McLean, Virginia. – Should there be a mandatory “cooling off period” when people buy guns?
This is one of several gun proposals currently being debated by lawmakers in Virginia.
“We need to act. I promised these families that’s what I would do,” explained Deriher Cliff Hayes. A Walmart supervisor shot dead six colleagues in November with a gun he had purchased hours earlier, police said.
If Hayes’ bill is passed, there will be a three-day waiting period when purchasing a gun.
Hayes told FOX 5, “We must view this example of the Walmart shooting as an opportunity to delay or curb the likelihood of that scenario happening again.
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However, some strongly disagree.
WASHINGTON, USA – JANUARY 9: AR-15 style rifles and shotguns for sale at the Blue Ridge Arsenal in Chantilly, Virginia, USA on January 9, 2015. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
“Some people buy guns because they are under immediate threat,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Civil Defense League, who organized a rally for gun rights in Richmond on Monday. They may have just found out that their ex-spouses are trying to kill them. they need guns. If you have to wait 3 days, 3 days may be too long. ”
“I don’t see the part that our friends on the other side don’t understand that shouldn’t be violated,” Rep. John McGuire said at the event.
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It remains to be seen whether any significant gun legislation will reach the governor’s desk during this legislative session, when Republicans control the House and Democrats control the Senate.
