VSSA

The Senate of Virginia debates the Governor's amendments to HB1992 on April 7, 2021. The bill would prohibit a person who has been convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member, as defined in the bill, from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm. State Senator Chap Petersen rips Governor Northam for amending the bill after they had agreed to the Senate's changes during the regular session. The amendments were rejected.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted to Pass By for the Year House Bill 961, Governor Ralph Northam's bill that would ban the sale of modern sporting rifles, commonly miss-named "assault weapons", as well as ban the possession and sale of magazines that hold more than 12 rounds, and ban the sale of suppressors. The committee voted 10-5 with four Democrats joining all of the Republican members of the committee in defeating the bill for the 2020 session. In passing the bill by for the year, the committee will send a letter to the Crime Commission to study the issue.