Thursday, July 24, 2008
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Tracking Virginia’s General Assembly
since 2007.
HB2524: Gangs; definition of predicate criminal act to determine membership therein.
Chief Patron
Del.
Sal Iaquinto (R-84)
Sal Iaquinto
(R-84)
Virginia Beach, VA
Served: 2006–
Progress
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Introduced |
 |
Passed Committee |
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Passed House |
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Passed Senate |
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Signed by Governor |
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Became Law |
Status
03/19/2007: signed by governor
Summary
Predicate criminal acts necessary for criminal gang member status. Removes the requirement that one of the predicate criminal acts necessary for determining membership in a criminal street gang be a violent felony. Adds "felony involving the use of a firearm or other weapon" to the list of acts that qualify as predicate criminal acts.
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Poll Results
No Richmond Sunlight visitors voted on this bill while voting was open.
Tags
Bill Text
Related Bills
Introduced: January 19, 2006
Status: Passed the House
: Street gangs; verification of immigration status upon conviction of crime.Status: Passed the House
Introduced: January 10, 2007
Status: Failed to Pass in Committee
: Investigation following conviction for criminal street gang activity;Status: Failed to Pass in Committee
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Comments
By striking the phrase "at least one of which is an act of violence," this bill would drastically broaden the pool of kids who would be prosecuted for "gang" crimes subject to severe punishments. Such an amendment would unnecessarily catapult wannabe pimply-faced teens from lousy graffiti artists to felons facing serious prison time. Real street gangs - the gangs the government has told us we need to be afraid of - are violent. Wannabes do not need enhanced punishment for mere property damage; the standard punishments for their crimes should suffice.