Members of the Virginia General Assembly are debating ways to prevent gun violence.
Safe storage of firearms is not a theoretical issue to Delegate Nadarius Clark, a Democrat from Suffolk. He’s chairman of the subcommittee that considers all the gun violence prevention bills. He says any household that has children needs to lock up their firearms.
"We saw just last month, a three-year-old shot itself in the head in Norfolk because a gun was left out on the counter when the dad went to work," Clark says. "So, we need to make sure that we're putting tools in place to make sure that parents are aware and [have] education of how to store your gun."
The bill mandating safe storage passed the Senate and the House, where Republican Delegate Eric Zehr of Campbell County took the floor to oppose the bill.
"It creates a scenario where a teenager faced with a violent intruder may have to choose between defending their family or triggering a felony charge against their parents," Zehr says. "It's not a theoretical tension. That's the structure of this bill."
This bill, along with several other gun violence prevention legislation, is now on its way to the governor's desk. Abigail Spanberger will also consider legislation to keep firearms out of mental health facilities. Meanwhile, back at the Capitol, the House and Senate are working out their differences on a bill that would allow for lawsuits against gun dealers and manufacturers.
