Despite Pleas by Virginia Tech Families, Virginia Legislative Panel Rejects Gun Bill

One would certainly think that after the Virginia Tech tragedy back in the spring of 2007, Virginia would want to clean up some of the failings in the state's gun laws that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to legally buy guns despite his mental health problems. But NOOOOOOO. The wingnut Republican members in the Virginia General Assembly committee all voted to kill the bill that would change the gun laws to try to avoid some future tragedy.

Of course, these are the same Christianist ass kissing folks who are against abortion. In their view, you cannot kill a fetus through abortion. But once that child is born and grows up, they happily allow nuts to be on the loose with guns - including automatic weapons - so those children or adults can get shot up and killed. I do NOT understand the mentality. Fortunately, our Governor took them to task. Here are some highlights from today's Virginian Pilot (http://hamptonroads.com/2008/01/despite-pleas-tech-families-va-panel-rejects-gun-bill):

RICHMOND - Families of those killed and wounded during a deranged gunman's rampage at Virginia Tech implored a legislative panel to close the loophole in state law that allows criminals and the mentally ill to buy firearms at gun shows. The Republican-dominated committee ignored them, voting 13-9 along party lines Friday to kill legislation to require unlicensed sellers at gun shows to run criminal background checks on buyers. Such checks now are required only of federally licensed gun dealers.

Despite the setback, the gun show loophole issue is not dead. Similar legislation is pending in a Senate committee, and supporters plan a lobbying blitz and vigil in remembrance of the Tech victims Monday on the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. "We're not going to give up," Andrew Goddard of Richmond, whose son Colin was wounded in the Tech shootings, told reporters after the committee meeting. "We're going to be energized by this."

Democratic Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said the administration prefers the Senate bill, and he and others have only begun to politically pressure the proposal's House opponents. "There are those who apparently think it's fine for a felon to have a gun or a dangerously mentally ill person to have a gun or a domestic abuser to have a gun. They usually won't stand up and say that because they'll be laughed out of the room if they do, but apparently that's what they believe," Kaine told reporters. "Contrary to the clear federal law denying felons, domestic abusers with protective orders and dangerously mentally ill individuals the right to have a gun, these gun shows provide a very easy and public means for people who cannot legally have weapons to go in and get them," Kaine said.

The committee has long been hostile to gun-control measures and friendly to gun-rights groups and firearms dealers. Eight of the Republicans who voted to kill the gun show bill received more than $4,100 in contributions from gun advocacy groups or dealers last year, according to figures compiled by the nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project.