Another Knee Jerk Pro Gun Lobby Bill Introduced in Virginia House of Delegates by Delegate R. G. Marshall of Manassas
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Many gun rights and pro gun enthusiasts have joined the concern over increasing gun violence. Their advocates on Capitol Hill's Senate hearing, at which gun victim Rep. Gabby Giffords gave a stand up performance yesterday, promoted other solutions such as mental health initiatives and statistical research to develop effective prevention strategies instead of an outright ban on assault weapons and ammunition.
Most of these same guns rights people have said that there are not enough statistics to prove that gun bans or ammo bans will work well. OK, so we need more statistics, right?
Not according to Delegate R. G. Marshall of Manassas. This dunderhead wants to ban all cooperation between Virginia agencies and any federal statistical study on how to most effectively prevent mentally deranged shooters from killing large groups in public. Really!
He wants to pass a law that says the Virginia government is forever barred from even trying to figure out what to do in a least intrusive, most effective way to prevent another Virginia Tech massacre. Not only is this stupid piece of legislation a lesson in reactionary idiocy, as the alternative may well be to ban all assault weapons and ammo to see if that works, but it prevents any meaningful effort to slice the pie in a less intrusive way for his own gun toting benefit!
So, here is the full text of the proposed Bill co-sponsored by 7 other head-in-the-sand "Fend for Yourself" legislative idiots:
HOUSE BILL NO. 2340 Offered January" 18, 2013 A BILL to prevent any agency, political subdivision, or employee of Virginia from assisting the Federal government of the United States in any investigation, prosecution, detention, arrest, search, or seizure, under the authority of any federal statute enacted, or Executive Order or regulation issued, after December 31, 2012, infringing the individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms by imposing new restrictions on private ownership or private transfer of firearms, firearm magazines, ammunition, or components thereof.----------
Patrons-- Marshall, R.G., Gilbert, Lingamfelter, Crockett-Stark, Fariss, Kilgore, Morefield, Ransone, Rush and Wright; Senator: Black
----------Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety ----------
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. § 1. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, no agency of the Commonwealth as defined in § 8.01-385 of the Code of Virginia, no political subdivision of the Commonwealth as defined in § 8.01-385of the Code of Virginia, and no employee of either, acting in his official capacity, shall:
(A) knowingly aid any employee or entity of the federal government of the United States in any investigation, prosecution, detention, or arrest, nor participate in any search or seizure, relating to any, criminal, civil, or administrative restrictions on firearms, firearm magazines, ammunition, or components thereof, based on any federal statute enacted, or Executive Order or regulation issued, after December 31, 2012; or
(B) knowingly aid any employee or entity of the federal government of the United Sates in conducting, or the enforcement of any requirement for, any background check related to any intrastate sale, loan, gift, or other transfer of firearms between citizens of the Commonwealth who do not possesses any federal firearms license under 18 U.S.C. section 293.
Chuck Stein
7:57 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
To paraphrase the character in "The Princess Bride," I don't think this bill means what the author of this piece thinks it means. The purpose of the bill is to prevent officials and employees of the Commonwealth fromn participating in the enforcement of new federal gun legislation and executive orders that violate the Second Amendment. That's clearly stated in the preamble, and is in the operative language of the bill, which talks of "restrictions" on firearms and ammunition that are enacted or adopted after the beginning of this year (the presumption being -- and I would generally tend to agree -- such restrictions being unconstitutional). The bill does not generally prevent Virginia officials from participating in federal government-led studies on gun violence or any "federal statistical study on how to most effectively prevent mentally deranged shooters from killing large groups in public." That's just not in the bill.
Michael Strong
9:15 am on Monday, February 4, 2013
To the above comment, please note the Bill says Virginia cannot aid in "investigation" "relating to" any criminal or civil restriction on guns. This bars helping federal government investigations into statistical trends in gun violence and efficacy of regulations. How are we going to know what to check in someone's background without investigating the key risk factors in a person's history?
To your larger point that the second amendment does not allow ANY restriction on guns:
This is an absolutist interpretation of the 2d Amendment. None of the other provisions of the Bill of Rights have been interpreted to convey an "Absolute" right that does not allow some reasonable restirctions.
More importantly, the framers included language in the 2nd Amendment making it clear that regulation of firearms is necessary, by reference to allowing the right to bear arms in the context of maintaining a "well regulated" militia. This clearly excludes the "right" of a private citizen to go out into the street and indiscriminately shoot people under no claim of preserving the public order. Militias were needed in 1776 because there was no Federal standing army back then!
The 2nd Amendment was not envisioning vigilantes, madmen, and gangs seeking to enforce a private vendetta or fostering public mayhem. Are we so devoted to our guns that we would allow criminals and madmen to destroy the cornerstones of our democracy and indiscriminately kill our children?