Old Dominion gun sellers rejoice – Governor Terry McAuliffe is not going to let Trump’s victory over Hillary bankrupt you.
President Obama was named gun salesman of the year many times since he became president and started using his pen and phone to make it harder for Americans to buy, possess, carry, and shoot firearms. Obama announced as early as his U.S. Senate campaign in 2004 that he supported Washington D.C.’s then-near complete ban on law-abiding adults from owning firearms. His Senate term, as well as those he spent as President of the United States, were a veritable broadside against all Americans who wished to keep and bear firearms.
The effect on gun sales for all these attempts at banning them was as one might expect. From brisk sales to near panic buying, the public responded, and so did the gun companies, with a full one hundred percent increase in production during Obama’s presidency. Is there a single other increase like that under Obama? Perhaps foreclosure services.
Well, the problem for gun sellers came in with Trump. Hillary was poised to continue the attacks against guns and their owners, and consequently, drive sales. Trump, however, is seen as gun friendly and sales in the last three months have plummeted along with gun stock prices. What to do? Terry McAuliffe is not about to let Virginia gun sellers fade away. No, he will pick up the slack. As Virginia’s WHSV reports:
Governor McAuliffe has vetoed five pieces of legislation involving gun safety in the Commonwealth, many of which would have affected victims of domestic violence.
That includes Senate Bill 1299, and the identical House version of the bill, House Bill 1582, which would have provided those who are issued protective orders the right to carry a concealed weapon for 45 days immediately after the order was issued. This bill would have also waived the application and training requirements associated with concealed handgun permits.
The domestic violence provision would have allowed a person with a protective order and otherwise not prohibited, to carry legally without having to wait the 45 days Virginia allows counties to delay permits. The idea is, of course, that while they wait for the permit to issue, they are sitting ducks for their partner from whom a judge has already decided they need protection. This temporary permit would bridge the gap between being unarmed and obtaining the regular permit.
Unacceptable for the Governor. Women who are under such threat should simply wait the 45 days. That’s the safest course of action according to the McAuliffe who called the legislation “a very, very dangerous gamble that will lead to more tragedies.” He said the bills “may have been well intentioned” but would make it easier for deadly firearms to be inserted into volatile situations where the gun could be turned against the person who sought it for protection.
While those of us who have a passing familiarity with how domestic violence and firearms work might think this laughable, it is infuriating after reading what the governor did next:
McAuliffe signed identical House and Senate bills to allow the state’s judges and prosecutors to carry concealed weapons without having to undergo the normal permit-application and training process. The new law also allows them to carry their weapons most anywhere with a few exceptions, such as in the secure areas of airports.
The idea is to allow them to carry weapons at courthouses — the gun-free zones where they work — and at other locations, including places prosecutors might go in the course of an investigation, such as a school, said Sen. Stephen D. Newman (R-Lynchburg), who sponsored the Senate version.
So, if you’re a judge or prosecutor, you can carry a gun whenever, wherever, no questions asked, no proficiency demanded or accountability required. If however, you are a woman who a state judge certifies has legitimate and compelling fears for her personal safety, you must not be granted a reprieve from a waiting period granted counties for workflow management.
I’m sure McAuliffe would argue the rules are great even if his daughters were affected – oh, I forgot- they have police assigned to them, like valets to call upon when needed, paid for by the poor women who will be denied permits and left to the mercy of their attackers. The message here is – buy your guns and permits now! If you wait until you need them, it may well be too late.
