2021 VA Governor's race: on Gun Control
Justin Fairfax:
Spoke for strong gun control after Virginia Beach shooting
It appeared the governor and his lieutenant put aside their differences in the name of gun control,
a common refrain in the wake of the repeated senseless gun violence plaguing the country.
Source: NewsOne on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race
Jun 4, 2019
Lee Carter:
Voted for background checks; against assault weapons ban
Carter voted in favor of bills to establish universal background checks, report lost and stolen firearms, impose penalties for improper storage of firearms and prohibit the possession of firearms for individuals subject to protective orders.Carter
voted against bills that would ban the sale of assault weapons; establish extreme risk protective orders; reinstate Virginia's one-handgun-a-month rule; and allow localities to adopt ordinances governing possession of firearms in their jurisdictions.
Source: Prince Williams Times on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Jan 1, 2021
Amanda Chase:
Keep kids safe with armed police at each school
Virginia's students deserve proper funding and adequate resources to ensure they have the strongest foundation for success.
As a mom, Amanda will always view school safety as critical and support keeping kids safe by having armed police officers at each school.
Source: 2021 Virginia Governor campaign website Chase4Senate.com
Dec 13, 2020
Jennifer McClellan:
For universal background checks, red flag laws
As a legislator, Jennifer McClellan has taken on the NRA and fought for common sense measures to reduce gun violence. Jenn led the fight in the Senate to require the reporting of lost or stolen firearms and co-patroned new laws to reinstate
Virginia's one-gun-a-month rule and to implement universal background checks. She also fought for measures to require individuals subject to protective orders or "red flag" orders to relinquish firearms during the pendency of the order.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website JennMcClellanVA.com
Feb 18, 2021
Kirk Cox:
Second Amendment is a foundational God-given right
Kirk Cox believes the Second Amendment is a foundational and God-given right critical to freedom. Kirk taught ALL of the amendments to the Constitution for 30 years as a government teacher, and firmly believes the founders understood that the Second
Amendment is the only thing standing between us and tyranny. For his entire career, Kirk Cox has consistently defended the Second Amendment, law-abiding gun owners, sportsmen, and the individual right to keep and bear arms.As Majority Leader, he
advanced pro-Second Amendment legislation, whether it was improving our concealed carry laws, allowing responsible gun owners to store firearms, or ending one gun per month. When the Attorney General tried to unilaterally end reciprocity for concealed
carry, Cox and the House of Delegates stepped in and fixed it.
Kirk Cox has a lifetime A rating from the NRA and has voted on the side of gun owners every single time he had the chance to do so. And as Governor, his fight would continue.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website KirkCox.com
Feb 19, 2021
Terry McAuliffe:
Fight for common sense solutions to preventing gun violence
Virginia took critical steps during the 2020 legislative session and passed a number of life-saving bills, but much work remains to be done. We have to continue fighting until we require background checks on every gun transfer or rental, assault
weapons are no longer allowed on our streets, and people across the Commonwealth no longer live in fear about the daily gun violence in their communities. Terry will continue to fight for common sense solutions to preventing gun violence.
Source: 2021 Virginia governor campaign website Terry McAuliffe.com
Dec 22, 2020
Ralph Northam:
Appreciate thoughts & prayers but need commonsense gun laws
I brought the legislature back to Virginia for a special session. The Republicans spent less than 90 minutes addressing gun violence. Virginians stood up. They spoke. They said, enough is enough. They said that thoughts and prayers, we appreciate those,
but we want legislators that will come to Richmond and take votes and pass laws. So, I was pleased to sign seven pieces of commonsense gun legislation that will keep Virginians safe. That's what happens when people listen.
Source: CNN 2020 "State of the Union": 2021 Virginia Governor race
Apr 19, 2020
Pete Snyder:
Our 2nd Amendment right is sacred
If there was ever a poster child for why our 2nd Amendment right is sacred, it was the lawlessness of 2020.
I won't allow radical liberals to strip us of our inalienable rights. When you give up even an inch, they take a mile.
Source: Facebook posting on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Jan 28, 2020
Glenn Youngkin:
Trump: Glenn is pro-Second Amendment & pro-America
Less than 12 hours after Glenn Youngkin locked up the GOP nomination for Virginia governor on Monday night, former President Donald Trump barreled into 2021's most competitive statewide election. "Glenn is pro-Business, pro-Second
Amendment, pro-Veterans, pro-America, he knows how to make Virginia's economy rip-roaring, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement!" Trump wrote in a statement Tuesday morning that was circulated by his political action committee.
