Brady PAC backing McAuliffe, Ayala, Herring in 2021 state races

Brady PAC announced Monday that it is backing Terry McAuliffe for governor and Haya Ayala for lieutenant governor.

Earlier in the 2021 cycle, the PAC, the political arm of Brady, the nation’s oldest gun-violence-prevention advocacy organization in the country, had endorsed Mark Herring for attorney general.

“Terry McAuliffe and Hala Ayala are committed to ending the senseless acts of gun violence that kill over 1,000 Virginians each year,” Brady PAC Executive Director Brian Lemek said. “Each year. Terry and Hala have consistently championed common sense gun laws that save lives and will continue to do so as Virginia’s next governor and lieutenant governor.

“Brady PAC is proud to endorse them as a gun-violence-prevention champion and looks forward to working with them once they are elected in November,” Lemek said.

McAuliffe was the first Southern governor to be elected after running with an “F” from the NRA, and lived up to it in his term from 2014-2018, signing an executive order banning guns in most state buildings, proposing a dozen commonsense bills, vetoing 15 Republican bills that would have further weakened Virginia’s lax gun laws, and signing the first meaningful gun safety laws in decades.

Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin, a lifelong NRA member, has made clear that he would put more guns on our streets, including in his first speech as the nominee. Youngkin has also said there is no commonsense gun legislation he is willing to support and has expressed opposition to gun free zones even on college campuses.

Youngkin’s threats also include rolling back gun safety laws put universal background checks, extreme risk laws, and monthly limits on handgun sales at risk.

“I’m proud to receive Brady PAC’s endorsement, a group that shares my commitment to creating a safer Virginia by supporting and enacting commonsense gun violence prevention measures,” McAuliffe said. “We lose nearly three Virginians per day and over 1,000 per year to these senseless, preventable acts of violence, and I have a bold plan to address gun violence here in the Commonwealth. Glenn Youngkin has threatened to roll back measures that keep Virginia families safe and wants to put more dangerous guns on our streets. Virginians deserve bold leadership and decisive action on this crucial issue. Glenn Youngkin’s extreme views would only take us back.”