RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says he wants to reinstitute a law limiting gun sales to one handgun a month.

The governor, a Democrat, said Monday he was adding an amendment an unrelated bill related to concealed carry permits to include a provision reinstituting a 1993 one-handgun-a-month law.

McAuliffe’s proposal has little chance of passing the GOP-controlled General Assembly.

The governor said the law, which was repealed in 2012, is still needed because criminals are exploiting Virginia’s looser gun laws in order to traffic firearms to other parts of the country.

Earlier this month, prosecutors said a New York undercover officer bought 217 guns and assault rifles and dismantled a trafficking ring that operated out of Virginia.

Attorney General Mark R. Herring issued the following statement on Gov. McAuliffe’s proposal to restore Virginia’s one-handgun-a-month law:

“This is a great step to restore a common-sense measure that never should have been repealed in the first place. Virginia’s weak gun laws make it too easy for guns to get into the hands of criminals, making our families, communities, and especially our law enforcement officers less safe, not to mention the heartbreak and damage these guns cause in neighboring states. When you’ve got gun runners on tape bragging about how weak our gun laws are it should be a pretty clear signal that something needs to change.”