Gun rights advocates felt the best way to protest the new ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in Virginia was to hand out AR-15 magazines outside of the Virginia Capitol building.
Hundreds gathered outside the building on March 14 for a rally to protest the new legislation that was sent to the desk of new Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger to sign, WTVR reports. If she signs, after July 1, the sale, manufacture, and importation of guns classified as assault weapons and magazines holding more than 15 rounds will be prohibited. But those who are already owners are allowed to keep them. Advocate Todd Askins was one of the protestors seen handing out close to $30,000 worth of 30-round capacity magazines.
He said he feels “our rights are being assaulted,” while Jason Redman of TurboVets labeled the legislation as being a broader threat to constitutional rights. “Here in Virginia, right now, we are seeing drastic attempts to erode one of our most important freedoms: Our Second Amendment,” Redman said.
If signed, Virginia would become the 10th state to enact such bans, according to the Washington Examiner.
But it seems Redman and Askins aren’t the only ones who feel the bill is unconstitutional. Recently, the D.C. Court of Appeals ruled that banning magazines with over 10 rounds is a violation of the Second Amendment, with President Donald Trump’s DOJ pushing a lawsuit against the District of Columbia over its assault weapons ban.
But they are up for a fight. The bill’s sponsor, state Democratic Sen. Saddam Salim,
described the law as being intended to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, citing the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech, known as one of the deadliest in U.S. history. “The overall goal of this bill is to ensure that we have less weapons of war on the street,” Salim said.Salim claimed the lack of legislative action against gun violence has gone on too long. But advocates have pushed back on his argument, citing that the V-Tech assailant used a .22-caliber Walther and a 9 mm Glock — both being handguns — and not AR-15s.
However, there are several times when assault rifles were deemed as a threat to those who were not. . Like in St. Louis, when Mark McCloskey and his wife Patricia made headlines for pointing assault weapons at a group
of peaceful Black Lives Matter protestors passing by their home.As the video of the protestors handing out magazines, the same ones to be banned under the proposed legislation and donated by manufacturer Magpul, comments started to flood in with criticism — especially when a magazine was handed to a child. “This is so weird .. and they give it to a kid but they think drag queens are bad for kids?,” @el-danny_c wrote.
Other users feel these participants should be signed up to go to war “since they want to play war games.” “Sign them up and ship them out to Iran They want to play war games,” @damonwilliamscomedy said.
There seems to be some positive parameters under the legislation, if signed into law, like owners who no longer want their assault weapons being allowed to transfer them to a licensed firearms dealer or to someone outside of state lines who has licenses to legally own one.
The weapons can also be inherited by an immediate family member, but some groups, such as law enforcement and federal facility security personnel, are exempt from these restrictions.
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