Panel recommends bill to extend firearm-free buffer around polling places to 100 feet

Delegate Shinn, the patron of House Bill 909, told the panel the bill would extend the distance that prohibits electioneering materials and firearms from polling places from 40 feet to 100 feet, citing increased instances of armed presence and voter intimidation. He described a Spotsylvania example in which an armed security officer hired by a candidate remained outside a polling place and made voters feel unsafe.

Supporters — including Laurie Haas of the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins, Libby Renner of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Erin Erp of the Giffords Law Center, and a representative of Everytown for Gun Safety — urged a favorable report. Haas said the measure would help protect voters and election workers from intimidation and political violence.

The patron and witnesses emphasized the bill’s language requires that a person knowingly carry a firearm into a polling site for the prohibition to apply, a change intended to reduce unintended consequences such as penalizing someone transporting a firearm in a car who did not intend to enter a polling building.

Delegate Anthony moved to report the bill; the clerk recorded a roll call and the subcommittee recommended reporting HB909 by a vote of 6 to 1. The measure will advance for further consideration.