CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The gunman who shot and killed six of his Walmart coworkers legally purchased his gun the same day of the shooting, police have said.
Now, Hampton Roads lawmakers are proposing changes following this shooting and the shooting of a teacher by a six-year old in Newport News last week.
Del. Cliff Hayes (D-Chesapeake) has filed a bill requiring a three day waiting period after someone purchases a gun.
"We believe there should be a waiting period to deal with the emotional effects of someone being angry or not thinking clearly," Hayes told News 3.
Another proposal from Hayes would create an alert system for schools to notify other nearby schools of a threat like a gunman. "Hopefully that will be another way to minimize or save lives," said Hayes.
Del. Angelia Williams Graves said she was in the process of filing a bill requiring gun purchasers take a gun safety class in response to the Newport News shooting. "I believe that the possibility of that child getting access to that gun could have been prevented if there were good gun safety measures in place in the household," she told News 3.
Given the make-up of the House of Delegates with Republican control and previous controversy over gun related bills, those bills could face an up-hill battle to becoming law.
News 3 asked Hayes whether there is an appetite for the bills to pass. "All I know is that I got a lot of phone calls from leaders and colleagues of this General Assembly when this [Chesapeake] incident occurred," said Hayes. "Many of them said said let us know what we can do to help these families. This is one of the ways you can begin to help support these families."
Del. Shelly Simonds (D-Newport News) said she was optimistic she could work with Republicans on a bill to add a career counselor to high schools, so guidance counselors could focus more on student mental health.
"The point of that is to take some of the pressure off of our counselors, so they can really focus on the mental health of our students," said Simonds.
Republican Senate Leader Tommy Norment said addressing mental health was going to be a focus for him. "We've got to do something," he said.
Norment said his daughter is a teacher and at one time her student teacher was Abby Zwerner, the teacher who was shot last Friday.
"My daughter was her mentor," Norment said, adding he wasn't sure what could be done legislatively to address this incident. "I'm waiting to hear and see if there are some suggestions, but it's so problematic. What do you do with a six-year old? I mean what do you do?" Norment said.
Del. Tim Anderson (R-Virginia Beach) told News 3 a bill he sponsored last year could've made a difference in the Newport News case. It would've required all schools to have metal detectors, but it failed to advance. "Unfortunately, it didn't pass and there's no appetite for that happening," Anderson said.
Lawmakers will be in session for the next 45 days to work on these proposals.
