Despite criticism from gun-rights advocates and GOP legislative leaders, Governor McAuliffe is not retreating on a package of gun-control measures that he has proposed for the upcoming General Assembly session. McAuliffe says this was one of his campaign promises, so no one should be surprised.
Conservatives say the Governor is catering to the anti-gun agenda of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose Super PAC donated to his campaign. But McAuliffe says this is about keeping people safe.
The Governor proposes prohibiting anyone subject to a protective order or convicted of certain misdemeanor offenses from owning a gun. Those include brandishing a firearm, domestic assault, and stalking.
But Philip Van Cleave with the Virginia Citizens Defense League says that's not how the law should be interpreted.
And Van Cleave says taking away someone's gun rights for a protective order could force someone who is divorcing an abusive spouse to be left without a means of self-protection.
The Governor also proposes reverting back to Virginia's "One-Handgun-a-Month" law, which was recently repealed. He says criminals exploit it and run guns out-of-state.
And McAuliffe wants to revoke the concealed-carry permits of those who are delinquent on child-support payments. Van Cleave scoffs at that.
Gun-control advocates say since Congress has failed to act, state-level proposals like McAuliffe's are needed. They would also like localities to implement their own gun-control measures, including limiting magazine capacity and restricting military weapons. Gun-rights advocates say many new laws are redundant, don't dissuade those with criminal intent, and are often crafted by people with limited knowledge about what they're banning and the laws that are already on the books.