While many other states, most notably Tennessee, are currently embroiled in the controversy over access to names of concealed weapon permit holders, Virginia disposed of the issue (for now at least) pretty easily and pretty quietly in 2009.
Angered over the Roanoke Times’ 2007 publication of the State Police database of permittees, Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, asked then-Attorney General Bob McDonnell for an opinion on whether the database should have been released. Using a questionable interpretation of a FOIA section exempting the names and addresses of people signing up for e-mail alerts from their government, the AG said the database was off limits.
That prompted the FOI Advisory Council to study the issue during the summer of 2007. Through much back and forth between gun-owner groups, newspaper representatives, the State Police and access advocates, the study committee decided to amend the permitting statute to allow the State Police to withhold the database.
During the 2008 General Assembly session, several similar bills were introduced, but all eventually died, in part because of an attempt by Nutter to add an amendment prohibitinh the disclosure of individual permit information at the local courthouse.
The issue went back to the Advisory Council for further study, and the council again agreed to cut off access to the database, but not at the courthouse. Ironically, Nutter was the sponsor of the legislation in the 2009 session, even though it allowed courthouse access.
The bill always seemed to be the last bill on the docket of every committee and subcommittee it proceeded through, but there was little to no opposition to the bill, and it passed both houses unanimously.