Showing once again that he’s a politician and not a statesman, our illustrious governor, Terry McAuliffe, put in place some executive orders dealing with firearms. One of those orders prohibits open carry (and soon, concealed carry) in state agency buildings!
Not only does McAuliffe owe some payback to Michael Bloomberg for a million dollar campaign donation, but McAuliffe also wants to be Hillary’s running mate. He’s puffing up his chest, so he can say on the campaign trail, “I single-handedly saved Virginia from gun violence!”
Of course, he’s doing no such thing, but he is about to set Virginia up for a massacre in one of our state agencies now that’s he’s telling all the criminals, terrorists, and criminally insane that Virginia state agencies are going to be “gun-free zones.”
Forget that all but one of the public massacres over the last decade or two have been in “gun-free zones.” But hey, in the “big scheme of things” how important is a massacre or two in comparison to the absolute necessity that McAuliffe become the next U.S. Vice President? <eye roll>
So, let’s take a look at McAuliffe’s executive orders and see what they really mean or really do:
1. Establish a joint task force to prosecute gun crimes
I had no idea that Virginia wasn’t prosecuting people who committed crimes with a gun! Oh, wait, we ARE already prosecuting them… So what is this about?
It’s about Universal Background Checks and also harassing private sellers.
The Universal Background Check part is all choreography: McAuliffe’s having the Task Force “identify ways to pursue the illegal transfer of weapons.” The Task Force he’s setting up will be pre-programmed to say that Universal Background Checks are needed so that the government knows exactly what guns each person legally owns for the purpose of tracing all guns used in crimes. Of course criminals don’t go through background checks, as they typically buy stolen guns off the street or use straw-purchasers to buy their guns. But this isn’t about stopping crime, it’s about McAuliffe being VP, registering guns, and eventually being able to do confiscations as they are doing right now in California!
On private sales, McAuliffe is signaling that he’s going to harass private sellers by trying to show that they are selling enough guns (some arbitrary number) to make them dealers and then prosecute them for being dealers operating without a license. BATFE already does this, but for McAuliffe you simply cannot have enough government harassment when it comes to gun owners.
2. Authorize the Attorney General to coordinate and bring criminal cases against firearms law offenders
Here we go again: I had no idea that Virginia wasn’t prosecuting people who committed crimes with a gun! Oh, wait, we ARE already prosecuting them… So what is this about?
Grandstanding/politics and nothing more.
3. Establish a tip line for illegal gun activity
We need a special “tip line” in order to contact the police about illegal activity using a gun? And here I thought that’s what 9-1-1 was for! Silly me. So all this time the police were not getting calls about guns being used illegally? Wow.
4. Trace guns used in crime
The police know when it makes sense to trace a gun based on the crime committed, the person(s) involved in the crime, and the exact circumstance of the crime. That way they don’t waste precious police resources (Federal, state, and local) by unnecessarily tracing firearms.
This is just more grandstanding/politics and part of the scheme to push for Universal Background Checks.
5. Encourage judges and prosecutors to seek gun forfeiture in felony and other cases
Here McAuliffe condescendingly deigns to “educate” judges and prosecutors, while asking them to ABUSE their power by ordering the confiscation and destruction of firearms routinely. I hope we have better judges and prosecutors than that, but we’ll see.
When someone loses their driver’s license, does the government confiscate his home or his car? No. He just can’t drive a vehicle on a public street anymore. His wife can still drive and use that car.
The value of someone’s firearms collection rightfully belongs to the person and his family. If someone picks up a bald eagle feather in the woods then gets convicted of the associated felony, he can no longer own his guns. But at least he can give those guns to his wife, son, daughter, uncle, or anyone else. Or he can have those guns sold for him and the proceeds go back to him and his family.
What McAuliffe is doing is asking for a blanket confiscation of firearms, with associated loss of a considerable amount of money to a family.
6. Banning OPENLY CARRIED firearms in state government buildings
We need to do something about all those shootings in Virginia state agency buildings that are in the news every day! Uh, wait, er, you know – I don’t recall there EVER being a shooting in a Virginia state government building.
McAuliffe plans on fixing that situation by creating victim rich environments for criminals, terrorists and the criminally insane to shoot fish in a barrel in new gun-free zones without risk to themselves. Lives, safety, and truth are all expendable when the vice presidency is at stake.
Effective sometime in the next 30 days, or possibly immediately, we don’t know for sure, McAuliffe is prohibiting OPEN CARRY in STATE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS such as:
- DMV;
- The Aviation Museum;
- ABC;
- Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Department of Conservation and Recreation; and
- Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Department of Education Department of Health Housing Development Authority to name just a few.
7. Banning CONCEALED firearms in state government buildings
McAuliffe is going to have the Department of General Services create a proposed regulation to prohibit CONCEALED CARRY in STATE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS.
FINAL THOUGHTS
VCDL will be watching these bans closely and will advise you on the next steps as necessary. For now, just standby as the VCDL Board of Directors and our attorneys plan our moves.
McAuliffe’s ban on firearms in state government buildings is a dangerous overstep of his powers. He is making law and the Executive branch cannot do that. This sets a bad precedent that even members of his own party in the General Assembly may not be happy with.
VCDL is definitely NOT going to roll over and take these actions lying down. VCDL IS going to fight McAuliffe every step of the way and, as a grassroots organization, we are going to need all of you to help in that fight! Once again – if you haven’t been participating in Lobby Day, thinking others will step in each year to carry your water, NOW is the time to stand with us.
And, Governor McAuliffe – this is for you: Since you believe that guns in government buildings are such a bad idea and endanger the safety of everyone, then I DARE YOU TO STAND ON YOUR PRINCIPLES AND DISARM OR DISSOLVE YOUR SECURITY TEAM! I DARE YOU.
Of course you won’t, because you know that criminals, terrorist, and the criminally insane can strike anywhere and at anytime and that they will urinate on your “gun-free zone” signs when they do so.
You, sir, are a hypocrite who places your life and your aspirations ahead of all else. Get used to the letters “VCDL,” as you will be seeing them frequently in the future.
