Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia demonstrated the importance of election outcomes Tuesday when he wielded his veto pen to stop more than two-dozen gun control bills, leaving Democrats furious.
In a veto message, Youngkin removed any doubt about his position, stating, “I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms.” He didn’t stop there.
“The Constitution precludes the Commonwealth from prohibiting a broad category of firearms widely embraced for lawful purposes,” the governor added, “such as self-defense. Despite this, certain members of the General Assembly have pursued legislation banning most contemporary semiautomatic firearms and specific ammunition-feeding devices.”
Elsewhere, Gov. Youngkin said, “The legislation treats the Second Amendment as a secondary right compared to other constitutional guarantees, and the proposed expansion of substantial risk orders is excessively broad and overreaching.”
Democrats, who re-captured the legislature last November and immediately began pushing an extremist gun control agenda, let their anger be known. According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Democrat State Sen. Creigh Deeds of Charlottesville—sponsor of a bill to ban so-called “assault weapons”—called Youngkin’s veto a “shameful and unthinking action.”
When Youngkin suggested Virginia would be better served by laws increasing penalties on criminal activities and improving mental health services, Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell posted a message on social media: “Public safety is about more than mandatory minimums & locking people up longer.”
The Daily Wire is reporting how Youngkin was “using his perch as a Republican governor to restrain Democrats from taking the state in a leftward direction despite the party having taken full control of the legislature in November.”
According to the Daily Wire report, Youngkin vetoed a measure which would have prevented “widely-used gun safety courses” from being used by concealed carry permit applicants to fulfill a training requirement.
Another measure would have penalized firearms manufacturers, essentially in conflict with the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
There is little doubt Democrats will work overtime to replace Youngkin when the governor’s office is up for grabs in 2025. In Virginia, governors are not allowed to serve consecutive terms, so Youngkin will be out.
