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Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said he would call a special legislative session to address gun control after a gunman killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach government building on Friday.
Mr. Northam, an embattled Democrat who has held on to office after a racist photo from his medical-school yearbook re-emerged in February, called Tuesday for sweeping changes, including universal background checks and expanding local authority to regulate firearms, such as in government buildings.
“I will be asking for votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers,” the governor said at a news conference. He hopes to convene the special session by the end of June, his spokeswoman said.
As Glenn Reynolds memorably said many years ago, in the wake of Sandy Hook,
“When people say things like ‘don’t let this moment pass without acting on gun control,’ what they’re really saying is our arguments are so unpersuasive that they can only succeed when people aren’t thinking clearly.“
And as usual, that’s exactly what’s going on here. The bottom line, Mr. Northam, is you don’t need new gun laws, you need to enforce the gun laws you already have.
And let’s talk for a moment about “silencers”, since everyone has their panties in a knot because the jerk used one. Silencers aren’t. They don’t work the way you think they do, if the only place you’ve ever seen them used is in Hollywood films. That’s why they’re actually called “suppressors”, not “silencers.” The idea is to suppress enough of the bang to bring it down to a reasonable level…kind of like putting a muffler on your car.
And moreover, y’know, you can’t walk into a gun store and walk out with a suppressor. In some states you can’t even buy one. They’re designated Class III arms — just like full-auto machine guns. To buy one, you have to apply for BATFE approval and, once approved (which is not “same-day” like a 4473 usually is), you have to register the suppressor’s serial number with BATFE. And you’re not done, because most legal experts recommend setting up a trust for the purpose of registering the suppressor. That costs money. And then, so does the tax stamp you have to buy from the BATFE for each and every suppressor you register — $200 each.*
So this dude either stole that suppressor, or he bought it legally and went through a maze of requirements to get it. Or he built one in his garage out of an old oil filter or suchlike, in which case he’s as much of a federal felon as if he’d stolen a manufactured one. How much more gun law do you need, Mr. Northam?
FWIW here’s all the BS you have to go through to buy a suppressor — and I’d own them for my guns simply to save my hearing, if it wasn’t such an expensive, Byzantine process.
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* I was reminded by a Facebook friend that said tax stamp can take 6 months or more to receive AFTER you apply and pay for it.