Shed Security Detail? Gov's Office Dismisses Lawmaker's Idea

PHOTO: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe; photo courtesy of governor’s office

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VIENNA, VA — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office has called a state senator’s plan to take away the governor’s security detail a “reactionary temper tantrum,” according to a report by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Virginia state Sen. Bill Carrico (R-40th), came up with the idea after the Virginia attorney general announced that Virginia would no longer recognize concealed gun permits from 25 states, including Tennessee. Carrico says his constituents who live on the border are concerned about the ban.

He told the Bristol Herald Courier last week:

“A lot of the governor’s power is deferred to the General Assembly at that point and I’ll be getting with my collegues to circumvent everything this governor has done on this point,” he said. “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.”

On Monday, through a spokesman, the governor’s office dismissed the idea.

“Reactionary temper tantrums may play well on right-wing blogs, but they don’t make anyone safer,” said McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy, in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “Governor McAuliffe has worked with local, state and federal law enforcement officials to keep guns out of dangerous hands by better enforcing Virginia’s gun safety laws, a common refrain of gun advocates.”

“As a gun owner himself, the governor is ready to work with the General Assembly on common-sense steps like universal background checks,” Coy said. “Unfortunately, Mr. Carrico’s quote is a good representation of the interest he and his colleagues have shown in productive work on this serious issue so far.”