Virginia Is for Gun Owners
A peaceful protest shows wide support for the Second Amendment.
By The Editorial Board
Jan. 21, 2020 7:21 pm ET
On Jan. 20, 2020, more than 20,000 gun rights supporters turned out in Richmond, Virginia for their Second Amendment right to bear arms without violence—despite many, including Gov. Ralph Northam, pushing the idea that this was going to be another Charlottesville. Image: Essdras M. Suarez/Zuma Wire
The Monday news from Virginia has been reported with almost palpable disappointment: More than 20,000 turned out in Richmond for their Second Amendment right to bear arms without violence. In the runup to the rally many, including Gov. Ralph Northam, pushed the idea that this was going to be another Charlottesville. But the gun owners even picked up their own trash.
The protest was organized in response to gun-control measures expected to pass the new Democratic state legislature. Three approved by the Senate would ban guns from public events, require background checks on all firearms sales, and limit state residents to one gun purchase every 30 days. More are coming.
In the elections that turned both houses of the Legislature blue last year, antigun groups spent $54 million. Among the largest spenders was Everytown for Gun Safety, founded by presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. In response, more than 100 counties around the state have now declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries,” with the threat that they won’t enforce a gun law they believe is unconstitutional.
Many voters fear Democrats aren’t telling the truth about their real aims. Such fears are not alleviated when they hear presidential candidates such as Beto O’Rourke confirming that confiscation is part of their plan, or Mr. Bloomberg saying that only cops should carry guns. The media’s obvious contempt toward these law-abiding citizens also spurs them on.
The demonstrators showed how to make their point peacefully and democratically. Let’s hope the politicians respond with equal prudence. We suggest that instead of talking about how, say, the National Guard might step in, state legislators recognize that any effort to try to confiscate now-legal firearms or impose otherwise extreme gun control measures on Virginia would spark an enormous backlash that might include civil disobedience.
Law enforcement officers don’t get to choose which laws they’ll uphold, and if you don’t like a law, vote for lawmakers to change it. But it is also lawless for courts and legislatures to behave as if the Second Amendment and the Supreme Court decisions upholding it can equally be ignored.
