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RICHMOND — Democrats in the state Senate are seeking to require gun owners to lock up firearms when children are present as part of a slate of gun-control legislation inspired by recent shooting incidents in Virginia, including last week at a Newport News elementary school, where a 6-year-old boy allegedly shot his teacher.

“This bill would not only stop tragedies like we saw in Newport News, it would prevent other tragedies including gun accidents, youth suicides and school shootings,” said Sen. Jennifer B. Boysko (D-Fairfax) at a news conference Friday morning. Boysko is sponsoring Senate Bill 1139 to require securing guns in the presence of children.

But while that bill and a handful of related measures are likely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate, they are unlikely to win approval in the Republican-controlled House of Delegates.

“I want to give the ideas thorough vetting and see where we shake out,” said Del. Tony Wilt (R-Rockingham), who will control the flow of such bills as chairman of the House Public Safety Committee, in an interview. But Wilt added that he is more focused on the possibility of undoing some bills that were passed when Democrats controlled the chamber, such as one that limits the ability of police to stop and search vehicles based on minor violations and one that restricts carrying firearms in churches .

“Giving those freedoms back — I don’t think we gain a safer society by handcuffing law-abiding citizens …[or] tying the hands of law enforcement,” Wilt said.

Republicans in the House, with the support of Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), are seeking to address gun violence in part by proposing tougher mandatory minimum penalties for using a gun during the commission of a crime.

That approach might face an uphill climb in the Senate, though, where Democrats have generally opposed the use of mandatory minimum sentences, which they say restrict the power of judges to use discretion when cases present different circumstances.

In addition to the Newport News incident, Virginia saw a pair of mass shootings late last year: at the University of Virginia, in which three football players were killed by a gunman, and at a Chesapeake Walmart, where a shooter killed six co-workers before turning the gun on himself.

The gun-control measures being introduced by Senate Democrats include:

• A ban on assault-style weapons, a concept that failed to pass even when Democrats controlled both chambers of the General Assembly. But Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) said he has structured his SB 1382 to get wider support, focusing on banning sales of such weapons manufactured after a certain date and not confiscating guns already in circulation. “A lot of people will not be pleased that this doesn’t go far enough, but it’s designed to prevent the spread of firearms on the street,” Deeds said.
• A bill creating a civil penalty of up to $500 for keeping a firearm in a vehicle if the weapon is not secured in a locked container or locked compartment. Sen. David W. Marsden (D-Fairfax) said his SB 901 is aimed at “cutting off the supply of weapons” for criminals. “We can stop the violence in Virginia and it’s not going to cost us a penny.”
• A ban on carrying assault-style weapons in public. Sen. Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) said he introduced SB 1192 because “weapons of war have no place in civil society” and put law enforcement officers at risk.
• Ebbin also sponsored SB 1181, which would prohibit the sale of gun components that are not marked with serial numbers. This is to prevent the construction of “ghost guns,” which have no identifying marks and cannot be traced.
• Sen. Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) introduced SB 1167 to establish standards of conduct for firearms manufacturers, requiring such companies to take precautions to ensure their products are not sold by distributors who violate the law.

In the House of Delegates, Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) has introduced a bill that has sparked some interest from Republicans. Her House Bill 1788 would require dealers to sell firearms that have been microstamped, a type of technology that puts an identifying mark on rounds fired so they can be traced back to a particular weapon. Some GOP members have expressed openness to that concept.

Groups of gun-rights activists are expected to turn out at the Capitol on Monday for the annual “Lobby Day,” when they visit lawmakers and press for fewer restrictions on guns.