On Wednesday, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, said he would “push” for more gun control if he is elected governor in a debate with Republican Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli.
McAuliffe invoked the Washington Navy Yard, Aurora, and Newtown tragedies and asked, “How many people have to be killed until we wake up to have sensible gun ownership?”
He said he was “dismayed with United States Senate this year” for not bringing up a bill which was co-sponsored by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) that would have mandated universal background checks.
“As governor, I’m going to push,” McAuliffe said. “We need universal background checks for everyone to keep our loved ones safe.”
Cuccinelli mentioned that McAuliffe was the only candidate among the six running statewide who has received an “F” grade from the NRA. After the Colorado recall of State Senators John Morse and Angela Giron, McAuliffe vowed to bring Colorado-style gun control laws to Virginia.
In addition, McAuliffe reportedly met with outgoing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the end of August. Bloomberg gave $350,000 to his Mayors Against Illegal Guns group to back the two Colorado state senators who were recalled. Bloomberg also called Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, on two occasions before he signed the gun control legislation into law that ultimately led to the recall of Morse and Giron.