As the debate over new gun control measures heats up, Virginia might emerge as evidence that background checks work, According to the AP, the commonwealth’s background checks have stopped 16,000 felons from buying guns since they began over two decades ago:

Virginia’s background check system has prevented 54,260 people, including more than 16,000 felons, from buying guns since it began in 1989.

The total number of transactions denied from 1989 to 2012 also includes drug abusers, the mentally ill and domestic assault offenders, Virginia State Police records show.

The AP also reported that between 2007 and 2012, denials of gun purchases for mental health reasons tripled as more mental health records were included in the background check process. Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people during the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, had purchased guns legally despite having been declared mentally ill two years prior.

Despite Virginia’s love for guns—restaurants will offer discounts to gun-owners, while some gun-owners walk around supermarkets fully strapped—Virginians have come out in favor of increasing some gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown massacre. Last month a poll found that 92 percent of Virginians support background checks, 60 percent believe that gun purchases should be limited to one a month (which was standing law until it was overturned last year) and 59 percent support banning high-capacity magazines.