The managing director of litigation and national enforcement policy at anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety complained Friday to WDBJ News that the rapidly expanding Second Amendment Sanctuary movement could “short-circuit the Democratic process.”
Everytown’s Eric Tirschwell expressed concern the Sanctuary movement in Virginia and elsewhere might result in genuine harm.
“These resolutions could have, and threaten to have, a chilling effect on people who might otherwise use, or take advantage of gun safety laws to try to prevent harm, like a suicide, a homicide or even a mass shooting,” Tirschwell said during an interview.
Dozens of counties in Virginia have declared themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” since Democrats took control of the state’s General Assembly for the first time in many years. Democrats, led by anti-gun Gov. Ralph Northam, immediately began promoting all kinds of gun control schemes immediately after the election results were announced last month. It was those highly-publicized announcements that prompted the Sanctuary movement.
The Everytown Action Fund reportedly spent $2.5 million to help get Democrats elected last month, to push gun controls.
What is happening in Virginia is part of a larger movement, especially in the West. Sanctuary counties have been established in Kansas, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Texas and Alaska. There are also some Sanctuary counties in Texas and even Maryland. Ten cities in Rhode Island are also reportedly on board.
In a separate report, WDBJ News quoted Philip Van Cleave, head of the Virginia Citizens Defense League stating, “It’s people saying no, we’re tired of this.
“Leave our guns alone,” Van Cleave said, “don’t come after us. It’s just that they’re fed up and now that there’s a chance it will happen, that was the final straw that activated that base. And this is powerful. People are passionate about this.”
Writing at the Washington Examiner, veteran political columnist Paul Bedard observed, “Since the Nov. 5 election that gave Democrats control of Richmond, an “organic,” pro-gun movement has prompted the governments of 86 of Virginia’s 95 counties, as well as 15 towns and cities, to adopt some type of sanctuary language, putting Gov. Ralph Northam and other liberals on notice that their gun control plans aren’t welcome.”
Two national gun rights organizations have weighed in. The Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms issued a joint statement Friday, declaring their support for the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement, especially in Virginia and Illinois. They singled out the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Illinois State Rifle Association for efforts in their respective states.
“We stand with these counties in their defense of the Constitution against anti-rights extremism disguised as common sense,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb.
CCRKBA Director Mark Walters, nationally syndicated host of Armed American Radio added, “Gov. Ralph Northam and General Assembly Democrats have decided to pay back billionaire Michael Bloomberg and his gun confiscation lobby, making their first order of business to be massive infringements on Second Amendment rights.”
How do you think the Second Amendment Sanctuary Movement will play out against the gun control efforts in Virginia? Share your answer in the comment section.
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Lexington and concord. The British just wanted the guns from the arsenal for safe keeping. How did that work out for them.
Why don’t they just have a recall in Virginia and unseat all of them including the governor it’s obvious they aren’t working for the people
SCOTUS will not be able to dodge this one.
BattleRaddle , I was born with
2 A , swore an oath to protect all the amendments and our country . Our country is under attack from forces at home . I will hold my position and fight this crap .
Let’s wake up our sleeping giant.
The left thinks Sanctuary Cities are so justified, but they cry foul at this? Put on your big boy pants lefty and shut up. Remember this was YOUR idea!
The Democrats have always wanted a fully disarmed population that the can be control and enslave. American gun owners with pro 2nd amendment Sherriffs all across the country need to say no to gun confiscation, red flags and registration, which are all unconstitutional laws.
Off on a tangent here, but this seems destined to come up sooner or later:
Say some individual police officer decides to break his or her oath to uphold the U.S. and/or state constitution(s), by actively helping to enforce some clearly unconstitutional law (gun related or otherwise). Take this as a given.
Sooner or later, said officer is going to be called on to testify about something in a court of law. It could be something as simple as a contested traffic ticket, but whatever, the law often requires that the ticket writing or arresting LEO(s) show up and testify in court on details about whatever the case may be.
The legal defense at that point can question the legitimacy of ANYTHING that officer swears or testifies to, because he or she is a proven oath breaker. They could simply present the clear wording of the constitutional oath that all LEO’s solemnly swear to, along with evidence of the officer’s clear violation of that oath by actively enforcing unconstitutional law. Naturally this defense would work best in a _jury trial_, but you already get the idea here.
If you swore an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution and then actively work to enforce unconstitutional law, you are an oath breaker, simple as that. And thus, thereafter, _nothing_ you swear / testify to can be trusted in a court of law. Your testimony is suspect because you are suspect. All throughout history, both military and police, oath breakers are among the lowest of the low. You cannot trust the word of honor of a proven liar.
I wouldn’t be surprised to find that this has already been attempted to set a clear legal precedent about constitutional oaths versus enforcing unconstitutional laws, but if not, it sure looks like this is bound to come up, and soon. Very possibly in Virginia.
Just food for thought. Maybe a lawyer out there with easy access to historical legal precedent could look this up…
LEO’s have already crossed the line in several northern states by enforcing the “red flag” laws there, one incident resulted in the death of the person whom they were serving the warrant.
My son is a SGT with a very large county and stated the no LEO he knew would support an unconstitutional law….they would NOT break their oath.
The following strikes me as curious, perhaps interesting. Seems as if people and organizations opposed to Sanctuary Cities, counties and so forth with respect to Gun Rights have no problem with the same Sanctuary Cities, towns, counties respecting immigration, that is to refer to illegal immigrants. How come this I wonder.
One of the basic principles of guerrila warfare is to use the enemy’s weapons against him. The Democrats will look like total hypocrites, even to their own followers, if they claim the grassroots ‘people-power’ of Sanctuary declarations by local governments applies to defying Federal law, but doesn’t apply to State law. They will try, but they will fall between two chairs.