20 SEPTEMBER 2019 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
years after repeal, the ATF traced
less guns (1,259) traveling between
the jurisdictions. The proposal would
have had no effect on the Virginia
Beach attacker because he purchased
the handguns used for his crime two
years apart.
The governor also called on
legislators to weaken Virginia’s
firearms-preemption law. It is difficult
to overstate the threat this regressive
proposal posed to law-abiding gun
owners. Empowering Virginia’s 95
counties and 38 independent cities to
create their own gun-free zones would
destroy the right to carry by subjecting
concealed-handgun-permit holders to
an incomprehensible patchwork of local
restrictions. Worse, in the days before
Virginia’s pre-emption statute, some of
the state’s localities imposed their own
permit to purchase requirements—
72-hour waiting periods, gun-dealer
licensing and taxation schemes, and
gun registries.
Another gun-free zone sign would
not have prevented the unhinged
employee with keycard access from
covertly bringing a firearm into the
Virginia Beach Municipal Center.
However, had Virginia Beach municipal
employees been allowed to exercise
their right to carry on the job, things
might have turned out differently. After
the attack, two Virginia Beach city
employees started a petition to end the
city policy restricting carry by municipal
employees on the job so that workers
might be prepared to thwart any future
attack. The husband of one Virginia
Beach victim told The Virginian-Pilot that
he had urged his wife to carry at work
after she expressed concerns about
the behavior of a fellow employee. The
husband said she did not for fear of
violating employee policy.
The absurdity of Northam’s
proposals as a response to the Virginia
Beach attack wasn’t lost on some of
the state’s youngest residents. During
a June 21 event at Radford University,
a high-school-age boy questioned
the governor on whether any of his
proposals would have prevented the
Virginia Beach attack. The Roanoke
Times reported that “Northam
conceded that his proposals wouldn’t
have necessarily prevented the Virginia
Beach shooting.”
NRA-ILA’s preparations to win on
July 9 started the moment Northam
announced his plans for a special
session. NRA-ILA immediately informed
members and other gun-rights
supporters by email, postcard, and
phone of the impending special session
and the severe threat it posed to their
Second Amendment rights. Members
were repeatedly asked to contact their
lawmakers and make their position
known—which thousands upon
thousands did.
NRA-ILA organized four heavily
attended town halls to mobilize
members for political action in various
regions of the state, including one in
Virginia Beach. Gun-control advocates
tried to use the Virginia Beach rally as a
way to attack the NRA. Our opponents
should understand that the NRA has
thousands of supporters in the Virginia
Beach area who deserve to have their
fundamental rights defended just as
vigorously as those of every other
American. Moreover, the opposition
should recognize that the NRA and
our members will not be silenced
or shamed into being collectively
punished for the violent acts of a
deranged individual.
NRA-ILA staff created
stopnorthamsgunban.org and
directed members to it for the latest
information on the special session.
The site was populated with fact
sheets undermining each of Northam’s
gun-control proposals, which
members were urged to share with
family, friends and fellow gun-rights
supporters. On the day of the special
session, NRA-ILA was on hand near
the Virginia State Capitol Building to
provide information to attending gun-
rights advocates and direct them to
their lawmakers.
All of these efforts were essential
to curtailing Northam’s gun-controlproposals and all share a common
thread. As the nation’s premier
grassroots political organization,
NRA-ILA’s ability to defend gun
rights is dependent on you the
member and your willingness to
participate throughout every part of
the political process.
Going forward in Virginia, NRA-
ILA needs gun-rights supporters to
get involved in the election on Nov. 5
when every seat in both houses of the
Virginia General Assembly is at stake.
Gun-control activists have already
made clear that they will be back in
Richmond to push their radical agenda
when the legislature reconvenes after
the election.
Across the country, NRA-ILA
needs members to ensure they are
registered to vote and signed up to
receive email and telephone alerts
about what is going on in their state
and what they can do to defend gun
rights. Those willing to invest more
of their time in the fight to protect
freedom should consider signing up
as a FrontLines Activist Leader to
help coordinate NRA-ILA’s grassroots
efforts on the ground in their states.
All of the information necessary to
stay informed and get involved can be
found at nraila.org.
The Virginia special session was
a critical step to defending our
Second Amendment rights in the
Commonwealth. Just as importantly,
it demonstrated what gun owners
must continue to do to preserve
our rights into the future. NRA-ILA
grassroots activism relies on the active
participation of members like you to
fuel our shared fight for freedom.Wikimedia photo by Ron Cogswell