By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Only days into this year’s legislative session, and already beleaguered Virginia gun owners have launched a petition demanding that the Democrat-controlled General Assembly immediately “reject and kill” one of several House bills introduced this session in an effort to ratchet down on Second Amendment rights.
The petition, appearing at Change.org, specifically targets House Bill 217, along with a “coordinated bundle of anti-Second Amendment legislation.” As reported earlier by TGM, Democrats now running things are essentially making up for lost time over the past four years when Republican former-Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed gun control legislation.
That has changed dramatically now that freshman Democrat Gov. Abigail Spanberger has taken over.
TGM received a statement from Chad Cadenhead, author of the petition, detailing his motivation for writing the document.
VA DEMOCRATS WASTE NO TIME PUSHING GUN CONTROL
“Virginians and all Americans,” Cadenhead explained, “are entitled to laws that fully respect and uphold our constitutional rights, rather than erode them. The legislative package currently under consideration by Virginia lawmakers would impose severe criminal penalties on law-abiding citizens for conduct that has long been lawful and safe, while failing to address the actions of violent criminals who already flout existing statutes.
“These measures,” he continued, “seek to prohibit commonly owned and constitutionally protected firearms, impose new taxes on firearms and ammunition, and criminalize ordinary, responsible gun ownership.
“I initiated this petition on Change.org to demonstrate the widespread commitment among Virginians to the Second Amendment and to urge lawmakers to reject these bills,” he said.
Cadenhead provided a short history lesson, which could become a major talking point as things heat up politically in Richmond.
“As established by the United States Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (1803),” he elaborated, “any law repugnant to the Constitution is null and void. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with Article I, Section 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, safeguards the fundamental right to keep and bear arms—a right that is not subject to legislative negotiation or infringement. Virginia’s lawmakers have a solemn duty to repudiate these anti-Second Amendment proposals and to reaffirm the Commonwealth’s longstanding commitment to individual liberty and the full protection of constitutional rights for every citizen.”
The 790-word petition is already beginning to garner online signatures. It opens with s stinging rebuke of Democrat gun control efforts. Cadenhead explains his concerns in a video posted at Facebook.
“Virginia Democrats, fresh off regaining power, have unleashed a brazen, multi-bill attack on our unalienable right to keep and bear arms,” the petition states. “This isn’t ‘common-sense gun safety’—it’s a deliberate scheme to disarm the people, criminalize lawful ownership, and turn Virginia into a police state for gun owners while criminals laugh and ignore every restriction.”
In addition to HB 217, the petition also singles out:
- HB 207 (Suppressor Tax): Slaps a punitive $500 state excise tax on suppressors (hearing protection devices), undermining recent federal tax relief and burdening lawful users.
- HB 700 (5-Day Waiting Period): Forces arbitrary delays on firearm purchases, endangering victims who need immediate self-defense.
- HB 901 (Expanded Red Flag / ERPO Law): Broadens “extreme risk” seizure petitions to include therapists, school admins, and more—allowing gun confiscation without due process, charges, or conviction based on hearsay or malice.
- HB 871 (Mandatory Storage Mandate): Criminalizes parents for not storing firearms “perfectly” in locked containers, even if responsibly secured, while doing zero to stop criminals.
Earlier this week, Washington Times columnist Jed Babin wrote a scathing critique of Spanberger and Virginia Democrats over their gun control agenda.
According to Babin, “Ms. Spanberger ran as a moderate, but she appears to be Joseph R. Biden in a blond wig. She isn’t interested in commonsense legislation and will sign anything that passes the Democratic-controlled legislature, including an ‘assault weapons’ ban and a limit on magazine size.”
Reaction to the petition from Virginia residents reflects serious concern about the direction the Democrat-controlled Assembly is going.
A man named Michael from Sterling wrote, in part, “I am a long time Democrat-voting Virginian…I am a minority. Until recently I had not owned a gun, but with the passing of these bills you would be turning me, a law abiding citizen, into a criminal for the mere possession of my pistol that came from the manufacturer with two 15 round magazines or my rifle that came from the manufacturer with a 30 round magazine. Reducing magazine capacity does not help reduce mass shootings or prevent criminals from obtaining higher capacity magazines. These bills are nonsensical. The bill requiring the use of a biometric safe is also bad. Biometric locks can be bypassed or fail. Either way you would be creating a more dangerous situation should the need arise to get a gun out of a broken biometric safe.”
Dennis from Purcellville wrote, in part, “Higher taxes on guns, ammunition and accessories are only going to affect the poor and make Virginia less affordable. Address violence with any tool. Stop focusing on guns and start focusing on criminals. Stop letting criminals out of jail and making it harder for honest citizens to live their lives in freedom. Passing draconian laws will not make Virginia safer, but it will force a massive civil pushback.”
There are dozens more such reactions which may be read here.
