Virginia: Background Checks for Gun Rentals Advances to Senate Floor

Senate Bill 1250, a bill requiring background checks for gun rentals, is advancing through the Virginia Senate, and NSSF needs you to contact your state senator in opposition to SB 1250. SB 1250 is likely to come up for a vote in the very near future.

As drafted, SB 1250 by Senator Creigh Deeds would require a background check to be conducted for ALL firearm rentals. However, there is much uncertainty with the bill. The one thing that is certain is that the Virginia State Police is not allowed to utilize the full NICS database, meaning they will be relying on an incomplete state database. If someone was adjudicated mentally ill in another state, that record would likely not be included in Virginia’s system.

NSSF urges all members to contact your state senator immediately and urge him or her to vote “NO” when SB 1250 comes up for a vote. To find out who represents you in the Virginia Senate click here.

Important talking points for when you reach out to your state senator to voice your opposition to SB 1250:

• No other state in the country has such a requirement.
• The firearm industry has already undertaken a voluntary suicide prevention awareness program in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention that includes sending “toolkits” to firearm retailers and shooting range operators. These efforts seek to address the overall issue of suicide by firearm, rather than just rented firearms at ranges.
• Ranges have already begun adopting policies to combat suicide at ranges, including requiring you to have more than one person in your party in order to rent a gun, requiring range membership, showing proof of firearm education of some sort (certificate, concealed carry permit, etc.).
• Suicide at gun ranges are extremely rare per a study by Harvard researcher entitled “Suicides at Shooting Ranges”
• A rental does not constitute a “transfer” per federal law, and therefore bars the Virginia State Police from accessing federal databases that include mental health records. The state background check only includes records in Virginia’s state database causing an incomplete background check.
• Background checks on gun rentals will overload an already burdened system, causing significant delays. Longer delays could turn into a de-facto ban on renting firearms. Such delays will have significant impacts on small businesses.
• Different scenarios to discuss:
  • What if a party of three comes in wanting to rent a firearm… does just one person undergo the background check or all three?
  • What if someone is involved in a firearm education course and part of the course includes a “live fire” portion. Does a background check need to be conducted on each person?
  • If a philanthropic organization is hosting a charity clay shoot and shotguns are made available at each station of a sporting clays course, would each participant at the event be required to undergo a background check? Would it have to be conducted for each different shotgun they use as they go station to station?
  • If someone visiting the range has their own firearm, but wishes to rent something else (perhaps to try something they might like to purchase), would they be required to undergo a background check?
  • If a nonresident is visiting Virginia and wishes to go to a shooting range, would they be allowed to rent a handgun? Keep in mind federal law does not allow for someone to purchase a handgun in a state in which they do not reside. Additionally, would the database being checked by the Virginia State Police have records from that person’s state in which they are a resident?

NSSF will continue to monitor SB 1250 and keep our Virginia members updated on developments.