Holiday Thoughts on Gun Control in Virginia
I am back in my hometown for the holidays, taking this rare chance to sit with my entire family to celebrate the time of year; when family gets together and does their absolute best to attempt to not to annoy each other to the point where firearms are used. Here in Virginia though, it’s going to be getting harder to settle simple familial disputes with the time tested and honored tradition of dueling at dawn with pistols very soon.
Growing up in the great commonwealth, I was led to believe two things would never change; Virginia would never get rid of smoking because of the tobacco farmers in the area, and there was absolutely no way that the Virginia Legislature would ever attempt to disarm the citizenry. However, over the years finding places you were allowed to smoke got to be more difficult, and now the right to own a weapon has recently come under fire after Virginia elected the first Democratic Legislature for the first time since 1994.
The moment the election came to close Gov. Ralph “Blackface” Northam vowed that it was “a new day and a new landscape” and one of the top priorities of the new legislature was to pass gun violence prevention laws. He was quick to add that guns “shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” yet he is ready to pass new “common-sense gun laws” (an oft used term that is completely open to interpretation) without any support from their GOP counterpoints. Some of the finer points of these laws would be universal background checks; bans on “assault-style” weapons (more on this in a minute), bump stocks, and sound suppressors; requirements to report lost or stolen firearms; and expanded authority for local municipalities to regulate firearms.
A few days after the election, State Senator Richard Saslaw introduced
SB16 which would expand the definition of an “assault firearm” to cover many different semi-automatic rifles and pistols, calling for the ban of these firearms, barring people from purchasing, possessing, selling, or transferring those weapons. Violating these laws would be a Class 6 felony. This would include pistols that have a telescoping stock, a forward handgrip, or one with a pre-threaded barrel that would be able to accept a silencer, even if the owner of the weapon does not possess a silencer or flash suppressor.
Another bill, SB64, introduced by L. Louise Lucas (D-VA), states that “a person is guilty of unlawful paramilitary activity, punishable as a Class 5 felony if he: 1. Teaches or demonstrates to any other person the use, application, or making of any firearm, explosive, or incendiary device, or technique capable of causing injury or death to persons, knowing or having reason to know or intending that such training will be employed for use in, or in furtherance of, a civil disorder.” This essentially means that if a father teaches his son or daughter how to properly use a weapon he is then in violation of this law and will be punished with a Class 5 felony.
If these laws are to pass it would be the greatest infringement on the second amendment in the history of the commonwealth. Understandably the citizenry in many areas of Virginia has taken to their local city councils to make their counties or cities 2A sanctuary areas (taking a page out of the playbook of those who, rightfully, were making their cities or counties sanctuary cities for undocumented foreigners). At the time of writing this; 76 of the 95 counties, 9 of the 38 independent cities, and 13 towns have adopted 2A sanctuary resolutions, and this has scared the absolute bejesus out of the incoming Legislature.
The fear struck quickly enticing Rep. Donald McEachin (D-VA) to say he recommends cutting off state funds to counties that don’t comply with any gun control measures the commonwealth decides to pass.
“They certainly risk funding, because if the sheriff’s department is not going to enforce the law, they’re going to lose money. The counties’ attorneys offices are not going to have the money to prosecute because their prosecutions are going to go down,” he told the Washington Examiner on December 11, 2019.
Later on in the interview, McEachin took it farther and floated the idea that Gov. Blackface could call in the National Guard to enforce the new laws.
“And ultimately, I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law,” he said. “That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.”
After this statement the Adjunct General of Virginia, Major Timothy P. Williams, released a statement about the situation:
“We have received multiple questions regarding proposed legislation for the 2020 General Assembly session and the authority of the Governor of Virginia to employ the Virginia National Guard in a law enforcement role. We understand and respect the passion people feel for the U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights. We will not speculate about the possible use of the Virginia National Guard. I encourage everyone to be patient while we allow our elected officials to work through the legislative process. We have not received any requests from the Governor, or anyone on his staff, about serving in a law enforcement role related to any proposed legislation. I expect our Soldiers, Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force to be professional and respectful in their discussions about this subject. As private citizens, our personnel are free to express their opinions to their elected officials, but they should not engage in any political activity while in a uniformed status. We will provide regular updates when appropriate during the General Assembly session. Please utilize your chain of command to direct any questions or concerns to my office, and we will do our best to address them.”
Which is a very militaristic way to say “No Comment.”
Within a month after Democrats were elected to take control of the legislature, not only did Gov. Blackface, VA State Senator Saslaw, and their ilk come up with a plan to not only make sale of “semi-auto” weapons illegal, but also possible bans of the possession of these weapons, but then threatened the use of the military to enforce these laws, and the leader of the VA National Guard would not comment on the situation. This ought to scare every person in this state, as well as this country.
A few Sheriffs departments put out statements saying they support the Second Amendment and would not enforce any legislation they felt violated the Constitutional standard. In response to this, Del. Lee Carter (D-VA) submitted HB67 where new legislation states that any law enforcement officer fails to enforce the new gun laws would potentially be fired from their jobs, leaving every officer with the option of following orders, or following their moral compass — which in many cases is questionable at best.
The Legislature is threatening to take away the Second Amendment rights of every Virginia citizen, going so far as to threaten them with military action after they decided to stand up to the laws with their local sanctuary areas. When a handful of Sheriff offices stated they would not enforce these laws, they had their jobs threatened, forcing them to choose between following orders, and putting food on the table for their children. This is tyranny, by every definition, and the Virginians who put the phrase “Sic Semper Tyrannis” on the state flag would be horrified to see that they are now nothing more than meaningless words that are fun to say at parties.
I am happy I no longer live in the Commonwealth. If I were to still live here I would be forced to decide to move to a state more friendly to my beliefs or stand my ground to possibly be taken down in a firefight with the United States Military for believing I had the right to own a handgun with a telescoping stock. This is nothing but an attempt to weaken and control the citizens, and I, for one, am glad that I will not be in the state when these laws take effect and the proverbial poo hits the proverbial fan because I would stand up for my rights, and if I were given the choice between handing over my weapons or dying I would take out as many of those trying to take me out as I could.
So, before these laws are passed and the military is marching through the streets I have to challenge my sister to a duel with pistols because she believes whipped cauliflower is better than mashed potatoes, and that sort of buffoonery shall not be tolerated as long as there is something to do about it.
Have a wonderful holiday everyone.
