Third, the legislation that he referenced in his first news conference was considered in the 2019 session where each proposal received fair consideration and was defeated in committees of the House and Senate. Interestingly, not a single proposed change in the law would have prevented the Virginia Beach shooting.
He is proposing banning so called assault weapons, but none were used.
He has proposed background checks in cases of private firearm sales; however, the shooter bought his weapons legally at places of business that did background checks.
These are only a couple of examples. Others would step on the rights of individuals while accomplishing little or nothing. We currently have laws to deal with criminal activity. Nothing that is probably going to come before the General Assembly will faze those who plan to break the law.
Fourth, there is not a single proposal that would have any effect on the real causes of these shootings.
The common thread that runs through each of the high-profile shootings is that firearms are barred by law from each building. The law bars them at schools and government buildings - essentially signaling to the evil doers the wrong message.
There is no proposal that addresses the fact that supervisors of the Virginia Beach shooter were concerned about antisocial behavior the last couple of years.
There is no proposal that allows an employee to keep a firearm within reach to protect themselves or fellow employees.
Finally, this has nothing to do with crime. It is purely politics, as I stated at the start of this column. One goal is to get the three top elected officials back on the front page and allow them to campaign for candidates for the races this fall. It also is a unifying issue that they hope will carry them to victories in November. They are quite willing to trample the rights of law-abiding Virginians just to take control of the General Assembly.
I expect that Governor Northam believes that he can become relevant in this election by either claiming his success on this issue or, more likely, why some of us should not be re-elected.