Virginia Lawmakers propose gun safety legislation

VIRGINIA LAWMAKERS PROPOSE GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION

Virginia Senator Adam Ebbin and Delegate Patrick Hope purchased handgun and 30-round magazine without undergoing background check

RICHMOND, VA—Virginia State Senator Adam P. Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Delegate Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) have introduced a package of gun safety legislation to require universal background checks on prospective firearms purchasers (SB 1232 / HB 2025), close the gun show loophole, and tighten restrictions on the sale of weapons to the mentally ill (SB 1109 / HB 2221).

SB 1109 and HB 2221 would make it a Class 6 felony to sell firearms to persons found mentally incapacitated or who have been involuntarily admitted.  

Ebbin also introduced legislation to require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms (SB 965) and to outlaw firearms in legislative buildings (SB1012).

"We easily purchased a handgun at a Virginia gun show, without undergoing a background check. Sadly, nearly 40% of all gun sales are conducted without a background check. In the interest of community safety, it's not too much to ask for responsible gun purchasers to undergo a background check to screen for criminal history or history of serious mental illness," the two wrote in a joint statement.

The lawmakers discussed their visit to a gun show in a January 15^thnews conference at the Virginia Capitol. Hope showed the High Standard Sentinel Revolver he bought for $175; because he purchased the gun from a private dealer, he did not have to undergo a background check to screen for a criminal record. "Today, a felon with a violent past can walk into a gun show or go on the Internet and buy any gun with no questions asked,” Hope said. “A law we could pass today, requiring universal background checks for all gun sales, would have an almost immediate impact on gun safety.  No responsible gun owner is afraid of a background check."

Displaying a 30-round ammunition magazine he purchased for $20, Ebbin said, "Buying a 30-round magazine should not be as easy as buying a candy bar.” He noted that a 30-round magazine was used in the recent Newtown, Connecticut tragedy that left 26 dead.

Citing the need to pass SB 965, Ebbin said, “When a gun is stolen, a deadly weapon is in criminal hands—a combination we all want to avoid. Reporting lost or stolen guns can help police avert a tragedy.”

Hope and Ebbin called on Virginians to contact their legislators in support of the gun safety legislation.

Media Advisory: Call on Governor McDonnell and the General Assembly to Compensate Sterilization Victims

Dr. James H. Bell was the superintendent at the Virginia State Colony for Epileptics and Feebleminded.

Media Advisory

WHO: Delegate Patrick Hope

WHAT: Call on Governor McDonnell and the General Assembly to Compensate Sterilization Victims

WHEN: Monday, August 6, 2012, 2PM

WHERE: House Briefing Room - General Assembly Building - Richmond, VA

RICHMOND- This year marks the 85th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld Virginia’s 1924 eugenics sterilization law, a model law used by many other states to sterilize their people. Under this law, Virginia forcibly sterilized 7,500 of its citizens they considered "undesirable," in the name of building a better society. Ten years ago, Governor Mark R. Warner issued a formal apology for the state's decision to sterilize thousands of Virginians. Today we call on Governor Bob McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly to build upon this apology by providing a symbolic payment to the victims who are still alive.

It is both emblematic and responsible for Virginia to take the lead again on the issue of eugenics sterilization, but this time in becoming the first state to provide relief to the victims. It is appropriate for Virginia to set this example. We call on Gov. Bob McDonnell and the Virginia General Assembly to provide a symbolic payment to those victims of sterilization who are still alive. Compensating these individuals is the just and right thing to do.

Carrie Buck was a patient who was compulsorily sterilized.

Purchasing Democracy: The Role of ALEC in Writing Our Laws

Delegate Patrick Hope

July 12 Forum on “Purchasing Democracy:

The Role of ALEC in Writing Our Laws”

Thursday, July 12, 2012, 7:00 to 9:00 PM

FAIRFAX, Virginia, June 28, 2012 ------ A coalition of groups, including the Fairfax County Democratic Committee, will host a forum on July 12 about the role of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in writing state laws. Virginia General Assembly Delegate Patrick Hope will moderate a panel discussion about ALEC’s mission and tactics, which put corporate profit ahead of public interest. The forum will be held in Arlington, VA.

WHAT:

July 12 Forum – “Purchasing Democracy: The Role of ALEC in Writing Our Laws”

WHO:

            Delegate Patrick A. Hope, Virginia General Assembly

            Kim Anderson, Director, Center for Advocacy , National Education Association

            Diallo K. Brooks, Director, Field Mobilization, People for the American Way

             Doug Clopp, Deputy Program Director, Common Cause

             Tom Perriello, Former Congressman (VA-5)

             Anna Scholl, Executive Director, ProgressVA

             Naomi Walker, Director, State Government Relations, AFL-CIO

WHERE:

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, 4301 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22203
Map: http://mapq.st/KqMXxi  

WHEN: 

Thursday, July 12, 2012, 7:00 to 9:00 PM

CONNECT:

Facebook at goo.gl/UlJrQ 

Live Webcast at www.insidescoopproductions.com; Send questions live to insidescoop@nova.org;

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/NoALEC_Virginia.

