by WorldTribune Staff, January 19, 2020
Thousands of gun rights advocates in Virginia who plan to rally at the state capitol on Monday have been warned that state officials are looking for any reason possible to squelch their efforts to defend the Second Amendment and could even use government plants.
In a Facebook post on Friday, State Sen. Amanda Chase, a Republican, wrote: “Sadly, I am posting this, knowing that the Governor of Virginia has declared a State of Emergency in our state. I want you to be aware of how we are being set up. Does the Patriot Act ring a bell? Does the National Defense Authorization Act ring a bell?”
Last week, Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat who remains in office despite a scandal which exposed his racist past, declared a state of emergency and said he is temporarily banning individuals from carrying firearms and other weapons on Capitol grounds in Richmond.
Gun rights activists challenged the governor’s order, but a Richmond Circuit Court judge upheld it, denying a lawsuit brought by the Virginia Citizens Defense League as well as Gunowners of America who sought an injunction against Northam’s ban.
Chase continued in her post: “If people show up wearing any kind of uniform, patch or other symbol on their clothing signifying they belong to a militia and something goes wrong, you could/will be held as a domestic terrorist. If anyone steps out of line, all it takes is one person, it may even be a government plant….if that plant does anything to disrupt the rally, you could/will be arrested as a domestic terrorist.”
President Donald Trump warned that Democrats are a “serious” threat to their constitutional right to bear arms.
The president tweeted on Jan. 17: “Your 2nd Amendment is under very serious attack in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. That’s what happens when you vote for Democrats, they will take your guns away. Republicans will win Virginia in 2020. Thank you Dems!”
Since taking control of both chambers of the state legislature, Democrats have pushed several new gun control laws.
The Democrat-led Senate advanced legislation limiting handgun purchases to one per month, requiring universal background checks on gun purchases, and allowing localities to ban guns in public buildings, parks and other areas. The measures largely passed along partisan lines and will now go to the House for consideration.
Chase continued in her Facebook post: “The Governor, using the media has already set the stage for this to happen. He has already laid the groundwork to make the entire movement look like insurrection. It will be used to put the rest of the nation on notice of what will happen to you, if you resist. They have used the Southern Poverty Law Center over the last 15 years to lay the groundwork. They have labeled us as potential domestic terrorist for a long time now.
“Anyone who has ever related to the 3%er’s, a militia, or just belonged to any Patriot group…the groundwork has been laid to brand you as a domestic terrorist,” Chase continued. “They have gone out of their way since the Obama years to [ensure] they had us labeled, but it didn’t start with Obama. It started with the Patriot Act under the Bush administration. We are being played by a well oiled machine, these things have been in the works for many years. They are kicking things into high gear. Military veterans were/are even listed as potential domestic terrorist[s].
“We were told not once, but several times by the current President, ‘It’s Not Me they are after, It’s You, The American People,’” Chase concluded. “Their actions over the last three years have shown you he was right, they are coming after us full speed ahead and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore. Sic semper tyrannis, keep your head on a swivel and know what’s going on around you at all times, at Lobby Day 1/20/20. Everyone be safe out there….Thus always to tyrants.”
Since Democrats launched their assault on gun rights, more than 100 counties, cities and towns in Virginia have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries and vowed to oppose any new “unconstitutional restrictions” on guns.
Several sheriffs in Virginia have said they would not enforce new gun control laws if they infringe on the Second Amendment.
Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin said last month that Northam should use all means at his disposal to enforce Democrats’ assault on gun rights.
“[I]’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law,” McEachin said. “That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.”
The City of Portsmouth last week became one of the most recent gun sanctuaries. The city council on Tuesday approved a resolution to become a Second Amendment “Constitutional City” by a vote of 4-3.
One of the council members, Nathan Clark, caused a stir among Democrats when he wore his AR-15 to the council meeting.
The Virginia Pilot reported: “Clark — who is seeking re-election this year — brought his gun and issued a press release to emphasize his support for hundreds of Second Amendment advocates who packed chambers to capacity.”
Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke wrote the following to the council Thursday morning: “[Nathan’s move] was a disgrace, disheartening and an embarrassment. Most of us were blindsided by the display.” Purportedly, she suggested Clark apologize.
Councilman Bill Moody saw it differently: “I do not believe that Councilman Clark needs to apologize for exercising his right as a law enforcement officer to carry his weapon to a public meeting. I can appreciate liberals’ knee jerk reactions, but if they have a problem with the law, they should use the system they now control to change it.”
Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was fatally wounded during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre, tweeted of Clark’s decision to bring his AR-15 to the meeting: “My daughter did not know someone carrying an AR 15 would kill her. Citizens you represent should not be forced to accept (your) engaging in open intimidation with (your) AR 15.”
But was intimidation Clark’s point? He told WTKR that it most certainly wasn’t: “I had a lot of people come and talk to me after it. No one appeared intimidated. There were police officers that were there; they were aware that I had it.”
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) organized Monday’s gun rights rally. For more information on VCDL’s plans for the rally, go here
Intelligence Brief __________ Replace The Media
Virginia on edge: ‘We are being set up,’ Senator warns pro-gun protesters added by World Tribune on
View all posts by World Tribune →