Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 20, 1991 TAG: 9102200593
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
As passed by the House of Delegates, the bill would expand the checks to include buyers of all guns except antiques. Current law only requires the checks for assault weapons and handguns with barrel lengths under 5 inches.
In debate Tuesday, some senators opposed making hunters who buy shotguns and rifles subject to the background checks.
Sen. Moody E. Stallings Jr., D-Virginia Beach, proposed an amendment to expand the checks to cover all handguns. Shotguns and rifles would not be included unless they fall "into the category of the assault weapon," he said.
The Senate approved that amendment and another one to raise the fee charged the gun buyers from $2 to $4. The bill was approved 20-17.
The House of Delegates will decide whether to accept the Senate amendments.
Under other bills that have cleared the Senate, people under age 18 would no longer be able to buy cigarettes and drug offenders would lose their driver's license for six months.
The Senate even amended the "abuse and lose" bill to require that certain murderers, bad check writers and even legislators would lose their driver's licenses as well.
In other action Tuesday, the Senate agreed to make a butterfly the official state insect, allow Virginia tracks to take bets on out-of-state horse races and give the governor power to lift state mandates on financially pressed localities.
The House of Delegates killed a bill to make possession of child pornography a crime.
The abuse and lose bill was amended at the suggestion of Sen. Dudley Emick, D-Fincastle. He opposes the idea of taking away driver's licenses for offenses unrelated to driving.
But he said if General Assembly members want to do that for drug offenses, they should try to cure other societal ills as well.
"Don't laugh this amendment off the floor," Emick said before it was approved on a voice vote. The bill passed 22-12 and now goes to the House of Delegates.
The amendment applies the abuse and lose provision to people convicted of murder and manslaughter in Richmond, which has one of the highest homicide rates in the country.
It also applies to state legislators who have the highest travel expenses. Emick leads most lawmakers in charging the state for travel, according to state records. Bad check writers would be affected if they commit the offense in a county store operated as a sole proprietorship.
The Senate voted 23-14 to approve the bill that prohibits people under age 18 from buying tobacco and requires merchants to post signs stating the age limit.
"Everyone knows smoking's not good for your health so I don't know what message we're trying to send," said Sen. Kevin Miller, R-Harrisonburg.
But Sen. Moody Stallings, D-Virginia Beach, said he routinely sees teen-agers smoking. "I don't believe they have gotten the message," he said.
The simulcasting bill was approved 21-11 and now goes to the governor. The bill would allow Virginia tracks to telecast out-of-state races, such as the Kentucky Derby.
Supporters said it will boost the prospects of a horse-racing track being built in Virginia. The state's voters approved pari-mutuel betting in 1988, but no tracks have been built.
The Senate voted 22-14 for a bill that would allow Gov. Douglas Wilder to lift certain state mandates on financially stressed localities that request relief. The bill would cover mandates on solid waste and law enforcement but not education.A Senate bill making possession of child pornography a misdemeanor was killed when the House voted 57-29 to return it to a committee that will not meet again this session.
Del. Walter Stosch, R-Richmond, said going after buyers is the best way to destroy the child pornography market.
A House bill to make the tiger swallowtail butterfly the official state insect fluttered out of the Senate 28-9 and now goes to the governor.
by CNB