Despite pleas by Tech families, Va. panel rejects gun bill

How ridiculous is it to attempt to use the parents of Cho's victims to get a law passed that had no relation to the circumstances leading to the Tech killings? And now he is trying to get a bill passed barring checks that a rape accuser is telling the truth before some boy's life is ruined as in the Duke case. Wake up Virginia. Stop allowing our sneaky governor to play to your emotions in his effort for greater government control over our lives.

"...all that was proposed is that there be some way to ensure that the buyer is someone who can be trusted to use a gun responsibly." You must mean the same checks in place that completely missed the notes about a court labeled dangerous psychopath like Cho right? Because I mean those checks worked out really great for Virginia Tech and all.

"So what if trying to plug this loophole is not related to Cho's purchase of the gun he used to kill 32 people. It is still a loophole that needs to be plugged. It doesn't have to be related to the Virginia Tech shootings in order to be a flaw in the law that needs to be corrected." I'm sorry... I thought they were trying to cash in on the Tech killings by using the families of those kids to drum up support for this bill. I guess I did not see those family members being used by the state giving flowery speeches about closing a loophole that had nothing to do with their children dying after all. I clearly must have been mistaken.

I will ditto Pierre on this one.

I am glad the house was smart enough to reject this bill. They should also overturn outlawing guns on college campuses. I mean seriously, if that whack job was not the only one with a gun on campus do you really think that he would have killed that many people? If we had LESS gun laws I strongly believe the incident would have never left the dorm and only two people would be killed, the crazy one and the first girl he shot. Really why should I not have the right to protect myself on campus? As for loopholes, he would have gotten a gun anyways so why even make the law? Gun laws are for law abiding citizens.

Once again, the NRA has shown that it owns the General Assembly. For politicians, common sense is always secondary to lining their pockets with "campaign contributions," or, more accurately, bribes. Arguments that 2nd Amendment rights were threatened by the proposed legislation are disingenuous. No one is being prevented from buying a gun; all that was proposed is that there be some way to ensure that the buyer is someone who can be trusted to use a gun responsibly. What do those who oppose this legislation have to fear? Are they trying to hide something?

Enough with the CRYING and COMPLAINING already. Yes the VT shootings were a tragedy, but a criminal is going to get a gun anyway they can. It doesn't make a difference how many laws or loopholes that are out there they are going to get one. I too have been to a few gun shows and yes I also had a back ground check done. For those of you who think it doesn't happen, the next time a gun show is in the area, go see for yourself, tell a dealer that you what to purchase a gun and see if they do the background check. I bet they do. GO NRA!!!!!!

Can any of these anti-gun politicians or others trying to close the so-called "gun show loophole" show one documented proven case where a felon, criminal, seriously mentally ill person bought a gun at a gun show??

I'm sure all the liberal papers in the country would be blasting it across the front pages of their papers if they could. Instead, because they can't, they are trying to take advantage of the Tech tragedy to advance their agenda.

Instead they should be advocating that people be allowed to protect themselves and remove the authority of administrators at Tech and other schools to prohibit legally licensed CCW holders from carrying on campus and in other public areas. As much as they try, the police cannot be everywhere all the time to protect you and the Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that they have no duty to protect you individually. So you are responsible for your and your family's protection.

Surprise, Surprise!! The NRA and the tobacco industry have a strong foothold in the Commonweath. Who would have known?

Second Amendment prevails. Thank you!

All those Democrats who voted FOR this bill to ban private gun sales will find that this COMMITTEE vote may haunt them in the future, especially if they plan to run for state office some day.

Next stop, Monday at 9AM when the Senator Marsh's bill to ban private sales will be crushed as well.

Everytime I have purchased a gun, I have went through a background check. But, reality is, most who are going to commit a crime with a gun are not going to use one that is registered in their own name duh? Which comes with the background check. Closing this so called loop will do nothing for the guns being used in crimes. They are bought off the street for the most part. The Tech guy bought his with a background check, did it save those people? No, sadly. If he could not have bought it legally, he would have probably turned to the streets. Nothing in his way there. A lot of people buy for other people(spouse,brother,sister) who can't pass a background check. If someone wants a gun, they will get it. No law or background check will stop them. That is a fact and reality.

....there is no loophole. That's just a myth conjured up by paranoid anti-gun advocates that spread like wildfire. The truth of the matter is a person does get a background check before purchasing a gun at a show. If you want to actually do something worthwhile, focus your efforts on passing laws that require an agency to permanently record that a person has a history of mental illness. Cho would not have been able to purchase his guns if his background check revealed that he had been diagnosed with a mental disorder. JMO.

What loophole? I worked at a gunshow last weekend. We had someone on the phone with the feds the whole time doing backgroudn checks and so did every other dealer. We have the 4473s to prove it (if you don't even know what that is, please don't comment on what you know nothing about). The "gunshow loophole" is a MYTH!

The vast majority of criminals get their guns through criminal actions. No law will stop them as criminals, by defintion, don't obey laws.

Just a way for terrorists to buy guns with no background checks. You're either against the terrorists or not.

