Session ends with a whimper, not a bang
But not a single vote was cast on the legislation. Republican leaders said the session was premature and politically motivated. They assigned the state’s bipartisan crime commission to study the Virginia Beach shooting and the governor’s proposed legislation.
In reply, angry Democrats said Republicans were beholden to the gun lobby and afraid of passing commonsense laws they know will save lives.
It was a familiar outcome in a stalled debate that plays out yearly in Virginia on an issue that has divided the nation for more than two decades.
Republicans said it was Northam, still dealing with the fallout of a blackface scandal that almost drove him from office, who acted improperly. Instead of pushing for votes on legislation that would not have prevented the Virginia Beach shooting, they said, the governor should have called for a blue-ribbon commission to study gun and mental health issues.
Virginia is generally considered a gun-friendly state and is home to the NRA headquarters. The Gop-led General Assembly has spiked numerous gun-control bills, including several Northam proposed for the special session, year after year.
Jim Snyder, a 69-year-old gun owner from northern Virginia, said the Virginia Beach shooting had not moved the needle on gun issues for him one bit.
“A lot of people say, ‘Well, we’ve got to find common ground,’ which means, ‘We’ve got to find gun control that you’ll accept,’” said Snyder, who is vice president of the gun-rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League.