Gov. Bob McDonnell made good on a campaign promise Tuesday by signing a bill to end the state’s longstanding limits on handgun sales he once supported as a lawmaker.
The one-handgun-a-month limit was one of the toughest gun regulations on Virginia’s books for two decades, and ended a period in which the state was known as the No. 1 source for handguns on the east coast. The law was then-Gov. Doug Wilder’s response to gunrunners purchasing handguns from Virginia gun stores in bulk and selling them on the black market to would-be criminals.
A 1992 study by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showed that one in four handguns confiscated in New York City and one in every three in the District originated in Virginia.
McDonnell voted for the limits while in the House of Delegates, but said he would sign any bill that repealed it while running for governor in 2009.
His office released no statement on the signing.
