He went to a LICENSED DEALER... Not a gun show. It was the courts & mental health system that failed not the gun dealer or the people that have the right to sell guns. That is why finally the mental health issue is getting attention.

I know if April 16th had never taken place the real mentally ill people would still just be out there and no one would care less about them, except their love one or their care givers. Now because of APRIL 16, 2007 MENTAL ILLNESS is on the front burner...

The problem is that most gun shows don't sell a lot of guns. they sell mostly outdoor equipment and velvet paintings of elvis and NASCAR plates and memorabilia. It is hard to convince people that there are a lot of people there who are hell bent on arming criminals.

We need to get our federal office holders to fund a good background check database so we can get stuff like this passed.

This is a lose lose for Democrats. We lose the fight to get the bills passed and then we lose a lot of people who may vote Dem because the GOP exploits our stupidity.

Willie, is anything for the instant check d/b "in the works" (eg, an unfunded bill lying around somewhere)?  Are any of the feds sponsoring bills; if so, who?  

Lowell asks a very legitimate question.  

The hang ups, from what I understand, were on the amount of info we would have to have in the system to make it mandatory and also with the destruction of the search records in a required period of time..

We can't bring up the bill now though because the NRA won't sign on now that the Dems control congress.

Again. Dems are very stupid on this issue.

We can get moderate voters to forgive us for being pro choice because so many of them are. We can get them to let it go when  urban dems call for gun restrictions within their cities. We CANT get them to let BOTH of them go.

We need to leave this issue the hell alone and focus on good laws like the NRA endorsed Exile project.

"Do you have a son or daughter that attends or will be attending college this year?  

So you must remember the VA Tech tragedy where over 30 young people were slaughtered?  

Did you know that the Republicans killed a bill that would have closed the gunshow loophole, so  criminals can't buy guns?

Democrats want to protect your right to own a gun but they sure want legislation that will keep guns out of the hands of criminals and closing that loophole could do just that."  

I noticed this line on a Gun Show website... Attention Gun Show Attendees....Do you need to know what type of ID you need to purchase a firearm from a Federally Licensed Dealer, as we have to turn down a lot of sales when people don't have these specific ID's?  If the dealers are having to turn folks away, they end up losing business to the individual sellers.  I would think they would therefore support elimination of the gun show loophole.  It would put them on a level playing field with their private dealer competition.    

House Budget Conferee appointments lack proportional, regional representation

Richmond, VA-Yesterday, Speaker Bill Howell appointed the House Budget Conferees. The appointments made by the Speaker lacked proportional representation and left a vital region of the Commonwealth with no representation.

Out of six conferees appointed by the Speaker, only one Democrat was appointed. Even though Democrats comprise 44% of the chamber, they only constitute 16% of the House budget conference committee.

"For all their talk of preserving proportional representation, it rings a little hollow when they ignore that pledge in appointing the key budget conference committee," House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong said.

Also, the House Budget Conference Committee includes no representative from Northern Virginia either Democratic or Republican, the most populous region of the Commonwealth.

"Again, Northern Virginia is being left out in the cold by House Republicans," Delegate Kris Amundson said. "Northern Virginia deserves a House representative advocating for them in the critical budget conference committee. We can only hope that Northern Virginia Senate leaders will stand up for our region because House Republicans have not provided us the critical representation."

Va Tech was Virginia's chance to lead the nation in public safety reforms, such as campus safety, mental health and gun violence. I'm sorry that all the momentum to close the background check databank gap and for mental health reform didn't carry over into this issue. Closing the gun show loophole doesn't affect law-abiding gun purchasers and dealers, and only reinforces existing law. Virginia lies along the Iron Pipeline of gun trafficking on the East Coast and should take seriously the plight of illegal guns and prohibited purchasers. We shouldn't have to wait for a tragedy to occur to implement reforms.

After the vote, Andrew Goddard, whose son Colin was injured in the April 16 Virginia Tech shootings, said polls indicated broad support for background checks on people who buy weapons.

"I don't know why these people don't represent their constituents. I think they just represent the NRA," Goddard said, referring to the National Rifle Association.

[...]

Goddard said he and other family members of the victims of Virginia Tech will continue to pressure lawmakers to approve stricter gun laws in Virginia.

"We will only be energized by this," Goddard said.

From the NRA Political Victory Fund:
$1,000, H. Morgan Griffith of Salem.
$750, Bill Carrico of Independence.
$500, L. Scott Lingamfelter, Prince William.
$250, Donald Merricks, Pittsylvania; Charles D. Poindexter, Franklin; Ben Cline, Rockbridge; Dave Nutter, Montgomery; Beverly J. Sherwood, Frederick.

Except it just doesn't work like that because even the most immoral and corrupt legislator won't sell himself for what in campaign funds amounts to pocket change.

