Virginia Givernor Mcauliffe introducews a raft of disarmament bills (courtesy wavy.com)

Virginia may be for lovers, but not lovers of firearms freedom. Governor McAuliffe has introduced a raft of firearms bills which would curtail gun rights in Old Dominion. The official press release (after the jump) provides all the disarmament deets, wrapped-up in the usual public safety blather. While the GOP controlled legislature ain’t going there, McAuliffe had to; former New York City Mayor and current Everytown for Gun Safety anti-ballistic bully boy Michael Bloomberg was a major donor to McAuliffe’s 2013 gubernatorial campaign . . .

Prohibit the possession of firearms for persons subject to protective orders
According to the American Journal of Public Health, when a gun is present in domestic violence situations, the risk of homicide for women increases by 500%. This proposal will aim to prevent domestic violence tragedies from occurring in Virginia by prohibiting the possession of firearms for persons subject to protective orders, which covers acts of violence against family members, inter-partner violence, and other dangerous behaviors.

Prohibit the possession of firearms for misdemeanor domestic violence offenders
Past violence is one of the biggest predictors of future violence, as handgun purchasers with violent misdemeanor convictions are 8 times more likely than those without prior convictions to be convicted of a new violent offense. This proposal will aim to stop that disturbing trend by prohibiting possession of firearms for certain misdemeanor offenses, including stalking, sexual battery, assault and battery against a family or household member, brandishing a firearm, and having two more convictions of assault and battery.

Curtail handgun trafficking by reinstating the one handgun a month law
As a gun owner and a supporter of the Second Amendment, Governor McAuliffe believes in the right to bear arms, but in a responsible way that prevents dangerous people from stockpiling and trafficking dangerous weapons. This common-sense measure, which was Virginia law for 19 years, limits handgun purchases to one a month and aims to reduce the chances of handguns causing violent tragedies in Virginia and across the nation.

Revoke concealed handgun permits for parents delinquent on child support payments
In order to build a new Virginia economy, it is essential that parents are receiving support payments and are able to provide for their children and families. Currently, there are 8889 parents with concealed handgun permits delinquent on child support payments, collectively owing over $15,675,000.

Keep handguns out of the wrong hands by closing the gun show loophole
Under current Virginia Law, only Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers are required to conduct criminal background checks prior to selling or transferring firearms.  At gun shows, private vendors are not required to conduct criminal background checks, creating an easy avenue for criminals to illegally gain access to guns. Governor McAuliffe’s legislative proposal changes that, requiring universal background checks for all purchases at gun shows.

Give Virginia State Police authority to process voluntary background check requests
Today, the Virginia State Police does not have the authority to process background check requests even when they have been submitted to them by private vendors. This proposal will give Virginia State Police the statutory authority to do so. Governor McAuliffe also is including an additional $100,000 in his budget to ensure that the Virginia State Police will be at every gun show in Virginia and available to perform these voluntary background checks.

Make unlawful purchases more difficult by clarifying what information can be displayed by gun show vendors
Today, gun shows can advertize that they are not required to conduct background checks, creating an easy environment to solicit business from individuals legally prohibited from buying firearms. This common-sense proposal will reduce the chance of dangerous people from illegally obtaining firearms at gun shows by preventing gun shows from advertising that they are not required to conduct background checks.

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103 COMMENTS

    • Hmmm…….more like in Virginia, the pants have been dropped. And Virginia gunowners are going to take, long and hard, and they’re going to like it.

      You see, conservatives, in Virginia, or even in so-called liberal strongholds like CT or MD, actually do have the votes to win. Fact is, this jack wagon won with 1.07 million votes in 2013, and a mere 56,000 vote margin. Just the year before, Romney had lost Virginia, but he did receive 1.822 million votes. And Mitt is not at all some wild-eyed conservative firebrand. If he can get that many votes, then the votes are there for any Republican to get and for every Republican to cast.

