Virginia bill revokes gun permit reciprocity with Alaska and 24 other states

By
Suzanne Downing
-
25

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]

25 COMMENTS

  1. So has Alaska boycotted another state for political social views???

    California is restricting publicly funded travel to four more states because of recent laws that leaders here view as discriminatory against gay and transgender people.

    All totaled, California now bans most state-funded travel to eight states.
    ****** * ****next****
    The new additions to California’s restricted travel list are Texas, Alabama, Kentucky and South Dakota.

    They join Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee as states already subjected to the ban.
    04/13/2017 08:02 pm ET
    Some States, Cities Still Banning Government Travel To North Carolina
    “We must continue to stand up for the rights of all people,” said Washington’s governor.
    headshot
    By Mollie Reilly
    *******next***

    Hypocrisy: San Francisco boycotts pro-life states but …
    https://www.liveaction.org/news/san-francisco…
    Oct 27, 2019 · Earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced the city will no longer do business with pro-life states.Spearheaded by Supervisor Vallie Brown, the ordinance bans city employees from traveling to 22 states for work, or making deals with any companies headquartered there, due to “restrictive abortion

    *****next
    San Fran Blacklists 22 States over Pro-Life Laws
    http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/...
    San Francisco Blacklists 22 States over Pro-Life Laws . By Zachary Evans, National Review, 10/17/19 The city of San Francisco has added 22 states with laws limiting abortion access to a blacklist that prevents city employees from traveling to those states on the city’s dime or dealing with businesses based in them.

    • We live in a greatly divided country where a state’s rights today can Trump federal laws.
      We see this on many issues from gun rights to marijuana.
      Much animosity is derived from the imbalance created by the Electoral College System in America and the results it puts out election after election (I believe Trump lost the overall election by 6 million votes)…
      A state has the right to restrict the right to carry firearms in public places just as it has the right to raise taxes or open up its land for resource development.
      Alaska is a long way away from Virginia and just because a few Washington elites fly back and forth for political reasons, that does not change the current situation in America.

        • Trump won the votes that count by 77 votes or 56.5%, with a tally of 304 to 227, 7 votes went to somebody other than Trump or Hillary.
          .
          The popular vote went to Hillary at 65,853,516 to 62,984,825 or a difference of 2,868,691. https://transition.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2016/2016presgeresults.pdf
          .
          Thankfully our forefathers had the foresight put the electoral college in place for our Constitutional Republic. The electoral college ensures the tyranny of the majority we would have seen under Hillary would be much less likely to happen.

  5. Why would Alaskans moving there need to sell their guns? They may not be able to “carry,” without some additional permitting, but they aren’t prohibited from owning them as I read this bill. Not everyone that owns guns keeps them in order to “carry” IMO.
    We already know that States can restrict firearm laws and this just seems to be an example, if it passes.

    • The answer to your question is that with VA adding itself to the mid-Atlantic gun ban belt, there is now a ban on many common types of guns and ammunition that extends from MA south to (now) VA. For example, my wife’s Remington semi- auto trap gun would bring a mandatory 5-year sentence in MA as an unregistered “weapon.” Last year a married couple, both enlisted personnel in the USCG, were transferred from AK to DE, and their AK moving sale included a number of semi-auto rifles (so-called black rifles, mostly), large capacity pistol magazines, etc. they had to sell in order to live in DE. They said that when they retire from service (a long time from now, judging by their ages) they were coming back to AK. Three years ago, also at a moving sale, a fellow was cleaning out his mother’s house; had a S&W .357 revolver he had bought new as a student in Oregon, that he wanted to sell. We made a deal but he couldn’t bring himself to sell it yet he didn’t dare take it back to CT where, he said, it would bring a 6 month sentence and a several thousand dollar fine. He left it with a lifelong friend here in AK. OK with me as I really wanted the gun and had agreed on a price that really was too high. Moving and estate sales are really impulse buys, and I sometimes instantly fall in love with a certain gun. On the other hand, if you are going to follow Bernie, Elizabeth or Joe, and are therefore going to sell your guns at a moving sale in the event one of them is elected please advertise it here, and I will be there when you open your garage door. In AK we elect people like Mike Dunleavy so I am not worried about my guns becoming illegal. AK will go for President Trump, and we will keep our guns no matter what.

      • That was no answer, Kubota!
        I realize such a bill causes heartburn for some folks (you?) but just because you can pick/choose a few guns that are outlawed in Virginia does not mean all guns. And this proposed bill will change “carry” laws but we already know that States can (and do) regulate certain guns. As far as I can tell the proposed bill does nothing to change the type of guns that can be owned-so if Alaskans didn’t need to sell their guns prior to this bill, what makes them need to sell them now? Further, Alaskans visiting are still free to get a Virginia carry permit if they insist-what a country, right?
        What does any of this have to do with Dunleavy (or Trump for that matter)?

        • Ironically, the State of Virginia non-res requirements are the same as Alaska’s CWP requirements, which makes Klan Hood Northam’s claim they need to deny us reciprocity over “public safety issues” a bald-faced, anti-rights lie.

          • Your argument is with the new Virginia-my point was only that the statement that Alaskans moving there would have to sell their guns was bogus. And I suspect they could get a Virginia carry permit once a resident

        • The preemption bill in the Va legislature allows for local governments to ban ownership and possession.

          I love the “only some guns are banned”. So as long as there is one “approved” gun all is well? I find that banning firearms that are 100 years old so woke. In five years buying a replacement part for your firearm will require a background check for “precursor” parts in California.

          Put it another way…. how about restricting voting for some to only local elections and not state or federal? I mean… you still can vote.

  7. Isn’t Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam the same guy who dressed in blackface and/or a Ku Klux Klan outfit while in college? Isn’t Democrat Gov. Ralph Northam the same guy who when discussing the abortion bill he signed into law said “If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired. And then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.”

  8. ANTIFA and white supremists are NOT marching for the Second Amendment. They are there to make 2A groups look bad.

  9. Were the three guys arrested actually “members” of a”white supremacy group”? Has anyone even confirmed that the “alleged white supremacy group” even exists? They had “hundreds of rounds of ammunition” according to an interview With the governor that i watched… does that make one a domestic terrorist? I’d venture to guess that most Alaskan families have “hundreds” of .22 cal lr in the house, it’s not a very big box really. It’s getting easier and easier to brand someone a domestic terrorist nowadays, most media will gladly jump on the bandwagon to convict a gun owner in the court of public opinion, even good news outlets may sidestep the issue for fear of being branded themselves? I’m not so sure these three fellows really are members of any group together, nor that any group they may or may not have been involved with was actually a “white supremist group”. Only a month ago, the alaska family council was declared in writing, and in public by federally paid for trainers, as a “hate group”. Seems kind of fishy to me they are so capable of so quickly finding “white supremist 2a supporters “armed” to the teeth, but nobody from Antifa or any other organization seems to come up on the radar? Just saying, there might be more to this story than meets the eye.

    • Government has no constitutional authority to make any laws dictating who may and who may not carry arms; or under what circumstances people may and may not carry arms across state borders! Arms control of the people is not an enumerated power!

      • You are dreaming, Rich. And you sound a bit like those who periodically show up saying govt. cannot tax its citizens right up until they go to penal institutions.
        Sure sounds great, though.

  11. I live in Idaho. I think this is funny because Idaho does not require a permit to carry a gun, concealed or open carry.

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