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President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to voice his concerns over a perceived attack on the Second Amendment in the Virginia Senate as gun control reforms were passed.
The president suggested this would not sit well with voters and jeopardize incumbent Democrat Mark Warner's chances of retaining his U.S. Senate seat in the 2020 Virginia election.
Three gun regulation bills were passed by the Virginia Senate on Thursday, which will prohibit firearm possession in public spaces during certain events, limit monthly handgun purchases and require background checks for firearm transfers.
According to the Virginia General Assembly, Senate Bills 35 and 69 passed along party lines, with 21 'Yes' to 19 'No' votes.
SB70 passed with a vote of 23-17. It gained support from Republican Senators Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico) and Emmett Hanger (R-Augusta). The bills will now be considered by the House of Delegates.
Trump insisted that Democrats would lose one of their U.S. Senate seats in Virginia as a result.
"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!" Trump tweeted on Friday.
According to Capital News Service, Majority Leader of the Virginia Senate Dick Saslaw said that law-abiding citizens will still be able to purchase multiple handguns per year and their rights are not being infringed.
Virginia Sen. Amanda Chase said she was concerned the laws would create gun-free zones and prevent law-abiding citizens from carrying guns. She referenced the 2017 Las Vegas massacre of 58 people as an example of a shooting in a gun-free zone, according to Capital News Service.
According to Gun Violence Archive, gun violence killed 85,000 people in the U.S. between January 2014 and November 2019. As shown in the graphic below, provided by Statista, just over 2,000 were mass shootings during this time period. In 2019 alone, 15,208 deaths were caused by gun violence.
Fox Nation host Tomi Lahren warned that Democrats can expect "civil war" and a "major uprising" if they continued to try to pass gun control measures.
Her comments came after Virginia Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency on Wednesday over "credible intelligence" that violence could occur during a pro-gun-rights rally protesting reforms planned for Monday.
"I took this action to protect Virginians from credible threats of violence," said Northam in a statement after a court ruling on Thursday upheld the temporary ban. "These threats are real—as evidenced by reports of neo-Nazis arrested this morning after discussing plans to head to Richmond with firearms."
According to the Virginia General Assembly's website, the bills affected are:
Senate Bill 35: Control of firearms by localities; permitted events. Authorizes any locality by ordinance to prohibit the possession or carrying of firearms, ammunition, or components or any combination thereof in a public space during a permitted event or an event that would otherwise require a permit. The bill contains technical amendments.
Senate Bill 69: Purchase of handguns; limitation on handgun purchases; penalty. Prohibits any person who is not a licensed firearms dealer from purchasing more than one handgun in a 30-day period and establishes such an offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Senate Bill 70: Firearm transfers; criminal history record information checks; penalty. Requires a background check for any firearm transfer and directs the Department of State Police (the Department) to establish a process for transferors to obtain such a check from licensed firearms dealers. A transferor who sells a firearm to another person without obtaining the required background check is guilty of a Class 6 felony. The bill also provides that a transferee who receives a firearm from another person without obtaining the required background check is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
About the writer
Sophia Waterfield is a reporter for Newsweek based at its London bureau. She has written for publications such as Metro UK, ... Read more