Gun bills die in House, Senate

By Stephanie Strauss / Senior writer

Gun bills introduced in the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates failed to leave committees, effectively killing the bills for this session.

The legislation, if passed, would have allowed universities to create a weapons policy that would prohibit the possession of weapons at colleges and universities.

The Senate first introduced the bill last week and it was killed in the Senate Courts of Justice committee for lack of a second on the motion to report.

Friday, the bill failed to reach the floor of the House’s Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee.

JMU President Linwood Rose, Student Body President Tom Culligan and representatives of the Student Government Association traveled to Richmond in support of the bills. Due to a full agenda in the House committee, the bill was not read. The bill is now dead in both committees for this session.

"It is an insult to students that the bill wasn’t even given debate or a vote," Culligan said. "We are very upset."

Freshman Sara Lunsford, a student senator who gathered signatures last semester in support of a weapon’s policy, said, "Many of us are disappointed by this setback, but there is always a possibility of taking action next session.

"I would like to encourage people to contact their representatives to inform them of their opinions on this."

Dave Briggman, who filed a lawsuit against JMU on the grounds of JMU’s gun policy, declined to comment.

— staff reports