RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – Lawmakers debated a proposal to create a $500 fine in Virginia for leaving a handgun visible in an unattended car, with Democrats calling it a small step to address a “significant problem” and Republicans saying it would target gun owners over criminals.
The bill passed the Democratic-controlled General Assembly along party lines and was then vetoed by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who echoed GOP lawmakers’ concerns in his veto explanation.
“The proposal penalizes law-abiding Virginians for leaving a firearm in their vehicle, regardless of any other circumstances, punishing victims of crimes committed by another individual,” Youngkin wrote. “The culpability is on the criminal who stole the firearm.”
Authorities in the Richmond area agree it’s an issue as the number of guns stolen from cars, particularly those from unlocked vehicles, continues to reach new heights. Even in areas with low numbers, concern remains over guns stolen in one locality being used in crimes in others.
“Hanover, we’re fortunate because I feel like our crime rate and some of the firearms that are being stolen out here are probably not being used so much here,” Sgt. Steve Wills, public information officer for the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, said in an interview Wednesday.
Sgt. Wills said that Hanover had 12 firearms stolen from vehicles in 2023. Despite the low totals, Wills said the issue is “certainly a problem” that happens more often than it should.
He told 8News that many of the reported larcenies from cars often involve young juveniles coming from other areas because some Hanover neighborhoods are “a very complacent and target-rich environment.”
“People have grown up their whole lives never having to worry about locking their doors or their vehicles,” Wills said, adding that in Hanover’s “very pro-Second Amendment culture,” people often feel comfortable leaving guns in their cars.
But he said he doesn’t believe many of the guns being stolen from cars in Hanover are being used in crimes in the county.
“I would say the correlation there is probably fairly low, but I would imagine that other jurisdictions nearby are probably seeing some of the firearms stolen out of our vehicles being used in crimes in their jurisdictions,” Wills said.
Richmond has dealt with a sharp rise in guns being stolen from vehicles over the last five years, with a department spokesperson telling 8News that 644 were reported stolen from cars in 2023, a slight increase from 2022.
The city’s police department’s crime data shows that reports of guns stolen from cars have skyrocketed since 2021. That year, 389 were reported stolen in the city. But, in 2022, it jumped by nearly 64% to 637.
During his last crime briefing, Chief Rick Edwards pointed to the dangers when guns end up with those who should not have them, including juveniles and those with past felony convictions. Edwards noted that the Second Amendment is a right but also a responsibility.
In the first three months of 2024, Richmond police say that 135 firearms were reported stolen from cars in the city in 116 separate incidents.
In Henrico County, the number of guns reported stolen from vehicles has been over 200 each of the last three years and the majority have been taken from unlocked cars, per public numbers from the county’s police department.
In 2023, 209 guns were reported stolen from cars in Henrico County. On average, that’s one gun stolen every 42 hours.
Lt. J.H. Lassiter, the community policing commander for Henrico’s police division, told 8News that he couldn’t speak to whether there is a connection between the guns stolen from cars in the county and crimes being committed. But he urged people to make sure their cars were locked.
“A vehicle is not a safe storage place for a firearm,” he said in an interview Wednesday.
Chesterfield police said that 235 guns were stolen from cars in 2023, including 133 semi-automatic handguns and 85 handguns.
Richmond and Chesterfield police did not make anyone available for an interview for this story. Petersburg police did not respond to a request for the latest data on guns stolen from cars in the city, which is not available publicly online.
A look at the latest figures from authorities in the Richmond area
Richmond
- 2023: 644 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2022: 637 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2021: 389 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2020: 348 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2019: 258 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2018: 212 guns stolen from vehicles
- 2017: 225 guns stolen from vehicles
Henrico County
- 2023: 209 guns stolen from vehicles (69% were from reported unlocked vehicles)
- 2022: 243 guns stolen from vehicles (65% were from reported unlocked vehicles)
- 2021: 204 guns stolen from vehicles (76% were from reported unlocked vehicles)
Chesterfield County
- 2023: 235 guns stolen from vehicles (85 handguns, 133 semi-automatic handguns, 6 automatic handguns, 5 rifles, 4 semi-automatic rifles, 1 shotgun and 1 other firearm)
Hanover County
- 2023: 12 guns stolen from vehicles
The bill that Youngkin vetoed would have created a $500 fine that could be imposed on people who leave a handgun in an unattended car on a public street or highway that is visible to people not in the car. It also would have allowed the possibility of cars being towed.
The bill aimed to address a “significant problem” facing the nation and Virginia, state Sen. Dave Marsden (D-Fairfax), the bill’s sponsor, said on the Virginia Senate floor on Jan. 25. He raised concerns over people leaving guns in plain sight.
“This is just the beginning of trying to do something to bring to the public’s attention the problem that we have here,” he said during the floor debate.
State Sen. Mark Peake (R-Lynchburg) and other Republicans said they felt the bill was taking the wrong approach to address public safety concerns.
“This bill is actually going after the law-abiding citizen and ignoring the criminal,” Sen. Peake said on the Senate floor. “The problem we have is that individuals are committing crimes by breaking into cars that are parked on streets and driveways where they’re supposed to be.”
Peake, and Youngkin, said that the issue was that Virginia was not enforcing the laws against criminals breaking into the cars.
“We cannot have our vehicles here in the commonwealth act as vending machines for firearms,” Marsden said during the debate before the Senate voted 21-19 to pass the bill.
Update: This story was updated with specific numbers from Hanover County, which came after publication.
