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Virginia House Passes Assault Weapons Ban — Senate & Guv Expected to Follow
The Virginia House of Delegates has passed a bill banning not only all assault weapons, but many kinds of firearm accessories as well.
To begin with, the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession, transportation or transfer of an assault firearm — all are outlawed by this bill. And this proposed ban has some serious teeth: Involvement in any of these acts will result in a Class 6 felony charge.
Democratic Party House Delegate Mark Levine sponsored House Bill 961, which narrowly passed the Democratic Party-controlled House by a three-vote margin (51–48) on February 11.
The House Bill’s final version included several amendments, most important of which included a “legal” definition of an “assault” firearm, to wit:
A semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 12 rounds.
And of course magazines of more than twelve-rounds are themselves also banned in this bill.
The bill also outlaws the importation, sale, transfer, manufacture or purchase a silencer, as well; and makes those activities also a Class 6 Felony. This ban also includes trigger activators as well.
