I am writing you in opposition to HB 2 and SB 70. Both of these bills seek to fix non-problems by requiring “Background Checks” which do nothing to stop “straw purchases” employed by criminals. Straw purchases are already a felony! HB 2 and SB 70 will make it illegal for friends who have known each other for decades, to sell guns to each other without going to an FFL dealer to contract the sale! This is a tremendous inconvenience to gun owners who will be required to travel hours in some cases, to sell a firearm to a trusted friend who lives next door. Meanwhile, criminals will simply disobey this gun law as they disobey every other law, including laws against murder and theft. As Gun Owners of America has pointed out, both of these bills are fruits of Mayor Bloomberg’s $6.25 Million “donation” to Virginia democrat politicians. HB 2 treats any transfer of a gun as if it were an interstate sale requiring a background check. What a ridiculous waste of time and resources! This bill, because of the vague and broadly defined word “transfer” in the bill, will adversely impact self-defense, hunting, safety instruction, target shooting, safe storage, museums and even law enforcement! SB 70 was amended in the Senate to remove the “transfer” language but it has other problems. Gov. Northam has said Virginia needed a new background check law to clamp down on Internet sales. This is absolutely not true! In 2017, the U.S. General Accountability Office conducted covert tests to see how easy it was to purchase a firearm online. The GAO made 72 attempts posing as illegal buyers under various scenarios, but, “[A]ll of our attempts to illegally purchase firearms from private sellers on the Surface Web were unsuccessful.” (GAO Report #18-24) Neither HB 2 nor SB 70 are needed to fix the supposed gushing loophole of illegal Internet sales by private parties! By the way, criminals can easily pass background checks because the system is imperfect due to human imperfection. In 2017, the Sutherland Springs murderer killed 26 people including an unborn child in a church. He would have been disqualified to purchase a gun had correct data been entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The killer had been court martialed in the Air Force for assaulting his wife and their child. That alone should have prevented him from buying one gun, much less four guns between 2014-2017, but the Air Force failed to enter his name in a database that would have alerted gun stores not to sell firearms to him. HB 2 and SB 70 will not fix these human errors. Please vote no on these bills.

I agree with Gun Owners of America that HB 2 and SB 70 are not only unconstitutional, they will do nothing to stop crime. In the 2020 Democratic presidential debates, a claim was made that 40% of all guns are purchased in the U.S. without a background check. President Obama also made that same, inaccurate claim at least twice in 2013. The Washington Post gave Obama three Pinocchios for his 40% claim which was based on a 1996 telephone survey of 251 respondents. Also, in 1997, the U.S. Justice Department surveyed state prison inmates possessing a gun at the time of their offense. Only 1.7% of those inmates acquired guns from a flea market or gun show. A 2013 memo from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice stated that out of the universe of all guns in the United States, of the very small percent of guns ever used in crimes, 47% were obtained through straw purchases, 20% from unregulated private sales, 13% from gun shows/flea markets and 8% from retail sales. HB 2 and SB 70 will not fix these problems. But it will greatly inconvenience gun owners creating not just a burden for legal gun owners but possibly jail time. Please vote NO on HB 2 and SB 70. Let me know how you vote on any background-check gun control bill coming before you. I oppose both of these measures for reasons stated below. Thank you.

I agree with Gun Owners of America that HB 2 and SB 70 are not only unconstitutional, they will do nothing to stop crime. In the 2020 Democratic presidential debates, a claim was made that 40% of all guns are purchased in the U.S. without a background check. President Obama also made that same, inaccurate claim at least twice in 2013. The Washington Post gave Obama three Pinocchios for his 40% claim which was based on a 1996 telephone survey of 251 respondents. Also, in 1997, the U.S. Justice Department surveyed state prison inmates possessing a gun at the time of their offense. Only 1.7% of those inmates acquired guns from a flea market or gun show. A 2013 memo from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice stated that out of the universe of all guns in the United States, of the very small percent of guns ever used in crimes, 47% were obtained through straw purchases, 20% from unregulated private sales, 13% from gun shows/flea markets and 8% from retail sales. HB 2 and SB 70 will not fix these problems. But it will greatly inconvenience gun owners creating not just a burden for legal gun owners but possibly jail time. Please vote NO on HB 2 and SB 70. Let me know how you vote on any background-check gun control bill coming before you. I oppose both of these measures for reasons stated below. Thank you.

