Northam plans to propose $27 million on gun violence data collection, reports

(The Center Square) – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to include $27 million in his two-year budget proposal to fund data collection and reports on gun violence in the commonwealth, he announced Friday.

The money would establish the Center for Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention, which would be tasked with the data collection and reports. The center, which would be under the Department of Criminal Justice Services, would share information with state and local agencies, higher education institutions, hospitals and other medical care facilities and community-based organizations.

“We lose a thousand Virginians to gun violence each year, and we must do everything we can to bring that number to zero,” Northam said in a statement. “The new research Center will collect important data that can lead to meaningful change. Gun violence is a public safety and a public health issue, and we have so much work to do to end this epidemic of violence. This data will save lives.”

In the latter half of his term, Northam worked with Democratic leadership in the House and Senate to pass a host of gun control bills. Most of the legislation passed with strong support from the Democratic-controlled House and Senate in 2020 and opposition from Republicans. Going into the next General Assembly session, Republicans will control the governor’s mansion and the House, but Democrats will maintain control of the Senate.

Although Northam proposes the budget before leaving office in mid-January, the new General Assembly will need to vote on the state’s budget and it will need to be signed by Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin.

Northam’s gun control policies included a red flag law, which allows a judge to order police to confiscate weapons from a person’s home if he deems that person to be a threat to himself or others. A person does not need to be convicted of a crime, charged with a crime or even accused or suspected of a crime for the seizure to be lawful.

Some of the other new laws include a rule a person can only buy one handgun per month unless the person has a concealed carry permit or other exemption, a prohibition on carrying weapons at the Richmond capitol and surrounding areas and a prohibition on carrying a firearm within 40 feet of a polling location. The governor also signed legislation to make background checks stricter and allow local governments and school boards to impose stricter gun rules.

The governor said these rules will make the commonwealth safer, but gun rights supporters have argued it will just increase difficulty for law abiding citizens. Lawmakers failed to pass legislation to outlaw assault weapons after it received opposition from Democrats who have a lot of rural constituents.

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