VA Dems Drop Gun Confiscation Bill When Thousands Of NRA Members Storm Building

Breitbart has more to say on what went down:

Virginia Democrats withdrew an AR-15 confiscation bill Monday after thousands of NRA members showed up to oppose new gun controls.

The NRA asked members to flood the January 13, 2020, Virginia Senate meetings and ensure pro-Second Amendment voices drowned out those calling for gun control.

Video from hallways outside the meetings showed NRA members responded en masse:

.@NRA members getting ready to Stand and Fight in Virginia! #valeg pic.twitter.com/XGs7glbtER

— NRA (@NRA) January 13, 2020

The Washington Free Beacon reports the presence of thousands of NRA members “appeared to have an impact.” Democrats withdrew a bill aimed at AR-15 confiscation and moderated other gun control proposals.

Patch added:

The National Rifle Association and hundreds of Second Amendment supporters flocked Monday to the State Capitol, voicing their opposition to proposed gun control bills in the Democrat controlled General Assembly.

 

Gun rights advocates, many donning blue T-shirts, filled legislative offices to speak directly with lawmakers. A group of over 25 squared off outside the Capitol with Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, directly venting their frustration over the gun bills. 

 

Several attendants asked Fairfax why Democrats were pushing legislation that would potentially criminalize thousands of Virginians who had done nothing wrong.

 

Fairfax said that he and the governor are reaching out to all Virginians and want to create "an open dialogue" between lawmakers and citizens to better address the concerns across the commonwealth.

Gun rights advocates expressed opposition to Senate Bill 16, introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, which would have prohibited the sale and transport of assault firearms and certain types of firearm magazines.

 

Saslaw withdrew the legislation Monday.

Free Beacon also said:

Thousands of NRA supporters turned out at Virginia's capitol building on Monday in a show of opposition that pushed Democrats in the state legislature to moderate or abandon some of their strictest gun-control proposals.

"We are beyond impressed by today's turnout," D.J. Spiker, Virginia state director for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, told the Washington Free Beacon. "You can see the passion and enthusiasm that the citizens of Virginia have in joining us in this fight."

The presence of gun-rights supporters at the state Senate judiciary committee hearing appeared to have an impact, as Democrats formally withdrew S.B. 16—a hotly-contested bill that would have effectively confiscated AR-15s and similar firearms—and moderated several other proposals. The NRA, however, said the changes were not enough and promised to continue to oppose the bills as they continue to move forward in the coming weeks.

"While there were some improvements to some of these bills, overall, it's still bad legislation," Spiker said. "Putting in more regulations and making it more onerous on the law-abiding citizens of Virginia is not something we stand for."

Gun-rights proponents who spoke with the Free Beacon after the committee meeting adjourned said they believed the Democrats' gun-control bills represent an attack on the Second Amendment. Christina Baker, a traveling emergency nurse who came to the hearing before a 13-hour shift, said she understood that there are good intentions at work but fears an "assault weapons" ban or poorly constructed law could make her a criminal.

"I'm a single female that travels the country by myself in completely new areas," she told the Free Beacon. "I never know where I'm going to end up, and to protect myself with whatever firearm I choose is so important to me. With the bills that are written and how they're written, 90 percent of my firearms, including my carry firearms, would be made illegal, and I would be made a felon overnight."