The bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate along party lines, 21 to 19, and will likely sail through the House, where the Democratic majority is larger. Then it goes to Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk.
But enforcing the law, if it passes, will be another challenge altogether. Ninety-one out of 95 counties have declared “Second Amendment sanctuary” status since November, when Democrats won control of the Virginia legislature for the first time since 1994. That means they are claiming they can decide which gun laws to enforce, and which to ignore. Additionally, at least 15 out of 38 independent cities and 30 towns have also declared sanctuary status.
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If Virginia passes a red flag law, it would become the 18th state to do so. Thirteen states passed red flag laws just since 2018, after a mass school shooting by an unstable Florida teen highlighted law enforcement’s powerlessness to take guns away from people who shouldn’t have them.
The Virginia law would enable authorities to obtain an emergency substantial risk order to temporarily seize a person’s firearms. Within 14 days of the emergency order being issued, law enforcement have to make their case in court for a longer-term confiscation.
Nationwide, red flag laws have been used to avert mass shootings, thwart a potential far-right extremist attack, and prevent people in crisis from committing suicide.
