VA Democrats Pass Bill Requiring Destruction of ‘High Cap’ Magazines

Democrats on the Virginia House Public Safety Committee passed legislation Friday morning to require owners of “high capacity” ammunition to destroy or surrender said magazines.

The legislation in view is HB 961, which was watered down from its original form in order to garner enough Democrat votes to pass out of committee.

Breitbart News reported HB 961 originally required owners of AR-15s to register their guns with the government and get a license from Virginia State Police, in order to retain the firearm. That aspect of the bill was removed, but the ban on magazines holding over 12 rounds is still intact.

Todd Gilbert, the Republican Leader of the Virginia House of Delegates, noted HB 961 was the bill that spawned the wave of Second Amendment Sanctuary declarations in the state to begin with. He noted that leaving language in the bill that requires surrender or destruction of lawfully purchased property, under threat of a felony. is only going to continue fueling citizens to stand in opposition to their government:

"House Democrats seem to have learned nothing from the public outcry caused by their proposals. A similar Senate version of House Bill 961 is exactly what prompted the 'Second Amendment sanctuary cities' movement across Virginia." – @cToddGilbert pic.twitter.com/eDmTdhwGY1

— VA House GOP (@vahousegop) February 7, 2020

The NRA’s Catherine Mortensen commented on committee passage of HB 961, saying: “This egregious gun ban is designed to make millions of law-abiding Virginians felons overnight. Lawmakers have delayed bringing up this gun ban because voters from across the Commonwealth oppose it.”

She referenced Mike Bloomberg’s planned visit to Virginia, intimating the bill was passed as a way of paying homage to him: “With their billionaire benefactor coming to Richmond next week to headline a Democratic Party fundraiser, however, it is clear that House leaders would rather bow to out-of-state interests than listen to their constituents and fellow lawmakers.”

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 directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.