Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has vetoed a bill that would allow drivers to keep loaded guns in their cars and boats without a criminal background check or firearms training. According to Christina Nuckols at the Virginian-Pilot, Kaine said the measure “presents a danger to our law enforcement officers, who risk their lives for Virginians on a daily basis while patrolling our Commonwealth’s roads and highways.”
The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police opposes the legislation. Executive Director Dana Schrad said the bill would create a confusion by opening a loophole in existing laws requiring concealed weapon permits. “We just felt the safety of police officers was put at too great a risk.”
A gun-rights advocate said the veto won’t protect police because criminals would ignore the law anyway.
If I’m reading this right, if you pack heat and you really, really want to stash a pistol in your glove compartment, you still can — as long as you pass a criminal background check or have firearms training. The only people who could possibly object to this are the radical civil libertarians of the right who, in my book, are almost as loonie as the radical civil libertarians of the left.
Frankly, I’d prefer that the General Assembly focus its attention of addressing the issues that matter to the other 98 percent of the population.
