Virginia House Committee Passes Bill Mandating Gun-Free Polling Places

A voter walks toward a polling location on election day in Austin, Texas on November 3, 20
SERGIO FLORES/AFP via Getty
AWR Hawkins

The Virginia House Committee on Privileges and Elections approved legislation Wednesday to mandate polling places throughout the state be gun-free zones.

The NRA-ILA reports the legislation, House Bill 2081, “prohibits firearms within 40 feet of a polling place,” whether that polling place is on public property or private. NRA-ILA notes:

While many polling locations in the Commonwealth are located in schools, which are already gun-free zones by law, others are located in venues that are private property. The bill contains no exemption for lawful concealed carry by license holders and also does not mandate that polling places have security measures to actively keep criminals away, such as metal detectors and armed security.

The language of HB 2081 also makes clear “no person shall knowingly possess a firearm within 40 feet of a meeting place for the local electoral board while the electoral board meets to ascertain the results of an election or any place used as the setting for a recount.”

The legislation is sponsored by Delegate Mark Levine (D-Dist. 45).

On January 26, 2020, Breitbart News reported Levine was pushing an “assault weapons” ban that included a licensing process for Virginians who had already purchased said firearms. A constituent asked Levine to define “assault weapons” and the struggle was real:

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.

 

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