RICHMOND, VA- It’s not surprising to see that the residents within Virginia purchased nearly 74,000 firearms in December of 2019.
Gun control bills and measures have been a hot topic in the state of Virginia, and with good reason.
Democrats within Richmond have been adamant in bringing forth legislation that can be contorted to strip citizens of their second amendment rights. As a result, citizens of the state thought it a good idea to purchase their weapons while they still could.
According to the Associated Press, December of 2019 saw an increase of 47% over the number of firearm sales when compared to December of 2018.
The tallied number of guns sold totaled out to 73,849. The outlet reported that the increase in sales was likely “due to growing fears of increased firearms restrictions backed by Democrats who control the state government.”
In the past 30 years, there was only one month that toppled the sales from this past December, and that would be December of 2012. That holiday season saw an estimated 75,120 firearm sales, which might have had something to do with then-Governor McDonnell removing the restriction of only being allowed to buy one gun a month.
Several gun store owners made mention of the notable increases in both foot traffic and purchases within their shops. Some customers mentioned that they were first-time buyers, while others were looking to acquire firearm accessories they thought might be subject to banning later on.
One of the first-time gun purchasers was a 66-year-old grandmother of eight. Ida Wright expressed concerns that the impending legislation championed by Democrats within Virginia geared her toward purchasing a weapon:
“I didn’t think I would ever be buying a gun, but things are changing so drastically. If we don’t protect ourselves, who else is going to protect us?”
One of the managers from Bob Moates Sports Shop, Richard Hill, noted the increase in customers filing into the store in December:
“On the basis of what we would have been doing a year ago at this time, you’re looking at a 500 to 1000% increase depending on the day.”
Hill mentioned that with all the bills being pushed forward that aim to restrict lawful gun owner’s rights, it’s creating an increased demand overall. He was also critical of the fact that political pundits in Richmond haven’t addressed the fact that there are criminals already in violation of existing gun laws:
“I have yet to see a single law that addresses what we are going to do with the criminals we’ve already got that are violating untold numbers of laws.”
Gerald Stauffer Jr., who is the manager of Southern Gun World in Chesterfield County, also stated that in the wake of everything going in the state Senate and House, business is booming.
He pointed out that while the rally was going on in Capitol Square, there was a remarkable number of sales from attendees:
“About noon we saw a very steady amount of people coming in with their stickers on, most of them buying a new firearm. They were motivated.”
This outcome is hardly surprising, as there’s been previous studies that show when lawful gun owners think their rights are going to be infringed upon, gun sales experience an uptick.
Maurizio Porfiri, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the Tandon School at New York University, found that whenever the media or legislators attack gun rights then there’s a near immediate bump in sales.
The study, which gathered data between January 1999 and December 2017, cross examined whether gun purchases increased following mass shootings or when media attacks and reporting of oncoming gun reform happened.
The study proved there to be zero fundamental link between an actual mass shooting and gun purchases – just gun sales increasing when people try to relieve lawful gun owners of their weapons. A testament that the “fear of loss” inevitably creates demand.
Virginia passes ‘red flag’ laws. Cops: Good luck finding someone to enforce them.
Even though 22,000 people gathered to protest unconstitutional gun laws, lawmakers went ahead and passed the bills anyway.
While Virginia was forced to strike down the extremely controversial SB 16, which was the assault weapons ban, that didn’t stop them from moving forward with the “red flag” law getting passed over to the House to consider.
Police across the Commonwealth have already begun raising their voices in opposition, essentially telling lawmakers “Good luck” in finding authorities who would enforce such unconstitutional measures.
The Virginia Senate approved legislation this past Wednesday that gives law enforcement the authority to confiscate guns and ammunition, devoid of any real due process. This unconstitutional legislation is rife with exploitable areas that can be used by vindictive people and entities and deprive law abiding citizens of their God-given rights.
The stance was made clear on Wednesday, showing how divided the Republicans and Democrats are on the issue of “red flag” laws. SB 240 only passed on a party line vote of 21 Democrats in favor with 19 Republicans opposing the measure.
Despite the fierce opposition posed by both Republicans and thousands of citizens who demonstrated at a rally contesting the unconstitutional law, the Democratic-led Senate used their clout to push the law through over to the House.
GOP Senator Amanda Chase described supporters of SB 240 as “traitors”, and that the law would only enable criminals and pose harm to law-abiding citizens.
Senator Chase’s stance was at odds with Democrats in the Senate, who claimed that a “red flag” law would inevitably deter mass shootings. Citations were made on how well these laws were performing in 17 other states, but there’s hardly any quantifiable data that proves these laws have ever stopped a mass shooting.
In fact, in one of the most cited pieces of “proof” that claims these laws save lives, even the authors of the study claim it can’t be proven.
“It is impossible to know whether violence would have occurred had [extreme risk protection orders] not been issued,” they claim.
At this point, the bill is making its way over to the House, which it’s likely that it will pass under the Democratic majority at the General Assembly. Democrats in Richmond have made it clear that they couldn’t care less about the 22,000 people that protested the “red flag” law.
In previous years, there were attempts to pass these kinds of laws, but the Republican-controlled committees struck down the bills before they could make any significant progress. Clearly, Democrats are showing that they intend to push everything on their agenda, without paying any mind to methods of bipartisan compromise…………
