There are already several documented cases of physical therapists causing severe harm to patients using needles.  A personal friend had a PT insert a single needle into his abdomen more than a year ago.  He had an immediate painful reaction and he still perceives pain when touching the spot.  He was lucky--the results could have been much worse.

Regardless of one's opinion of the efficacy of acupuncture, it is sheer absurdity to suggest that dry needling is fundamentally different.  It involves inserting precisely the same device in precisely the same places for precisely the same reasons.  To then argue that one is effective and the other is not is incongruous and irreconcilable.

I am a biologist and trained phlebotomist.  Through that training, one learns that any puncture of the skin risks infection, nerve damage, hematoma, and depending on depth and location, potentially even permanent disability or severe harm, e.g. a collapsed lung or a neuropathic pain syndrome.  Physical therapists are wonderful, caring practioners who receive extensive training and do a lot of good work.  I probably would have needed rotator cuff surgery if it weren't for mine, but the overwhelming majority are neither trained nor credentialed to safely use needles in their treatment plans.  

If the PT population feels that it is important to add dry needling to their toolkit, they should also be willing to undergo /at least/ as much training as a Medical Doctor is required to undergo for the same privilege.  That's just common sense.  MD's have overwhelmingly more relevant education than  physical therapists when it comes to physiology and they practice in places better equipped and regulated to handle any emergencies that might result.

I, for one, will continue to get my needles from a TCM practioner, my medications from a doctor and my oil changes from a mechanic, but not all patients are as discerning.  Most people, confronted with a PT offering to stick a needle into a trigger point, aren't going to realize that they just learned to do that over the weekend.  If they did--no one would make the personal choice to allow it.  Virginia has a duty to protect those unsuspecting victims.