With control of executive offices, the House, and half of the Senate, Virginia Republicans are set to do the National Rifle Association’s bidding by trying to repeal what’s left of Virginia’s already-weak gun laws:
A handful of pro-gun bills is already in the works. Del. Mark Cole, R-Fredericksburg, filed a bill last week that bars localities from offering incentives to gun owners to surrender their firearms and another banning clerks from releasing the names of individuals who have permits to carry concealed handguns. […]
The top target for pro-gun groups is lifting Virginia’s limit of one handgun purchase per month.
The NRA has given $16,140 to Virginia state-level political campaigns this year alone – not a penny of it going to Democrats. The NRA has poured a staggering $628,648 into Virginia campaigns since 1996. Gov. Bob McDonnell used to support the extremely reasonable one handgun a month limit. But that was before he needed the NRA’s support for his national political ambitions.
“Republicans are going to be responsible for what comes out and whatever results from the decisions they make,” said Del. Patrick Hope, D-Arlington. “In all likelihood they will become law. People should get ready for the wild, wild West here in Virginia, and I’m not sure that’s what people voted for when they went to the booths in November.”
This is not about hunting (I think we actually need more of that), and it’s not about self-protection. It’s about fighting a paranoid culture war that thinks any reasonable gun safety rules are the same thing as Muslim commie terrorists running through the streets stealing our guns, forcing our children to gay marry & setting fire to our churches. Why would you need more than one handgun a month, other than the convenience of being able to massacre more people without stopping to reload?
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