Fate of bills to ban assault-style weapons still pending; governor’s action deadline is April 13.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger tapped into her background in law enforcement and intelligence as she signed a suite of public safety bills Friday.
“Whether you’re a first responder or a survivor seeking justice, these laws reflect a simple commitment: The Commonwealth of Virginia will always have your back,” she said in a statement announcing the signatures.
While many of the bills had bipartisan support, some had previously been vetoed by former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. Such was the case for a proposal by Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, to ban “ghost guns,” or guns that can’t be traced because they were not made by weapons manufacturers. Often 3-D printed, Ebbin has tried for several years to outlaw them in Virginia.
Still pending, however, are bills to ban assault-style weapons. Such bills have been historically carried by Democrats and opposed by Republicans. Spanberger has until April 13 to take action on those bills and hundreds of bills that advanced the legislature and made it to her desk. Her choices are to sign bills as they are, seek amendments or she can veto them. When lawmakers reconvene in Richmond later this month to finalize the state budget, they can also take up any amendments Spanberger may seek on bills.
In the meantime, she signed a slew of bills Friday to support safety in a variety of ways from gun regulations to support for public responders.
Gun violence prevention
House Bill 19 by Del. Adele McClure, D-Alexandria, and Senate Bill 160 by Sen. Russet Perry, D-Loudoun, closes the “intimate partner loophole,” by blocking intimate partners convicted of domestic violence from obtaining and possessing firearms. The measure cleared the legislature with bipartisan support.
HB93 by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, and SB38 by Sen. Barbara Favola, D-Arlington, specifies that people subject to protective orders or convicted of misdemeanor domestic violent crimes may transfer their firearm to a person who is not prohibited from having one, who is 21 years or older, and who does not live in their home. Current law on this matter did not have age or residence requirements.
Just as previous “red flag” laws have helped prevent people at risk to themselves or others from obtaining guns, these laws can require such populations who already have them to transfer them.
The “ghost gun” bills, carried by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax and Ebbin bans the manufacture, sale, and possession of untraceable firearms without serial numbers that law enforcement cannot track.
HB21 Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax and SB27 Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, allows firearm manufacturers and dealers to be held legally accountable when negligent business practices contribute to gun violence.
Support for law enforcement and first responders
HB1313 by Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, expands workers’ compensation for law enforcement officers and firefighters to include post-traumatic stress disorder, as the line of duty can put these workers at higher risk for it.
HB248 by Del Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, and SB317 by Perry improves law enforcement coordination by permitting professionals from multiple agencies to jointly respond to behavioral health calls. The measure passed unanimously, as lawmakers have increasingly worked in a bipartisan fashion on mental health and crisis response in recent years.
SB100 by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin, protects Virginians from being fired or retaliated against should they miss work while serving as a volunteer emergency responder. For instance, some rural areas have volunteer fire departments, so community members offer their time when their neighbors are in need. This proposal also cleared with bipartisan support.
HB1300 by Del. Mitchell Cornett, R-Grayson, and SB86 by Stanley allows the immediate survivor of any State Police officer to purchase the officer’s service handgun for $1. It passed unanimously.
Public safety enhancements
Many of these proposals cleared unanimously or with bipartisan support.
SB673 by Sen. Tammy Mulchi, R-Mecklenburg, strengthens cyberstalking laws to protect Virginians from unwanted sexual or violent contact online. The matter passed unanimously.
HB1387 by Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights, automatically revokes teaching licenses for convicted sex offenders and was another unanimous passage.
HB559 by Del. Scott Wyatt, R-Mechanicsville, and SB399 by Sen. Danny Diggs, R-Poquoson, prohibits convicted sex offenders from teaching driver education courses. Other sex-offender-related bills to pass unanimously were HB250 by Watts and SB55 by Diggs to prohibit convicted sex offenders from visiting state parks for the purpose of contacting children.
HB1352 by Del. Laura Jane Cohen, D- Fairfax, requires the Department of Education to update the curriculum for driver’s ed to emphasize the dangers of speeding and reckless driving.
HB629 by Callsen creates two new criminal offenses. Extortion can now also include threats to release sexually explicit images of a person in order to get that person to engage in sexual acts. The law also makes it a misdemeanor to take explicit images of a person without their consent — or a felony if the person is under the age of 18 — in a restroom, dressing room, locker room, hotel room, and other locations. The bill passed unanimously.
SB778 by Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, makes it a felony for anyone 18 or older to display obscene material to a minor under the age of 13.
HB1233 by Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, and SB329 by Perry supports the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Victim Fund by assessing a $500 fee for to support prosecution of cases involving domestic violence, human and sex trafficking, and criminal sexual assault as well as support for victims services.
SB95 by Sen. Danica Roem, D-Prince William, requires adding information on how to recognize human trafficking to signs at interstate rest areas. Currently, the signs only list a human trafficking hotline.
And last, SB87 by Stanley requires localities to have working automated external defibrillators at sporting events and facilities.
The safety package follows a series of other signings Spanberger completed this week across different policy areas including health care and housing, workforce development, as well as measures to lower power bills, manage energy demand and gradually increase the minimum wage to $15
