Morrissey delivered an impassioned speech on behalf of an assault weapons ban. Pol wields AK-47 on Statehouse floor

A member of the Virginia House of Delegates on Thursday brought an AK-47 to the House floor in an effort to generate support for tougher gun laws, according to a news report.

Del. Joe Morrissey, who represents the Richmond area, waved around the weapon — which was not loaded, he said — as he delivered an impassioned speech on behalf of an assault weapons ban, the Washington Examiner reported. Some kinds of AK-47s were banned during the ten-year federal ban on assault weapons.


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“A lot of people don’t know that in many locations in the commonwealth, you can take this gun, you can walk in the middle of Main Street loaded and not be in violation of the law,” Morrissey said, according to the Examiner. “Even though the law right now says you can’t bring this gun into a high school or elementary or middle school, there is nothing from keeping you from walking in front of [an elementary school with a gun].”

The ban Morrissey was referencing, which he proposed, did not survive the subcommittee, the Examiner said.

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The report noted that according to Morrissey’s office, the lawmaker borrowed the weapon and spoke with Capitol Police about his intention to bring the AK-47 into the building. Members of the General Assembly and law enforcement, among other groups, are allowed to bring guns into the Capitol, the report said.

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