Virginia lawmakers returned to the state Capitol on Tuesday with one item on their agenda: Guns. Governor Ralph Northam was pushing for a wide range of gun control measures after the Virginia Beach tragedy, including universal background checks and a ban on gun suppressors or silencers. The shooter in the Virginia Beach mass shooting used a .45 caliber handgun with a legally-purchased suppressor. Gun rights advocates called Tuesday’s session “political grandstanding” and said none of Northam’s proposals would make anyone safer. The National Rifle Association hosted an information session on suppressors on Monday at a Richmond gun range to explain what suppressors are and how they work. Suppressors attach to the end of a gun’s barrel, helping muffle the noise of gunfire. Some gun control supporters fear that a suppressor may help an active shooter conceal his gunfire, making him harder to track down and allowing for more victims to be harmed. Gun rights advocates say that realistically, a suppressor on any firearm is still very loud, louder than a jackhammer.  [full article]