McDonnell Ends State Park Gun Ban

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Updated: 10:03 AM Jan 20, 2011 McDonnell Ends State Park Gun Ban RICHMOND, Va. (AP) Governor Bob McDonnell is ending a longstanding ban on firearms carried openly in Virginia state parks. Posted: 8:13 PM Jan 19, 2011 Email Address: news@newsplex.com	Photo Courtesy Office of the Governor.

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January 19, 2011

Governor Bob McDonnell is ending a longstanding ban on firearms carried openly in Virginia state parks.

The Republican governor ordered Conservation and Recreation Department Director David Johnson to immediately stop enforcing the ban in a January 14 letter.

Concealed weapon permit holders were already free to carry firearms.

In his letter, McDonnell wrote that the department lacks authority under state law to prohibit firearms being carried in plain view.

To back it up, McDonnell cites an opinion he wrote as Attorney General on September 26, 2008, answering an inquiry from then Senator Ken Cuccinelli. Cuccinelli now serves as Attorney General.

Gun control advocate Lori Haas, whose daughter survived a gunshot in the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, calls it bad for public safety and for tourism.

Latest Comments

Posted by: NRA87 Location: Commonwealth of VA on Jan 20, 2011 at 05:50 PM

As the Founding Fathers knew well, a government that does not trust its honest, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens with the means of self-defense is not worthy of trust. Laws disarming honest citizens proclaim that the government is the master, not the servant, of the people. That is not the definition of a democracy....It's socialism!! How many of you would knowingly "vote" for that? Once the Government “amends our right to bear arms, they can effectively, amend all our rights, until the social situation resembles that of China’s. Government for the people, by the people! I commend our Governor for his actions! For those who are scared of guns....buy one and learn how to use it!

Posted by: Rhonda Location: Staunton on Jan 20, 2011 at 12:31 PM

I love this man. He is the only one that has actually worked for a living in this position in a LONG TIME!

Posted by: Ruckers1 Location: Ruckersville on Jan 20, 2011 at 12:26 PM

Who's sensibilities, Momsy? Mine. Nice words and civility never stopped a lunatic or a rabid animal. Good on the governor for making it that much easier to defend me & my family when out in the wild. The world is not Disneyland and the forest is not a scene from Bambi. Guns don't kill people; people kill people. The gun is simply a tool to be used carefully and legally like a car, chain saw, bat, or hammer (both of which have been known to kill people too but there's no movement to ban them). More guns in law abiding citizens hands = a safer environment.

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