HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Virginia Senator-Elect Schuyler VanValkenburg and Delegate Rodney Willett have introduced legislation designed to strengthen Virginia’s child firearm access law and incentivize the safe storage of firearms by holding irresponsible gun owners accountable when a minor uses their firearm to commit a crime, hurt themselves or others, or bring the firearm to school.
Secure gun storage reduces youth gun violence dramatically, according to at least one study, which found that households that lock firearms and ammunition see up to 85 percent fewer unintentional injuries.
House Bill 36 and its identical Senate companion impose a class one misdemeanor for a firearm owner if a minor uses a firearm to commit a crime, brings a firearm on school premises, or intentionally or with gross negligence causes bodily injury and harm to themselves or another person. The bill also makes it a felony if the firearm owner knows or reasonably should have known that the child within close proximity to the firearm has been charged, convicted, or adjudicated of a violent crime or the subject of a school-initiated threat assessment where the threat is moderate, high, or eminent. Click here to continue reading on the Henrico Citizen.
