Tipsheet

Gun Owners of America on What Youngkin's Victory Means for Virginia Gun Owners

On Wednesday, Gun Owners of America (GOA) spokesperson Antonia Okafor Cover appeared in a Fox News interview where she discussed Glenn Youngkin’s win in the Virginia Governor’s Race and an impending Supreme Court case pertaining to the Second Amendment.

Last night, as we covered, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated his Democrat opponent Terry McAuliffe in the race for Virginia’s governor. Additionally, many other Democrat-held seats in the commonwealth flipped to Republicans, which could be a foreshadowing of the outcome of next year’s midterm elections.

“We are very excited at Gun Owners of America that we have this governor now who’s pro-Second Amendment, who we can actually work with to repeal many of the gun control laws that have been passed in the last couple years in Virginia,” Cover said in the interview. 

This week, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear a major Second Amendment case that surrounds a New York law over carrying firearms in public. The high court has not issued a major Second Amendment decision in more than a decade.

“This is a really big case. Unfortunately, for a very long time we’ve had a divide in this country when it comes not only concealed carry, but carry in general,” Cover explained. 

“Unfortunately, we’ve had states like California and New York who’ve said that it’s going to be a  ‘shall’ or rather, ‘may-issue.’ They will probably, more likely, not give you or issue you a permit,” Cover continued. “This is what this case is about. Is finally to settle it once and for all – if you have a constitutional, well, human right, rather – of being able to carry your handgun, your firearm, outside of your home without restriction.”

Cover, who is a sexual assault survivor, has long been an advocate of female empowerment and the sentiment that “gun rights are women’s rights.” She spearheaded Empower 2A, a coalition for female GOA members to provide education and training on gun ownership.