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Feb 17, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Assault weapons ban dies in Virginia Senate despite Democratic control

Ursula Perano
Gun rights ralliers at a protest outside the Virginia Capitol Building in January. Photo ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images.

Gun-rights ralliers at a protest outside the Virginia Capitol Building in January. Photo ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images.

An assault weapons ban died in the Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday despite a Democratic majority in the assembly, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: Democrats flipped the Virginia House and Senate last year after campaigning hard on gun control. The assault weapons bill would have banned future transfers and sales of all assault weapons in the state.

  • Three Democratic state senators sided with Republicans on the measure, which now goes to the state's Crime Commission for study.
  • The bill's opponents said that the definition of an assault weapon was poorly outlined.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam had also made the measure part of his agenda. The Virginia House has approved seven other of his proposals, including universal background checks on private gun sales and boosting red flag laws.

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