Virginia to stop honoring 25 states’ concealed-carry gun permits

The concern is that risky people could legally obtain guns in states with weaker gun laws and bring them across the border into Virginia.

It should be noted that stripping the concealed carry reciprocity agreements between Virginia and 25 other states in the name of “safety” will actually do nothing at all to keep citizens safer.

According to a report in the Washington Post this morning, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, will unilaterally end the state’s long held concealed carry reciprocity agreements with 25 states.

Herring, a Democrat, said doing away with the agreement could prevent those who are unsafe from carrying a concealed gun, according to The Washington Post. As demonstrated by the leadership of Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) and now Attorney General Herring, leaders do not have to wait for Congress or their respective state legislatures to take action to reduce gun violence in our communities.

A study by the attorney general’s office found those 25 states grant concealed carry permits using “more permissive standards”, than Virginia.

The states that Virginia will no longer honor reciprocity with 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.

The state now has either agreements or defacto recognition with 30 other states to honor permits issued to individuals.

State Police Superintendent W. Steven Flaherty has signed off on the new restrictions and will implement and enforce the change. His only opponent so far is Delegate Robert B. Bell III, a former state prosecutor.

The ban includes offices of state agencies in Richmond as well as buildings throughout the state such as Department of Motor Vehicles facilities and Virginia Employment Commission centers.

In recent years Virginia, symbolically the home of the National Rifle Association’s headquarters, has been a battleground state for Second Amendment issues.

New guidelines are also being set in Virginia to determine which residents are eligible to purchase guns within the state.