It’s Lobby Day in Richmond on Monday. It’s an activist and engaged citizen’s best day and probably one of the more annoying ones for those politicians in Virginia’s state legislature. It’s very different this year. For the first time in nearly two decades, the state is run by Democrats. They control both houses of the legislature and the governor’s mansion. It’s hell on Earth. Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun activities have paid off. It took a few election cycles and a ton of money, but the houses flipped. It’s also a not so subtle reminder that the Virginia Republican Party needs to wake the hell up. We have a supermajority in the House of Delegates. What has been going on out there? Nearly a quarter of VA’s State Senate races had no Republican opponent. I don’t care if some of these races were kin D+50 districts, you must challenge, and you must find people who can win statewide. It’s been ten years since the VA GOP got someone who can win. After a decade of mismanagement, this is what we have now; a Virginia legislature aimed at turning us into Maryland.
In keeping with this day of civic engagement, the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) plans to swarm the capital with their people demanding lawmakers end their anti-gun push. It’s no secret that Democrats are gunning for a hardcore, anti-Second Amendment agenda with this new session. The VCDL is a state-based gun rights group, but they’re excellent. They’re organizing multiple buses to get their people to voice their concerns and opinions to their representatives. And this has apparently made Gov. Ralph Northam very nervous. He’s declaring a state of emergency, banning firearms on capitol grounds over threats or something (via WaPo):
Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday announced a temporary ban on firearms and other weapons on the Capitol grounds, saying he was responding to “credible intelligence” about potential violence at a gun-rights rally planned for Monday.
The governor said he will declare a state of emergency from Friday evening to Tuesday night and prohibit weapons on the Capitol grounds, including firearms, sticks, bats and chains.
“We’re seeing threats of violence,” Northam (D) said at a news conference. “We’re seeing threats of armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol.”
He asked that non-essential state employees not come to work Monday, a state holiday that is the traditional citizen lobbying day during the General Assembly session. Legislative staffers are normally on duty since the legislature is in session on that day.
As Democratic lawmakers vow to pass a variety of gun-control measures, Monday’s rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond. On Friday, a Democratic-majority legislative committee banned weapons inside the Capitol and an adjacent legislative office building.
[…]
The governor began his announcement by stating his belief in the right to debate, assemble and bear arms. But he said authorities had “received credible intelligence” — some gathered via “dark web channels used by white nationalists outside Virginia” — that groups with “malicious plans” were planning to attend the rally.
Townhall has been to VCDL’s 2016 rally on Lobby Day. There were no neo-Nazis. There are no such people in VCDL as far as I can tell. This is a rally in support of freedom, the Constitution, and the Second Amendment That was not what Charlottesville was about. This is insane. Folks, it’s not news, but Democrats hate us. They hate people who support gun rights, gun owners, Republicans, and anyone who isn’t from Northern Virginia or the Richmond area. First, white nationalists and gun rights activists are not the same. The former has always been around. The former will always be in the extreme minority. This isn’t going to be like Charlottesville. At the same time, maybe what could be gleaned from this is that Democrats know they might have awakened a sleeping giant in the state when it comes to constitutionally protected rights to firearm ownership. If this is the reaction from the governor concerning hordes of law-abiding citizens descending into Richmond for Lobby Day, then it provides for some pretty sad commentary. At the same time, he’s a Democrat—they will always disappoint.
Right now, Democrats are mulling a so-called assault weapons ban, limits on magazine sizes, expanded background checks, increasing the age to purchase firearms, some bans on certain types of ammunition, like hollow points and green tips, and a return to the one-gun-a-month law. Something is going to be passed, but maybe with some pressure, pro-liberty voters can scare Democrats from the more extreme measures. Some Democrats were promoting Northam deploying the National Guard to confiscate firearms, which he can do—sadly. Election matter. Elections have consequences and that cuts both ways. Conservative voters in Virginia are learning the hard way.
In the meantime, Northam, who survived a blackface-wearing scandal, is Mr. State of Emergency because people he doesn’t agree with are about to enter their city to speak with their representatives. But let’s cite the three of four losers who made an incendiary post on Reddit and blow that out of proportion to declare such a measure. Eyeroll.
