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OK - the worst of the gun control bills that is still alive, Senator Stolle's SB660 which bans ALL carry in airport terminals, has finally been assigned to a committee.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: It is going to the Militia, Police, and Public Safety committee and they NEED to hear from us on this bill! If it gets out of this committee, that will be a bad thing...
Gun owners have done NOTHING to deserve to have this right taken away from us and we need to stand up and fight against this bill!!!
To send a message to each of the delegates on the committee, click here:
Subject: Please OPPOSE SB660!
Suggested message:
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Dear Delegate,
Please OPPOSE SB660. This gun-control bill takes away the right of law-abiding citizens to carry in the NON-sterile areas of ALL Virginia airport terminals! Gun owners picking up or dropping off a family member for a flight, or going into the terminal to purchase a ticket or to pickup a rental car, would be left needlessly defenseless.
There have been NO problems with gun owners carrying in airport terminals. There HAVE been problems with the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority (MWAA) overstepping its authority. In written letters to VCDL members, MWAA is threatening to arrest citizens, with or without a permit, who have an otherwise legally carried gun in their car, even on heavily travelled STATE roads that pass across the EDGE of airport property! MWAA claims to be above Virginia law and not subject Virginia preemption laws! Yet, MWAA wants this new law passed. That simply does not pass the smell test.
And both Norfolk and Richmond airports have steadfastly refused to change their "no guns" signs to reflect Virginia's preemption laws, causing a chilling effect on the rights of concealed carry permit holders. There is no excuse for such behavior.
Current Virginia laws are more than sufficient to allow airports to protect themselves from evil-doers. Let the good citizens of Virginia be able to do the same and don't make any more gun-free killing-zones.
Sincerely,
[full name]
[full address]
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I'm afraid that HB215, Delegate Atheys/Abbitt's reciprocity bill is going to be an uphill battle that we are probably going to lose. I expect that Delegate Nutter's HB238 reciprocity bill will pass, though.
HB238 mimics the language in SB326, a cleanup bill by Senator Stolle that already has passed the Senate and thus is predisposed to being passed by the committee. While HB215 mimics language in Senator Obenshain's SB485 that was killed by the Senate Courts of Justice committee, and is thus predisposed to being killed.
HB238 would get us around 5 more states for reciprocity and is definitely worthwhile. It is just not as good as HB215, which recognizes ALL states.
I will speak on both bills when they come to committee. For now we need to focus on another bill - HB404, Delegate Janis' bill to remove the one-gun-a-month (OGAM) restriction from permit holders. It also removes AGOM restrictions for all private sales, so this bill is good for all gun owners!
Click here to send a message to the key senators on the Courts of Justice committee:
Subject: Please SUPPORT HB404!
Dear Senator,
Please support HB404! This bill eliminates the pointless one-gun-a-month restriction for concealed handgun permit holders and for private sales. It is not the complete repeal I would like to see, but it is a step in the right direction.
Sincerely,
[your name]
[your address]