The Virginia Senate passed a bill, SB 447, that will allow gun owners to be charged a $500 civil penalty for leaving a handgun in view in an unattended vehicle that’s parked on public property.
Further, the offense allows the police to deem the vehicle illegally parked, allowing it to be towed when there’s a visible handgun.
“This is a minimalist approach to dealing with a huge problem,” said Senator David Marsden, who represents a portion of Fairfax.
Marsden explains the ‘epidemic’
Guns being stolen from cars is “an epidemic,” Marsden said when presenting the bill in the Courts of Justice committee. “It’s happening pretty much everywhere,” he said, claiming the situation of unattended guns being stolen from cars is “aisle 6 at Walmart.”
“One of the current trends seems to be you take a handgun and you shove it down between your seat and the center console visible for anybody walking down the street. And you go into the 7-Eleven, you come back, and your gun’s gone. You leave it in the car, and somebody breaks into it,” Marsden said.
“It’s an epidemic,” he reiterated, claiming that half of the guns that are stolen are now stolen from cars.
Marsden said he believes SB 447 is easily enforceable and “will start down the road of beginning to the turn the tide here of this epidemic we’re facing.”
Senator Scott Surovell, who supported the bill, asked Marsden why it was limited to handguns.
Marsden said because he is not anti-hunting and didn’t want people with a shotgun rack in their vehicle to be penalized.
Debating the bill
Senator Mark Peake, an opponent of the bill, asked if there would be any limit on what people could be charged if their vehicle was towed. Marsden said the only limit is what’s generally allowable under state law for towing services.
“The idea there is, hopefully, you will go and pick up your car quickly,” he added. He said he also hopes judges will be lenient with the fine on the first offense.
Peake also asked if there was corresponding legislation that increases the penalty on the people stealing guns from cars.
Marsden said there are already pretty stiff penalties for breaking into cars, “I don’t know that increasing the penalty would accomplish anything,” he said.
But he pointed out that his bill is a soft touch approach that isn’t trying to overly punish gun owners either, which is why he “purposefully” kept the infraction it from being a misdemeanor. He said it’s essentially nothing more than a traffic violation meant to send a message to stop the horrible practice of leaving guns in view when you get out of the vehicle.
Several people spoke in support of the bill, including Andrew Goddard of the Virginia Center for Public Safety. He said they wanted to see the bill extend to private property because gun thefts from vehicles is such a major problem. “We would like to see this also cover your driveway,” he said.
There were more opponents than supporters, including a number from the Virginia Citizens Defense League. A common theme among the opponents was that the bill punishes the victim. VCDL member Patricia Webb referred to it as “victimizing the victim.”
Several opponents blamed gun-free zones, saying the reason guns are left in vehicles is because people carrying them can’t take them into certain places. And one VCDL member pointed out that when the car gets towed, there’s still a visible gun it and now the tow company has access to the gun.
Peake said he would support a bill increasing penalties on those stealing the guns from cars, but not SB 447. “We need to punish criminals” and “make it very clear and very loud” what will happen if you get caught stealing in Virginia he said.
But he added he doesn’t know how lawmakers can impose a civil penalty on people exercising a constitutional right.
Nonetheless, the bill made it out of committee with a 9-6 vote and passed the third and final reading in the Senate 21-9.
If the bill is passed into law, proceeds from the civil penalties will go to Virginia’s Literary Fund.
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