(HB1174)<font size=-1>
<p>GOVERNOR'S VETO</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<ul><p>Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of
Virginia, I veto House Bill 1174, relating to age requirements for purchasing
or transferring certain firearms.</p>

</ul><ul><p>The proposed legislation prohibits any individual under the age
of twenty-one from purchasing a handgun or assault firearm, two broad
categories of commonly used firearms.</p>

</ul><ul><p>Of particular importance is the basic principle that the
constitutionally protected right to possess a firearm is meaningless absent the
right to purchase or otherwise acquire the firearm, a necessary corollary to
the realization of rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment.</p>

</ul><ul><p>Recently, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Virginia ruled that a federal law prohibiting the sale of firearms to adults
under the age of twenty-one would be found unconstitutional under the Supreme
Court’s ruling in Bruen. The Court stated, “[i]f the Court were to exclude
18-to-20-year-olds from the Second Amendment’s protection, it would impose
limitations on the Second Amendment that do not exist with other constitutional
guarantee.”</p>

</ul><ul><p>Accordingly, I veto this bill. <b>&nbsp;</b></p>

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