Virginia HB 961 Fails in Senate Committee

[Brownstone322]

Virginia HB 961 (in regard to "assault weapons" and "high-capacity" magazines) has failed in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Much like in Congress, the Virginia Senate is more moderate than the House.

https://www.nbc12.com/2020/02/17/vir...lt-weapon-ban/

[Famas]

It's good news....for now. Another article I read stated it was shelved for a year. If true, this leads me to believe they'll try to sneak it through when no one is paying attention.

[Brownstone322]

Not a chance of sneaking anything. Next year is an election year in Virginia. This was their golden opportunity.

[Mike Irwin]

I'll be damned if I can find anything about who voted how.

Pretty sure that Petersen and Deeds both voted no, but not sure who the other two were.

[Brownstone322]

Originally Posted by Mike Irwin

I'll be damned if I can find anything about who voted how.

Pretty sure that Petersen and Deeds both voted no, but not sure who the other two were.

What matters is who voted "Yes": The motion was to drop the bill for this session, and it passed 10-5. Four Democrats voted "Yes" with Republicans:

Creigh Deeds (Charlottesville)
John Edwards (Roanoke)
Chap Petersen (Fairfax)
Scott Surovell (Fairfax)

Joe Morrissey was also against HB 961, but he voted "No," because he had a motion of his own to kill the bill outright.

This bill didn't come close to getting out of committee.

[raimius]

Not a perfect win, but a win none the less!

Now, wait for a watered down version or piecemeal bills...

[Tom Servo]

That's well and good, but state Democrats have promised to redraw the district lines (they call it gerrymandering when the other side does it) as soon as possible. This isn't over yet.

Any short-term relief is blunted by the fact the state Senate passed three gun-control bills already:

• SB70, which requires "universal" background checks
• SB69, the "one gun per month" bill
• SB35, which places very broad limits on where guns can legally be carried.

[JERRYS.]

you have now one year to try to get some more pro 2nd folks in office. no more taking things for granted and sitting on your ass griping about votes don't count.

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by raimius

Not a perfect win, but a win none the less!

Now, wait for a watered down version or piecemeal bills...

this is the mistake a lot of gun owners make; thinking this is a win. how do you win something you already have? you don't. all that was done was to preserve a small portion of your rights while they chiseled away yet more of them elsewhere. its been pointed out how three anti 2nd bills have been passed... this is a loss, three times. stop taking beatings from your master then thanking him when he stops because he is tired.

[Brownstone322]

Originally Posted by JERRYS.

you have now one year to try to get some more pro 2nd folks in office. no more taking things for granted and sitting on your ass griping about votes don't count.

There are no state elections in Virginia between now and then. If you insist on lecturing those of us who actually live here, at least understand the election cycle.

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by Brownstone322

There are no state elections in Virginia between now and then. If you insist on lecturing those of us who actually live here, at least understand the election cycle.

I knew enough when I lived there (in Nova) to vote the right way instead of letting the state GOP letting seats go uncontested.

[raimius]

his is the mistake a lot of gun owners make; thinking this is a win. how do you win something you already have? you don't. all that was done was to preserve a small portion of your rights while they chiseled away yet more of them elsewhere. its been pointed out how three anti 2nd bills have been passed... this is a loss, three times. stop taking beatings from your master then thanking him when he stops because he is tired.

If someone tries to steal something from you, and you stop them, would you not consider that winning the fight?

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by raimius

If someone tries to steal something from you, and you stop them, would you not consider that winning the fight?

not if while fighting off the car thief his buddies steal all my yard maintenance equipment.

[osbornk]

Originally Posted by JERRYS.

I knew enough when I lived there (in Nova) to vote the right way instead of letting the state GOP letting seats go uncontested.

But you forgot how the Virginia election cycle works.

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by osbornk

But you forgot how the Virginia election cycle works.

I don't remember nor do I keep up with it's particulars, as I haven't lived there in 15 years... but when election time came around I voted every time. that can't be what happened the last few cycles. the state lost the house of reps, then the governor's mansion, then the state senate to the democrats, back to back to back. the won't happen here crowd now has ptsd.

[Brownstone322]

Originally Posted by JERRYS.

I don't remember nor do I keep up with it's particulars, as I haven't lived there in 15 years... but when election time came around I voted every time. that can't be what happened the last few cycles. the state lost the house of reps, then the governor's mansion, then the state senate to the democrats, back to back to back. the won't happen here crowd now has ptsd.

None of this is correct.

Virginia has elected a Democratic governor the past two times -- in 2017 (Northam) and 2013 (McAuliffe). In fact, Democrats have held the governorship for four of the past five terms and seven of the past 10, which goes back almost 40 years.

The House of Delegates has been controlled by Republicans since 1999 and didn't flip until 2019.

The Senate has also been controlled by Republicans since 1999 with two exceptions: 2007-10 was Democratic and 2011-14 was evenly split, then the Senate went back to Republicans in 2015.

[JERRYS.]

Originally Posted by Brownstone322

None of this is correct.

