Gabriella Hoffman: Warner's Inconsistency on National Concealed Carry Ignores the Facts

Media consultant and Virginia concealed handgun permit (CHP) holder Gabriella Hoffman has this Op/Ed in the Bristol Herald Courier calling out U.S. Senator Mark Warner for his flip-flop on National Carry Reciprocity.  Warner previously supported legislation allowing permit holders to carry nationwide.  He recently came out in opposition to the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017.  Hoffman writes:

Warner’s opposition to the bill is particularly troubling because our state is one of only 19 states that currently recognizes the valid permits of every other state in the country. Oddly enough, Warner has no issue with gun owners from Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York exercising their right to self-defense when they come to Virginia. Yet he fails to apply this principle to his own law-abiding constituents desiring to exercise that same right in those states.

Warner even suggests expanding CHP rights would encourage more “gun violence.” How laughable.

Hoffman goes on to point out that CHP holders are some of the most law-abiding people in the country and cites Dr. John Lott's research showing CHP holders are more law-abiding than police officers:

By comparing crime reports and revocations of CHP permits in Florida and Texas, he found that permit holders are less likely to commit crimes than police officers. Lott found similar results across the country. Given this, Warner is either obfuscating the facts, or is eager to have billionaire gun control activist Michael Bloomberg continue to line his coffers with donor money.

She also points out what happened when Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring tried to end Virginia's reciprocity and recognition agreements with 25 states - a public outcry led to bipartisan support for legislation introduced to overturn that likely would have withstood a veto by Governor Terry McAuliffe.  This forced McAuliffe to throw his AG under the bus and reach a deal that not only restored the agreements with the 25 states, but actually expanded Virginia's reciprocity to include states not previously recognized.

Warner is used to flip flopping however when it comes to the issue of guns.  He originally opposed Virginia's CHP law but flipped when he ran for Governor.  He also signed more pro-rights legislation than any other Governor in recent memory.  But now that he is in the minority party in the U.S. Senate, he apparently believes he needs to toe the anti-rights line of the majority of his Senate Democrat colleagues.

Hat-tip to Cam Edwards of NRATV.com Cam and Company.

Gabriella Hoffman: Let Victims of Domestic Violence Conceal Carry in Virginia

Gabriella Hoffman, a conservative blogger and media strategist, wrote in Monday's Richmond Times Dispatch that Governor Terry McAuliffe should sign two bills currently sitting on his desk, HB1852 and SB1299, which would allow victims of domestic violence to carry a concealed firearm without a permit for 45 days.  If they apply for a concealed handgun permit during that time, they would get an additional 45 days from the date of the application.

Two bills sitting on Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s desk — House Bill 1852 and Senate Bill 1299 — would make it easier for victims of domestic abuse to protect themselves. If signed into law, these bills would allow anyone seeking a protective order to temporarily carry a concealed handgun without a permit. Virginia already allows law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm openly without a permit. The bill would protect a woman from criminal prosecution if she placed her handgun in her purse or under a jacket. It just makes sense.

In Virginia, a person seeking to carry a concealed handgun must get a state-issued permit. The process requires submitting an application to your local circuit court, paying a $50 fee and consenting to a background check. Under Virginia law, the state has up to 45 days to process a CHP application. That waiting period is often too long for victims of domestic abuse.

In March 2014 a 43-year-old mother of five in Loudoun County, Michelle Castillo, was found murdered in her home, allegedly at the hands of her estranged husband. Last April, a Leesburg mother of three, Christina Fisher, was shot to death at her home, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend. Last November in Big Stone Gap, 38-year-old Janina Jefferson was allegedly murdered by her ex-husband. What do these three cases have in common? The murdered women each had a restraining order against the men who allegedly killed them. All three women might be alive today if they had been able to protect themselves with a concealed handgun.

Last year, McAuliffe vetoed similar legislation saying:

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto Senate Bill 626, which provides that for a period of 45 days after the issuance of a protective order, the person who has issued the order may lawfully carry a concealed handgun. This bill eliminates the application and training requirements associated with concealed handgun permits and allows petitioners to carry a concealed handgun immediately upon the issuance of any protective order.

That bill allowed any person 21 years of age or older who is not prohibited from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm under state or federal law and is protected by a protective order for 45 days after such order was issued or until such order expires or is otherwise dissolved by the issuing court, whichever occurs first. If the individual applied for a concealed carry permit during that time, the exemption would be extended for an additional 45 days until the application was processed.  So, McAuliffe is presuming that everyone that may take advantage of the statute would just get a gun and not be trained in how to protect themselves.  Remember that even a hunter safety course qualifies someone in Virginia to apply for a CHP so McAuliffe is on thin ice on the training issue.

In his veto message, McAuliffe also referenced the compromise that restored the reciprocity/recognition agreements with 25 states which had been ended by Attorney General Mark Herring in December of 2015.  Part of that agreement included legislation that required abusers that were subject to a protective order to get rid of their firearms (to date 28 firearms have been turned over to law enforcement) as a reason SB626 would be unnecessary, as if someone bent on doing harm is going to comply with the law.

Gun owners need to contact the Governor's office and urge him to sign both HB1852 and SB1299.

The Case for Concealed Carry in Washington D.C.

Over the weekend, Leadership Institute Northeast Regional Field Coordinator Gabby Hoffman had an Op/Ed in the Richmond Times Dispatch making the case for repealing the ban on carrying handguns in Washington D.C.  In the opinion piece, Hoffman wrote about how Virginia's concealed handgun law has made the Commonwealth a safer place, and how crime has dropped at the same time gun sales have increased exponentially in the last six years:

If D.C. adopts gun laws similar to those of Virginia, the nation’s capital will witness a reduction in crime when law-abiding residents are permitted to conceal-carry.

Hoffman spoke with NRANews' Cam Edwards on Monday and talked in more detail about how D.C.'s residents would benefit if the City Council adopted a carry ordinance similar to Virginia.