Senate Bill 225 requires that school boards on a yearly basis inform parents of their legal responsibility to ensure that firearms are safely stored in their residences. Under Virginia code, having loaded weapons within ready access that is determined to be reckless is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The law emphasizes keeping loaded firearms away from children under 14.
And while that is a laudable goal, some critics expressed worry over the proper role of the school system in enforcing the law. Is it within the bounds of state educators to tell parents how they will conduct their self-defense procedures within their own homes?
It is, said Sen. Stella Pekarsky (D) of Fairfax. She claimed the proposal is only aimed at informing parents of their responsibility to safely handle and store weapons.
Perhaps.
But the flip side is yet another government intrusion on the private decisions of a family concerning the fundamental right to self-defense. Under the measure, it would be the school system’s job to tell parents about a plethora of issues regarding their family’s weapons.
The law would mandate informing parents of safe storage requirements, statistics involving childhood deaths related to weapons, modeling safe behavior for their children, relating the possibility of encountering improperly stored weapons away from home, and current Virginia law and the resulting penalties for running afoul of the statutes.
To be clear, there is no one more in tune with gun safety protocols than Second Amendment advocates. However, the Virginia legislature has recently thrown every imaginable bill up as a roadblock to the gun rights enjoyed by law-abiding citizens.
It is quite logical to be skeptical of the motivations of the body when its track record is so tilted against the right to keep and bear arms. It is easy to see this measure as yet another overreach by Virginia lawmakers.
