By AFP Staff
When Virginia turned blue last year, liberals were hoping that the Democrat-controlled state legislature and the governor would move quickly to pass legislation banning all so-called assault rifles in the state. A funny thing happened, though, on the way to Gov. Ralph Northam’s centerpiece bill. Four Democrats in the state Senate defected to the Republican side, ensuring that the measure would never see the light of day.
Here is how Associated Press broke the news on Feb. 17:
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s push to ban the sale of assault weapons has failed after members of his own party balked at the proposal.
Senators voted to shelve the bill for the year and ask the state crime commission to study the issue, an outcome that drew cheers from a committee room packed with gun advocates.
Four moderate Democrats joined Republicans in Monday’s committee vote, rejecting legislation that would have prohibited the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms, including popular AR-15 style rifles, and banned the possession of magazines that hold more than 12 rounds.
The bill was a top priority for Northam, a Democrat who has campaigned heavily for a broad package of gun-control measures.
Democrats seem to be unconcerned about the facts surrounding firearms in the United States and that the overwhelming majority of gun crimes are carried out using handguns not rifles. The truth is out there for anyone who is willing to keep an open mind and look objectively for them. Less than 13% of mass shootings are carried out by criminals using rifles, yet liberal activists cling to these because some of them look more intimidating than others. The reality is, a higher-caliber hunting rifle can be even more deadly than an AR-15 especially at longer ranges.
Undaunted by the truth, activists have forged ahead. That was short lived in Virginia, thanks to commonsense legislators, who killed the bill.
Second Amendment advocates have pushed back hard against Democrats in Virginia, who want to needlessly ban guns. In January, tens of thousands of protesters descended on the state capital to demonstrate peacefully against gun control. Violent leftist thugs had threatened to show up to disrupt the event, but they shied away after word got out that some citizens would be attending heavily armed.
In addition, more than 100 counties, cities, and towns in Virginia have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries—many of which have the backing of local law enforcement—saying they will fight any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on constitutionally protected firearms.
