Virginia Dems Balk at Passing Major Gun-Control Reforms Ahead of Election

Virginia Democrats abandoned their pledge to pass major gun confiscation laws as they enter a contentious 2021 campaign season. 

The party, which enjoys total control over the state government, did not pass any major new restrictions on guns in 2021. Democrats failed to act on the most ambitious aspects of their gun-control agenda—including proposed bans on the kinds of guns or ammunition magazines Virginians can own—before the end of the session on March 1. Despite repeated promises from party leaders dating back to the 2019 campaign, Democrats passed only minor new restrictions, including new laws to regulate where Virginians can carry guns; residents will be prohibited from bringing firearms near polling places and in school administration buildings under the new regulations. Democrats did not even introduce the hallmark gun legislation to ban possession of AR-15s and magazines holding more than 10 rounds—proposals that passed the state house in 2020 but sparked protests across the state before failing in the state senate.
 
Delegate Mark Levine (D.), who introduced the confiscation bill in the 2020 session, said the bill would "save lives" and make "mass murder" harder to carry out during debate in 2020. In December, he said he would not reintroduce the bill and told a Richmond ABC affiliate Democrats would focus on "things that are less controversial."