cuchulainn
Member
http://www.pilotonline.com/news/nw0308exi.html
Bill reduces penalties for possessing guns and drugsBy AMY JETER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 8, 2003
The penalty for violating a gun law under Virginia Exile would soften under a bill passed by the General Assembly.
The legislation would reduce the sentence from a mandatory five years in prison to a minimum of two years for someone convicted of carrying a firearm while in possession of drugs.
For someone convicted of having drugs with a gun in another room, for example, the sentence would be left to the judge, but could not exceed five years in prison.
The sentence for having a gun while dealing drugs would remain unchanged at a mandatory five years.
The measure is awaiting the governor's signature.
The Virginia Association of Commonwealth's Attorneys did not support the change, saying it took some teeth out of an important gun law.
But a sponsor of the bill, HB2181, said the changes are meant to fix a law that was too strict.
``I've seen judges and prosecutors go through all sorts of contortions not to have a kid with no record convicted of the statute,'' said Del. Kenneth R. Melvin, D-Portsmouth, the bill's patron in the House of Delegates. ``That's where the harshness comes in.''
The law, which took effect in July 1999, was one of several passed under the Virginia Exile program. The state program was modeled after the federal Project Exile, which was designed to curb gun violence by breaking the link between firearms and drugs. Some say the federal project significantly reduced gun violence in Richmond, where the program was started in the late 1990s. But others have questioned whether Project Exile was responsible for the drop.
The new measure was approved 38-0 by the Senate and 91-7 by the House.
If a person with drugs is carrying a gun -- in his or her waistband, for example -- then the sentence would be a mandatory minimum two-year prison term.
If the person with drugs has a gun in his or her possession -- for example, in the house but not in the room -- then the sentence would be up to five years in prison, as determined by a judge.
The changes would give more discretion to judges and would follow federal Project Exile laws more closely, Melvin said.
But prosecutors said the new legislation would make the law less of a deterrent.
``People are going to be taken off the street a lot less,'' said Earle C. Mobley, Portsmouth's commonwealth's attorney. ``The risk for committing the crime is a lot less.''
The change potentially would affect relatively few cases. Statewide last year, there were 47 convictions of gun possession while possessing drugs, according to the Virginia Sentencing Commission. In 2001, there were 27 convictions.
Reach Amy Jeter at [email protected] or at 446-2793.