I am very concerned about the efforts to change Virginia’s firearm background check law proposed in HB 2 and SB 70. Both SB 70 (Lucas) and HB 2 (Plum) as introduced use the vague term “transfer” would create chaos, turning harmless actions into felonies and extreme misdemeanor prison sentences. Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Northam are not simply inadvertently generating unintended consequences, they are promoting chaos under the label, “gun safety.” These provisions are simply irrational. Perhaps NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $6.25 Million “donation” to Virginia democrats since 2015 provides some explanation. According to Gun Owners of America, these bills, as introduced, would pose tremendous problems for innocent behavior. For example, if a wife hands her husband her handgun to put on the top of a tall dresser upstairs before the grandchildren arrive, she illegally “transfers” her handgun to her husband. The person who hands over the gun is guilty of a Class 6 felony; the person who receives the gun is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The innocuous actions described in these scenarios are not included in the bill’s list of exemptions to the “transfer” prohibitions. Is this a bill designed to trap innocent gun owners? These bills, supported by Governor Northam and Mayor Bloomberg, are almost identical to a 2013 Bloomberg federal bill introduced by U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). Law Professor David Kopel’s analysis of that bill applies to these bills as well: “The woman loans the gun to her sister, who takes it on a camping trip for the weekend; While the woman is out of town … for two weeks, she gives the gun to her brother; If the woman lives on a farm, she allows … her relatives … to take the gun into the fields for pest and predator control… When she goes out of town … she … gives her gun to her brother-in-law; … when a neighbor is being threatened by an abusive ex-boyfriend who is a stalker, the woman lets the neighbor borrow the gun for several days, until the neighbor can buy her own gun. As you can see, the non-sense proposed in this bill criminalizes innocent citizens and sets ridiculous conditions under the guise of “gun-safety.” I urge you not to criminalize innocent gun owners by supporting HB2 or SB 70. Oppose these ridiculous pieces of legislation and support your constituents.

Neither the House passed HB 2, nor Senate-amended SB 70 address the largest source of illegal guns, namely: straw purchases, which continue to occur despite the legal requirements of background checks, and the felony penalties for violating the law. A 2013 memo from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice stated that out of the universe of all guns in the United States, of the very small percent of firearms ever used in crimes, 47% were obtained through straw purchases, 20% from unregulated private sales, 13% from Gun shows/flea markets and 8% from retail sales. The National Institute of Justice memo also stated, “A perfect universal background check system can address the gun shows and might deter many unregulated private sellers. However, this does not address the largest sources (straw purchasers and theft), which would most likely become larger if background checks at gun shows and private sellers were addressed.” While the Senate Amended SB 70 has fewer problems than the draconian House passed HB 2, neither can fix the problem of straw purchases of guns by criminals. Obviously, criminals are undeterred by gun laws which they disobey even when faced with a felony prosecution threat. I agree with Gun Owners of America; either bill impacts only law-abiding citizens, not those intent on harming their neighbor. Please vote NO on both SB 70 and HB 2 and advise me how you vote. Thank you.

I am very concerned about the efforts to change Virginia’s firearm background check law proposed in HB 2 and SB 70. Both SB 70 (Lucas) and HB 2 (Plum) as introduced use the vague term “transfer” would create chaos, turning harmless actions into felonies and extreme misdemeanor prison sentences. Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Northam are not simply inadvertently generating unintended consequences, they are promoting chaos under the label, “gun safety.” These provisions are simply irrational. Perhaps NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $6.25 Million “donation” to Virginia democrats since 2015 provides some explanation. According to Gun Owners of America, these bills, as introduced, would pose tremendous problems for innocent behavior. For example, if a wife hands her husband her handgun to put on the top of a tall dresser upstairs before the grandchildren arrive, she illegally “transfers” her handgun to her husband. The person who hands over the gun is guilty of a Class 6 felony; the person who receives the gun is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. The innocuous actions described in these scenarios are not included in the bill’s list of exemptions to the “transfer” prohibitions. Is this a bill designed to trap innocent gun owners? These bills, supported by Governor Northam and Mayor Bloomberg, are almost identical to a 2013 Bloomberg federal bill introduced by U.S. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV). Law Professor David Kopel’s analysis of that bill applies to these bills as well: “The woman loans the gun to her sister, who takes it on a camping trip for the weekend; While the woman is out of town … for two weeks, she gives the gun to her brother; If the woman lives on a farm, she allows … her relatives … to take the gun into the fields for pest and predator control… When she goes out of town … she … gives her gun to her brother-in-law; … when a neighbor is being threatened by an abusive ex-boyfriend who is a stalker, the woman lets the neighbor borrow the gun for several days, until the neighbor can buy her own gun. As you can see, the non-sense proposed in this bill criminalizes innocent citizens and sets ridiculous conditions under the guise of “gun-safety.” I urge you not to criminalize innocent gun owners by supporting HB2 or SB 70. Oppose these ridiculous pieces of legislation and support your constituents.

