Once again, law-abiding citizens and gun owners are under an outrageous attack by lawmakers. Two recent bills which have been signed and are headed to the governor’s desk for signing into law are HB217 and SB749. These are a gross and egregious violation of the rights of Virginia’s citizens and stand in direction violation of the Constitution of these United States of America. These bills directly attack the ability to purchase and sell both high-capacity magazines and “assault weapons”.
Creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, manufactures, purchases, or transfers an assault firearm, as that term is defined in the bill with some exceptions, and prohibits a person who has been convicted of such violation from purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm for a period of three years from the date of conviction. The bill provides that an assault firearm does not include any firearm that is an antique firearm, has been rendered permanently inoperable, or is manually operated by bolt, pump, lever, or slide action. The bill also creates a Class 1 misdemeanor for any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device. The bill provides that any person who willfully and intentionally (i) sells an assault firearm to another person or (ii) purchases an assault firearm from another person is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor and that any person who imports, sells, barters, or transfers a large capacity ammunition feeding device is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
So what, exactly, does the State of Virginia determine to be an “assault weapon”?
“Assault firearm” means any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol which expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material and is equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine which will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock.
While existing weapons and magazines would be grandfathered (how generous of them), overreach such as this is a prime example of the tyrannical government our forefathers sought to protect us from. Let’s take a moment to remind ourselves of what they said.
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”.
“Shall not be infringed.” Yet here we are once again where the government is successfully working to do just that. It’s imperative to let your leaders know where you stand on this issue, Virginia. It’s important to note that Virginia’s governor ran on an anti-gun platform and is expected to sign the bills so let your voices be heard loud and clear. Even if she fails to sign, they’ll become law after 60 days unless she explicitly vetoes them.
I also feel that it would be remiss to not mention that the sponsor of the Senate bill, Saddam Azlan Salim, hails from none other than Bangladesh. This is yet another clear example of why only natural-born American citizens should be allowed to hold public office. Why are we allowing people to come in from other countries so they can grossly misshape our laws?
This is just one of many examples of Virginia’s leaders attacking the rights of their constituents. SB27 creates “standards of responsible conduct for firearm industry members” opening manufacturers to attack if their products are misused. HB110 makes it a civil penalty “when such handgun is visible to any person who is outside such unattended motor vehicle.” HB901 “Expands the list of persons eligible to file a petition for an emergency substantial risk order.” Red-flag laws have been controversial since their inception and this is no exception. A jilted lover could make a false statement under oath (not a stretch of the imagination) and only face a misdemeanor while causing the gun owner countless legal issues. SB727 “prohibits the carrying of certain semi-automatic center-fire rifles, pistols, and shotguns or any firearm modified to be operable as an assault firearm on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, or public right-of-way or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public…” This is an absolutely ludicrous bill!
is (a) equipped at the time of the offense with a magazine that will hold more than 20 rounds of ammunition,
or(b) designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer, or (c) equipped with a folding stock or(b)(ii) shotgun with a magazine that will hold more than seven rounds of the longest ammunition for which it is chambered on or about his person on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, or in any public park or any other place of whatever nature that is open to the public
According to this, I would be a criminal for walking down a public sidewalk with my Alpha Foxtrot Romulus with a 20+ round magazine and a threaded barrel.
All of these along with the many I haven’t listed seem to laugh in the face of the US Supreme Courts 6-3 Bruen decision in 2022. While the primary focus of the ruling is an individual’s right to carry as a Constitutional right, it also defined a new test for gun-related legislation that “Courts should evaluate gun regulations based on historical tradition of firearm regulation, not modern balancing tests like “intermediate scrutiny.”
There’s something interesting to note about this new legislation. The left has been screaming about “No Kings!” and holding lovely rallies against Trump. Of course, that only matters when it’s directed at Republicans.
“The provisions of this section shall not apply to any member of the General Assembly”
That’s right, these wonderful Virginia legislators have made sure that everyone is equal, only they’re more equal and write the laws so they don’t apply to themselves.
Gun owners need to stand firm against these attacks.
