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

RICHMOND

Tearful parents of students murdered and wounded at the Virginia Tech shooting rampage in the spring were rebuffed Friday in their efforts to broaden laws requiring Virginians to undergo police background checks before buying guns.

State law now orders licensed gun vendors to conduct the checks on potential buyers to weed out illegal sales to felons and mentally ill people. However, one-on-one sales between citizens are allowed without the check.

Republicans controlling the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted in bloc against legislation that would bar private sales at gun shows.

Tech parents said private sales make it possible for troubled people such as Seung-Hui Cho to acquire guns. Cho, a Tech student with a history of psychological problems, killed 32 classmates and faculty members in April and wounded 17 before committing suicide.

“Please don’t say these innocent lives were lost,” said Lori Haas of Richmond, whose daughter Emily survived two shots in her head, speaking to the committee. “They weren’t lost; they were killed by a sick person who should not have had that gun. Every one of you sitting here today can prevent someone else from suffering this anguish.”

Republicans on the panel and gun rights lobbyists voiced sympathy for the victims but said the Tech parents’ efforts are misdirected. Cho did not buy the two pistols he used at Tech at guns shows. He bought one from a pawnbroker, the other online, and passed background checks both times.

“Gun shows are not part of what happened there,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, who accused gun control advocates of using the Tech tragedy to advance their cause. “Some of those who are not in favor of guns saw this as an opportunity to open up the toy box.”

The defeat of HB745 signals the likely death of all attempts in the General Assembly to end one-on-one sales – an effort supported by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

A similar bill, SB109, is scheduled to be heard Monday in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. Proponents hope the measure will receive favorable treatment in the Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats. But even if the measure passes the Senate, it would wind up back in the hands of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.

The legislation died on a 13-9 vote in the House committee on Friday, with all Republican members voting to defeat the measure and all Democrats voting to pass it.

For the past eight years, the 22-member House panel has been nicknamed “The Killing Fields” because of its record of defeating gun control measures. The last two Republican speakers have stocked the committee with members who have pro-gun voting records.

Of the entire 140-member General Assembly, only 10 legislators received an “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association last fall for their pro-gun voting records. Eight of those lawmakers are on the Militia Committee. An additional eight members of the panel received “A” grades from the NRA.

Three parents of Tech victims attended the hearing. The patron of the House bill – Del. Chuck Caputo, D-Fairfax – said more wanted to come, but he was unable to organize a larger turnout because GOP leaders waited until 4 p.m. Thursday to tell him his bill would be considered the next morning.

Republicans on the panel rejected Caputo’s request to delay the hearing for a week so more Tech parents could attend. The committee chairwoman – Del. Beverly Sherwood, R-Winchester – said the panel had a pressing agenda in coming weeks.

Republicans said they support efforts this year to improve mental health care in Virginia and to better identify on background checks people like Cho, who was ordered by a judge in 2005 to receive psychiatric counseling.

“We still have plenty of opportunities this winter to deal with the real problems behind the Tech tragedy,” said Del. Scott Lingamfelter, R-Prince William.

Warren Fiske, (804) 697-1565, warren.fiske@pilotonline.com