Allen is very pro 2nd Amendment.
During his term as governor Virginia became a "shall issue" concealed carry state, meaning that the state has to issue you a concealed carry permit, unless you are specifically legally prohibited from posessing a weapon. No justification is required to any local authority either.
Also, while governor Project Exile became law in Richmond, targetting criminals and not law abiding citizens. Put simply, if you are caught with handgun and are legally prohibited from posessing one, you will do a MINIMUM of 5 yrs in a federal pennitentiary. The program was so successful in reducing Richmond's murder rate (at that time one of the highest in the country), that it became law statewide under Jim Gilmore.
What a lot of short sighted progunners mistate about George Allen's stand on the Clinton "Assault Weapons" ban is that Allen was for it.
While running for his first term in the US Senate, George Allen stated that he would be for renewal of the ban if it could be proved that it had a positive impact on violent crime. When Senator Feinstein of CA attached a "poison pill" amendment to the "Gun lawsuit immunity" legislation before the Senate, George Allen voted against it citing that he had taken the opportunity to study the effects of the ban and was convinced that it had zero effect on violent crime.
In fact in a conversation that I had with him before the vote, I pointed out some by products of the ban that he had not considered.
- That it had created a "Black Market" in parts and guns grandfathered by the ban and--
- That it created a mindset in hitherto law abiding gunowners to think of ways of circumventing the law, just to be able to exercise our 2nd amendment rights What some folks here and elsewhere consider an "anti-gun" vote against the lawsuit immunity bill was in fact a pro-gun vote that allowed a draconian gun ban to sunset.
Bottom line is that George Allen is very strong on the 2nd amendment. You can be rest assured that if you vote for him, he will not come after your guns.
But, he was for the 'Assault Weapons Ban" before he was against it.
Is that statement inaccurate?