The legislation initially would have banned all possession of assault weapons, forcing owners to give them up. But the House Public Safety Committee modified it to prohibit only sales and transfers. The possibility of an assault weapons ban sparked fears across Virginia that newly empowered Democrats, who won majorities in both the House and the Senate last fall, were planning to confiscate guns. AD“This egregious gun ban is designed to make millions of law-abiding Virginians felons overnight,” National Rifle Association spokeswoman Catherine Mor­tensen said in an email. “Assault weapons are not protected by the Second Amendment because they’re weapons of war.

Source: Washington Post February 07, 2020 16:53 UTC