SB 48 and HB 1255 Would Have Allowed Untrained, Unlicensed People to Carry Hidden, Loaded Guns in Public
RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of Everytown for Gun Safety, marked the recent end of Virginia’s state legislative session by applauding the defeat of SB 48 and HB 1255. These dangerous bills would have allowed people with dangerous histories and people who never completed safety training to carry hidden, loaded weapons in public without a permit.
Last year in Virginia, Everytown and Moms Demand Action endorsed Ralph Northam for governor, Justin Fairfax for lieutenant governor, Mark Herring for attorney general and delegate candidates Chris Hurst and John Bell. Each of these candidates won in the NRA’s backyard despite the gun lobby’s two-million-dollar campaign to defeat them. Volunteers with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action worked tirelessly to elect them, attending more than 100 election-related events. Gun sense champions Bell, Hurst and Lt. Gov Fairfax were crucial to defeating permitless carry legislation this session.
STATEMENT FROM JENNIFER HERRERA, VOLUNTEER LEADER WITH THE VIRGINIA CHAPTER OF MOMS DEMAND ACTION FOR GUN SENSE IN AMERICA:
“This legislative session my fellow Virginia Moms Demand Action volunteers made their voices heard in opposition to dangerous bills that would have dismantled the very permitting system that keeps our communities safe. We are especially grateful to gun-sense champion Lieutenant Governor Fairfax who cast the crucial tie breaking vote that defeated this dangerous legislation in the Senate, following the example set in 2016 by then-Lieutenant Governor Northam. This session, public safety prevailed over the extremist agenda of the gun lobby. We look forward to working with our elected leaders next session to prioritize gun sense policies.”