This proposed regulation will have the opposite of the intended affect by playing into the hands of terrorists, violent criminals, and the criminally insane.  We have had no shootings in state agencies, and this prohibition on those with a concealed handgun permit, some of whom have active and ongoing threats to their lives, many of whom have defended this nation in uniform, is entirely without any justification and needlessly and recklessly endangers innocent lives.

Disarming good citizens (who are the only ones likely to obey the prohibition) does not make them safer. It does provide a nice, soft target for terrorists and other violent criminal predators. Did the multiple attacks in Paris teach us nothing? Terrorists attack for maximum effect, and soft targets that present no opposition make ideal targets.

Importantly the Governor has no authority for this regulation.  If the General Assembly wanted the Governor to have such power, they would have granted it to him explicitly, as is required constitutionally. Such an unconstitutional regulation would invite an expensive court battle, the cost of which will fall on the taxpayers of Virginia. I and many others do not want to pay for a lawsuit to defend an unconstitutional regulation aimed at making us helpless.

This proposed regulation is a solution in search of a problem.  It endangers state employees, law abiding citizens, and the innocent by making state buildings a safe zone for terrorists, criminals, and the criminally insane to conduct their evil and savage actions. As Paris, Norway, San Bernardino, Roseburg, Chattanooga, Charleston, Fort Hood times 2, the Washington Naval Yard, Newtown, Virginia Tech, and many others show, terrorists and violent and insane predators routinely target gun-free zones where they know that they will maximize their chances of success and becoming famous without contending with armed opposition. In fact, over the last 50 years, all but two mass killings occurred in gun-free zones - and that's a fact verified even by the Washington Post.

As much as I respect the police, they are not the first responders to a terrorist attack or other mass killing. The victims/targets are already there. Armed citizens have saved countless lives long before the police arrive.

This regulations should not be approved and the emergency regulation withdrawn.

Please extended the comment period for another 30 days.