Virginia may be “for lovers,” as the state motto goes, but not for lovers of the Second Amendment anymore.
The Commonwealth of Virginia is preparing to no longer recognize gun permits from Alaska and 24 other states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
A bill introduced this month in the Virginia’s General Assembly would strike those reciprocity agreements with states that don’t meet the stricter standards that the Democrat-run state is rapidly adopting.
Alaskans who work for the federal government and who move to Washington, D.C. for their jobs, need to sell their guns in Alaska before they leave, if they plan to live in D.C. or now also Virginia, if this bill passes. Many guns owned by Alaskans are already illegal in the Eastern Seaboard states.
HB 569 reads as follows:
Out-of-state concealed handgun permits; reciprocity. Reinstates the prior law providing that the holder of an out-of-state concealed handgun permit who is at least 21 years of age is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in Virginia if the other state (i) has a 24-hour-a-day means of verification of the validity of the permits issued in that state and (ii) has requirements and qualifications that are adequate to prevent possession of a permit by persons who would be denied a permit in Virginia. Under current law, the holder of an out-of-state concealed handgun permit who is at least 21 years of age is authorized to carry a concealed handgun in Virginia if (a) the other state has a means of verification of the validity of the permits issued in that state, accessible 24 hours a day, if available; (b) the person carries a government-issued photo identification and displays it upon demand of a law-enforcement officer; and (c) the person has not previously had a Virginia concealed handgun permit revoked. The bill states that the Attorney General shall (1) determine whether states meet the requirements and qualifications of the bill, (2) maintain a registry of such states, and (3) make the registry available to law-enforcement officers for investigative purposes. The bill further requires the Attorney General to review the determinations of whether states meet the requirements and qualifications of the bill and update the registry accordingly every two years. The bill removes the requirement for the Superintendent of State Police to enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition with other states that require an agreement to be in place before the state will recognize a Virginia concealed handgun permit as valid in the state and provides that the Attorney General may enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition with any state qualifying for recognition. The bill also reinstates the recognition of certain Maryland concealed handgun permits and eliminates the requirement that the Superintendent of State Police enter into agreements for reciprocal recognition of concealed handgun permits or licenses with other states where agreements were in existence on December 1, 2015.
HB 569 is one of a handful of anti-gun bills moving quickly through the newly sworn in Democrat-dominated Legislature in Virginia.
As a “Second Amendment Sanctuary City” movement sweeps across Virginia, thousands of protesters are set to converge on the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on Monday to protest the plans to pass some of the strictest gun control measures in the nation. The state’s capital city is bracing for counter demonstrations from Antifa groups, and infiltration from white supremacist groups. Road closures and heavy police presence are expected across the city.
“Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia,” President Donald Trump tweeted this week. “That’s what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!”
Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam has declared a state of emergency and issued a ban on all weapons, including firearms, on the grounds of the Capitol, and asked the Federal Aviation Administration to put in place a temporary flight restrictions for Richmond on Monday, when it will be illegal to fly planes or drones above the city. The governor has said he is concerned about the use of weaponized drones.
Critics say that just as free speech doesn’t stop at state lines, neither should Second Amendment rights be confined to the state in which a person lives. The irony in this law is that many of the people who originated the Second Amendment were Virginians.
“Delegate Helmer would sacrifice their civil rights to make the already complex patchwork of state gun laws as confusing as rush hour traffic headed through Washington D.C.,” wrote Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
The Monday gun rally coincides with Martin Luther King Jr. Day, which is a state holiday and is often a time of reflection, when civil rights groups rally in the state’s capital city.
In advance, three members of an alleged white supremacist group were arrested by the FBI on Thursday on gun charges, amid fears they were planning to attend the Richmond rally and incite violence.
[Read: Alaska’s firearm reciprocity laws]
