RICHMOND, Va. (WUSA9) — Stymied in the state legislature, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe just took new gun restrictions into his own hands.
The governor signed an executive order Thursday banning firearms in most state government buildings and empowering the Attorney General to prosecute illegal gun sales.
Up until the governor’s order, almost everyone was legally entitled to carry a firearm into the DMV in Virginia.
Governor McAuliffe handed to pen he used to sign Executive Order 50 to the parents of murdered WDBJ reporter Alison Parker and argued the measures will help reduce gun violence.
“No more excuses. No more politics. No more senseless deaths while elected leaders play partisan petty games,” McAuliffe said.
The ban on openly carrying guns applies immediately to all state buildings the governor controls. He also hopes to ban people with concealed carry permits from bringing their guns in, but that process could take a month.
To date, there is no ban on concealed carry. I am assuming those guns with a permit can still be carried anywhere.
Let’s have this discussion explain why anyone should have a gun in state buildings. For the life of me, I can’t see carrying a long rifle into the governors mansion. The Capitol and General Assembly have no gun bans as they are under the control of the General Assembly.
I can understand not wanting guns in the DMV. Too tempting, just too tempting.
