Less than six months before last week’s deadly shooting in Virginia Beach, Republican Va. state Senators Bryce Reeves and Glen Sturtevant prevented a bill from passing the state legislature that would have banned the sale of high-capacity magazines similar to those used in the rampage. In total, twelve people were killed after a gunman opened fire at a municipal building last Friday.

In January 2019, Reeves and Sturtevant voted along party lines to pass by indefinitely SB1748 in the Va. state Senate, which would have prohibited any person from importing or selling a firearms magazine designed to hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. In Virginia, a bill that is “passed by indefinitely” (PBI) is shelved for reconsideration until a later date. If the bill receives no further action, it is effectively dead.

According to an American Ledger review of the bill, SB1748 would have redefined the term “assault firearm” to include magazines that held more than 10 rounds of ammunition and would have banned the sale of large-capacity magazines similar to the one that was found on the crime scene after the Virginia Beach shooting.”

By voting to pass by indefinitely SB1749, Reeves and Sturtevant effectively voted to kill a bill that could have prevented the Virginia Beach shooter from obtaining the high-capacity magazine used to carry out the massacre.

The shooting in Virginia Beach last Friday is the latest in a long line of gun-related fatalities that have become increasingly frequent in American life and is the largest mass shooting in 2019.

Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer described the rampage as the “most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.”

Reeves and Sturtevant, who represent Virginia’s 17th and 10th district, are both running for re-election to the state Senate this fall.