      The problem is that conservatives believe that their rights are their rights and should accrue naturally to them, without having to fight for them every…..single…,.damn……election. In a perfect world, they’d be right. In THIS world, they’re dead wrong, and that’s why Virginians are about to get breach loaded by that no talent, statist hack of a governor of theirs.

      Democrat turn out fades in off year elections, too, but not as much as Republican turn out does. Stil, the votes are there to win, but you have to be in it to win it. Conservatives aren’t in it, so they lose.

      That’s not my fault, the NRA’s fault or anyone’s but lazy butt conservatives.

      So suck it, Virginia, and remember, elections have consequences. Maybe next time you’ll get off your butt and vote. You’re helping to forfeit this country, and you should be deeply ashamed.

      • Clearly another person who doesn’t know how Republican government works. Here is how you pass a bill in the Virginia legislature: The House of Delegates passes the bill, the State Senate passes the bill and the Governor has to sign the bill to make become law. The Republicans control the House of Delegates with a veto proof majority. They have a 1 vote majority in the state senate, but wait, there are many downstate Democrats who won’t vote for gun control unless it can pass so none of these proposals will pass the House of Delegates, and none of them will pass the State Senate so they can’t become law.

        So no, we Virginians don’t have to suck it up. These bills are going nowhere.

        • Amen. This is bluster and noise. Doesn’t stand a snowballs chance of getting to his desk. Sic Semper Tyrannis, Terry.

        • A call or an email to your state Delegate and Senator wouldn’t hurt. You know the anti’s will be making those calls and sending their emails. Just a friendly reminder that you, a voter in their district, would like them to vote in a certain way.

        • Good analysis of the situation. I don’t know what Terry is smoking, but none of this is going anywhere.

        • The number of ” You dumb communist morons in Virginia voted for McAuliffe, so what ever he says is law, and you might as well move to China.” comments is entirely too high. This chest puffery poses no threat to Virginians right to keep and bear arms, the sky is not in fact falling. Also remember, we stand together or hang separately.

      • McAuliffe won with 48% of the vote. The republican, Cuccinelli, got 45.5%, and the Libertarian Sarvis got 6.5% after the Democrats poured several million into his campaign in the weeks leading up to the election. The conservative votes were there to win. If Virginia was a runoff state, a Republican would be governor. The state is fairly conservative and as tdiinva said, these proposals don’t have a chance of passing. Cut off Fairfax County, and the state would be red every election.

        • Sarvis siphoned off Democrats as well as Republicans — how much of each who can say, but there are some who think he drank from each pool equally. Cuccinelli was supposed to lose by a landslide, especially since he was pilloried by the press here as an ayatollah-like fundamentalist. and he shocked everyone by coming so close. I think TTAG quoted a story that attributes his near-loss to signing on with Bloomberg when his lead looked secure.

        • @Rokurata:

          The government shutdown sucked the air out of Cuccinelli’s campaign. Without the shutdown and the crash and burn of O-care on takeoff Cuccinelli probably would have won.

        • The shutdown did hurt him and Obamacare was almost his saving grace, true. I wonder how Bolling would have fared.

  2. That’s right. Who is he representing again? The people? Alas no – Bloomberg. America’s laws available for purchase by billionaires.

    • He’s representing the people who voted for him in the gubernatorial election. Are you saying that Bloomberg has filled out the ballots for them?

        • True…..because Republicans didn’t go vote. Can’t discount his win, when the opposition didn’t even bother to show up on game day.

          One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics, is that you end up being ruled by your inferiors.

        • Jonathan, do you know that to be true? Maybe it is, but unfortunately the reality is that Virginia has shifted blue. NoVa is lousy with government employees, and the squishy middle — many of whom might vote Republican — can’t take being ridiculed relentlessly by the press and loud people on Facebook. They don’t have guns or abortions, so maybe they just go vote for McAuliffe so the expert class will stop bullying them.

      • He’s a Democrat, right? Somebody had to fill out those ballots for the dead people, infants, family pets, and cartoon characters.

    • Sounds about right.

