2012.02.24
Bill aimed at lookalike guns shot down in House panel
RICHMOND – A legislative assault on lookalike guns got shot down today in a House of Delegates subcommittee.
Sen. David Marsden’s bill (SB389), which passed the state Senate easily, was tabled 4-1 with no discussion by the House panel, meaning it will advance no further.
The measure would have allowed localities to ban pneumatic guns – which fire BBs or similar pellets, propelled by compressed-gas cylinders – from school grounds and buses.
Marsden, D-Fairfax County, said pneumatic guns can be nearly as powerful and lethal as the real thing and are often favored by gangs. His bill had the support of Fairfax County and the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police.
Andrew Goddard, a gun-control activist, showed the panel a pneumatic handgun that closely resembled a real revolver. A law enforcement officer who encountered a child brandishing such a weapon could easily mistake it for an actual gun, he said, with tragic results.
“If a police officer sees me with this, I would expect them to shoot me,” he said.
Pro-gun activists opposed the bill.
The same House panel has approved several pro-gun measures in this legislative session, including a repeal of Virginia’s two-decade-old law limiting handgun purchases to one a month. That measure has passed both the House and Senate.
-Bill Sizemore, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