I am writing you in opposition to HB 2 and SB 70. Both of these bills seek to fix non-problems by requiring “Background Checks” which do nothing to stop “straw purchases” employed by criminals. Straw purchases are already a felony! HB 2 and SB 70 will make it illegal for friends who have known each other for decades, to sell guns to each other without going to an FFL dealer to contract the sale! This is a tremendous inconvenience to gun owners who will be required to travel hours in some cases, to sell a firearm to a trusted friend who lives next door. Meanwhile, criminals will simply disobey this gun law as they disobey every other law, including laws against murder and theft. As Gun Owners of America has pointed out, both of these bills are fruits of Mayor Bloomberg’s $6.25 Million “donation” to Virginia democrat politicians. HB 2 treats any transfer of a gun as if it were an interstate sale requiring a background check. What a ridiculous waste of time and resources! This bill, because of the vague and broadly defined word “transfer” in the bill, will adversely impact self-defense, hunting, safety instruction, target shooting, safe storage, museums and even law enforcement! SB 70 was amended in the Senate to remove the “transfer” language but it has other problems. Gov. Northam has said Virginia needed a new background check law to clamp down on Internet sales. This is absolutely not true! In 2017, the U.S. General Accountability Office conducted covert tests to see how easy it was to purchase a firearm online. The GAO made 72 attempts posing as illegal buyers under various scenarios, but, “[A]ll of our attempts to illegally purchase firearms from private sellers on the Surface Web were unsuccessful.” (GAO Report #18-24) Neither HB 2 nor SB 70 are needed to fix the supposed gushing loophole of illegal Internet sales by private parties! By the way, criminals can easily pass background checks because the system is imperfect due to human imperfection. In 2017, the Sutherland Springs murderer killed 26 people including an unborn child in a church. He would have been disqualified to purchase a gun had correct data been entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The killer had been court martialed in the Air Force for assaulting his wife and their child. That alone should have prevented him from buying one gun, much less four guns between 2014-2017, but the Air Force failed to enter his name in a database that would have alerted gun stores not to sell firearms to him. HB 2 and SB 70 will not fix these human errors. Please vote no on these bills.

Neither the House passed HB 2, nor Senate-amended SB 70 address the largest source of illegal guns, namely: straw purchases, which continue to occur despite the legal requirements of background checks, and the felony penalties for violating the law. A 2013 memo from the U.S. Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice stated that out of the universe of all guns in the United States, of the very small percent of firearms ever used in crimes, 47% were obtained through straw purchases, 20% from unregulated private sales, 13% from Gun shows/flea markets and 8% from retail sales. The National Institute of Justice memo also stated, “A perfect universal background check system can address the gun shows and might deter many unregulated private sellers. However, this does not address the largest sources (straw purchasers and theft), which would most likely become larger if background checks at gun shows and private sellers were addressed.” While the Senate Amended SB 70 has fewer problems than the draconian House passed HB 2, neither can fix the problem of straw purchases of guns by criminals. Obviously, criminals are undeterred by gun laws which they disobey even when faced with a felony prosecution threat. I agree with Gun Owners of America; either bill impacts only law-abiding citizens, not those intent on harming their neighbor. Please vote NO on both SB 70 and HB 2 and advise me how you vote. Thank you.