Like many states, Virginia has seen gun violence lead to mass killings, including the shooting that killed six at a Chesapeake Walmart, and days later three students shot dead at the University of Virginia.
Now that Democrats have control of the state’s legislative chambers, Democrats could potentially send gun-control bills to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk.
Laura Vozella, Virginia politics reporter for the Washington Post, explains how the governor is likely to respond, how the bills could pass and the challenges ahead for the state’s legislature.
- Q: What kind of specific gun control legislation is likely to come from Virginia's Democratic lawmakers?
Vozella: “We’ve already seen a pair of bills from two Democrats in the House and Senate that would ban assault weapons. They’ve tried to do that before and in years past. Even some Democrats — more conservative Democrats, some of whom haven’t returned — were opposed. This time they would grandfather existing weapons so that people who have them legally now wouldn’t have to give them up.”
- Q: Has the governor indicated in the past that he would outright reject gun safety measures?
Vozella: “What’s interesting about this right now is that he hasn’t said all that much. When he was seeking the Republican nomination way back in ’21, he spoke quite a bit about wanting to defend the Second Amendment against any further restrictions, and even … rolling back some of the restrictions that Democrats brought in 2020, when they had full control in the governor’s mansion.
“Once he got the nomination and was appealing to a general election audience, he really did not highlight guns at all. He would make sort of general proclamations about protecting constitutional rights, but he did not push on guns into the general election campaign. And then once in office, he said very little, even after a series of very high-profile shootings here in Virginia.”
- Q: It's kind of unclear in what direction he would head. If he vetoed, would there be enough support in the General Assembly to override?
Vozella: “No. Really, the Democrats will have very narrow control come January, and so they would not have the supermajority needed to overcome his veto.
“But that said, some wonder if he might be open to it. Even some gun rights groups are a little worried that they’ve never had him on the record. So, they wonder, could he possibly be open to it? But at the same time, I think generally it’s assumed that he would not go in for any kind of big restrictions, if any at all. But it would put him on the record if he has to deal with these things.
“Prior to this, Republicans had the House and they could kill any bills and nothing got to his desk. So, if nothing else, this will force him to take a stand on whatever legislation comes to him.”
