Virginia Dems Backtrack On Gun Bill Exemption After Backlash

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly reversed course Saturday after initially exempting themselves from the provisions of a gun law they sent to Democratic Virginia Gov. Abby Spanberger.

Democrats have passed multiple gun bills, including a ban on so-called “assault weapons,” and legislation creating new forms of civil liability for firearms manufacturers. One bill, HB110, initially exempted General Assembly members from a prohibition on leaving a firearm in an unattended vehicle.

“The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly who leaves a handgun in an unattended motor vehicle pursuant to § 18.2-308.7:1 when such vehicle is parked in any parking structure reserved for members of the General Assembly under § 2.2-1172,” the text of the legislation initially sent from a conference committee read.

“We are no better than anybody else, and we should never vote for a bill that gives us a special privilege,” Republican State Sen. Richard Stuart said during debate on the measure. When the conference committee sent the legislation out for passage, the exemption for the General Assembly was deleted, The Center Square reported.

The revised legislation passed by party-line votes in the Virginia General Assembly. The Assembly swung hard to the left after Spanberger won the governorship in a landslide over then-Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle Sears.

“Not one of these bills would have stopped what happened at Old Dominion University,” Republican Del. Wren Williams told The Center Square. “Every law needed to stop him already existed. Every single one failed. All seven of these bills make criminals out of Virginians who follow the laws — the hunter, the collector, the mother who keeps a firearm in her home for protection. That is not public safety. That is political virtue signaling at the expense of the law-abiding.”

In a Sunday alert, the National Rifle Association described the legislative onslaught of gun-control bills as “egregious.”

“Rules for thee but not for me — that’s the mantra the radicals in Richmond and anti-gun politicians across the country live by,” NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford said in a statement. “Whether it’s exempting themselves from extreme gun-control measures or spending exorbitant amounts of money on armed security while their constituents are left disarmed and helpless, these political figures are once again showing they care more about their own self-interests than the safety of the people they have been elected to represent.”

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