A little over ten years ago I was a divison chief on the Army Staff in the Pentagon.  Among other responsibilities, my division was charged with inventory policies for military small arms and their associated replacement parts.  I began to hear and read disturbing reports about military replacement parts that were finding their way into the gun show vendors offerings, parts that would allow civilian small arms to be converted to military automatic weapons.  On a Saturday afternoon I visited a gun show in the Fredericksburg area.  What I saw astonished me and, although I haven't been to a gun show in many years, I have no reason to doubt that it has been changed.

First, the firearms purchase background checks:  the show had a mix of Federal licensed dealers and private sale dealers.  The show organizers had helpfully provided a computer center with dial-up capabilities where the licensed vendors could come to get background clearance for their sales.  ("Go have a beer or check out the new holsters while I walk over and get your approval.")  It struck me at the time that there was no reason that the private sale dealers couldn't use the same system.  Presumably, they would have to pay some kind of subscription fee.  So what?  I'm self-employed and even though I'm not Wal-Mart I still have to pay a business license tax in Fairfax county to do business.

Second, what worried me much more than the private sale dealers who could sell a weapon to anyone with a Virginia drivers license:  many of these "dealers" were also displaying "conversion kits," or the necessary parts to convert many civilian weapons to their military counter-part.  The most common was a kit to convert a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to a military M-16.  The kits came complete with detailed instructions and some of the "dealers" were even demonstrating how to perform the conversions.  Additionally, some were selling illegal 30-round capacity magazines, so called "banana clips."

I won't bore you with the details of how I went back to work on Monday morning and found myself totally powerless to clean up this nation-wide problem.  Suffice to say, there are some worse things happening at gun shows than somebody buying a handgun without a background check.  And, it is not just a Virginia problem.  Today, I wonder what Cho Seung-hui would have done with an M-16 and several 30-round magazines instead of a Clock 9MM and a Walther .22.

They were SUPPOSED to be testifying at the House Committee as well and THAT IS WHY the hearing was moved to today--so fewer VT families would be there. They DO NOT want to hear from these people. They DO NOT want ANYONE to hear from these people.

How can they treat the families this way, you wonder? Mostly because they don't give a sh*t about them or anybody else.

This committee has been acting this way for YEARS. If a bill was about to be introduced and there was, say, a group of uniformed policemen in the audience, they would make sure to cancel it or table it. They did this to our own FC Police chief over and over again until the one time he didn't come. THEN they voted on it.  

This is a goddammed disgrace and for deomcrats here to dismiss this so breeezily is a bigger one. So Cho didn't buy his gun from a gun show--so we should wait until another mass murderer does? Are we to make NO PROGRESS?

WTF is wrong with people?

Furthermore, the gentleman who states that there aren't a lot of guns sold at gun shows has plainly never been to one. It is a hair-raising experience, believe me. And, btw, there are unliscensed sellers advertising "No background checks" at their booths. Why do you suppose that is?

I'd love to show you photos of these gun shows, but, unfortunately, that is not allowed. And they are DEADLY serious about this prohibition--there are signs posted, people watching anyone who looks "suspicious" and they WILL confiscate cell phones with cameras if you are caught taking photos. If gun shows are so innocuous, mainly selling sports equipment and velvet paintings, why aren't people allowed to take photos? WTH are they so afraid of? Can't you guess?

I can tell you what the Republican delegates of this infamous committee are afraid of--the gun lobby; the NRA, the VCDL, the GOA--they are afraid of their money and the way they will mobilize voters if they step out of line for a moment--even for something as commonsense as this. At the same time, they don't want the average person to know how they voted. They don't want their constituents to realize what a bunch of a$$wipes they are. They certainly don't want any publicity involving parents and victims. So they pull this kind of crap and WE LET THEM.

I am glad to see that all the Democrats on the committee voted in favor--and I am grateful to the governor for putting himself on the line for this. It will be interesting to see what will happen on Monday at the Courts and Justice committee. There is a certain Democratic member on that committee with aspirations to be governor. That's going to call for an awful lot of votes coming out of Northern Virginia. It's going to mean an awful lot of NoVa fundraising. I hope he remembers that.  

But is the companion Senate Bill SB109 (Henry Marsh, patron) scheduled for Courts of Justice (Henry Marsh, chair) on Monday?  Is that what you heard?

I heard Dems John Edwards and Roscoe Reynolds also need some  talking to.  Edwards is apparently basing his opposition on what he calls the "culture" of gunshows.  

Edwards' district includes Va Tech, btw.  

We can have a discussion of what is going on with our gun laws without this.

I remind Tim Kaine of his promise as well during his campaign.

NO NEW GUN LAWS. PERIOD.

Keep your promise Governor. Don't let reactionaries control your agenda. Republican or Democrat.  

Background checks for EVERYBODY. Period.

Dude, that isn't reactionary. It's called progress.  

If you don't believe me then ask a lawyer.