Virginia’s AG Ken Cuccinelli Betrays Gun Owners
Virginia –-(AmmoLand.com)- True blue Second Amendment friends are very rare. That is why it is always sad when someone we hoped would be true blue starts the all-too-familiar process of betraying gun owners.
Such is the case with AG Ken Cuccinelli. If you and I stand by and say nothing we will legitimize his betrayal and enable him to do more of it.
Here are the facts.
Mr. Cuccinelli said that the George Mason University gun ban had no legal authority when he was campaigning for our vote. He said that someone ought to test it in court.
Now that Mr. DiGiacinto in DiGiacinto v. The Rector and Visitors of George Mason University has taken him up on his offer he says that he must defend the University because:
- The University is his clients
- The University position is NOT repugnant to the constitution.
You can verify this duplicity below in Mr. Cuccinelli’s written response to a VGOC member.
The truth is however, that those of us who elected him are his clients and the gun ban IS REPUGNANT to the constitution.
What is even more disturbing is that because Mr. Cuccinelli finds the new Virginia Law banning protest at the funerals of soldiers to be repugnant to the constitution he refuses to defend it.
I may or may not agree with him but only wish he would be consistent in his so-called love of the constitution.
Please read the Cuccinelli excuses below and call Mr. Cuccinelli at 804 786 2071 and tell him to oppose the gun ban and defend the constitution.
I assure you that if Mr. Cuccinelli hears an outpouring of outrage he will think twice before betraying us again. In fact, when he was a Senator he was going to sponsor a bill bringing civil liability upon innocent gun owners whose stolen guns were used in crimes. But he changed his mind after an outpouring of anger from gun owners.
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Mr. Cuccinellie Writes:
Dear friend:
My office recently filed a brief in DiGiacinto v. The Rector and Visitors of George Mason University, a case that has been ongoing since November 2008. My friends at the Virginia Citizens Defense League and other Second Amendment supporters have taken issue with that brief and – based on the language used in it – have challenged my longstanding commitment to the right to keep and bear arms.
The Office of the Attorney General files briefs like this on a regular basis, defending our clients (agencies, colleges, and universities of the commonwealth) in litigation in both state and federal courts. As a matter of process, I don’t wordsmith each and every brief filed by my staff, nor did I in this case. However, I have reviewed the brief and the legal arguments contained therein, and acknowledge that the OAG is zealously representing our client, George Mason University. So long as a Virginia law is validly enacted and not apparently repugnant to the Constitution, I have a duty to defend it.
If the 2005 pre-emption law that I had strongly supported as a state senator had been applicable to state government entities (as I incorrectly recalled in 2008) and not merely to local government entities, then there would be no DiGiacinto case. I understand how my misstatement about the pre-emption law created expectations inconsistent with any regulation of firearms whatsoever other than by the General Assembly.
I, and the Office of the Attorney General, defend the rule of law. In this case, we are defending a validly enacted regulation, and we must do so zealously with every legal argument available to us. While I may not always agree with a particular policy position, I will defend Virginia laws and regulations as well as the constitutions of Virginia and the United States. To do otherwise would validate my opponent’s accusations during the campaign that I would bend the law to suit my personal views. I have not. I have issued legal opinions that are contrary to my policy views because they are based on the law as it is and not the law as I might like it to be. Laws, and not politics, dictate legal outcomes.
As much as I might wish to discuss the present case and its policy implications for future legislation in some level of detail, I cannot at this time because the lawsuit is still ongoing. However, at the conclusion of the case, I look forward to the opportunity to address its policy implications and those of the anticipated ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in the McDonald case with the VCDL and other Second Amendment supporters.
Sincerely, Ken
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Please call Mr. Cuccinelli at 804 786 2071 and tell him to oppose the gun ban and defend the constitution.
For Liberty,Mike McHugh
President, VGOC
www.vgoc.org to donate
About:
Virginia Gun Owners Coalition is Virginia’s only no-compromise, non-partisan gun lobby patterned after Gun Owners of America on Capitol Hill. VGOC is a non-profit tax-exempt organization under 501(c)(4) of the IRS code. Because we lobby politicians to protect and defend the 2nd Amendment, contributions are not tax deductible for IRS purposes. Visit: www.vgoc.org