      Only in California would something like this fly, “… when a gun is present in domestic violence situations, the risk of homicide for women increases by 500%. This proposal will aim to prevent domestic violence tragedies from occurring …”

      Never mind the fact that an attacker can just as easily bludgeon, poison, or stab their domestic partner since they live with them!

  4. Ok, I think most of his list of BS.

    But this one I agree with:
    “Give Virginia State Police authority to process voluntary background check requests”

    I’ve been saying for years that I would love to have the ability to run background checks on my private sales, without involving a FFL.

    • I agree. As long as it is not mandatory, it should be an option for sellers. And those who don’t want to submit can buy from someone else (free market, baby!).

      The only problem is I sincerely doubt that it would remain voluntary.

      • Yep. They could destroy all opposition to background checks by making a simple background check utility available online to ALL private sellers.

        The buyer enters the necessary identification (name, birthdate, soc sec #, valid driver’s license/state ID card) and gets a simple yes/no answer with a unique transaction number that the seller can then verify.

        No need to waste time on filling out complex forms, no government record of what was sold or even if anything was sold at all — just confirmation that the person you’re selling to or buying from isn’t a known criminal or crazy.

        That’s what background checks are really for, right? (Riiiight…)

        • Coburn suggested an app for running a background check back in 2013. Replacing the ATF with a free app with no spot for serial numbers would get rid of any of my concerns about the government keeping 4473’s as a registry. Assuming the computer system in place now was chopped to bits with an axe then lit on fire.

    • Being friends with a young lady who had a restraining order, whose “friend” was eventually convicted of violating that restraining order when he was caught outside of her girlfriends home in a rental car with rope and duct tape in the car, and is currently out on appeal. Given that background I would support the protective order provision if it was written fairly. Someone getting into a shouting match in the fog of a breakup isn’t the same as someone riding around with duct tape and rope in their rental car or sending a spouse to the emergency room.

      Yes, of course she has exercised her second amendment right, but she ended up moving twice in the process. Since he is exercising his right to appeal the conviction she lives in a state beyond vigilance and in an almost crippling sense of fear even with a gun.

      I believe in GUNS and it shouldn’t be a big deal to get one. It shouldn’t be generally rationed or restricted, and people shouldn’t act like a gun is nerve gas or airborne ebola. But I am willing to admit there are some people that shouldn’t have them.

      • A. If the boyfriend is delusional and so dangerous, why is he out on appeal/parole? B. If he is so delusional and dangerous, what stops him from obtaining a weapon or firearm, legal or otherwise? C. If he could magically be stopped from obtaining a firearm (or weapons) with said law, does that make him less dangerous and delusional, to the point the former girlfriend is actually safer?

        • A. If the boyfriend is delusional and so dangerous, why is he out on appeal/parole?
          His sentence was 90 days for violating the restraining order. He was allowed to appeal before serving his sentence.

          B. If he is so delusional and dangerous, what stops him from obtaining a weapon or firearm, legal or otherwise?
          In truth I don’t know how resourceful he is he may already be an gun owner.

          C. If he could magically be stopped from obtaining a firearm (or weapons) with said law, does that make him less dangerous and delusional, to the point the former girlfriend is actually safer?
          Well she owns a gun now so, probably.

          I did mention that the law would have to be written well. I don’t know if this proposal is written well or not. I don’t think its crazy to contemplate the wisdom of making guns available to unstable people. I don’t know if its possible to make a difference without hurting law abiding people, but the people who make it hard on gun owners are these unstable people.

  6. And if this omnibus anti-gun owner act isn’t named after Bloomberg, it’s more Democrat slight of hand.

    Who didn’t see this coming?
    McAuliffe…Bloomberg…the cancer spreads.

  7. “Revoke concealed handgun permits for parents delinquent on child support payments”

    Here’s the payoff bill. Every antigunner submits the bill they want to pass in a cluster of ones less likely to make muster. Its the core bill he wants for two reasons I can tell.

    One; its a direct play for the feminist vote. Feminists paradoxically have leaned anti, and even if this set of bilge bills fails he can claim being a “champion for women’s rights” by trying on this one. A useful feather for presidential candidates.

