Families, Va Tech survivors oppose US gun measure

RICHMOND, Va. — Some survivors and families of Virginia Tech shooting victims are asking their U.S. senators to reject a proposed national standard for carrying concealed weapons.

In a full-page ad in Monday's Richmond Times-Dispatch, about 30 families and individuals urged Democrats Mark Warner and Jim Webb to vote against the so-called Thune amendment. That amendment would allow people licensed to carry concealed weapons in their home state to legally carry their weapons in other states. It is sponsored by South Dakota Sen. John Thune.

The ad contends the proposal would let residents from states with weak concealed weapons laws bring their handguns into Virginia.

A student killed 32 people at Virginia Tech and committed suicide in April 2007.