AMGOA Staff
Pennsylvania


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Less than two hours after beginning a special session called in response to a mass shooting, Virginia lawmakers abruptly adjourned Tuesday without taking any action and postponed any movement on gun control until after the November election.

The Republican-led Virginia Senate voted first to end the special session and adjourn until after November elections with a 20-18 vote following a contentious back-and-forth between lawmakers

Shortly afterward, the House, which has 1-vote Republican majority, voted 50-46 to do the same.

Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam called the Republican-led Legislature to the Capitol to address gun violence in the wake of the May 31 attack that killed a dozen people in Virginia Beach. The meeting got off to a chaotic start, with the Republican Senate majority leader averting a mutiny in the GOP caucus by publicly disavowing a gun-control bill he proposed only a day earlier.

Lawmakers were summoned to consider a package of eight gun-control measures put forward by Northam, who called for "votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers" in response to the Virginia Beach massacre.

House Speaker Kirk Cox said the session was premature because the shooting is still being investigated.

"The whole thing is just an election-year stunt," Cox said.

Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment shocked his fellow Republicans by filing surprise legislation Monday to broadly ban guns in any government building statewide. That prompted an immediate backlash in the GOP caucus, which controls the chamber by a slim 20-19 advantage. His top vote-counter, Sen. Bill Stanley, resigned as majority whip in protest.

"Sometimes you just got to stand for principle," Stanley said.

https://www.whsv.com/content/news/Virginia-GOP-leaders-seek-unity-ahead-of-gun-laws-session-512476562.html