Guns & America

Guns & America is a groundbreaking new national reporting collaborative in which 10 public media newsrooms, including Ideastream Public Media, will train their attention on a singular issue: the role of guns in American life. Over the course of two years, the stations will report on how guns impact us as Americans, from the cultural significance of hunting and sport shooting, to the role guns play in suicide, homicide, mass shootings and beyond. Follow our reporting at gunsandamerica.org.

Virginia Gov. Northam Calls For Special Session To Address Gun Violence

By Alana Wise

Published June 4, 2019 at 9:15 PM EDT

Virginia State Capitol, Richmond, Virginia. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he will ask the legislature to consider taking action on background checks and high-capacity magazine bans.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam on Tuesday called a special legislative session on gun violence, citing last week’s deadly mass shooting that claimed 12 lives.

“It is wrong, it is outrageous, it is unforgivable to turn our municipal centers, our schools, our churches, and synagogues and mosques into battlefields,” Northam said. “It is wrong that we now view these mass shootings as the normal.”

The Friday shooting spree at a Virginia Beach government center became one of the most deadly workplace killings in the last decade when a heavily armed former employee of the city stormed the building and began firing “indiscriminately,” according to authorities.

Northam said he was calling for action to reconsider previous gun legislation proposals, including universal background checks, bans on high-capacity magazines and a reinstatement of an earlier purchasing limit of one handgun a month.

“I am calling on the elected officials of this Commonwealth to become second responders,” said Northam. “Your duty is clear: Rush to the scene and put a stop to this violence.”

Guns & America is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.