A coalition of U.S. mayors Wednesday released a survey that claims broad support in Virginia for tighter background checks on the purchase and sale of firearms in the commonwealth.
According to the survey, conducted by the Democratic polling firm Hart Research for the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns:
•84 percent of Virginians support requiring gun dealers to notify police when someone fails a background check.
•88 percent of Virginians support a law to require background checks for all guns sold at gun shows.
•85 percent of Virginians support tracking the bulk purchase of semi-automatic assault rifles.
The survey coincided with the introduction of the Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y.
The legislation would require federal agencies to disseminate records on people who are prohibited from purchasing guns, such as felons, drug abusers and the mentally ill. It also would require nearly all gun buyers to pass a background check.
The 550-member mayor's group, supported by families of victims of the Virginia Tech shooting massacre, claims that "millions of records of dangerous individuals are still missing" from the National Criminal Information System. It says a law passed after the Tech massacre to facilitate the process has not been fully funded.
Gun-control advocates have tried, unsuccessfully, for years to require that all firearms purchasers at Virginia gun shows undergo a background check. Currently, only federally-licensed dealers are required to do checks on purchasers in the state. Private sales are not subject to background checks.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the grass-roots gun-rights group Virginia Citizens Defense League, said the survey is "so slanted as to be laughable."
"The real survey you need has been out there for a while: Those pushing gun control in Virginia haven't done very well," Van Cleave said.
"None, not a single one, of the gun-control bills survived, while 10 pro-gun bills are headed to the governor's desk," he added. "How's that for a survey?"
jnolan@timesdispatch.com
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