Virginia—the Old Dominion—with Democrats controlling the Assembly and Governor’s office, gun control legislation awaiting Abigail Spanberger’s signature and a promise of legal action; it’s the stuff of bad politics and righteous rebellion as the Second Amendment community braces for battle.
The Washington Examiner is reporting how so-called “progressive” groups such as Moms Demand Action “are behind a wave of tougher restrictions on firearms, wielding a quiet power that Second Amendment proponents worry could unravel gun rights in friendly territory.”
On the other side of the fence, the Virginia-based National Rifle Association is warning that what is happening in the state could be a signal of tough times on the horizon as midterm elections loom.
The Virginia Pilot looked at legislation now on Spanberger’s desk, including a ban on the sale and production of so-called “assault weapons.” Also on the list are bills requiring so-called “safe storage” of firearms in homes where children are present, another making it illegal to leave guns in unattended vehicles, and prohibiting guns or “explosive material” within the Capitol, Capitol Square and the surrounding area, any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof, or any office where “employees of the Commonwealth or any agency thereof are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties.”
Spanberger ran as a moderate, but once in office, she has been leaning left. If she signs the ban on modern semi-auto rifles, the National Shooting Sports Foundation is vowing to sue. If that happens, NSSF will likely have lots of company. Lawsuits are already challenging similar bans in Illinois, California and Washington state.
In the midst of this is the announcement that federal gun charges filed in connection with the sale of the firearm used in a shooting at Old Dominion University “are intensifying scrutiny of the state’s now-defunct universal background check law,” according to the Virginia Mercury.
Last year, a circuit court judge invalidated Virginia’s background check requirement for private gun sales. Then-Attorney General Jason Miyares declined to defend the law.
The Mercury report quoted Lori Haas, with the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, who reportedly acknowledged the seller of that gun may not have complied with the law, anyway, had it been in effect.
“It would have been at least a barrier in some minds in requiring a background check of the buyer,” Haas reportedly said.
However, that is speculation at best, considering the facts of the case. It does not erase the potential that the case will become a political football in the debate over whether gun controls are working, have worked, and may work in the future, and it will all play out just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital, where it will be impossible to not get the attention of the gun prohibition lobby and their allies on Capitol Hill.
Politics is already at play in the case, because the accused man, Kenya Mcchell Chapman, allegedly had earlier gun law violations. That much was made clear in a Justice Department news release following the formal charging in federal court.
“Chapman allegedly stole a firearm and illegally sold it to a convicted terrorist, who murdered a decorated American veteran, and he will finally face the full weight of justice,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated ATF and FBI agents, in partnership with state and local law enforcement officers, we have arrested and charged this safety threat and removed him from the community.”
If convicted, Chapman could face up to 35 years in prison.
The actual gunman in the case, Mohamad Bailor Jollah, was on federal supervised release after having spent time in prison after pleading guilty in October 2016 to charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. According to a court affidavit, Chapman admitted to having stolen the gun he ultimately sold to Jollah, who was found dead at the scene of the university shooting.
Meanwhile, the semi-auto ban, if Spanberger signs it, will allow current owners to keep their guns, but with additional restrictions.
Predictably, as noted by the Virginia Pilot, background checks spiked in February in Virginia, and NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva told the newspaper the scramble is due to concerns among Virginians they will be unable to buy a modern semi-auto rifle in the future if Spanberger signs the bill.
In the wake of charges in the criminal case, it could be argued once again that gun control laws do not prevent crime, as they apparently didn’t in the Old Dominion University shooting. That fact appears inescapable.
Armed Virginia Gun Owners Rally at Capitol as Magpul Distributes PMAGs
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
