RICHMOND — In the wake of the Democrat takeover of Virginia, the newly empowered Left is unapologetic about plans to disarm residents of the Old Dominion. Governor Ralph Northam — having previously failed to get any traction for his citizen-disarmament policies — now appears to see his way clear to implement them. But partisan victories do not necessarily equal a carte blanche mandate. Virginians across the state are prepared to resist his gun grab, and they have the law — and some in law enforcement — on their side.
As a result of the Maoist-assisted shift to the Left in Virginia, Democrats in the birthplace of a nation appear to believe they can run roughshod over the God-given, constitutionally protected rights of Virginians. While Northam may not have expressed it quite the way former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke did in his bid for the DNC presidential nomination, he nonetheless promised that he will press forward with “common sense” gun-control laws. “Common sense” is a liberal buzz-word for repressive restrictions on the Second Amendment’s guarantee of “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.”
Northam and other Democrats had tried on previous occasions to enact restrictive gun laws, but were held at bay by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. With the recent election giving Democrats control of both houses, Northam has promised to press his agenda through. That agenda includes universal background checks; child access prevention; a one-gun-per-month purchase limit; bans on all so-called assault weapons, including bump stocks and high-capacity magazines; legal responsibilities for lost or stolen guns; allowing municipalities to ban guns from municipal buildings; and so-called red flag laws.
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“Red flag laws” are laws that prevent a person who has not committed a crime from buying a gun. All that is necessary is that the person is accused of being “dangerous.” As the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights group active in Virginia since 1994, explains:
The person accused of being “dangerous” has not committed a crime and has no notice there is a problem until the police show up, pre-dawn, with guns drawn and confiscate the accused’s firearms. The accused is not given due process to defend himself or herself in court from the accusation for weeks or months after the confiscation. It is up to the accused to prove that he or she is not dangerous! (How do you prove a negative? How do you prove you are not dangerous?) Until such proof is provided to the Court’s satisfaction, the guns are not returned. This could drag on for months, years, or indefinitely!
So, claims of “common sense” duly noted, the reality is that Democrats plan to not only limit Virginians’ ability to purchase guns, but also to confiscate them without anything resembling due process.
In early November, right after the elections, Northam told CNN, “I will introduce those again in January and I’m convinced now with a majority in the House and the Senate they will become law.” He also told the Washington Post that gun confiscation — while not a “definitive plan” — is not off the table. “That’s something I’m working [on] with our secretary of public safety,” he said. “I’ll work with the gun violence activists, and we’ll work [on] that. I don’t have a definitive plan today,” he said in answer to whether he supports confiscating “assault weapons” from gun owners.
But Northam and other Democrats may soon find that winning elections with pro-Chinese Communist help and passing unconstitutional laws restricting the rights of citizens is one thing; enforcing those laws is something else entirely.
Following a trend that began in Washington State when voters there passed I-1639 in November 2018, cities and counties in Virginia are preparing to declare themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuary Cities.” As this writer reported on the situation in Washington State, 20 of the 39 counties in that state had sheriffs who stood for the constitution and against the anti-gun agenda by refusing to enforce unconstitutional gun laws.
Those sheriffs were joined by one police chief, Loren Culp of the aptly named Republic, Washington, who gained national attention for a viral Facebook post stating that he would not enforce I-1639. Culp has since written a book on the topic. That book, American Cop: Upholding the Constitution & Defending Your Right to Bear Arms, was a bestseller at Amazon for weeks after its release. Culp, who is now running for governor of Washington State and was recently named Police Chief of the Decade by Sheriff Mack’s organization, coined the phrase “Second Amendment Sanctuary City” in a resolution he proposed to the city council of Republic, Washington. Though that resolution was not voted on in Republic, it created a sensation in the national media and has influenced cities, towns, and counties in Virginia to use that same verbiage in defense of the right to keep and bear arms.
MSN News is reporting that in the quiet town of Amelia Courthouse, Virginia, an overflowing crowd of concerned citizens descended on a recent meeting of the Board of Supervisors to demand that Amelia Courthouse be declared as a “Second Amendment sanctuary” where officials will refuse to enforce any new restrictions on gun ownership.
That article describes the meeting thus: “Families, church groups, hunt clubs and neighbors began arriving two hours early, with hundreds spilling out of the little courthouse and down the hill to the street in the chilly night air.”
Those citizens are not alone, either. Amelia Sheriff Ricky L. Walker stated, “My oath of office is to uphold the Constitution of the United States.” Because of that, he will refuse to enforce unconstitutional gun laws, such as confiscation, even if the General Assembly passes Northam’s legislation. “That’s what I hang my hat on,” he said.
Amelia Courthouse is not an anomaly. As MSN News reported:
The resolutions rocketing around the Virginia countryside all have similar language. Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League said he drafted one for Amelia to consider, along with about 30 other counties — out of 95 total — also taking it up. The matter was added to the Amelia agenda too late for it to be advertised so, by law, the board cannot vote on it until next month. Yet, a crowd of 300 or more turned out after hearing about it through word of mouth.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Van Cleave said of the outpouring of interest. “Everything has exploded right now. Gun owners are awake.”
A similar resolution that passed Monday in Appomattox County pledged to oppose any efforts to “unconstitutionally restrict” the right to bear arms. It said the county would do this “through legal action, the power of the appropriation of public funds, and the right to petition for redress of grievances, and the direction to the law enforcement and judiciary of Appomattox County to not enforce any unconstitutional law.”
The idea of designating cities, towns, and counties as “sanctuaries” for gun rights is catching on across the country. After Washington State, it has gained ground in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, and now Virginia.
Here in Virginia, the idea is particularly appealing even to state legislators. Delegate John J. McGuire III (R-Henrico) — who just won a second term in the House of Delegates, even as Democrats gained control of both houses — has announced that he is seeking next year’s GOP nomination to challenge U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.). He spoke to the gathering crowd from the courthouse steps, saying, “I don’t understand what part of ‘shall not infringe’ they don’t understand. I’ll fight my a** off for you.”
Amelia’s supervisors heard the concerns of citizens about restrictions on their right to keep and bear arms. Of the dozens who spoke, only one person — a representative of the anti-gun Moms Demand Action — voiced anything except approval for the plan to declare Amelia as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary City.” The Board of Supervisors has slated a vote on the resolution for December 18. That meeting will be held in the local high-school auditorium to accommodate the expected crowd.
Even if Amelia does not approve the resolution, Sheriff Walker — who is elected by the people who overwhelmingly approve of the resolution — will still have the constitutional authority to stand his ground and defend the rights of the people in his county.
C. Mitchell Shaw is a freelance writer and public speaker who addresses a range of topics related to liberty and the U.S. Constitution. A strong privacy advocate, he was a privacy nerd before it was cool.
