Turmoil in the Commonwealth of Virginia over Attorney General Mark Herring’s unilateral attempt to push more unconstitutional gun control measures, has prompted the state’s Republican political base to threaten drastic changes to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s security apparatus.

Herring recently tried to enact a new measure that would cut reciprocity ties with 25 other states that have concealed carry laws more lenient than those of Virginia. In essence, residents of these 25 other states who carry concealed weapons would no longer have legal protections while traveling through or residing within the borders of the commonwealth.

Gov. McAuliffe, a Democrat, had apparently supported the effort, as well as aligned himself with a gun control group known as “Everytown for Gun Safety,” which quickly made him a target not only of gun rights groups, but also of the state legislature.

Recognizing that Gov. McAuliffe relies on an entourage of individuals who conceal-carry for his personal protection, several state lawmakers have threatened to have the budget for this protective detail cut.

“A lot of the governor’s power is deferred to the General Assembly at that point and I’ll be getting with my colleagues to circumvent everything this governor has done on this point,” Sen. Carrico told The Daily Caller.

“I have a budget amendment that I’m looking at to take away his executive protection unit. If he’s so afraid of guns, then I’m not going to surround him with armed state policemen.”

Compromise provokes infighting between gun control advocates and Democrats

The move prompted Gov. McAuliffe to change his tune, according to Breitbart. He has since struck a compromise deal that will reverse Herring’s dictate, and allow reciprocity with the 25 states in question to continue – but with a few caveats.

While the new plan, which still awaits approval from the General Assembly, would expand gun rights on some fronts, it threatens to curb them on others. The new rules would expand the penalties for individuals subject to two-year protective orders who possess guns, for instance.

According to The Washington Post, abusers of the law would face stricter charges, and if convicted, would be barred from ever owning a firearm again. State troopers would also be ordered to attend every gun show in the state in order to conduct background checks for private sellers.

Gov. McAuliffe says the new measure won’t satisfy either side, and both sides seem to agree. Gun control advocates are the most upset, though, as they’re now in the process of circulating a petition that they plan to deliver to the governor’s office within the next week.

Republicans, however, seem to be satisfied with the measure, which they say defends the right of law-abiding citizens to possess and conceal firearms. Many are dubbing it a bipartisan attempt to protect Second Amendment rights, while ensuring that criminals are less able to access guns for nefarious purposes.

“This legislation is not a Republican versus Democrat right,” stated Republican Senator Bryce Reeves, who co-sponsored the new bill and helped lead negotiations with the administration, “but simply doing the right thing by law-abiding Virginians.”

The restrictive aspects of the new legislation are set to be voted on separately in the form of two additional bills, which have yet to be presented before the General Assembly. These companion bills will attempt to quell opposition from the anti-gun left, which had hoped for a much stricter proposition.

“Insanity is the word I think of when I see gun control groups such as this one,” wrote one Breitbart commenter about Everytown for Gun Safety. “All the gun violence occurs among the population of thugs who get guns illegally. So they want to ban legal guns. Real sharp thinking: really insane thinking.”

Sources for this article include:

WND.com

Breitbart.com

WashingtonPost.com