Gun lobbyists may be having a heydey across the country, but they were recently shut down hard in Virginia.
What’s surprising is that this brick wall against limiting gun rights appeared less than two months after the devastating attack at Virginia Beach, the deadliest shooting of the year that took the lives of 12 Americans. The public works employee had spent 15 years working as a civil engineer before entering his building and taking aim at his coworkers.
It’s unclear what the full motivation was for the shooting, but other staff members said that there was a clear “hostile work environment.” This according to a staff member who was later fired for noting in a company meeting that supervisors seemed to be uncaring about the incident.
Republicans Shoot Down Gun Laws
More than 30 gun laws were proposed by the Democratic governor, Ralph Northam, in the wake of the shootings. Exactly none of these laws made it past the House, which is predominantly Republican. The Senate is also controlled by Republicans, albeit by a slim 20-19 margin as compared to the 51-48 edge that the Republicans have in the House.
Unfortunately, gun control advocates are using this as a rallying cry across the state in an attempt to further reduce the rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms. There is an opportunity for this all to change in November if Democrats are able to muster the votes that they need to successfully wrest back control from the Republicans — something that will almost certainly result in a wave of new anti-gun legislation.
This particular election is an extremely important one, as all 140 seats are up for grabs, which could cause a significant turning of tides in this battleground state.
Supporting Pro-Gun Legislation Throughout the Country
Throughout the country, gun advocates are finding that their rights are being severely restricted by individuals who mistakenly believe that legal guns are what causes violence. Gun rights supporters and those who are fighting for tougher legislation are coming together on a regular basis for demonstrations that are equally emotional on each side.
Gun rights advocates fought hard against the current legislation that was hastily put through the House in Virginia, noting that it appeared to punish legal gun owners as opposed to having any effect on those who obtained their firearms illegally. This is only one of many states where anti-gun legislation is being bullied into law.
The individual allegedly responsible for the Virginia Beach shooting made a decision that is an unfortunate one for gun supporters — he used a silencer as part of his attack. This provided yet another group of protesters something to rally around, and perhaps encouraging silencer laws to continue cropping up around the country.
While no one can condone the decisions that were made by the individual opening fire in Virginia, it’s disturbing that anti-gun protestors are using his use of a silencer as a way to push their leftist agendas.
