Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin addresses the crowd during an early voting rally on Sept. 21, 2023, in Petersburg, Virginia. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)
"The Constitution precludes the Commonwealth from prohibiting a broad category of firearms widely embraced for lawful purposes, such as self-defense. Despite this, certain members of the General Assembly have pursued legislation banning most contemporary semiautomatic firearms and specific ammunition-feeding devices," Youngkin said in a veto statement on the pair of bills.
"Virginia has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth has reduced penalties for criminals, contributing to violent crime. Enhancing penalties for crimes committed with firearms will reverse this trend. Our most significant gap, however, has been in our behavioral health system, which is why substantial investments in behavioral health are necessary," he added.
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Youngkin also vetoed another bill, HB 916, which would have required state police to establish a tracking and reporting system for the state's already established red flag laws, and provide updates to lawmakers on a regular basis on where red flag orders were being issued. He also vetoed a pair of bills that would have imposed a five-day waiting period for gun purchases, which would begin when a gun purchaser agrees to a background check.
"The proposed waiting periods would impede individuals facing threats of violence from promptly acquiring a firearm for self-defense," the governor said in a veto statement.
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday called a special election to replace a state delegate who recently resigned. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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"I strongly urge the General Assembly to shift its focus towards proven strategies aimed at combating violent crime, mandatory minimums for armed criminals and the presumption against bail," Youngkin said in a statement earlier this month.
The General Assembly can override the vetoes with a two-third majority vote from both houses, but Democrats do not have the numbers to support that effort, the Associated Press previously reported.
Democrats in the state argue that stricter gun control laws would drive down crime and violence, while pointing to mass shootings such as the one at UVA's campus in 2022 as evidence that laws need to change. Republicans have meanwhile argued that criminals will skirt gun laws and that tougher crime policies would better drive down violence than restricting gun access for law-abidding residents.
"I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms," Youngkin said in the press release. "I am pleased to sign four public safety bills which are commonsense reforms with significant bipartisan support from the General Assembly, and offer recommendations to several bills which, if adopted, will make it harder for criminals to use guns in the commission of a violent act."
Youngkin signed four public safety bills into law, including HB 36 & SB 44, which prevents parents from willfully allowing their children access to firearms if they pose a credible threat of violence. And another pair of bills, HB 22 & SB 21, which prevent the manufacture, transfer or possession of a device that can convert a gun into an automatic firearm, known as an auto sear.
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The total list of bills Youngkin vetoed include: HB 2 & SB 2; HB 454 & SB 383; HB 585; HB 637; HB 79; HB 799; SB 258; HB 1195 & SB 273; HB 183 & SB 368; HB 1462 & SB 447; HB 318 & SB 491; HB 939; SB 338; HB 175 & SB 99; HB 1174 & SB 327; HB 798; HB 466; HB 362 & SB 642; HB 351; HB 1386, HB 916.
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