If you’re a Republican, believe in the Constitution, Second Amendment rights, strong borders, and think MS-13 and other criminal illegal aliens should be deported, then Virginia is no longer the state for you. For the first time since 1993, the Democratic Party will control all in the Old Dominion. This was foreseeable. The 2017 elections nearly wiped out the solid GOP majority in the House of Delegates. The state Senate, already with a razor-thin GOP majority, flipped last night as well. It’s a total nightmare scenario because we know these Democrats are no different than their rabid progressive minions from the Northeast. Gun bans, confiscation, and abortion up until the moment of birth are coming among other things (via WMAL):
Gov. Ralph Northam laid out his vision Wednesday for a changing Virginia a day after Democrats seized control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than two decades.
Northam, speaking at a Cabinet meeting, promised swift action on a host of liberal policy proposals, with a particular emphasis on gun control measures.
He said Democratic gains were largely powered by voters who wanted to see commonsense gun laws enacted and noted that Republicans adjourned a special session earlier this year called in response to a mass shooting in Virginia Beach in less than 90 minutes “with no results.”
“The landscape has changed,” Northam said.
Democratic leaders say Virginians should also expect a higher minimum wage and greater abortion rights after their gains Tuesday. They also promised ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, making Virginia the final state needed for possible passage of the gender equality measure.
With Second Amendment rights, we already know their playbook. It was unveiled during that failed special session last summer, which included a so-called assault weapons ban (made-up term) and the confiscation of those firearms to authorities. No grandfather clause; you have to turn them over. And this isn’t tin-foil-hat nonsense. Why would they retreat or moderate anything on gun rights now that they’ve retaken control of the legislature? They won’t. The National Rifle Association’s backyard is now ruled by anti-gunners [emphasis mine]:
§ 18.2-308.8. Importation, sale, possession, etc., of assault firearms prohibited; penalty.
A. For purposes of this section:
"Assault firearm" means:
1. A semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds;
2. A semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has the ability to accept a detachable magazineand has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the rifle; (iii) a thumbhole stock; (iv) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (v) a bayonet mount; (vi) a grenade launcher; (vii) a flare launcher; (viii) a silencer; (ix) a flash suppressor; (x) a muzzle brake; (xi) a muzzle compensator; (xii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting (a) a silencer, (b) a flash suppressor, (c) a muzzle brake, or (d) a muzzle compensator; or (xiii) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (xii);
3. A semi-automatic center-fire pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds;
4. A semi-automatic center-fire pistol that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a thumbhole stock; (iii) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (iv) the capacity to accept a magazine that attaches to the pistol outside of the pistol grip; (v) a shroud that is attached to, or partially or completely encircles, the barrel and that permits the shooter to hold the pistol with the non-trigger hand without being burned; (vi) a manufactured weight of 50 ounces or more when the pistol is unloaded; (vii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting (a) a silencer, (b) a flash suppressor, (c) a barrel extender, or (d) a forward handgrip; or (viii) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (vii);
5. A shotgun with a revolving cylinder that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material; or
6. A semi-automatic shotgun that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock, (ii) a thumbhole stock, (iii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the shotgun, (iv) the ability to accept a detachable magazine, (v) a fixed magazine capacity in excess of seven rounds, or (vi) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (v).
"Assault firearm" includes any part or combination of parts designed or intended to convert, modify, or otherwise alter a firearm into an assault firearm, or any combination of parts that may be readily assembled into an assault firearm. "Assault firearm" does not include (i) a firearm that has been rendered permanently inoperable, (ii) an antique firearm as defined in § 18.2-308.2:2, or (iii) a curio or relic as defined in § 18.2-308.2:2.
B. It shall be is unlawful for any person to import, sell, possess or transfer the following firearms: the Striker 12, commonly called a "streetsweeper," or any semi-automatic folding stock shotgun of like kind with a spring tension drum magazine capable of holding twelve shotgun shells, manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport an assault firearm. A violation of this section shall be is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) any government officer, agent, or employee, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, to the extent that such person is acquiring, possessing, transferring, or transporting an assault firearm within the scope of his official duties; (ii) the manufacture of an assault firearm by a firearms manufacturer for the purpose of sale to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees, provided that the manufacturer is properly licensed under federal, state, and local laws; or (iii) the sale or transfer of an assault firearm by a licensed dealer to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees.
