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Virginia Lawmakers Shoot Down Bills Banning Guns in LibrariesTwo state bills that would have allowed public libraries in Virginia to ban firearms were killed in committee: The House Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee voted down a proposed bill by Delegate Mamye BaCote (D-Newport News) January 21, while a similar bill from Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton) was rejected January 25 by the Committee on Local Government.Critics said that letting localities decide whether to ban guns would create a confusing mix of laws throughout the state. And Tom Evans, a representative of the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, said he believed it could send the wrong message to criminals—in effect saying, “here is where you go because there is no one there who can stop you,” the Newport News Daily Press reported January 26. Although BaCote acknowledged that she couldn’t cite a specific case in which someone caused a problem by bringing a loaded gun into a library, she said the idea still made sense. “Libraries are an extension of public schools, and they should be protected,” she said in the January 22 Daily Press. Posted January 28, 2005. |
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