In Virginia, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam said Tuesday he will convene a special session in the Republican-controlled Legislature to implement new gun control measures in the wake of last Friday’s mass shooting that killed 12 people plus the gunman at a municipal building in Virginia Beach. It was the deadliest mass shooting so far this year. Northam says he will call for laws including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and greater local authority to regulate firearms.
Gov. Ralph Northam: “This weekend’s tragedy, as well as the tragedies that happen every day across Virginia, must instill in us a new level of urgency to act. … I will be asking for votes and laws, not thoughts and prayers.”