RSVP: 

Sandra J. Klassen, Chair, Fairfax County Democratic Committee National Affairs Committee: http://bit.ly/NCTZ38

Background

More than 50 bills drawn from ALEC sources have been introduced in the Virginia General Assembly.  ALEC is driving the recent surge in state voter ID laws, which erect new barriers to voting and disproportionately hinder minority and elderly voters. ALEC promoted as one of its models the infamous “Stand Your Ground” laws, which confer civil immunity on perpetrators who avoid arrest and prosecution under this law.  ALEC’s Civil Justice Task Force is devoted to preventing injured people from holding wrongdoers accountable in court.  On top of this, ALEC does not operate in a transparent manner.  Its model laws are adopted in closed meetings and require approval by a majority vote of its corporate members to be adopted.

The event is sponsored by: the Fairfax County Democratic Committee National Affairs Committee, AFL-CIO Virginia; NOVA Labor; ProgressVA; People for the American Way, National Education Association, Progressive Democrats of America—Virginia; NOVA Council of MoveOn; Primary Matters Coalition; NAACP Alexandria, Arlington and Prince William Branches; Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church City, Manassas, and Manassas Park Democratic Committees; and the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee. 

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_______________________________
Mary P. DooleyLegislative Assistant
Delegate Patrick A. Hope
Virginia 47th Districtdelphope@house.virginia.gov
703-486-1010  Phone

McEachin: Republicans need to stop dragging their feet

Virginia State Senator Donald McEachin

Senator McEachin's Statement on Affordable Healthcare Act decision  

Senator A. Donald McEachin (D-Henrico) today released this statement on the Supreme Court Affordable Healthcare Act decision. “Today, the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act, thereby ensuring Americans’ deserved access to quality healthcare. This law means that Americans cannot be turned away when they are sick or injured because of income or a prior existing condition. In our perilous economy, this Act helps young people get access to health care by allowing them to stay on their parents’ insurance plans to age 26. Insurance companies no longer can arbitrarily cancel coverage or raise premiums. Importantly, for Americans’ health and well-being, preventive care, like mammograms will be free.  

“Contrary to the bombastic pronouncements of Attorney General Cuccinelli, the Affordable Healthcare Act is constitutional, deemed so in a decision written by a Republican Bush appointee. Now, I can only hope that the Attorney General and Governor McDonnell and their Republican colleagues in the General Assembly will stop dragging their feet, and get to work helping Virginians by creating the health exchange to assist uninsured Virginians in  receiving access to quality, affordable healthcare. That’s what the law requires and they need to stop their partisan diatribes, follow the law and serve the Commonwealth.”

Delegate Hope: "Supreme Court Decision is Historic Day"

Delegate Patrick Hope

From Delegate Patrick Hope (D - 47th District, Arlington County):

Supreme Court Decision is Historic Day for Over 30 Million Uninsured Americans Arlington – The United States Supreme Court today issued a historic decision sending shockwaves throughout our country that will affect every American. The decision involves a challenge by opponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which seeks to expand access, coverage, and improve the quality of care to nearly every American. 

Delegate Patrick A. Hope (D-Arlington) reacted, “This is a historic day for over 30 million uninsured Americans. Never again will the sickest and neediest consumers have to put up with lifetime caps on coverage, or will women have to pay more for health insurance than men, or will insurance companies be allowed to discriminate against anyone with a pre-existing condition.” Delegate Hope continued, “Thanks to Obamacare, the new norm will be allowing young people to stay on their parents’ plans until age 26, free preventive benefits for seniors, and the opportunity for over 30 million uninsured Americans to access high quality, affordable health insurance.” 

Since the law went into effect, Virginians have felt the benefits of the Affordable Care Act: 

--1,498 Virginians have gained coverage through the pre-existing condition insurance plan;    

--66,000 young adults in Virginia have gained health insurance through their parent's plan;  

--2,974,000 Virginians no longer have a lifetime limit on their health insurance plan; 

--1,519,000 Virginians' private insurance has added coverage of preventive services without cost sharing;  

--837,645 Virginians with Medicare have received free preventive services; and 

--84,977 Virginians with Medicare saved money on prescription drugs. 

Delegate Patrick Hope concluded, “Now that the courts have finally ruled, it’s time Virginia got to work to fully implement the law. I call on Governor Bob McDonnell to bring the General Assembly back into session this year to make the provisions contained in the Affordable Care Act law in Virginia. Specifically, priority number one is to enact legislation giving Virginia the legal authority to implement health insurance exchanges so that small businesses and individual consumers can access high-quality, affordable health insurance. I can think of nothing better we can do to help prop up our economy than to make health insurance affordable for all Virginians.” 

Patrick A. Hope is a Member of the Virginia General Assembly as the Delegate from the 47th District representing part of Arlington County. He serves on the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee and House Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee.