I was caught flat yesterday by the news of the mass shooting at a practice session for the congressional baseball game. I was further surprised as details emerged and we learned more about the shooter and his motives. And I was alternately touched and appalled by the reactions I saw in various forms of media.…
It has been an interesting few months regarding concealed carry reciprocity in Virginia. To review, back in December, the Virginia AG announced that they would not be recognizing concealed carry permits from other states. Then at the end of January, they announced that these changes would not be going into affect du eto a "bipartisan deal"…
Residents of Virginia pay no more than $50 when they apply for a concealed carry permit. This fee obviously brings in revenue for the county that collects these fees. In particular, about $70,000 a year for Prince William County, VA. One County Board Chairman, Corey Stewart, thought that gun owners shouldn't have to pay a…
Senate Bill 626 recently passed with a 32-8 vote. The bill allows people who get a protective order carry a concealed handgun for up to 45 days before the actual permit is issued. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, R-Fauquier, was proposed to help potential victims of domestic violence defend themselves. “I think experience…
In December, we reported that the Virginia AG was going to end concealed carry reciprocity with numerous states. This caused an uproar among the concealed carry and firearm community. The NRA quickly announced they would be fighting the proposed changes as well as other pro-firearm organizations. Well according to The Washington Post, the proposed changes…
Virginia's Attorney General, Mark R. Herring (D), will announce today that the Old Dominion will no longer recognize concealed carry permits from from other states that currently have reciprocity agreements with Virginia. AG Herring argues that out-of-state agreements make it too easy for people with criminal or violent histories to obtain a concealed weapons permit.…
Okay, even gun rights advocates have to admit that, on its face, the idea of legalizing concealed carry in places that serve alcohol sounded bad, if only at first blush. When the state of Virginia removed the restriction on concealed carry in bars and alcohol-serving restaurants last year, critics blasted the action and predicted a wave of…
BELLEVUE, WA - The Second Amendment Foundation today filed suit in U.S. District Court in Virginia challenging the constitutionality of federal and Virginia provisions barring handgun sales to non-residents. SAF is joined in the lawsuit by Michelle Lane, a District of Columbia resident who cannot legally purchase handguns because there are no retail firearms dealers…
Virginia's Attorney General, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II, recently issued an opinion clarifying self-defense was a valid reason (see here) for carrying a gun in a house of worship with a concealed carry permit. Previously this had been ambiguous although to my knowledge no one was prosecuted for it. From the Washington Post: Parishioners carried Bibles in…
Del. C. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah, a prosecutor who proposed last year's bill to allow concealed carry in restaurants that serve alcohol, also believes law-abiding citizens should be permitted to carry their guns just about everywhere they go. He cited the Virginia Tech massacre as an example of how an armed adult could have ended a…
