RICHMOND — Michael Bloomberg's gun-control group just lavished $1.5 million in TV ads on a Virginia state Senate candidate who not long ago sounded a little leery about gun control.
In an unsuccessful bid for the House of Delegates two years ago, McPike opposed new restrictions on high-capacity magazines and said he would be cautious about gun control in general.
A Culpeper Times report at the time said McPike “opposes further restrictions on the magazine capacity of firearms” and quoted him expressing “caution when it comes to any limitations on rights.”
McPike, who is in a tight race against Manassas Mayor Harry J. “Hal” Parrish II (R) to succeed retiring Sen. Charles J. Colgan (D-Prince William), said his stance on guns has not changed.
“I am still cautious about any limitations on rights, including the Second Amendment,” he said. “Despite the misleading attacks of the NRA and Republican Hal Parrish’s campaign, common-sense gun safety measures like universal background checks are widely supported by gun owners and non-gun owners alike and would help keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. As a volunteer firefighter and EMT, I have responded to far too many preventable injuries and deaths from gun violence.”
But Parrish’s campaign said that McPike needs to account for what it saw as a shifting stance on gun control.
“It’s glaring to me,” said Luisa Guerra, Parrish’s campaign manager. “I wonder if this group Everytown was aware of his previous position. In the past, he expressed caution on the limitation of rights.”
Officials at Everytown touted McPike's 2013 comments as proof that the group supports Second Amendment rights as well as "common-sense" controls to protect public safety.
“Gun rights and keeping guns out of dangerous hands aren’t two mutually exclusive ideas,” said Colin Goddard, a Virginia Tech shooting survivor and senior policy advocate for Everytown.
He added, “Jeremy McPike has been clear in his support for common-sense measures like background checks on all gun sales, and he knows that goes hand-in-hand with support for the Second Amendment, which is why our supporters in Virginia are rallying behind him.”
McPike had an F rating from the National Rifle Association in 2013 and this year, according to votesmart.org. Parrish received an A-minus this year.
McPike's 2013 race was for the House seat held by Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Prince William), one of the legislature's strongest proponents for gun rights. The House territory was smaller and more conservative than the Senate district, which leans blue overall.
Compared with his earlier race, McPike has put a greater emphasis this time on some liberal causes, such as gun safety and abortion rights. His campaign Web site lists gun safety as one of his key issues. That was not the case in 2013.
McPike has appeared with Andy Parker, who became an outspoken advocate for gun control after his daughter, a Roanoke TV journalist, was shot to death on the air in August. Parker appears in the ads for McPike.
McPike’s campaign is one of the two critical Senate races expected to determine control of the Senate in elections next week.
Everytown is also pouring big money into the other one, spending $700,000 on ads for Democrat Dan Gecker, who is battling Republican Glen Sturtevant to represent part of Richmond and its suburbs. The seat is being vacated by retiring Sen. John C. Watkins (R-Powhatan).
Democrats need to pick up one seat to take control of the chamber and boost Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s chances for legislative success for the final two years of his term.
The size of the ad buys are eye-popping by state Senate standards, particularly in the less expensive Richmond TV market.
McAuliffe has pushed for what he described as “common-sense” gun restrictions, such as closing a loophole that allows gun buyers to avoid background checks if they purchase from private sellers. His proposals have gone nowhere in Richmond’s Republican-controlled House and Senate.
McAuliffe stepped up his calls to close the “gun-show loophole” after Vester L. Flanagan II killed Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27, on live TV.
Gun rights legislators and activists have accused McAuliffe and others of politicizing the tragedy. Pointing out that Flanagan legally bought his gun from a licensed dealer and passed required background checks, they say the change the governor proposes would not have prevented the shooting.
