Give Her A Gun!

looking up. Jessica Dawn‎.

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe Vetoes Bills Allowing Domestic Violence Victims To Defend Themselves

By Cowgirl On April 2, 2017

Governor Terry McAuliffe Leaves Domestic Violence Victims Unprotected

Richmond, VA –  Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe vetoed several bills from the General Assembly’s 2017 session on Monday. Some bills would have enabled domestic violence victims to protect themselves while other vetoed bills would have prohibited obstructing enforcement of federal immigration laws.

Keep in mind, Governor Terry McAulife previously made the news with us when he restored voting rights to 200,000 convicted felons before the presidential election.

According to WTKR, he vetoed House Bill 2000, which stated that  “No locality shall adopt any ordinance, procedure, or policy that restricts the enforcement of federal immigration laws.”  The bill was introduced by a Republican Delegate and sought to end the protection of sanctuary cities.

Governor Terry McAuliffe’s response was that passage of the bill would “send a hostile message to immigrant communities.”

He also vetoed House Bill 1852 and Senate Bill 1299, both sponsored by a Republican Delegate, and a Republican Senator respectively.  This bill would have allowed a domestic violence victim, who is protected by a restraining order, to carry a concealed weapon for 45 days after the order was issued, as long as they are not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm.

According to the bill’s co-sponsor, Delegate Todd Gilbert, “It provides petitioners of a protective order the ability to carry a concealed firearm for a limited period time in order to protect themselves as they see fit while they await the issuance of their permanent concealed carry permit.”

Governor McAuliffe defended his veto and said that the legislation “perpetuates a false narrative that victims of domestic violence are made safer by arming themselves.”

The Governor apparently doesn’t think that victims of violence are safer when they have the means to protect themselves from further violence. Unfortunately, there’s a need for additional protection.
According to a University of Pennsylvania study, about 11% of 231 women killed by male abusers had been issued a restraining order. About one-fifth of the female victims who had a restraining order were killed within 2 days of the order being issued; about one-third were killed within a month.

Clearly there is a need for these women to be able to defend themselves immediately upon issuance of a protection order, but Governor Terry McAuliffe doesn’t seem to think so.

He also vetoed two bills sponsored by the same Republican Delegate and Republican Senator.  These bills would have provided funding to businesses that offer free gun safety and training programs for victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, stalking, or family abuse.

The bills would have also allowed anyone who obtained a protective order to receive a list of firearms training courses that are approved by the Department of Criminal Justice Services.

Those bills would have ensured that victims received proper firearms safety training.
The General Assembly will meet on April 5th to consider whether to override Governor McAuliffe’s vetoes.

Republican leaders were quick to criticize Governor McAuliffe, who had vetoed multiple other bills.  They said that his office was “the most disengaged administration” that they had ever worked with.

I express my sympathy to the citizens of the state of Virginia because these politicians who defend criminals are exactly who U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was talking about when he said he would cut federal funding.  The Governor’s veto just made the state of Virginia open to becoming a sanctuary state.

It makes no sense to me to veto bills allowing domestic violence victims to carry a concealed weapon until their permit can be approved.  It would only take a quick criminal history check to see if someone was eligible to temporarily carry a concealed firearm until their complete background investigation could be completed.  Free training was provided.  It’s a win-win situation but apparently not to the Governor.

It seems that Governor Terry McAuliffe just has deep-seeded antipathy to firearms. Why else would you deny victims the ability to defend themselves? Do you think that there’s any excuse for these vetoes? We’d like to hear from you. Please let us know in the comments.

Looking into the eyes of Erin Nicole Eley‎

"Looking into the perspective of a woman deeply engrossed in the dynamics of a brutal relationship is outside of what I understand about strength, and marriage and the coming together of man and woman. Understanding that dynamic alone separate without the parts that give whole understanding to it, as well as providing a gun to an abused woman with a restraining order is a shallow approach to a complex problem. There is a lost logic there hidden amongst the tall grass of those emotions she must be experiencing. Fear has to be an overriding emotion she must have harbored and justified over the years of her relationship, and according to the stories, and talk show guests on the subject fears manifest in different ways, mostly clouding judgment. So, why put a gun into the hand of a woman who hasn't a warrior code a man would respect?

In the aftermath of an escape with children, in most cases, a gun doesn't have the logic of impeccability a warrior needs. A slave, a beaten woman and an abused child share an irrationality a gun will not restore and they are without the discipline a warrior needs in battles from within (jihad), and with enemies without and should not have the power to take life with a gun, if they do not know the basics of taking life without one.

In battle escape is the best defense, if a superior force shows no signs of giving peace, or restoration of soul, mind or body and hiding to gain strength is the wisdom of a beaten animal in the wild.

So, apparently the average woman who escapes an abusive man is unprotected by any man. If there are no men in her life to protect her why should she trust that government men and men from the NRA are looking out for her best interests giving her a gun to protect herself after she went through hell to leave a dangerous man? There are self-serving motives in action in this legislation, if you follow the logic of conservatism, and conservative Christianity's thought processes that often engineer the thinking of mean and abusive wife beaters! If there isn't thought given to the other aspects of the issue then ask law makers why not?" - Gregory E. Woods, Keeper of Stories 4/5/17