Category: Civil Rights, Individual Liberties
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And One More Thing…
Since posting my previous post, I’ve been thinking about Governor Ralph Northam’s decision to declare a state of emergency to keep a lid on the upcoming gun-rights rally. I’m sure it was not a decision lightly taken. The Governor is in a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t situation — criticized by one side for clamping down on the rights…
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Cool Your Jets, Dudes
by James A. Bacon So, Governor Ralph Northam yesterday declared a state of emergency that bans the bearing of firearms on stat property from Jan. 17 through Jan. 21. In justification, he cited plans by tens of thousands of gun-rights advocates to gather in Richmond in protest of gun-control legislation under consideration by the General…
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John, Alternatives to the VEA Do Exist!
by Steve Haner Dear “John Randolph of Roanoke,” you very much have a choice if you are tired of paying dues to the Virginia Education Association. I saw your lament in the comment string on Jim Bacon’s report today about pending legislation to force non-union employees to pay union dues. “Can’t drop out though. These…
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Bacon Bits: Elections Have Consequences Edition
Half a loaf is worse than none. Sen. Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, D-Springfield, has introduced a bill that would represent a significant erosion of Virginia’s Right to Work law without repealing it outright. SB 426, entitled “Fair Share Fees,” would authorize an employer to charge employees within a collective bargaining unit who choose not to…
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Handguns, Not Rifles, Are the Problem
Governor Ralph Northam has just introduced his “Virginia 2020 Plan” outlining his legislative priorities for the 2020 General Assembly session. His summary of the plan says this about gun control: Advance common-sense gun safety measures. Keep prohibited persons away from firearms. Universal background checks. “Red flag” law. Restore longstanding “1 handgun a month” law. What?…
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“Unite the Right” Revisited?
By Peter Galuszka Think” of it as “Unite the Right 2.0.” Thousands of protesters from Virginia and beyond the state will be converging on Richmond, many packing heat, to support “Second Amendment Sanctuaries,” which are cities or counties that refuse any law passed by the Democratically controlled General Assembly to pass any law that in…
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WaPo Escalates Gun-Rights Rhetoric
by James A. Bacon As Virginia Beach and Clarke County joined the list of 100+ Virginia localities endorsing symbolic Second Amendment sanctuary status and as gun-rights activists plan a massive rally at the state capitol, many in the media are working themselves into a frenzy of fear. No one appears to be more terrified than…
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Shades of Charlottesville?
by James A. Bacon Gun rights advocates and militia members from around the country are planning to descend on Richmond later this month to protest the enactment of gun-control bills in the General Assembly. As the Washington Post reports, the Second Amendment sanctuary movement has jumped Virginia’s borders. “Far-right websites and commentators are declaring that…
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Are Gun Control Laws Racist?
by James A. Bacon In 2018, according to the Virginia State Police Crime in Virginia report, law enforcement authorities reported 305 juveniles and 3,931 adults arrested for “weapon law violations.” If Democrats tighten gun control laws and vigorously enforce them, we can be reasonably sure that the number of arrests will increase. That could put…
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Virginia on the Road to Anarchy
by James A. Bacon Enforcement of the laws of Virginia may become optional in Fairfax and Arlington Counties when newly elected Commonwealth’s Attorneys — Steve Descano in Fairfax and Parisa Dehghani-Tafti in Arlington — take office. Both have promised to stop prosecuting marijuana possession, reports the Washington Post. Descano and Dehghani-Tafti said pot possession prosecutions…
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Media Botching Second Biggest Political Story of 2020
by James A. Bacon According to gun-rights groups, 87 Virginia counties, 10 cities, and 18 towns have adopted Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions. The magnitude of this grassroots movement is unprecedented in recent Virginia history. Nothing can compare, not even the Tea Party movement. If you want to know what’s animating the gun-rights movement, though, you…
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Virginians, Don’t Spread Russian Agitprop!
I’m not unsympathetic to Virginians who declare Second Amendment sanctuaries around the state. They’re an in-your-face retort to sanctuary cities for illegal immigrants. If liberals scheme to devise ways to evade laws they don’t like, don’t be surprised if conservatives do, too. But a good thing can go too far. Like when Second Amendment sanctuary…
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Hold Your Hosses, Partner
by James A. Bacon Democrats are submitting a slew of gun-control bills for consideration in the 2020 General Assembly session. Given that the session doesn’t begin until next month, it goes without saying that none have been passed yet. So, it’s impossible to say what gun-related legislation will emerge. But that’s not stopping gun-rights groups…
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Bacon Bits: Guns, Tolls, Evictions
You’ll have to pry my gun from… More than 90 governing bodies in Virginia have voted to declare themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, reports WDBJ. Ninety! Unbelievable. Thousands of citizens have appeared at board meetings across the state to demonstrate their support for the resolutions. Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave said the sanctuary…
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Welcome to the Crazy Times: Gun Control Edition
by James A. Bacon Virginia voters support gun control measures such as requiring background checks on all gun sales (86% to 13% margins), passing a “red flag” law (72% to 23%), and banning assault-style weapons (54% to 44%), according to a poll released today by the Wason Center for Public Policy. With that level of…