Virginia: Oppose Gov. Northam’s Gun Grab, Attend Public Hearing

On Tuesday, August 20^th, the Virginia State Crime Commission will be accepting public comments as part of its August 19^th-20^th hearings on Governor Ralph Northam’s proposed gun control bills.  During the July 9^th special session, the General Assembly directed the Commission to hold these hearings and report back with its findings.  NRA members and Second Amendment supporters are invited to attend the hearing on August 20^th.  Though not everyone may get a chance to speak, the presence of Virginians standing up for the Second Amendment is critical to send a powerful message to Governor Northam and his gun grabbing allies.  If you are unable to attend, please submit comments by email to comments@vscc.virginia.gov.

Meeting details may be found here and below:

Tuesday, August 20^th Noon-8:00PM
Pocahontas Building, House Committee Room
900 E Main St
Richmond, VA 23219

Gov. Northam himself admitted what law-abiding gun owners in Virginia have known all along: his proposals would not have prevented the May 31^st attack in Virginia Beach.  It is clear that Gov. Northam and his gun grabbing allies have no real interest in pursuing meaningful, evidence-based policies to reduce crime.  Rather, he simply seized this opportunity to launch a political stunt to distract from scandals involving himself and other statewide office holders.

Gov. Northam and his gun grabbing allies’ Policy Proposals

• Criminalizing private transfers with “universal” background checks:  According to law enforcement, the perpetrator of the shooting in Virginia Beach legally purchased the firearms used in the attack from licensed dealers and passed background checks.
• Banning commonly-owned semi-automatic rifles:  The Virginia Beach tragedy was committed with handguns, not so-called "assault weapons."
• Banning most standard-capacity magazines:  Following the shooting, Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera stated, "As far as more legislation on gun issues.  I’m a member of Major City Chiefs, we did publish something about a year and a half ago.  I don’t think most of that would have mattered in this particular case.  We do have the Second Amendment it is very stringent for our country.  In this particular case, the weapons were obtained legally.  Everything was done in a legal manner by this individual."
• Banning firearm silencers/suppressors:  Despite the name, firearms are still very loud when using a silencer/suppressor.  The outcome of the attack at Virginia Beach would be no different with or without a silencer/suppressor.
• Rationing Second Amendment rights by limiting firearm purchases to one per month:  The perpetrator used two handguns to carry out the attack.  The perpetrator bought one of the pistols in 2016 and the other in 2018.
• Further victimizing those who suffer loss or theft for failing to report lost or stolen firearms:  The firearms used in the Virginia Beach tragedy were purchased through a Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealer.
• Imposing government standards for storing firearms and requiring them be made unavailable for self-defense:  The alleged perpetrator was 40 years old at the time of the attack.  A government-mandated safe storage law would have had no effect on the attack.
• Allowing localities to pass their own gun control:  Like many of the other proposed gun control ideas, weakening state firearms preemption would have done nothing to prevent the tragedy in Virginia Beach because criminals, by definition, do not follow the law.  These laws and others are only effective in restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

Again, please consider attending the hearing on August 20^th or submitting comments regarding Gov. Northam’s and his gun grabbing allies’ proposals to the Virginia State Crime Commission by email to comments@vscc.virginia.gov.