Bob Goodlatte

Last Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn., has reignited a national debate over gun control and calls for action in the next Congress. Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County could be a key player in the process, and a potential brake on a push for new gun control measures.

Goodlatte is the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over firearms regulations. He has an “A” rating from the politically muscular National Rifle Association, which has led the charge to block new gun control laws in Congress and in state legislatures.

The Roanoke Times reached out Tuesday to Goodlatte’s office and to the other congressmen who represent parts of Southwest Virginia – Republicans Morgan Griffith of Salem and Robert Hurt of Chatham – to ask where they stand on issues such as reinstituting  the assault weapons ban and requiring background checks for private sales at gun shows. In response, all three generally refrained from stating a position out of respect for the families of the Newtown victims.

Goodlatte issued this statement: “Our hearts and prayers as a nation are with Newtown. We must take a close look at what happened on Friday morning and what can be done to help avoid it in the future.  However, today my focus remains on the community of Newtown and the families of the victims as they mourn the lives lost in this terrible tragedy.”

But Goodlatte told the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call that he does not favor tightening controls on firearms, such as banning assault weapons or high capacity magazines after the killings in Newtown last week.

“We’re going to take a look at what happened there and what can be done to help avoid it in the future, but gun control is not going to be something that I would support,” Goodlatte told Roll Call.

The gun control debate is heating up in Washington at a time when Goodlatte is hearing some rumblings of discontent from Republicans back in his home district. Last month, the GOP’s 6^th District Congressional Committee called on Goodlatte to oppose the re-election of House Speaker John Boehner. In a letter to Goodlatte, the district committee complained that Boehner had not done enough to thwart President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul.

– Michael Sluss

When he ran for governor in 2001, Democrat Mark Warner’s outreach efforts to sportsmen and gun-owners kept the politically muscular National Rifle Association on the sidelines. And he has enjoyed favorable ratings from the NRA ever since.

But in the aftermath of Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Warner said he is ready to support “rational gun control.”

“Enough is enough,” Warner said today in an interview at Richmond television station WTVR. “I’m the father of three daughters and they all said this weekend, ‘Dad, . . . how can this go on? And I, like I think most of us, realize that there are ways to get to rational gun control. There are ways to grapple with the obvious challenges of mental illness.”

Warner said there are “reasonable people in both parties and an overwhelming majority of gun owners who believe that we’ve got to put stricter rules on the books.”

Warner said the time to debate the specifics will come later, but added: “it is time for this kind of senseless violence to end.”

“There won’t be one perfect law that’s going to stop a crazy person from doing evil things,” Warner said. “But when we have close to 30,000 killings a year from all types of gun violence, even if we save a few lives, we make progress and I can answer my daughters with a better answer than I gave them on Friday night.”

– Michael Sluss

Sen. Mark Warner

While national and statewide political candidates are competing for headlines, U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.,  is beginning a three-day trip across Southwest Virginia Wednesday and his itinerary includes a Thursday visit to the New River Valley.

Warner will tour the  Volvo Trucks North America plan in Dublin and speak with managers there on Thursday afternoon, according to the senator’s office. That’s one of just nine public appearances Warner will make in Southwest Virginia this week. The Democratic senator, who is not on the ballot this year, will talk about his legislative efforts to promote new manufacturing jobs and small business development, and his ongoing work on reducing federal budget deficits and debt.

Warner will visit Jonesville and Big Stone Gap today. On Thursday, he has events scheduled in Buchanan County and Bluefield before he comes to Dublin. He also will speak with young professionals and community leaders at the Wytheville Golf Club Thursday evening.

On Friday, Warner wraps up his tour with stops in Marion and Abingdon before attending the Food City 250 Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

– Michael Sluss

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner spent part of August on the road in Virginia, holding 45 events in 34 communities throughout the state. Those included stops in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Warner’s office released this video recap of the senator’s travels. In it, Warner said “maybe the best day of this whole trip” was his visit to Roanoke, where he participated in a naturalization ceremony for new U.S. citizens at the Poff Building.

Democratic strategist Paul Goldman circulates this e-mail, in which he advises his party to be wary of Gov. Bob McDonnell — that he’s now quite popular.

What do readers think?

Here’s Goldman’s piece: Read more »