GOP-led Virginia legislature suddenly suspends gun session

RICHMOND, Va. – Less than two hours after the start of a special session convened in response to a mass shootout, Virginia lawmakers abruptly adjourned on Tuesday and postponed any firearms laws. after the November elections.

Democratic Governor Ralph Northam summoned the Republican-led Legislature to Capitol Hill to tackle gun violence following the May 31 attack that killed a dozen people in Virginia Beach. He presented a set of eight gun control measures and asked for "votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers" in response to the massacre.

But not a single vote was voted on the legislation. Republican leaders said the session was premature and politically motivated. They tasked the state's bipartisan crime commission to study policy proposals that could have prevented the shooting.

In response, angry Democrats said that Republicans were indebted to gun makers and feared to pass common sense laws that they believed would save lives.

It was a familiar result of a stalled debate taking place every year in Virginia on an issue that has divided the country for more than two decades.

"I did not expect much, but I did not expect it," said Andy Parker, whose journalist daughter, Alison Parker, was shot on live television in Virginia in 2015 with a cameraman.

"This is an act of utter cowardice and scandal on the part of the Republicans – and I think it will give them a fire," he said.

GOP House President Kirk Cox said the governor should have asked for the creation of a blue ribbon commission to study gun and mental health issues, Similar to what US Senator Tim Kaine did as governor following a massive shootout at Virginia Tech in 2007. More than a dozen wounded.

Richard Keene, 51-year-old gun owner from Chesterfield, said the session had turned out to be "a lot of hype for nothing".

"In fact, I am a little disappointed by everyone," he said. "I no longer feel like the ordinary person, the American, who is represented. It's frustrating. "

Keene said that even though he did not think that a "more law in the books" would have prevented the shooting of Virginia Beach, he thought there was "a lot of ground" in there. agreement for the common good "in relation to firearms.

The meeting started in a chaotic manner, with the majority leader of the Republican Senate avoiding a mutiny within the GOP caucus by publicly disavowing a gun control bill that he had only proposed a day later. early.

On Monday, the leader, Tommy Norment, shocked his Republican compatriots by tabling a surprise bill to ban guns in all government buildings across the state. This provoked an immediate reaction from the GOP caucus, which controls the chamber by a slim 20-19 advantage. Senator Bill Stanley, his biggest polling station, resigned as the majority whip in protest.

But the departure did not last long. Stanley stated that Norment had apologized and asked Stanley to reconsider his resignation. The caucus quickly reinstated him and announced that he would get rid of his bill.

If the Republicans had remained united, Northam's package was unlikely to pass. The GOP holds a larger majority in the House, where Republicans have accused the governor of trying to exploit the tragedy for political ends. Instead of approving gun control, they have focused on increasing the penalties for wrongdoing once gun crimes have been committed.

Outside the Capitol, Northam led a group of gun control supporters who chanted, "That's enough, enough!" It has become a refuge from gun violence at rallies across the country after repeated large-scale fire.

After the adjournment, Northam issued a statement in which he declared that it was "shameful and disappointing" that Republicans "refuse to do their job and take immediate action to save lives."

The Virginia Beach attack began when a civil engineer opened fire in a municipal building. The assailant was killed in a shootout with the police.

In calling for gun control legislation, Northam also spoke of the fatal murder of nine-year-old Markiya Dickson in a Richmond park during a restoration night.

Mayor of Richmond, Levar Stoney, said the Republicans were "not just cowards, but that they had let go" and that they had "dishonored the victims of gun violence across the country." Virginia".

A smaller group of gun rights advocates gathered on the Capitol lawn. They said that many others were meeting with lawmakers and that a larger gathering was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.

Some gun rights advocates walked inside the Capitol with handguns visible in the cases, which is allowed. Visitors to the chamber stand can keep their guns and, although they are not allowed on the Senate side, some legislators bring them with them to the ground.

Jim Snyder, a 69-year-old gun owner from northern Virginia, said the shooting in Virginia Beach had not upset the gun problem.

"A lot of people are saying," We need to find common ground, "which means," We need to find a gun control that you will accept, "said Snyder, vice president of Virginia Citizens Defense. League.

Snyder assumed that Northam had convened the special session to divert attention from the scandal of a racist directory picture, or perhaps to motivate the Democrats in the hope of resuming the control of the Legislative Assembly in November.

Some people wore billboards the size of a poster on the Northam directory page several decades ago, showing one person wearing the blackface and another wearing the Ku Klux Klan's dress and hat.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, written or redistributed.