ENOUGH

How many more killings will it take? How many more parents must bury their children? How many brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, wives, and husbands must be buried because of the senseless gun violence? How many more children are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of the Second Amendment?

In a given year, there is an average of 20 mass shootings in the United States.  The moral question before us, is how many more killings will it take for us, as a nation, to conclude that the Second Amendment does not give us carte blanche permission to kill at will? The latest example of this is the mass killing of innocent school children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newport, CT.

For far too long, our society and our leaders, both at the Federal and State levels, have turned a blind eye to the increasingly violent society we find ourselves in.  Whether it is the Virginia Tech shooting of several years ago, the Columbine shooting, or the rash of shootings we have seen in 2012: such as the mass killings at the movie theater in Colorado, the shooting that occurred at the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, and the shooting in New York City right outside the Empire State Building.  Also just a few days ago, a shooting occurred at a popular mall outside Portland, Oregon in which 3 people were killed. 

I know that it not a popular stand to speak out against the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment is really not an issue. The right to bear arms in this country is a Constitutional right, but even rights can be reasonably regulated.  Many in the Conservative movement believe that there should be no restrictions on the right to bear arms.  Yet, it is this very theology, this true belief on the part of Conservatives in this country, that has led to an increasing number of mass shootings. This increasingly violent behavior has struck both the well known as well as the unknown. 

As you may remember, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was severely injured by an individual who had a mental illness, and who had obtained assault weapons.  While the former Congresswoman survived, others did not in that shooting, including a Federal District Judge.

Once elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, I will move with full speed to ban assault weapons of every type in the Commonwealth.  Assault weapons are the most used in mass killings.  Assault weapons are of no use in hunting. 

I am not proposing a ban on all guns.  However, I think it’s more than reasonable for the next Governor to propose regulations that would completely ban all assault weapons including the glock, which was one of the weapons used in the shooting at the elementary school in Connecticut. 

Proposing such a reasonable ban will, I am sure, cause a political uproar in the Commonwealth.  But it is the right thing to do.  As your next Governor, I will propose such a ban.