Virginia has elected a Democratic governor the past two times -- in 2017 (Northam) and 2013 (McAuliffe). In fact, Democrats have held the governorship for four of the past five terms and seven of the past 10, which goes back almost 40 years.

The House of Delegates has been controlled by Republicans since 1999 and didn't flip until 2019.

The Senate has also been controlled by Republicans since 1999 with two exceptions: 2007-10 was Democratic and 2011-14 was evenly split, then the Senate went back to Republicans in 2015.

that's even worse...., but I guess that's just what's in store for Virginians. if only the fervor displayed on January 20th would have been there in the previous elections....

[USNRet93]

Originally Posted by JERRYS.

I don't remember nor do I keep up with it's particulars, as I haven't lived there in 15 years... but when election time came around I voted every time. that can't be what happened the last few cycles. the state lost the house of reps, then the governor's mansion, then the state senate to the democrats, back to back to back. the won't happen here crowd now has ptsd.

2019 5,628,035 registered to vote , 2,383,646 voted =42.4% Virginia election in 2019...

[Brownstone322]

Originally Posted by USNRet93

2019 5,628,035 registered to vote, 2,383,646 voted = 42.4% Virginia election in 2019...

Just to be clear, Virginia has elections in off years precisely for that reason -- to limit the participants to those with a genuine interest in state politics, rather than to include drive-bys who show up primarily to vote in federal elections.

In 2016, about 3.75 million people voted (well more than a million more than in 2019).

[USNRet93]

Originally Posted by Brownstone322

Just to be clear, Virginia has elections in off years precisely for that reason -- to limit the participants to those with a genuine interest in state politics, rather than to include drive-bys who show up primarily to vote in federal elections.

In 2016, about 3.75 million people voted (well more than a million more than in 2019).

I guess it works!! Seems a lot more at stake in 2019, if you read all the reaction to that election, now(little late, BTW), 'not enough with a 'genuine' interest??..but still very low turnout.

[osbornk]

Originally Posted by USNRet93

2019 5,628,035 registered to vote , 2,383,646 voted =42.4% Virginia election in 2019...

It's easy to understand. In Virginia, when it is an off year election when nobody is running for statewide office, there is very little attention given to the election in the newspaper or on TV or radio because the election is only for local house of delegates members. TV and other news media don't have a good reason to cover the local elections because the particular candidate for the House of Delegates or State Senate will be of interest to only the portion of their audience that will be voting for that candidate. When we go to vote, we have never heard of some of the candidates because they didn't have to resources to make themselves known and local media didn't cover them.

[USNRet93]

Originally Posted by osbornk

It's easy to understand. In Virginia, when it is an off year election when nobody is running for statewide office, there is very little attention given to the election in the newspaper or on TV or radio because the election is only for local house of delegates members. TV and other news media don't have a good reason to cover the local elections because the particular candidate for the House of Delegates or State Senate will be of interest to only the portion of their audience that will be voting for that candidate. When we go to vote, we have never heard of some of the candidates because they didn't have to resources to make themselves known and local media didn't cover them.

I get all that but geez, now looking at the outcry after the last VA election, kinda seems to me that 'voters' ought to NOT rely on only "TV and other news media", do their due diligence and find out about the who, what, why, when of any election. Not hard...

[osbornk]

Originally Posted by USNRet93

I get all that but geez, now looking at the outcry after the last VA election, kinda seems to me that 'voters' ought to NOT rely on only "TV and other news media", do their due diligence and find out about the who, what, why, when of any election. Not hard...

If the candidates are not covered in the media and they don't have the money for a big Bloomberg type propaganda campaign, how is one to find out about all of the stuff you mention? When I go to the voting booth in our local elections, I have frequently never heard of the candidates for the school board, agricultural districts, etc.

[jrinne0430]

If the candidates are not covered in the media and they don't have the money for a big Bloomberg type propaganda campaign, how is one to find out about all of the stuff you mention? When I go to the voting booth in our local elections, I have frequently never heard of the candidates for the school board, agricultural districts, etc.

+1 osbornk
All the political ads on tv currently seen (at least by me) in the NOVA are from Bloomberg and are played frequently. Also take a look at YouTube, those will see his billions at work. Local candidates could not compete against those whom Bloomberg owned via campaign dollars. Yes, elections can be bought, especially when the differences are only a few hundred votes. Wonder how he gets the positive press and “suddenly” moving up in the polls?

[Armed_Chicagoan]

Originally Posted by osbornk

If the candidates are not covered in the media and they don't have the money for a big Bloomberg type propaganda campaign, how is one to find out about all of the stuff you mention? When I go to the voting booth in our local elections, I have frequently never heard of the candidates for the school board, agricultural districts, etc.

Every candidate has a web site where they say where they stand on the issues. It's not like they were keeping their anti-gun wishes secret, they proclaimed them for all to see. If you didn't know what the candidates on your ballot stood for, especially on guns, it's because you didn't bother to take a few minutes to look at their campaign web site.