Gun politics play big in Virginia governor’s race

By Chris Eger

Candidates Ed Gillespie, a Republican, and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, at the Virginia gubernatorial debates. (Photo: Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post)
Virginia gubernatorial candidates Ed Gillespie, a Republican, and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, are opposites when it comes to their take on gun control.
Facing off in next month’s election, the two candidates have staked out their platform when it comes to the conversation around guns and each has powerful backers who would like to help them turn the rhetoric into action.
Without going into detail on his campaign site, Gillespie promises to “protect an individual’s Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, standing with our Republican-led General Assembly to defend our Second Amendment rights.”
The onetime counselor to President George W. Bush and Republican party lobbyist has the National Rifle Association’s A rating and endorsement along with just over $1 million in campaign assistance. The gun rights group has ads airing on broadcast networks in markets around Virginia contrasting Gillespie with Northam, who the organization has rated with an F.
Northam is campaigning hard on the topic of guns. As outlined in his “gun violence prevention” platform, the Democrat points out that he cast the tie-breaking vote as lieutenant governor to block

Source: Guns.com