Virginia Democrats waved the white flag on Monday and have decided to give up on their controversial AR-15 gun confiscation bill.
On Monday thousands of NRA members and gun rights advocates showed up in Richmond, Virginia to oppose the new gun control laws proposed by state Democrats.
On, Sunday the NRA requested that its members “flood” the Virginia Senate meetings to make sure their pro-Second Amendment voices are heard.
Video taken from the hallways outside where the Senate meetings were taking place showed NRA members everywhere.
.@NRA members getting ready to Stand and Fight in Virginia! #valeg pic.twitter.com/XGs7glbtER
— NRA (@NRA) January 13, 2020
“We are beyond impressed by today’s turnout,” D.J. Spiker, Virginia state director for the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action.You can see the passion and enthusiasm that the citizens of Virginia have in joining us in this fight.”
Due to the amount of gun rights supporters that attended Senate Democrats had no choice and formally withdrew SB16 – a bill that confiscated AR-15’s, and included restrictions on magazines and suppressors – and toned down several other proposals.
“I was disappointed to see the state legislature was interested in instituting these pieces of legislation,” Richard Cosner, a preacher from nearby Chester and a 10-year Virginia resident, said. “The Constitution is specific; it ‘shall not be infringed.’ If somebody wants to restrict those rights then they need to follow it by altering the Constitution, not by putting in place legislation that is in conflict with the Constitution.”
The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee did advance a “red flag” law – which would allow a judge to temporarily confiscate a person’s firearms but, restricted who could file under the law. The Committee also advanced a measure allowing local municipalities the right to regulate firearms however, only on local government property or during permitted protests.
The NRA has said that it’s not going to back down and will keep applying pressure on the Virginia legislator until all of these bills are withdrawn.
“While there were some improvements to some of these bills, overall, it’s still bad legislation,” Spiker said. “Putting in more regulations and making it more onerous on the law-abiding citizens of Virginia is not something we stand for.”
