Everytown Praises Virginia Attorney General Herring for Taking Executive Action Aimed at Keeping Virginians Safe from Gun Violence
12.22.2015
RICHMOND, Va. — Everytown for Gun Safety praised Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring today for taking executive actions to shore up the state’s policies on recognizing out-of-state concealed carry permits and released statements from President John Feinblatt and Virginian Andy Parker, whose daughter Alison was shot and killed on live television in August.
STATEMENT FROM EVERYTOWN FOR GUN SAFETY PRESIDENT JOHN FEINBLATT:
“When states recognize carry permits from other states with weaker laws they put themselves at the mercy of those weaker laws — it’s why we have fought hard against the NRA’s attempts to push a federal reciprocity bill through Congress. Once again, leaders in the states are doing their part to stand up to gun lobby interests and I applaud Attorney General Herring for protecting Virginians and demanding that any state that wishes to have their permit recognized in Virginia has to have the same strong standards for concealed carry as the Commonwealth.”
STATEMENT FROM ANDY PARKER, FATHER OF MURDERED WDBJ-TV REPORTER ALISON PARKER AND MEMBER OF THE EVERYTOWN SURVIVOR NETWORK:
“Attorney General Mark Herring understands that Virginia’s concealed carry laws are only as strong as the states with carry permits we recognize here. By enforcing the law and making sure that states with lax or barely existent standards are no longer able to impose their approach on Virginians, Herring is standing on the side of common sense. The gun lobby believes permits from states with virtually no standards at all should be recognized in Virginia. Fortunately, Attorney General Herring understands the dangers of that worldview.”
Attorney General Herring’s actions ensure that people visiting Virginia are subject to the same laws as residents of the state. A January 2015 report from Everytown for Gun Safety detailed the vast discrepancies in permitting standards in states across the country. It highlighted the gun lobby’s efforts at undermining strong state laws by passing federal legislation forcing them to recognize permits from all states.