The Senate Judiciary Committee of the Virginia legislature rejected a bill introduced by Gov. Ralph Northam that would have made allowing a gun to fall into the hands of a child a felony.
As drafted, Northam’s bill would have mandated that anyone who “recklessly leave[s] a loaded, unsecured firearm” in a place where it could be accessed by a child be charged with a felony. Current Virginia law charges people found responsible in such situations with a misdemeanor.
“This bill will keep children safe from loaded, unsecured firearms. Like Gov. Northam’s other commonsense gun safety measures, it is something that everyone — including responsible gun owners — should support,” the governor’s spokeswoman said in a statement.
Two Democrats on the committee crossed party lines to vote with Republicans and kill the bill.
“We’ve done a lot with guns this session. A lot,” Chap Petersen, one of the Democrats told the Virginia Mercury. “I think we’re starting to get more into intrafamily dynamics than we are firearms.”
Opponents of the bill argue it would discourage hunting among teenagers in the state’s rural areas.
“When my son was 16, he came home from school and, thanks to having access to a firearm, was able to interrupt wild dogs attacking our livestock,” said Will Shaw of Louisa County. “Under this law, I’d be risking a year behind bars for allowing him that access.”
Guns rights have been a hot-button issue across Virginia since the new legislature was sworn in this year.
Thousands of Second Amendment activists took to the streets for a rally last month in response to sweeping gun legislation proposed by Northam and the commonwealth’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly.
Northam’s package of eight gun bills would limit the purchase of handguns to once a month, virtually ban military-style weapons, and give local governments the authority to seize guns from people law enforcement deems to be a threat to the public.
Some local law enforcement officials have said they will refuse to enforce Northam’s gun proposals if they become law.
Nearly 100 localities in the commonwealth have declared themselves a “Second Amendment sanctuary” in response to the proposed legislation.
[Opinion: Virginia declares war on gun owners]
