Breadcrumbs
Home / VA: Debate Heats Up Over Handgun DatabaseVA: Debate Heats Up Over Handgun Database
Last Updated on Thursday, 7 February 2008 11:11 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 7 February 2008 11:11
Sparks flew on the floor of the Virginia Senate on Wednesday, when the public’s right to know collided with privacy.
The debate was over a proposed amendment to Senate Bill 529, which would close off public access to a statewide list of Virginians with permits to carry concealed handguns.
Access to the database became an issue last year when The Roanoke Times published the database online. SB 529 would close the Virginia State Police database to the public.
But the measure, sponsored by Sen. Ed Houck, D-Spotsylvania, doesn’t go far enough for Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Centreville, who offered a floor amendment that would also seal off the records maintained at courthouses around the commonwealth from public view.