Sheer Stupidity

Earlier this week Governor Bob McDonnell responded to the recent shooting that occurred in New Town Connecticut by urging the Virginia legislature to pass legislation that would allow teachers and principals in the Commonwealth to arm themselves with guns in Virginia schools.

This proposal by the Governor will only put more lives in danger. As I stated last week in a blog and a video, the real answer to reducing gun violence in not only the Commonwealth of Virginia, but in the country as a whole, is to enact an assault weapons ban in the Commonwealth and reinstate the assault weapons ban at the Federal level.

We must strengthen the background checks for people who want to possess guns legally in the Commonwealth as well as the rest of the nation and we need to close the gun show loophole.

I also believe that magazines of the type that are used with assault weapons, like the ones used in Colorado, Connecticut, and Virginia Tech, should be subject to a stiff tax until they are completely banned.  Each assault with an assault weapon has extraordinary societal impact. Not only do these assaults cost lives, but they also raise the cost of healthcare.  Not only do they raise the cost of healthcare, but the survivors will very likely suffer severe emotional and physical injuries which mandate expensive care for the rest of their lives.  Simply put, it is better to ban these high caliber ammunitions and assault weapons completely because in the long run banning them will be savings to us.

I also will, once sworn in as Governor, institute a recurring gun buy back program for weapons of every kind in Virginia, and these buy back programs will occur twice a year.  Some people have stated that guns do not kill people - people kill people.  What is true without a doubt is that high caliber ammunition in these assault weapons does in fact kill people.