June 27--RICHMOND-- Just days before the repeal of the state's one-handgun-a-monthpurchase restriction goes into effect, the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police met with U.S. Senate candidates to urge them to strengthen federal background check laws.
At a press conference following the closed-door meetings with former Govs. George Allen (R) and Tim Kaine (D), who are both seeking to replace retiring Sen. Jim Webb, representatives of the VACP said they urged the candidates to work to strengthen federal background checks for firearms purchases to include secondary sales, such as those made at gun shows and between private parties.
"We are united because we've seen too much violencecommitted with guns," said Staunton Police Chief James Williams, the incoming president of the association. "And there are clear and effective solutions that will help reduce it -- solutions that have overwhelming public support. We just need federal lawmakers to act."
When pressed on whether they felt the state's repeal of the one-handgun-a-month restriction would put more firearms on the secondary market, the police chiefs demurred, saying their focus was on strengthening background checks at the federal level, not lifting restrictions that go into effect Sunday.
"What we're here for today is not correlated at all with the new changes in the amount of guns that can be purchased," said Williamsburg Police Chief David Sloggie. "What we've seen is in 14 years more police officers have been killed by guns than by motor vehicles. We know that background checks work. More than nine million have been caught as prohibited purchasers (over the past 14 years.)"
The association's executive director Dana Schrad said it is too early to tell what effect the repeal of the handgun purchasing restrictions would have on the number of guns purchased. The restriction was put into place in 1992 to help stem the massive flow of illegal guns from Virginia to other states, which earned the commonwealth the reputation as the gun-runningcapital of the East Coast.
"What remains to be seen is with the repeal will we see a change?" Schrad said. "And we will watch that carefully to see whether or not one-gun-a-month had the impact that we believe it had. Certainly we'll keep an eye on that."
Williams said because of an agreement with the Kaine and Allen campaigns, representatives of the chiefs' association would not discuss what the candidates said in their closed-door meetings. He did note that the VACP does not endorse candidates.
Brandi Hoffine, communications director for the Kaine campaign, said Kaine had a "productive" discussion with the police chiefs on "strategies to ensure background checks at gun shows."
"In the Senate, he will continue to support efforts that strengthen background checks to make them faster, less cumbersome and more effective at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals or the dangerously mentally ill," Hoffine said.
Emily Davis, Allen campaign spokeswoman, said Allen "is always open to law enforcement to hear their concerns and ideas."
"George Allen is committed to the Constitutional rights guaranteed in the Second Amendment and does not support restrictions on the gun rights of law abiding citizens," Davis said. "He has a long record in support of Virginia's law enforcement community and will continue to work with them."
Copyright 2012 - Daily Press, Newport News, Va.
