Virginia's Senate recently passed a series of gun safety bills, which now head to the House.

Among them are measures to ban assault weapons in public, ban "ghost guns," and increasing other safety measures.

The bills come as many states and the federal government are taking a hard look at gun violence. Last year, Virginia saw a reduction in gun violence, due in part to community violence prevention funds. But the state still ranks high for gun deaths.

Kelsey Cowger, press secretary for Progress VA, said based on other state progress, the bills are essential to keeping Virginians safe.

"When movement has been possible, it's been a base that we can work off of that stops the insane level of killing within our communities that already exists and allows us to catch our breath a little bit," Cowger asserted.

Some Republicans in both General Assembly chambers oppose the bills, noting they restrict a person's 2nd Amendment rights. Yet, polls show the bills have widespread support across party lines. The measures have been referred to the House Committee on Public Safety.

Cowger contended the bills are a steady foundation for Virginia to build on. While other reforms can prove crucial for reducing gun violence further, she stressed the state needs to get this current set of legislation on the books first.

"You know, as much as I would like to sort of look with an eye towards the future for the kind of changes we can make, I feel like we just need the foundation first," Cowger acknowledged. "We need to be able to gauge whether or not dangerous people have guns."

National gun violence deaths have been declining since they peaked in 2021. In Virginia, there have been more than 9,300 shootings between 2014 and 2022, which resulted in more injuries than fatalities.

The New Hampshire Senate will vote this week on a bipartisan gun violence prevention bill prompted by last year's deadly shooting at New Hampshire Hospital.

The bill would allow the state to report individuals with involuntary mental health admissions and other prohibited buyers to the federal background checks system, known as "NICS."

Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, called it a historic moment to close a legal loophole and protect public safety.

"We have people who are a danger to themselves and others around them and struggling with severe mental health issues, who have access to firearms because we have zero stopgaps," Altschiller observed.

Altschiller pointed out even the gun lobby has backed similar measures in other states but some Senate Republicans have portrayed the bill as a "gun grab" and say the focus should be on improving mental health services.

New Hampshire Hospital security guard and former Police Chief Bradley Haas was killed last fall when a former patient returned to the facility and opened fire. While it is unclear how the person obtained the firearms, gun safety advocates say failure to report just one prohibited gun buyer to the NICS database puts everyone at risk.

Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of GunSenseNH, a project of Granite State Progress, said even former President Donald Trump signed a law to strengthen NICS reporting.

"This is a strong, bipartisan effort," Rice Hawkins emphasized. "It won't fix everything, but improving our NICS background check system is one, strong, easy way to make sure that the laws that are already on the books are enforced."

Rice Hawkins stressed there is no federal law requiring states to report prohibited buyers to the NICS system, making state record-reporting laws critical for public safety. She added the legislation also aims to protect those experiencing a mental health crisis. Nearly 90% of gun-related deaths in New Hampshire are suicides.

The end date for Minnesota's legislative session is less than two weeks away. One of the remaining debates is gun safety and supporters of a safe firearm storage bill hope lawmakers finish the job.

Earlier in the session, a bill addressing so-called "straw purchases" of guns received heavy focus and eventually won House approval. The House also has advanced a measure that says if a gun isn't within reach of the owner, it has to be unloaded and equipped with a locking device, or kept in a safe storage unit or locked room.

Susie Kaufman, chapter lead for Minnesota's Moms Demand Action chapter, said it's a reasonable way to block access to guns to those who shouldn't be picking them up.

"Storing a gun on the top shelf of a closet or underneath a seat cushion - both of which are places that guns have been stored in Minnesota - where children have gained access to them with deadly consequences," she explained.

House Republicans were loudly critical of the bill, saying it places severe limits and creates confusion for homeowners who want to protect themselves in case of an intruder. But supporters say it aligns with standard practices of responsible gun owners. It's not clear yet if these plans will clear the Senate.

Kaufman pointed to research from the advocacy group Everytown that says rates of unintentional shootings were 78% lower in states with safe gun storage laws. She feels the right to protect yourself and your loved ones should be paired with commonsense gun ownership.

"And I would also suggest that guns can be stolen," she continued. "There have been very well reported incidents in Minnesota where guns have been stolen from homes where they were not properly secured, and then used in crimes. "

Exceptions were added to the bill, including situations for hunters. This proposed measure and the straw purchase bill are expected to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz if they reach his desk. The Legislature is scheduled to adjourn May 20.


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Grassroots organizations are sounding the alarm about Tennessee's new law allowing teachers and other school employees to carry guns.

Gov. Bill Lee signed Senate Bill 1325 Friday and it took effect immediately.

More than 450 children have lost their lives to gun violence in the U.S. this year.

Cathy Barnett, legislative lead for the Tennessee chapter of Moms Demand Action, predicted the new law will not enhance school safety. She noted the community worked to get an extreme-risk protection order passed after the Covenant School shooting but Republicans passed legislation this year blocking local governments from passing their own versions of such protection orders.

"Already, we have seen the largest counties say no, they are not going to implement it," Barnett pointed out. "They trust their law enforcement, they trust that they have SROs already in their schools. They feel like the dangers are just too much."

Barnett added even some smaller counties have said they will not implement it. Supporters of the new Tennessee law argued it will make schools safer.

Becky Hansen, a Covenant School parent who testified at a March 27 House hearing, cried when describing how her 5-year-old son's teacher saved her students, and said giving her a gun would have just made the situation worse.

"Our teacher had the wherewithal, when she realized that what they thought they needed to do for a fire alarm was actually an active shooter, to turn it into a race, to not scare my 5-year-old," Hansen recounted. "There is no way that my sweet teacher could have also held and properly ejected a weapon."

Barnett said more than 70% of the parents and teachers her group surveyed do not want the law. She added in the past 11 years of testifying before committees, some lawmakers still fail to adequately understand gun violence prevention measures.

"They're not listening to the research at all," Barnett contended. "The research shows normally, on the whole, a mass shooter, most of the time has some affiliation with that school in some way. They don't come because it's a 'gun-free zone,' which the Republicans like to say."

She pointed out concerns armed individuals may automatically resort to shooting, potentially harming people unintentionally and noted a student might also gain access to a gun if there are more firearms at schools.


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