In his address to the nation about the shootings in Newtown, Conn., President Obama paused to reflect.Virginia Republicans are pushing back against President Obama’s Executive Action Tuesday, regarding gun control.
Congressman Rob Wittman (Republican, VA-1) released a statement in response to President Obama's announcement that he is issuing executive order to restrict American gun ownership among citizens. In that statement, he called the order a "power grab" and said the order "will be challenged by the courts." He sent the same message out to his Facebook friends, which is shared in full below.
President Obama’s actions today represent a long-standing pattern of blatant disregard for the Constitution when it comes to Second Amendment rights. Once again, Democrats are playing politics with fundamental, constitutionally-protected guarantees, just as Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring did last month when he severed concealed carry reciprocity agreements with 25 states. This power grab has to stop. Congress has already considered measures like the ones the President is forcing through, and on each occasion, it has rejected those measures. By moving ahead without the approval of the legislative branch, the President is ignoring not only the will of Congress, but also the will of the American people.We are all touched by attacks like the one in San Bernardino, and we all grieve for those who have lost so much as a result. But to end this kind of violence, we need to address the real, underlying causes of these attacks. Limiting our constitutionally guaranteed rights is never the answer. That is why it’s so important for us to affirmatively protect the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens by advancing legislation like the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015 (H.R. 986). Likewise, it is essential that we do what this administration should have been doing for the past eight years: enforce the laws already on the books to make sure that violent criminals do not gain access to guns.
Ultimately, the President’s executive order will be challenged in the courts, and under Republican leadership, the House will move forward with reforms that combat gun violence, address mental illness and other underlying causes, and vigorously protect the fundamental rights of men and women who obey the law. I promise I will fight with everything I have and use every opportunity available to counter these executive overreaches by the President that limit the fundamental liberties and freedoms guaranteed to us under the United States Constitution.
State Senator Dick Black (R- 13th District) also took to the internet, to share his intentions to fight against the executive order via the Virginia General Assembly.
Black said if there is one thing the mass shootings had in common it was "that they take place in gun free zones."
Meanwhile, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, supported President Obama in his efforts, emailing a virtual petition that he asked some of his supporters to sign.
He defended the President's actions, saying he was "tired of the inaction of Congress and distraught by the senseless loss of life."
Today I learned of President Obama's announcement to take executive action on the issue of gun violence. Tired of the inaction of Congress and distraught by the senseless loss of life, the president joined gun control activists in calling for real changes that will save lives.I commend the president’s commitment to solving this problem and join him in vowing to do everything I can to decrease the number of deaths caused by guns, by signing my executive order in October that directed actions to keep guns out of dangerous hands. President Obama's call to expand criminal background checks, conduct more gun research and better track lost guns will help push forward these efforts.
I know this is an issue that touches the hearts of so many Virginians. Our state endured one of the worst episodes of gun violence in American history, when 32 people were massacred at Virginia Tech in 2007. More recently, the nation was horrified when two Roanoke journalists were shot dead during a live TV broadcast.
Americans deserve better than this. No one should have to live in fear of being gunned down at their school, job or place of worship. We’ve got to act.
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