By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Defiant Virginia gun owners gathered at the Capitol in Richmond over the weekend to rally against new gun control legislation, some handing out ammunition magazines which will be banned under a new law if Gov. Abigail Spanberger signs it, and protesting what they call tyranny.
According to WWBT News, Democrats who now control the legislature say the new law will make the Old Dominion safer, but gun rights advocates say otherwise.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, has vowed to challenge the gun control laws if they are signed by Spanberger.
Speaking to the crowd, Van Cleave stated, “Crime is just an excuse for the actual end goal of gun control which is civilian disarmament. That’s the end goal. Complete and total civilian disarmament.”
WRIC News quoted rally organizer Micah Goodman of Virginia Beach, who told the crowd, “When they say that we’re not responsible enough to stand on our own, that we’re not responsible enough to handle ourselves and the defense of ourselves, and that we need to leave everything up to the government, that is how we tiptoe into a police state. We do not want that in Virginia.”
The target of criticism at the rally was Senate Bill 749, which would ban so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.”
The Firearms Policy Coalition, a national gun rights group based in Nevada, issued a statement.
“Instead of upholding the rights of Virginians, tyrants in Richmond have voted to gut the Constitution and turn peaceable gun owners into felons. FPC has been preparing a federal lawsuit to challenge this immoral ban on constitutionally protected firearms and magazines. We will not hesitate to sue to defend Virginians against their authoritarian government if Governor Abigail Spanberger signs this anti-gun bill into law,” said FPC President Brandon Combs.
The magazines distributed to rally participants were reportedly donated by Magpul, according to News2Share.com.
Spanberger won last November’s election running as a moderate, but so far, her public positions have been tilting farther to the left. She is expected to sign the gun ban measure.
If Van Cleave’s organization follows through on a lawsuit, it could be a while before the proposed ban actually takes place, depending upon how the courts decide to proceed.
