Democrats in the Virginia Assembly defeated 12 Republican-sponsored measures aimed at loosening gun laws in the state, a day after tens of thousands of pro-gun activists marched on the capitol in Richmond.
One of the bills in the tranche of measures considered by a legislative subcommittee would have enabled Virginia residents to carry concealed weapons without a permit legally. Open carry without a permit in Virginia is currently legal, but concealed carry in the state requires a permit. The bill was tabled 6-2.
Another tabled piece of legislation would make it legal to carry in places of worship by repealing a current statue.
Houses of worship have become prime targets of gunmen from the 2015 Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting where Dylan Roof killed nine people to the 2019 Texas church shooter who was stopped by an armed parishioner after fatally shooting two people.
The Republican efforts to expand gun rights in Virginia come as newly ascendant Democrats, now in complete control of state government, plan a sweeping gun control agenda.
Prior to voting down the bills Tuesday, the lawmakers listened to testimony from Jason Nixon. His wife, Kate Nixon, was among 12 massacred by a gunman in Virginia Beach last May at a municipal building. He pleaded with lawmakers to pass a bill to allow victims to sue the government if they are shot in gun-free zones.
According to Jason Nixon, the day before the shooting, his wife was scared for her safety because another employee had just lost his job. However, she did not take her firearm to the office the following day because it was against the law.
“She obeyed the law, and she’s dead now,” Nixon said.
The bill Nixon urged lawmakers to pass was also tabled 6-2.
