House committee advances Price bill to study gun violence prevention, sends to appropriations 14–7
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Summary
The House Public Safety Committee adopted a committee substitute for Delegate Price's bill to establish a gun violence prevention center and referred it to Appropriations after debate about potential duplication of existing programs; public testimony was mixed.
Delegate Price’s bill to establish a statewide gun violence prevention center was advanced out of the House Public Safety Committee on a 14–7 roll call after the committee adopted a substitute that narrows the measure and directs a work group to study remaining issues.
Price told the committee the measure began as a proposal to create a statewide center but was slimmed down after discussions with the administration and the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS). She said the substitute creates a work group to continue studying options while the administration handles other priorities, including Medicaid, and that the intent is to prevent firearm violence — including mass shootings, suicides and domestic-violence incidents involving firearms.
“Gun violence is definitely an issue in the state,” Price said, asking colleagues to look favorably on the bill as it moves to appropriations. In committee exchange, Delegate Wilt said he appreciated Price’s work but warned of duplicating existing efforts and questioned whether funds should instead support proven programs such as Operation Ceasefire. “My concern would be the possibility of duplicating efforts and especially when it comes to funding money that we could put into a proven program,” Wilt said.
Price responded that Operation Ceasefire “was that in name only” and criticized past uses of funds tied to that initiative. She said the substitute’s work-group approach is intended to develop prevention strategies that produce measurable results.
Members of the public offered competing views. An in-person witness supporting the bill urged a public-health approach that collects and analyzes data to determine what works in different regions of the Commonwealth. Several online participants were recorded as supporting the bill. By contrast, Mister Van Cleve testified in opposition, calling it “a jobs program for the gun control crowd” and urging the committee to reject the measure.
The committee’s action was procedural: members moved to report the bill with the substitute and refer it to the Appropriations Committee. The clerk recorded the vote as 14 in favor and 7 opposed. The bill now goes to Appropriations for further consideration.