    Next, its also the hardest one to argue against. Anyone voting against this part and the Domestic Violence section risks being labeled an anti-women GOP racist come next election. Considering the number of women voters, that’s a problem-especially when child support delinquents , last I checked, have the same Bill of Rights as anyone else.

    • That one struck me as the hardest one to argue on behalf of. Even if one were to assume that these ridiculous proposals would lead to fewer gun deaths, which of course we do not, this particular proposal has nothing to do with safety in any fashion.

      • Agreed. It has almost zero chance of passing anyway, but he didn’t even try to hide it by referencing Virginia’s economy. It has zero to do with the second amendment or preventing gun violence. If a person’s right is going to be revoked, there must be a case made for it, like felons losing the right to possess a firearm. It’s baffling that he included this and especially so that they referenced the economy.

        They are all bad proposals, but this one is by far the worst – and most transparent.

        • It’s not uncommon for states to withhold licensure of any kind for non-payment of taxes or support.
          And ST makes some good points.

        • Roscoe, withhold or revoke? The proposals are about gun safety, allegedly. He is mixing in one that has nothing to do with gun violence. There is no way it passes. You are picking out one portion of a group and revoking a license that a small portion has. There are already laws against being in arrears of support.

          Withholding makes more sense. You are breaking the law and that’s probably something CHL applicants shouldn’t do. But revoking it is ridiculous.

    • You assume that all child support payers are domestic abusers.
      That is incorrect. Many parents had a bad divorce with no history of violence, and one parent becomes enslaved to the other with child support. While child support delinquency is bad, they should be punished with due process of law, through a court trial, and not given a cruel or unusual punishment. I say that revoking the right to self defense over a missed payment is an absurdly cruel punishment.

      • If they’re going to infringe on your second amendment rights because of child support, then hell why not all of em.
        What’s that you owe child support, then stop talking, you are now free speech limited, and we are going to search your property without a warrant too, since you know, you owe child support. Matter of fact, here, house this squad of Marines until your caught up, and don’t even think about claiming the fifth, you don’t have a fifth amendment anymore.

    • “Revoke concealed handgun permits for parents delinquent on child support payments”

      Sure, as long as the bill is amended to also revoke the right to vote for convicted felons and illegal aliens.

    • Open carry is already legal in VA without a permit. This proposed bill about taking CHP’s from people in arrears on child support does nothing. They have taken a bill from a state where permits are required to carry a firearm. No such requirement exists in Virginia. Once you are 18, you can carry a handgun openly. ‘Nuff said.

  8. This clown is a shame to my homeland. True Virginia is dying from a DC-centered cancer, while non native vultures like McAuliffe fight over the carcass.

  9. What does the sate legislature look like in Virginia? Can this clown actually get this stupid laws passed?

    • Sure you can. There are only so many ways to hide a cop car and I never saw a motorcycle cop the whole year I consulted in the Sterling area.

      Granted, the cops run speed traps all the frickin’ time, even to the detriment of safety. Speed traps during rush hour cause more problems than they solve, so it is obviously about the revenue and not safety.

      Virginia drove me nuts. Drivers are rude as hell and everyone drives under the speed limit thanks to the overzealous police. I always loved getting back to Texas where the speed limit is the suggested minimum.

      • “Texas where the speed limit is the suggested minimum.” Laughing my a** off cause it’s true can easily go 5 miles over unless you are being passed by those going 10 over, then just get behind them, you are good to go.

      • He was probably talking about the reckless driving standards in the Commonwealth. Sure, no matter the speed limit. Anything over 20 mph over stated speed limit is considered reckless driving. The penalty is the same classification as a DUI (or DWI, I’d have to look up the statute). But also, ANY speed over 80 mph is also considered reckless driving. Even if the speed limit is 70 mph. Go over 80 and get pulled over. You’d probably get a reckless driving charge. It’s a class one misdemeanor. The highest kind of misdeameanor, just below a felony. Same classification as animal cruelty, sexual battery, DUI, etc.

