USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- As I watched my 7-year old grandson and his teammates fighting their way to another win in their “Coach Pitch” baseball league, my wife poked me for repeatedly yelling “The play’s at First,” or “Third,” or “Home,” depending on the loading of the bases at the moment. I guess this league has a strict rule against spectators “coaching” from the sidelines, and my wife was worried that I was going to be ejected from the game – again…
Well, there are no rules against coaching from the sidelines in US politics, so listen up GunVoters: The Play’s at First – Virginia!
I call it “First” because Virginia is one of only two states holding major elections this November, and the other state is New Jersey, where GunVoters are unlikely to have a significant impact. In Virginia, however, GunVoters could make all the difference. Virginia has a lot of gun owners, and gun owner rights have been under extreme assault in recent years, under Democratic Party control. This year, Governor Ralph “Black-Face” Northam is term-limited out, but former Governor Terry McAuliffe is back vying for another turn in the gubernatorial barrel, running against Republican newcomer Glenn Youngkin.
Youngkin has not said or done a lot to excite GunVoters and get them to the polls. He made some pro-rights comments during the primary, but hasn’t talked much about guns or gun laws since, and he’s refused to fill out candidate questionnaires from the National Rifle Association or the Virginia Citizens Defense League, resulting in neither group offering him an endorsement. That lack of endorsements from gun groups, has been used as a talking point by McAuliffe supporters hoping to dampen enthusiasm for Youngkin in rural Virginia.
We’ve seen this sort of stupidity from Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidates before.
It seems that their high-dollar, campaign consultants think guns are a “divisive” issue that should be steered away from. This losing strategy has helped defeat at least three Republican gubernatorial candidates over the past 15 years or so, and in one case, offending GunVoters almost certainly cost Republicans the seat. Meanwhile, GunVoters need to remember that McAullife received over $1 million in support from Mike Bloomberg during his last campaign, and was a champion of gun control, blocked only by pro-rights majorities in the State Assembly.
But Youngkin vs. McAuliffe is just the tip of the Virginia electoral iceberg. Lt. Governor candidate Winsome Sears, who happens to be an African American woman, has embraced gun rights as a key issue and is working hard for GunVoter support. A photo of her holding an AR-15-style rifle is being widely used by her opponents to try and paint her as some sort of radical.
Meanwhile, her Democratic opponent, Hala Ayala, is an avid supporter of the most extreme gun control laws. Ayala advocates for a total ban on private possession of modern sporting rifles, wants to ban the sale of firearm parts and things that firearm parts can be made from, such as blocks of aluminum and supports laws that would make it illegal for anyone in a household to possess a firearm, if anyone else in the household is a prohibited person.
The position of Lt. Governor is critically important right now because, like the US Senate, the Virginia Senate – which is not up for election this cycle – is almost evenly divided, and just as the US Senate breaks ties by getting a vote from the Vice President, the Virginia Senate breaks ties by getting a vote from the Lt. Governor. So, the Lt. Governor could be the deciding vote on critical legislation in the coming year.
Also on the ballot is Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, going for a third term in that office, against Republican challenger Jason Miyares. Herring has been active in his support for gun control, and other expansions of government power over the people. Miyares is a former prosecutor and member of the Virginia House of Delegates, with a solid record of support for gun owner rights. He’s received the endorsement of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
The AG’s office has a significant impact on Virginia gun owners. During his two terms in that office, Herring has offered new and unfavorable interpretations of Virginia gun laws and has chosen to aggressively prosecute gun owners who have inadvertently gotten tangled in gun control red tape. At the same time, Herring has been more sympathetic to actual criminals, refusing to prosecute, opposing federal assistance, and offering liberal plea deals. While he’s not gone full-woke crazy, like some AG’s in super-woke areas, he has demonstrated a willingness to use his office as a cudgel to promote his personal political ideology.
Along with these high-profile offices, every seat in the Virginia House of Delegates is up for election this cycle. In the previous cycle, Democrats got a free ride in over 100 races, with no Republican candidate to challenge them. That’s not happening this year, as Republicans have fielded candidates for every seat. Now it’s up to GunVoters to wake up, get their friends and neighbors involved, and get to the polls (or Post Office, as the case may be).
Anti-rights Democrats hold a slim majority in the Virginia House, so flipping just a few seats could make a huge difference in the state going forward. GunVoters must get involved though, and they could use help from their friends and neighbors in other states. If you don’t live in Virginia, but want to help, there are several ways you can do so.
You can donate to the VCDL PAC, or directly to candidates, and just as important, you can reach out to friends and family in Virginia and urge them to get involved and vote. Share this article with them and let them know that their vote matters.
Turnout for off-year elections is always much lower than it is in presidential election years. This means that the key to victory is a matter of just getting people to the polls.
Virginians should remember the outrageous raft of radical gun control legislation that Governor Northam and his slim Democratic majority tried to ram through at their first opportunity. The worst of their proposals were blocked by a few members of their own party who weren’t willing to go quite that far, but they still managed to get some significant restrictions passed, and they’ve never paid a price for those betrayals.
Now is the time to declare loud and clear that gun rights are human rights, and any politician who doesn’t understand that, needs to be retired.
Your vote, your dollars, your encouragement, your involvement… You can make a difference!
Take a moment right now to share this article with Virginia friends and friends who might have Virginia friends. Go to the VCDL PAC website or to a particular candidate’s website, and make a contribution. Do what you can do to send Joe Biden-supporting, gun control-advocating politicians packing. Time’s running out. Do it Now!
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a second-generation political activist and director of The Firearms Coalition. His father Neal Knox led many of the early gun rights battles for your right to keep and bear arms. Read Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War.
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition has offices in Buckeye, Arizona and Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.
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