curious to know

what non-criminal reason could anyone possibly have to legally buy a suppressor??

[MicaelS]

3. It is a basically an expensive toy.

That is about it.

[Blue_Tires]

5. They like the sound? They want to cosplay as 007?

It's not like suppressors make their sidearm more accurate or perform better... Quite the opposite, in fact.

[MicaelS]

7. It is like owning a legal machine gun.

No real practical use, just an expensive toy, and a way of showing off to other gun owners. Not to mention being a way to say "fuck you very much" to gun control advocates.

[Robot_Ears]

6. Non-Criminal Benefits of Owning a Silencer

1) Firearms are extremely loud, even more so when discharged indoors, and even more so when you are firing a rifle. We are talking potential for permanent hearing loss loud on something like a short barrel rifle or a pistol chambered for a rifle cartridge. A silencer can help reduce the concussive blast. Don't be fooled by the movies, they are still loud unless shooting a cartridge that doesn't break the sound barrier and even then you're looking at being somewhere above 120 decibels.

2) They actually have the potential to make a firearm more accurate and reduce recoil.

3) They can reduce muzzle flash when shooting at night which helps one from temporary vision loss when shooting at night (think getting hit with a flash in a dark room).

[Igel]

8. When the neighbor was hauled away by the cops when I was a kid,

they found, among other things, hypodermics.

My mother asked what reason anybody could have that wasn't criminal for having hypodermics at home if he wasn't a doctor or nurse?

She didn't know what legal, good uses there were for hypodermic needles to be owned by non-medical-professional average folk, so she assumed there couldn't possibly be any. She didn't realize that diabetics, for instance, used them on a regular basis. And some folk used warfarin or heparin by intravenous injection. We didn't have Google at the time, so her lack of information and inability to fill in her unknown unknowns could be forgiven.

[manicdem]

9. Used in Europe for hunting

Some European countries require them when hunting and can be bought over the counter in some department and hardware stores. It's more common in Europe but was never really popular here. For rifles at least.

[lagomorph777]

4. NRA Headquarters is in Virginia. Let's demolish it.

Maybe we can get 'em on back taxes, embezzlement, etc.

Oh, and they are an international (Russian-funded) terrorist organization. There's that.

[nitpicker]

10. IMO, nothing will happen

At least until the General Assembly elections in November.

People look at how the state voted at the presidential/congressional level and ignore the composition of the General Assembly. That is still controlled by Republicans. "Boswash" really ends in the vicinity of the Rappahannock River/Fredericksburg. There are gun shops all over the place, ranging from the "Clark Brothers" gunshop/range outside Warrenton to even one two miles from DC.

Even if the GA turns blue in November, there still may be no action. GA members may still be very wary of touching that third rail.