I’ve often said there was no middle ground in the gun debate. You either support the Second Amendment or you want gun control.

Yet it seems I was wrong.

There’s not much middle ground, but some, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill that is precisely that.

You see, it turns out there is something we can agree on, and that’s things that encourage people to buy gun safes.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin put pen to paper on a new bill making it easier and more affordable to lock up firearms.

A $300 tax credit will now reimburse anyone who buys a gun safe or lockable gun container.

The mission of this new bill is to reward gun owners for securing their firearms and preventing guns from falling in the wrong hands, whether that be thieves or children.

“When firearms are the number one killer of children in the Commonwealth of Virginia, something must be done,” Coalition to Stop Gun Violence President Lori Haas said. “This is a great first step.”

“It doesn’t force anybody to do anything. It’s up to you,” Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave said. “If you want to buy a gun safe because you think it would be good to have your guns locked up when you’re not using them, that’s a free choice.”

This is really kind of the ideal thing. It facilitates gun safe purchases, which means they’re more likely to be used.

More importantly, at least for me, is what Van Cleave said. It’s a free choice. You’re not mandating anything. You’re not telling people what they must do via force of law.

Now, I do think people should secure their guns when not in use, but mandatory storage laws are written by people who have no clue about self-defense, home defense, or anything remotely pertaining to the defensive use of a firearm.

With Youngkin’s signature on this bill, though, steps are taken to facilitate the safe storage of guns without going into mandatory storage.

People who buy safes are, generally, more likely to use one. A $300 tax credit isn’t going to cause a stampede for the nearest safe store just to make a buck from the state, but it will help concerned people get the means to secure their firearms.

In short, people still have the choice and can make the decisions that best fit their needs and situations.

Youngkin did the right thing signing this bill, and yes, it seems we finally found something that we can agree on. Since we have this, I’d like to see it implemented across the United States and possibly even at the federal level.

If both sides of the gun debate agree on something, it’s either a really good idea or a really terrible one. This one is a good idea and it would help put safes in every gun owner’s hands. I’ll be damned if I can figure out how that’s a bad thing.

Plus, if it works to reduce things like gun thefts and accidents, so much for the better.