Wednesday, January 04, 2012
McDonnell cautious on campus firearm ban
The governor said there's legitimate debate about whether armed people can "stop problems."
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The latest from our Blue Ridge Caucus politics blog
From The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND — Gov. Bob McDonnell would "not be inclined" to sign legislation preventing state colleges from banning concealed firearms in campus facilities, he said Tuesday.
"I think it's unlikely a bill like that would pass and I think at this point I would probably be unlikely to sign it," McDonnell said during an interview in his office.
Some gun rights advocates argue that gun owners with proper permits should not be barred from having concealed handguns on college campuses. The pro-gun Virginia Citizens Defense League has staged demonstrations at Virginia Tech, Radford University and other state colleges in recent months to protest campus gun restrictions. Activists are pushing for legislation in the upcoming General Assembly session to prevent college governing boards from prohibiting concealed carry on campus.
"There is some legitimate debate about whether an armed citizenry can stop problems, whether it's on a college campus or any other venue, but I'd have to see what the law looks like," McDonnell said.
"I would not be inclined to support that kind of legislation."
McDonnell noted that, while serving as the state's attorney general from 2006 to 2009, he issued opinions that college boards of visitors had "implied powers in various campus security matters to limit access to firearms in certain places on campus."
"That was my opinion under the law and they've chosen to exercise that, and most of them chose to ban firearms in virtually all venues on campus," McDonnell said. "I think, under the law, they're empowered to do that."
Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued an opinion last year concluding that college governing boards must adopt regulations to restrict firearms on campus — opining that mere policies are insufficient.
Philip Van Cleave, the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said he was disappointed by McDonnell's comments.
"But regardless, we're going to move forward with our agenda because we have to," Van Cleave said. "This is something that we feel will save lives, make universities and colleges safer."
The debate over allowing guns on college campuses has been heated in Virginia since the April 16, 2007, mass shootings at Virginia Tech that left 33 people dead. Last month, a part-time Radford student shot and killed a Tech police officer on the Blacksburg campus and then took his own life.
Andrew Goddard, a gun control activist whose son was wounded in the 2007 Tech shootings, welcomed McDonnell's remarks.
"There are a lot of bad bills coming down this year," Goddard said. "Obviously if he said something like that, that's one that I'm less concerned about."
Van Cleave said the Dec. 8 shooting death of Tech police Officer Deriek Crouse should not weaken his group's cause.
"If anything, from my point of view, it emphasizes that there are dangerous, dangerous people out there and a person needs to be able to protect themselves."
A Senate committee last year derailed legislation that would prohibit state agencies from adopting or enforcing firearms regulations or policies unless authorized by law. Del. Bob Marshall, R-Prince William County, has filed legislation for the upcoming session that would allow college faculty members with concealed carry permits to have concealed handguns on campus. Similar measures have failed to reach the House of Delegates floor in previous sessions.
McDonnell said Tuesday that he remains supportive of another gun rights priority. The governor said he would sign a bill to repeal the state's one-gun-per-month limit on handgun purchases if lawmakers send it to him. McDonnell voted for the restriction as a legislator two decades ago because of concerns about "guns-for-drugs traffic" between Virginia and the Northeast.
But McDonnell said the state has since enacted additional measures to address those concerns "without having an arbitrary volume restriction on firearms."
