I just got off a conference call with Virginia’s next Attorney General, Sen. Mark Herring and Lori Haas of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, calling out the Virginia GOP ticket’s “dangerous public safety record.” Here are a few highlights from the call, starting with Sen. Herring’s remarks:
Throughout his career in the State Senate and as AG, Ken Cuccinelli has a long record of putting his extreme agenda and personal interests ahead of what is best for Virginians’ safety. Mark Obenshain, who has said he and Ken Cuccinelli are “peas in a pod” philosophically, is just as if not further out of the mainstream as Cuccinelli when it comes to commonsense bills that would enact gun safety measures keep our communities safe…The two both wanted to expand the list of people who could bring firearms onto public school campuses…while in the State Senate both Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain even voted to allow guns and missiles in airport terminals…Obenshain voted against forbidding people with a protective order issued against them from carrying a firearm in the home of their alleged victim, then voted in committee against increasing the penalty for a person who is under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs to carry a loaded firearm in a public place. These are positions that are completely out of the mainstream...Cuccinelli’s and Obenshain’s records speak for themselves. They have clearly put their own extreme agenda ahead of what is best for the safety of our children…If Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain’s records are any indication of how they would act as Governor and Attorney General, Virginians should beware…their positions are dangerous for our communities and will put public safety on the back burner.
Lori Haas of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence reiterated what Sen. Herring had to say. Haas added that “we need leaders who will find commonsense solutions to keep guns out of the hands of those who will do us harm…we need to keep guns off of school grounds and away from our children and out of the hands of…dangerous people.” Sadly, Haas noted that Cuccinelli and Obenshain “want to make it harder for our law enforcement officials to protect us.” The bottom line, in Haas’ view, is that Cuccinelli’s and Obenshain’s “extreme positions just endangers our communities, endangers our children, and endangers our families…[but instead] only promotes the sale of more guns.” No argument here. Let’s make sure that Cuccinelli and Obenshain come nowhere near victory this November.
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