Senate committee advances wide package of firearm measures, from safe-storage rules to assault-weapons sales ban

Richmond — The Senate committee met Tuesday in Richmond and moved a slate of measures addressing firearms and related public‑safety issues, advancing several proposals that lawmakers, advocates and law‑enforcement officials said are intended to reduce thefts, trafficking and lethal mass‑shooting harm.

The committee voted to report a substitute assault‑weapons sales and transfer prohibition (SB 749) and to refer it to the Finance Committee after lengthy testimony and debate. Senator Saleem, sponsor of the substitute, said the measure is designed to “gradually take weapons off the street” by banning future sales and transfers while allowing current owners to retain lawfully purchased items and to pass them by immediate family inheritance under limited conditions. "This approach focuses on sales and transfers rather than retroactive criminalization," Saleem said.

Supporters cited recent court decisions upholding similar bans and argued the bill’s magazine limits would reduce lethality in mass shootings. "High‑capacity magazines increase the number of people killed in mass shootings," said Lori Haas of Giffords Law Center, adding that federal and several appellate courts have sustained related restrictions.

Opponents, including witnesses from the Virginia Citizens Defense League and the NRA, said the substitute’s definitions sweep too broadly and could encompass commonly used semiautomatic handguns unless…