Dave Adams of the Virginia Shooting Sports Foundation has an article in the Roanoke Times calling for the repeal of one-gun-a-month, and suggesting it was his top legislative priority for the year. Excellent.
13 thoughts on “Repealing Virginia’s Gun Rationing”
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This was actually part of a “Point / Counterpoint” thing the RT does. There was also an opposing article (by an Only One, of course), and both authors were given the opportunity to write a rebuttal to the other as well. Then the whole thing was opened up to comments on the RT’s blog, and there was also a live chat with both authors and open to readers (the link goes to a replay/record of the chat).
I covered it here. Despite my request (and another person’s request in the chat), the anti-Rights crowd, as usual, never presented (and still hasn’t presented) any evidence that rationing actually does what they claim. In fact, the author of the opposing article actually admitted that they can’t produce any evidence, though she claims it’s “because you can’t prove a negative”. She (and the others) also ignore the original (pro-repeal) author pointing out that the data they use to support their claim can’t actually do that.
In other words, they pull their usual tricks.
That’s great, isn’t Virginia pretty good for gun laws otherwise?
Not really. For the home of the NRA, it has sucky laws. Training to get a license, poor reciprocity language that requires other states to have training, colleges as off-limits locations, etc.
I see, hope they can make some progress then. I also read that Florida is moving ahead on knife preemption, I can only hope that other states will follow their lead and give edged tools and weapons the same protections that firearms deserve.
First, training in and of itself isn’t a bad thing. That said, the training requirement is almost non-existant. While there’s lots of courses advertising special CCW training, nearly all provide far more than is actually required under the law. ANY training will do. Even a hunter safety course (which the state will give you for free), cub scout training, etc.
Plus, we have open carry so you don’t even need a permit if you don’t want one.
Finally, the reciprocity problems have nothing to do with training requirement. They have to do with the scope of permit coverage ie: do the other states allow knives and other weapons. Virginia issues Concealed Handgun Permits. Not Concealed Weapons Permits.
True. The Minnesota hunter’s safety class I took when I was in 7th grade (20 years previously) was enough to get my VA CHP with no additional training (I just had to present the card, which I still had).
There was an attempt to fix this last year, to allow other weapons. I believe the main reason it failed is that doing so supposedly would cause problems with some of the states VA does have reciprocity with, but the antis framing it as a “machine gun carry” bill sure didn’t help.
As I understood it, the reciprocity problem has more do do with things like not requiring a fingerprint based background check. Arlington did but I heard others didn’t. Sort of like how some states don’t have reciprocity with Wisconsin apparently because they don’t do a NICS check, which is the only national level method to check on mental disbarments.
States vary on what’s licensed, Missouri also limits it to handguns. In Virginia that perhaps also helped end George Allen’s state level political career, since he promised people outside of NoVA and the Virginia Beach area (where the judges ignored the law) and told them he wouldn’t take their rights away. When the final, This Time We Mean It (and if you don’t believe us, note how we terminated with Extreme Prejudice the bench career of the judge who dicked around with Ollie North’s license) law, it went from weapons to handguns and inserted a ban on concealed but not open carry in any place that serves alcohol. People in the saner parts of the state were … displeased.
It is illegal for Arlington to require fingerprints for a CHP. Which is why they don’t do it anymore (or shouldn’t, if they do let VCDL know).
The big reciprocity thing has always had to do with the fact that its a Concealed Handgun Permit and not a Concealed Weapons Permit. But, with 50 states, there are invariably going to be state by state issues (like Georgia, where there isn’t reciprocity – though my NH non resident permit gets me coverage there).
Actually, they can require fingerprinting for the initial CHP. What they can’t do is require it for a renewal.
They’re also not allowed to keep them, or to make any copies – they can only be used for the background check, and then they have to be returned to the applicant or destroyed.
Looks like I was wrong about Missouri; somehow, even though “CCW” is on my ID card it is indeed for weapons and not just handguns, although all the emphasis is on handguns. And in the official friendly brochure in the “don’t carry here” section (except that’s not actionable unless you don’t leave if asked) it’s illustrated with a folding knife with the international not red circle and slash. I’m not at all sure how it interacts with edged weapon laws.
And we have reciprocity with Georgia and pretty much every other state that does reciprocity, e.g. not Oregon.
Funny thing, the more you look at our law the more you notice all the fine print works in the favor of the civilians, e.g. Oregon doesn’t recognize our’s (or anyone else’s) but we recognize *any*, even of a subdivision of state (not sure if there are any examples of that besides NYC, although I don’t know how their permits work with the rest of the state). Even if you’re a Missouri resident.
That’s great, but it strikes me this is going to be a pretty hard law to overturn – for the simple reason that there are few if any people impacted by it in Virginia since it doesn’t apply to Concealed Handgun Permit holders and – well – basically everyone in Virginia has one.
It’s a necessary precondition for dumping VFTP and going to a straight NICS setup.
It took me almost 3 mos get my non resident Virgina permit what happen to 45 days law ?