After failing to get their gun confiscation bill (SB16) out of committee Democrats are proposing a bill to punish gun owners.
Early in January Democrat State Senator John Bell authored a bill that would eliminate the number of outdoor gun ranges in the state of Virginia. The bill would not allow any outdoor ranges to operate within 500 yards of any property zoned for residential use unless the Range Design Criteria established by the US Department of Energy Office of Health, Safety, and Security have been met.
Virginia has more than 70 outdoor shooting ranges that are available to the public. Mark Oliva, director of public affairs of the National Shooting Sports Foundation told the Washington examiner, “The key language [in the bill] is any property zoned for residential use.”
He argued, “That language would allow a county commission to simply change the zoning designation to regulate out the existence or potential for a small business outdoor range to operate.”
Oliva correctly pointed out that ranges set up on private property under the proposed law would be considered an “outdoor range” and would be illegal – meaning you couldn’t shoot on your property.
“This language is unclear if this applies strictly to a commercial, county, state, or federal outdoor range,” he said. “That seems to apply to private parties who are participating in recreational shooting on their own property, making them subject to fines of up to $1,000,000 for the first violation and an additional $5,000 each day following.”
Oliva added, “This is an attempt to legislate out of existence the opportunity to learn and participate in the recreational shooting sports and limit the ability of law-abiding Virginians to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”
Another Virginia Democrat lawmaker is proposing that indoor gun ranges may have no more than 50 employees and will require the range to collect personal information about each person that uses the range.
Democrats in Virginia are furious their gun confiscation law SB 16 was foiled and are now clearly targeting gun owners to make them pay. These new laws have nothing to do with keeping the community safe they are targeting gun owners. If anything these laws make communities less safe. If there are fewer gun ranges there are fewer opportunities for people to attend gun safety classes and learn how to be responsible gun owners.
