GOP moves to strip Democrat governor of armed security

Terry McAuliffe

Virginia's leading Republicans are pushing a measure that would strip the Democrat governor of his protective detail – a move that comes in response to Attorney General Mark Herring's unilateral curb on Second Amendment concealed-carry rights for residents of 25 other states who travel through the commonwealth.

Herring, in a statement of his solo gun-control measure, said: "Our General Assembly has already identified who can and cannot conceal handguns in Virginia, and we cannot have that decision undermined by recognizing permits from other states with more permissive standards," the Daily Caller reported.

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The GOP is fighting back.

Republican Sen. Bill Carrico said to the Herald Courier he is bringing forth a budget amendment this month to defund Gov. Terry McAuliffe's protective detail.

"A lot of the governor's power is deferred to the General Assembly at that point and I'll be getting with my colleagues to circumvent everything this governor has done on this point," Carrico said, the Daily Caller reported. "I have a budget amendment that I'm looking at to take away his executive protection unit. If he's so afraid of guns, then I'm not going to surround him with armed state policemen."

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Gun Owners of America's legislative counsel, Michael Hammond, confirmed his group has "obtained commitment from a state legislator that he will move to defund this lawless act when the state legislature considers the budget over the next three months," the Daily Caller reported.

Herring's order to stop recognizing concealed carry permits from 25 states is due to take effect Feb. 1.

“In order for another state’s concealed handgun permit to be recognized as valid by the Commonwealth of Virginia, that state’s laws must be “adequate to prevent possession of a permit or license by persons who would be denied a permit in the Commonwealth,” Herring’s office said in the statement.

The states 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.

Agreements will remain with West Virginia, Michigan, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.

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Lars Dalseide, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said concealed handgun reciprocity agreements between states have ended before, but his organization is unaware of another state ever implementing a change of this magnitude, according to Fox News.