Gun control legislation moves forward

Now that the Senate has rejected Republican efforts to block consideration of gun control legislation, it makes way for weeks of emotional debate.

WAVY.com spoke to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), one of the leading lawmakers pushing for change.

"This is a big day. Now we'll debate. I'm sure there will be amendments. Some will pass. Some won't. But the good news is we're working toward something so people won't be disappointed," Kaine said.

The current proposal would require tighter restrictions on background checks for gun buyers on the internet, and at gun shows. 

But it does not require background checks in private sales. Still, gun rights advocates say it's an infringement on their first amendment rights. 

"If you had to register to be a Baptist or Catholic, and you had a waiting period to buy a Bible, that obviously would be interfering with your freedom of religion. By the same measure, if you applied it to the Second Amendment, that would in fact be infringement," remarked Ron Lilly, who has been a member of the Citizen's Defense League for more than two decades.

Sen. Kaine was governor when the shootings at Virginia Tech took place.

He said for him, this legislation is a commitment to the victim's families.

"I still talk to the families regularly. In the aftermath of the shootings at Virginia Tech, I was able to work with my Attorney General Bob Mc Donnell to fix one piece of background checks. But, I wanted to go further and wasn't able to get legislature to do it."

Sen. Kaine said his focus is on taking "reasonable steps." Two of the most controversial aspects of this debate will be bans on assault weapons and limits on high capacity magazines. 

Some say the ban on assault weapons appears lost while limits on high-capacity magazines remains not addressed.

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