        There’s a bill right now up for consideration in the legislature this session to get rid of the silly over 80 charge. There’s been one most years.

        So, just don’t speed. But like two of the stories there. Going 93 and 105 in 55. There’s no reasonable way you can get out of that. And there’s really no reason to do it. If you wanna drive twice the speed limit fine. But it’s your own damn fault if you get in trouble for it.
        http://jalopnik.com/what-every-driver-should-know-about-speeding-in-virgini-1669902845

  12. “Revoke concealed handgun permits for parents delinquent on child support payments”

    Deny an enumerated civil right over a civil matter?

    • THEN TAKE IT BACK! We can beat this, just as we are beating it in other states all over the country.
      GET INVOLVED. STOP THE SPREAD.

      • We’re trying! It’s an uphill battle, fighting against juicy federal jobs, apathy, and a hostile media. But we almost got Gillespie elected. The field isn’t ceded yet.

  15. “As a gun owner and a supporter of the Second Amendment, Governor McAuliffe believes in the right to bear arms, but”

    They really, truly think people are that stupid.

  16. Does the governor of Virginia have the nerve to try to force this up the anal cavity of Virginians through some “executive order” as Obama is doing on amnesty? If so, there may be some form of insurrection in VA. If not, the legislature will not move, even if they might want to for fear of their constituents.

    Patriots in Virginia, arise!

    • No, the governor is a very weak office in Virginia. No EOs unless the authority is granted in legislation

  17. Child support?!? WTF. Well I had a few problems many years ago. I get it but how is losing your 2A rights putting $ into mom’s pocket?

  18. “In order to build a new Virginia economy, it is essential that parents are receiving support payments and are able to provide for their children and families.”

    What is this poop? Divorce court or a paternity suit trumps the Bill of Rights?

    Retards.

    Anyway, these are the guys who will be on the ground calling reps and senators to oppose. Support them if you can.

    VCDL – Virgina Citizens Defense League http://vcdl.org/

  19. Reread your American history governor. Systematically ROBBING the citizens of their representation, rights, AND property IS a proven “predictor of future violence.”

  20. To Virginians and the rest of US take note of what just occurred in Sydney only the unarmed are the victims. This lunatic criminally insane individual didn’t take his frustrations out on the police station he took it out on the unarmed. SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS !
    Terror is tyranny!

  21. VCDL will be all over this crap. Mr. Van Cleave will motivate the membership to show up for Lobby Day in January. It’s the one day of the year gun owners assemble en masse at the Capitol and meet with elected officials all while carrying firearms in the General Assembly building.
    http://vcdl.org/2015LobbyDay/

    I don’t think the Governor has much of a chance getting any of this crap passed.

  24. >”Prohibit the possession of firearms for persons subject to protective orders”
    Why not: “Require persons who initiate a protective order to obtain a firearm to protect themselves if so able to do so.” I am sure we all know the police have no afirmative duty to protect people…

    >”Curtail handgun trafficking by reinstating the one handgun a month law”
    I didn’t know “handgun trafficing” was an issue. It sounds like me that the cheif prosecutor in the Commonwealth isn’t doing their job already, what with all these gun trafficers in VA, so why should we pile on top of that? I think this is a solid from McAwful to his pals in NY, who have always had it out for VA’s laws.

    >”Revoke concealed handgun permits for parents delinquent on child support payments.”
    Again, where is the enforcement of existing laws?
    Better idea: prohibt all state services (DMV, ABC, etc.) to these people. If they don’t file taxes but somehow work, go after them for tax evation or something.

    >”Give Virginia State Police authority to process voluntary background check requests”
    makes
    >”Keep handguns out of the wrong hands by closing the gun show loophole”
    moot.

    >”Make unlawful purchases more difficult by clarifying what information can be displayed by gun show vendors.”
    I haven’t been to a lot of gunshows… but I have NEVER seen anyone advertise they don’t do background checks. I suspect that this and the other 2 addressing the mythical “loophole” will be used as a back-door for a Commonwealth-wide “universal background check” a la Washington State’s current disaster.

