To the Editor:
I considered Gov. Terry McAuliffe one of the nation’s best governors on gun safety. I was proud to support him in his gubernatorial campaign and vote for him.
So you can imagine my anger and disappointment when Gov. McAuliffe cut a so-called gun safety deal with the gun lobby and the NRA, just weeks after standing with us at a vigil in Richmond and vowing to help us prevent gun violence. The resulting deal is a gift to the gun lobby that will make Virginians like myself less safe.
While I have no doubt that Gov. McAuliffe wants to protect abused women in Virginia, the bill he negotiated falls short of that mark because it lacks explicit language requiring domestic abusers to turn in their guns. This is a dangerous omission. It also makes background checks for individual sales entirely voluntary. What dangerous criminal volunteers for a background check?
I can only hope Governor McAuliffe strengthens this domestic violence bill before signing it into law. Moms across Virginia are paying attention.
Gail Gordon Donegan
Alexandria