VIRGINIA: Assault Weapons Ban Dies In State Senate

The Washington Post reports:

A Virginia Senate committee killed a bill on Monday that would have banned the sale of assault-style weapons and possession of high-capacity magazines, handing gun-rights activists a rare win in a Capitol that Democrats won last year on the promise of sweeping gun control.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) backed the legislation, part of a package of eight gun-control measures he advanced after a shooter killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building on May 31. The House has passed all eight of Northam’s bills.

But three Democrats — Sens. Creigh Deeds (Bath), John Edwards (Roanoke) and Chap Petersen (Fairfax) — sided with Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the assault-weapons bill for the year. On a 10-5 vote, the committee sent the measure to the state’s Crime Commission for study.