Source: Politico.com on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
May 11, 2021
Amanda Chase:
Running for governor to uphold right to carry arms
Amanda Chase, the gun-carrying Republican state senator, is running for governor. She cited Democratic gun control proposals as the reason. "I can no longer just continue to hold accountable the legislators that embrace the stripping of law-abiding
citizens of their Second Amendment rights and their constitutional freedoms. I'm going to do something about it." She started carrying a pistol last year and has continued to carry a gun inside legislative buildings despite new rules barring firearms.
Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch on 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race
Feb 17, 2020
Amanda Chase:
I don't leave my house without carrying a firearm, ever
As for the Second Amendment, Chase is a staunch ally, perhaps the most well-known ally of the Second Amendment in the state. Nicknamed Sen. Annie Oakley, Chase mentioned that it's personal to her, as she open carries wherever she goes. She also
said it's the next line of defense in case police aren't able to get to the scene quickly to assist. "I don't leave my house without carrying a firearm, ever. Not even when I go for a walk around my neighborhood," she said. 'It's very important to me."
Source: Smith Mountain Eagle on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Nov 25, 2020
Jennifer McClellan:
Opposed allowing concealed carry permits from other states
McClellan pointed out legislators have given local officials more control over guns. The legislature could have "gone farther" by having Virginia stop recognizing concealed carry permits issued by other states with looser rules. "Our attorney general
was on the right track to put us there and Gov. McAuliffe made a deal that gave that away," McClellan said. That legislation overturned Attorney General Mark Herring's decision to stop recognizing concealed carry permits from 25 other states.
Source: Virginia Mercury on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate
Apr 6, 2021
Terry McAuliffe:
Got stiffer gun laws against domestic violence offenders
McClellan said that McAuliffe gave away out of state concealed carry rule. In exchange, McAuliffe got agreements from Republicans to support stiffer laws barring domestic violence offenders from having guns.
McAuliffe defended the bill, arguing it had a tangible impact by removing guns from dangerous situations. "There are thousands of women today who are safe because of that law," McAuliffe said.
Source: Virginia Mercury on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate
Apr 6, 2021
Jennifer Carroll Foy:
Got impactful, commonsense gun safety legislation passed
Democrats initially tried to pass eight measures Gov. Ralph Northam had proposed last year, including a ban on assault-style weapons. Moderate Democrats got cold feet, and that ban didn't pass. "I am a little disappointed we weren't able to get the
eight out of eight gun safety bills brought forth by the governor," said Carroll Foy. Still, she added, "we were able to get very impactful, commonsense gun safety legislation passed."
Source: WAMU 88.5-FM on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
Mar 10, 2020
Terry McAuliffe:
Promises to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines
McAuliffe, repeating the phrases "lean in" and "big and bold," tried both to invoke his record as governor and to draw attention to a website packed with plans for future policy. He emphasized his record restoring voting rights to thousands of felons as
a high point of his career. He stressed gun control, promising to ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines; boasted of issuing more pardons than any other governor; and condemned a "racist criminal justice system."
Source: Washington Post on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial debate
Apr 6, 2021
Glenn Youngkin:
Against red flag laws, universal background checks
[On gun rights]: "I will not sign a piece of legislation that has anything to do with imposing limitations on our Second Amendment," Youngkin said in a Facebook Live interview. He would support rolling back gun-control legislation. Those measures
include a "red flag" law intended to take weapons away from people deemed by a judge to be in imminent danger of harming themselves or others. Others restrict handgun purchases to one per month & require criminal background checks for all firearms sales.
Source: Washington Post on 2021 Virginia Gubernatorial race
May 26, 2021
Glenn Youngkin:
Lifetime NRA member, will push back against gun laws
[On the National Rifle Association]: "I'm a gun owner. I'm a lifetime member of the NRA. I understand what it means for the people to have the right to keep and bear arms. And as your governor, we will not just stand back, but we will push back," he
said. "I think one of the biggest problems we have around the Second Amendment is the people's misunderstanding of where the problem is," Youngkin said then. "And the problem is, in fact, with criminals and with mental health."
Source: WRIC ABC8 on 2021 Virginia Governor race
Jul 23, 2021
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023