    I realise we all want to do something about crime, but it continues to blow my mind that democrats want to focus on the tools rather than the socio-economic causes of crime.

    • Focusing on the socioeconomic causes of crime would necessitate spotlighting all the other failed liberal policies. So they won’t do it.

  26. Keep voting Democrat and this is what you get. Yes you have anti and pro gun candidates in both parties but only one party I know of (not counting the American communist party) has a national platform of promoting these kind of laws. It is obvious from his early days in office this jagoff is going to be an enemy of every gun owner in the state.

  27. Looks like ” private vendors” (AKA “private citizens”) is going to be the anti’s buzzphrase this year.

    You know, like “assault weapon” “commonsense” or “assault clip.”

    • Yup, pure grandstanding. Year after year for a long while now a progun bill or two passes in VA and the anti bills fail in committee.

      VA is definitely for gun lovers. I’ve looked pretty hard to find a state with better firearms laws across the board and I really dont see any. Several win on one point and lose on another, but across the board VA is good for POTG.

      Open carry legal at 18 (long gun or hand gun)
      Conceal carry permit is shall issue at 21
      NFA stuff is all fine (state police only track MGs)
      Hunting with a suppressor is fine.
      No magazine or aesthetics restrictions
      And yes, you can carry in the general assembly building. I’ve done it.

      • Don’t forget getting rid of the one-handgun-a-month purchase rule and carry in houses of worship, which unless I missed something still stands from when Cuccinelli issued his opinion. Also, recently repealed the restriction against guns in restaurants that serve alcohol. All we need is Constitutional Carry now. Terry?

        • Good luck if you’re Episcopalian or Reform Jewish. And before you scoff, I know at least one Episcopalian who I was shocked to learn carries. Of course, I’m also 100% certain he voted for TMac.

  31. They must have some new blood writing their text for them, they only used “loophole” once, and “common-sense” twice. How refreshing.

  32. Subtitled:
    Bloomberg Calls in his Marker

    Just like he said he would. Happy now that you didn’t vote? Satisfied with voting for the Libertarian? You did it to yourselves. Deal with it.

  33. Um…forbidding gun shows from advertising the fact that background checks are not required?

    I think this one, like the one authorizing gun permit revocation for delinquent child support, was chosen simply because anyone arguing against it sounds like they’re taking the side of scumbags. (How does “gun shows are people, my friend” sound?)

    It seems pretty ironic that billionaire dollars can be used as political “speech” and corporations have ever-increasing “rights,” but gun-show vendors are expected to operate under a gag order. Maybe they also should be forbidden to advertise free parking.

  34. Y’all are missing the more subtle action in here.
    Yeah these bills stand NO chance of passing in VA, but it’s more subtle agit-prop plastered all over the news equating guns with bad (or at least misbehaving) people.

    Hearts and minds people, hearts and minds.

    • “Yes, we tried to implement simple commonsense gun law reforms, but we were stopped by those evil Republicans in the legislature…”

    • Except the people of Virginia don’t give a f***. McAuliffe is struggling for relevance. His big plans to expand Medicaid failed after his attempt a bribing a downstate Democrat got turned down. He made noises about doing it without legislative approval but I think he figured out that that wasn’t legal and would be thrown out by the Virginia courts. Next year are the legislative elections and he has no chance of winning the House of Delegates and uncertain chances of winning the State Senate. A lot of traditional downstate Democratic voters loath the man and will probably vote Republican in the State Senate. I think he plans to have the Democrats run on gun control next year. That will make sure that he marginalized for the last two years of his term.

  36. In the country America is supposed to be, a politician would be tarred, feathered, and imprisoned for so much as suggesting these laws.

  37. «In order to build a new Virginia economy, it is essential [to take money from one person and give it to another person].»
    It doesn’t even make economic sense. Zero sum builds nothing.

  40. Don’t even MENTION BLOOMBERG around me! That worthless anti-American asshole! Anyone tied to this libtard is in need of incarceration. These people are criminals, wolves.

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