(UPI) — Virginia’s General Assembly adjourned its special session on gun control Tuesday without sending any legislation to committees for debate.
Republican lawmakers in both chambers voted to delay passing any laws until after the Nov. 5 election. The special session ordered by Gov. Ralph Northam lasted less than 2 hours.
Northam called the special session less than a week after a gunman killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building.
“It is shameful and disappointing that Republicans in the General Assembly refuse to do their jobs and take immediate action to save lives. I expected better of them. Virginians expect better of them,” Northam, a Democrat, said Tuesday.
General Assembly leaders sent proposed gun-control legislation to the Virginia State Crime Commission for review. The commission also is studying the cause of the Virginia Beach shooting.
The special session was meant to give Northam a second chance at some of the gun laws he tried to pass last year, including universal background checks on all gun sales. Also, an extreme risk protective order would create a legal mechanism to force people to give up their guns if they are a substantial danger to themselves or others.
Another law would limit gun purchases to one per month. Also, anyone who has a final order of protection against them would be prohibited from buying, possessing or transporting firearms and would be required to turn them over within 24 hours. Assault weapons that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition would also be banned.
Source: UPI
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