§ 18.2-308.9. Import, sale, possession, etc., of certain firearm magazines; penalty.
A. For purposes of this section, "large-capacity firearm magazine" means any firearm magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has the capacity of, or can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition, including any such device with a removable floor plate or end plate if the device can be readily extended to accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition. "Large-capacity firearm magazine" does not include (i) a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has been permanently altered so that it cannot accept more than 10 rounds of ammunition or (ii) an attached tubular device designed to accept and only capable of operating with .22 caliber rimfire ammunition.
B. It is unlawful for any person to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport any large-capacity firearm magazine. A violation of this section is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) any government officer, agent, or employee, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, to the extent that such person is acquiring, possessing, transferring, or transporting a large-capacity firearm magazine within the scope of his official duties; (ii) the manufacture of a large-capacity firearm magazine by a firearms manufacturer for the purpose of sale to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees, provided that the manufacturer is properly licensed under federal, state, and local laws; or (iii) the sale or transfer of a large-capacity firearm magazine to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees.
§ 18.2-308.10. Import, sale, possession, etc., of silencers; penalty.
A. For purposes of this section, "silencer" means any device for silencing, muffling, or diminishing the report of a firearm, including any part or combination of parts designed or intended for use in assembling or fabricating such a device.
B. It is unlawful for any person to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport a silencer. A violation of this section is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) any government officer, agent, or employee, or member of the Armed Forces of the United States, to the extent that such person is acquiring, possessing, transferring, or transporting a silencer within the scope of his official duties; (ii) the manufacture of a silencer by a firearms manufacturer for the purpose of sale to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees, provided that the manufacturer is properly licensed under federal, state, and local laws; or (iii) the sale or transfer of a silencer to any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or to a law-enforcement agency in the Commonwealth for use by that agency or its employees.
§ 18.2-308.11. Import, sale, possession, etc., of trigger activators prohibited; penalty.
A. For the purposes of the section, "trigger activator" means any device that allows a semi-automatic firearm to shoot more than one shot with a single pull of the trigger by harnessing the recoil energy of any semi-automatic firearm to which it is affixed so that the trigger resets and continues firing without additional physical manipulation of the trigger by the shooter.
B. It is unlawful for any person to import, sell, transfer, manufacture, purchase, possess, or transport any trigger activator. A violation of this section is punishable as a Class 6 felony.
§ 18.2-308.12. Surrender, etc., of prohibited assault firearm, firearm magazine, silencer, and trigger activator.
Any person who legally owns an assault firearm, as defined in § 18.2-308.8; large-capacity firearm magazine, as defined in § 18.2-308.9; silencer, as defined in § 18.2-308.10; or trigger activator, as defined in § 18.2-308.11, on November 1, 2019, may retain possession of such assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator until July 1, 2020. During this time period, such person shall (i) render the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator permanently inoperable; (ii) remove the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator from the Commonwealth; (iii) transfer the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator to a person outside the Commonwealth who is not prohibited from possessing the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator; or (iv) surrender the assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator to a state or local law-enforcement agency. The provisions of § 15.2-915.5 shall not apply to any assault firearm, large-capacity firearm magazine, silencer, or trigger activator surrendered to a local law-enforcement agency pursuant to this section.
As for abortion, well, Northam and his fellow colleague Kathy Tran, are quite clear: they want to make baby-killing legal way up until the late stages of pregnancy. You’re not a real Democrat until you endorse infanticide.
With one and two-seat majorities, with a suburban base that’s is anti-Trump, there was little hope this would be an election that would be beneficial to the GOP. Maybe I hoped that the failed special session might energize gun rights voters, but the Northern, anti-freedom slice of the state just has too much power. There are too many trash liberals. And it’s only going to get worse now that Amazon is slated to settle into Crystal City over the next couple of years. That’s thousands of new Democrat voters right there. This is a dark day for Republicans in the state. As long as liberals dominate this part of the state, which is really an extension of D.C. proper, the state cannot be truly free. Democrats now control 2020 redistricting as well. Elections have consequences and the VA GOP has done a pretty bad job organizing and simply finding sentient beings to run for office, especially at the statewide level. The last time we’ve won statewide was 2009 with Bob McDonnell.
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