Please publish names delagates the killed bill. It should also cover pawn shops. Short or no notice is the norm for the party in control!

Does anyone realize that it has never been illegal for a private citizen to sell their own gun to another private citizen, be it at a gun show or their own home? Only licensed dealers are required to do background checks, gun show or not. I want to see an actual survey done at a gun show for all those who are walking out the door after purchasing a firearm. See how many went through a background check. You'd be suprised at the truth. This has been propaganda that has been spread to scare people into thinking that anyone can walk into a gun show and purchase any gun they wanted, no questions asked. The truth has been so far buried that people are being manipulated by what they think is true and by their emotions devoid of actual facts. The person I refuse to call by name bought his guns at the "mental illness not reported by the courts" loophole.

Law abiding Concealed Handgun Permit holders are currently prohibited from carrying concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol, even if they are not drinking. This forces them to choose between carrying openly in the restaurant, which might make some people needlessly nervous, or leaving their handgun in their car. Too often, they choose to leave the firearm unattended in their car and it is stolen. Far more handguns fall into the wrong hands through this kind of theft than through private sales of handguns at gun shows.

So, if your goal is truly to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, while not infringing on the rights of law abiding citizens, then support repeal of the ban on carrying concealed(with a permit) in restaurants so those handguns can be kept under the close control of their owners where they are safe.

The article references the ability to purchase a firearm as a loophole. That's just disingenuous. There is more law enforcement at gun shows this side of a Fraternal Order of Police gathering. Criminals don't like to be around law enforcement, it tends to... you know, cramp their lifestyle.

That sure is playing fast and loose with the English language, using "loophole".

The "gun show loophole" is a myth. I have bought guns at gun shows for years. Each time I had to pay for a background check before the dealer could sell me the gun. Federal law already prohibits sales to criminals and mental patients. Why do some in Virginia feel the need to add yet another layer of bureaucracy to an already cumbersome system that generally hassles only honest citizens? And another thing, if the instant background check is stopping huge numbers of prohibited people from buying guns, why aren't these people being prosecuted? Each attempt to buy a gun by a prohibited person is a federal felony. They should be prosecuted and jailed!

"a means of escape or evasion; a means or opportunity of evading a rule, law, etc."

There is no "gun show loophole." Any sale that would require a background check outside a gun show also requires a background check inside a gun show.

Background checks were never intended to affect private citizens...only those in the business of selling firearms for a living.

This bill was a solution in search of a problem and met a proper and deserved demise.

So much for protecting society. Fixing this loophole is a no-brainer. Sort of like voting for your own raise. Thank you for nothing.

The right to bear arms is a fundamental right granted to all of us in the 2nd Amendment. It is the removal of this right that has fundamentally created situations where citizens are unarmed in places like schools, etc. Had some of the students been armed, Cho might not have taken so many souls with him on his crazed rampage. Any effort to continue to remove the right to bear arms should be vehemently opposed and thank God the Republicans stopped the craziness.

The folks that continue to support the removal of this right, which by the way was very well thought out by our founding fathers for a very good reason, are ignorant and should put forth some effort to educate themselves on the reality of removing this right. The only ones who ever benefit are the dangerous criminals. These types of proposals never benefit the law abiding American. Get a clue people!

Virginia law allows for the private sale of firearms. That's not a loophole, that's just the way our laws work (and it's the way the laws of most other states work, too). This supposed loophole had nothing to do with the Virginia Tech tragedy, and studies have shown that firearms purchased from private sellers at gunshows account for an imperceptibly small proportion of the firearms used in crime. The General Assembly is showing a commendable degree of logic and reason by focusing their efforts on laws that might actually make a difference, such as improvements in mental health policy.

Thankfully the Committee killed this ridiculous bill. I wonder if anyone supporting this bill ever attended a gunshow to see how many non-dealer gun sales occur. Pretty darn few from what I see. The press and Brady campaign would have us all believe the streets are running red with blood from guns purchased via this "Loophole." Well, they're not! The myth is that people who could not legally purchase firearms are to going to flock to a location full of police and where hundreds of perfectly legal, background-checked transactions occur. This loophole bill, is just another step to create problems for law-abiding gun owners under the guise of the government "doing something" to protect the sheep in this country who can't think for themselves. Enough of these feel-good laws which do little to actually catch or punish real criminals and which actually create criminals out of otherwise law-abiding citizens.

So what if trying to plug this loophole is not related to Cho's purchase of the gun he used to kill 32 people. It is still a loophole that needs to be plugged. It doesn't have to be related to the Virginia Tech shootings in order to be a flaw in the law that needs to be corrected. What a narrow-minded group of Republicans.

"He bought the weapons from businesses and passed background checks."
Nuff said.

Maybe the delegates who voted to table the bill would like to explain their self centered actions to the widow of the Chesapeake police officer murdered last night. Enacting further controls on the sale of handguns may not have prevented this tragedy, but they would not have facilitated it either. If I understand it correctly, our elected representatives are going to protect us from "truck nuts", they are going to make the penalty for not using a seat belt tougher, but they will continue to allow unregulated sales of handguns, and won't outlaw text messaging while driving. Who elected these people?