VA GOP to Undo AG’s Anti-Gun Policy with National Reciprocity Legislation

In the wake of Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring’s (D) decision to end concealed carry reciprocity with 25 states, Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation that will honor concealed permits from every state–thereby overriding Herring’s action.

The Washington Post previously reported that the 25 states with which Herring plans to cut ties are “Alaska, 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.” His reasons for taking such actions boil down to what he sees as a lack of sufficient gun controls in these 25 states.

Herring’s actions leave Virginia in a position of recognizing reciprocity with five states and immediately bar Virginians from carrying guns in six states–Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wyoming–and that is because those six states do not recognize permits from other states without having their own permits recognized in return.

But the Virginia GOP is responding with various legislative pushes aimed at stopping Herring’s actions in their tracks or overriding them.

For example, Guns.com reports that Delegate Lee Ware (R-Dist 65) is pushing legislation to recognize concealed carry permits from every state, thereby rendering Herring’s actions null and void. And Breitbart News previously reported that state Senator Bill Carrico (R-Dist 40) is striking back by pushing an amendment to defund Governor Terry McAuliffe’s (D) protective detail.

Carrico’s action comes as Republican lawmakers are convinced Herring’s action is simply one more gun control push from one more gubernatorial administration bent on crippling gun rights to whatever degree possible. So Carrico simply observed, “If [McAuliffe’s] so afraid of guns, then I’m not going to surround him with armed state policemen.”

On December 26, The Washington Post claimed Virginia’s GOP lawmakers were overreacting and suggested their strong response to Herring’s reciprocity ban is actually an outgrowth of the GOP’s “losing streak in statewide races in Virginia.” Perhaps, however, Herring’s actions are an outgrowth of Democrats’ frustration with the inability to secure any significant victories at the delegate level in Virginia. After all, it is the Republican-controlled General Assembly that has consistently opposed McAuliffe’s–and now Herring’s–gun control efforts.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.