A surge of support for becoming Second Amendment Sanctuaries has swept nearly every county and town in Virginia, in an effort to defy the increasingly restrictive gun control propositions being brought up in a now Democrat-controlled state legislature. Virginia, home to the NRA’s headquarters, has been traditionally supportive of gun rights in both parties, but in recent years, Democrats have changed their tune in favor of stricter restrictions.
The concept of a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” comes from the intention of counties to declare themselves exempt from any state gun control policies. Thus far, 91 out of 95 of the Virginia counties have adopted second amendment sanctuary resolutions. State Attorney General Mark Herring spoke out on the rising tension criticizing the push for sanctuary cities, declaring “Neither local governments nor local constitutional officers have the authority to declare state statutes unconstitutional or decline to follow them on that basis.”
Revving up the tension, last month Governor Ralph Northam issued a state of emergency and put in place a temporary ban of all firearms on Capitol grounds as a precaution against “threats of armed confrontation and assault.” This ban took place surrounding the state’s traditional lobbying day, where hundreds of pro-gun protesters had organized a large demonstration to oppose Northam and the General Assembly’s push for gun control. The rally had drawn interest from several state militias and even some extremist groups, all contributing to the threat of incident. Northam stated that authorities had gathered credible evidence through “dark web channels used by out-of-state white nationalists,” about groups with “malicious plans.”
Van Cleave had encouraged supporters to leave intimidating weaponry at home and has welcomed out-of-state militias, but with the warning of not getting into an unnecessary confrontation with gun-control activists. “This is not about Confederate flags, statues, history, etc. Just guns,” he wrote in a message to his supporters. Several protesters still brought their banned weaponry to the rally, but kept themselves outside the banned area. The fiery polarization between local and state governments has been put in the spotlight through the continued controversy over Second Amendment Sanctuaries, which likely won’t end any time soon.
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