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2017 SESSION

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(HB1852)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

 

    Pursuant to Article V, Section 6, of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1852, which would provide that for a period of 45 days after the issuance of a protective order the individual seeking the protective order may lawfully carry a concealed weapon. This bill would eliminate the application and training requirements associated with concealed handgun permits and allow petitioners to carry a concealed weapon immediately upon the issuance of any protective order. It is identical to House Bill 766/Senate Bill 626 (2016), which I vetoed.

     

    The bill perpetuates the dangerous fiction that the victims of domestic violence will be safer by arming themselves. It would inject firearms into a volatile domestic violence situation, making that situation less safe, not more.

     

    In 2014, there were 112 family and intimate-partner related homicides in Virginia. Sixty-six of those deaths were with a firearm. I will not allow this bill to become law when too many Virginia women have already fallen victim to firearms violence at the hands of their intimate partner.

     

    Accordingly, I veto this bill.