{"id":115984,"date":"2026-04-02T09:07:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:07:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=115984"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:07:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T14:07:32","slug":"115984","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=115984","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Virginia gun bills take aim at the Constitution<\/a><\/p>\n

As a Virginia resident and a longtime advocate for the Second Amendment, I\u2019ve spent decades covering the gun debate from every angle. I\u2019ve spoken with lawmakers, law enforcement officers, gun owners and crime victims. And I can tell you this: What happened in Richmond this legislative session was both unnecessary and unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

Virginia is the home of James Madison, who boasted that, unlike the monarchs of Europe who were \u201cafraid to trust the people with arms,\u201d the United States recognized the inherent right of the people to keep and bear them. It\u2019s through that lens that we should look at our current situation.<\/p>\n

Politicians in Richmond have advanced one of the most sweeping gun control packages our commonwealth has seen in years. Clearly, they don\u2019t understand what the words \u201ckeep and bear\u201d in our Second Amendment actually mean. Those words mean \u201cit\u2019s ours, and you can\u2019t take it.\u201d Supporters claim these bills are necessary to make our communities safer. But recent feedback from actual Virginians tells a very different story.<\/p>\n

According to a new survey of Virginia voters, 90% say the criminal is responsible for violent crime. A firearm being used in the commission of a crime is only a tool for the havoc they cause, whether it\u2019s a hammer or a handgun. That distinction is crucial.<\/p>\n

Public safety starts with prosecuting violent crimes and putting offenders in prison. Dreaming up new restrictions on law-abiding citizens who already follow the rules should play no part in it and is against every principle of American freedom.<\/p>\n

In fact, 63% of Virginians say tougher sentencing and better enforcement of existing laws is the most effective way to reduce crime. Only 16% believe adding new gun regulations will make the biggest difference. That\u2019s not close, and we shouldn\u2019t tolerate these infringements from a moral standpoint or a constitutional one. We already have the necessary gun laws on the books; what we should do is actually enforce them.<\/p>\n

Just look at Senate Bill 749, which now awaits Gov. Abigail Spanberger\u2019s signature to become law. The bill would impose a broad and unconstitutional ban on a number of commonly owned guns under the politically loaded and vague label of \u201cassault firearms\u201d \u2014 a phrase that is completely meaningless. The result is that Virginians would no longer be able to purchase or transfer some of the most popular firearms in the country, and that\u2019s just the first step towards prohibiting their possession too. Reclassifying and banning widely owned firearms based on arbitrary criteria does not disarm criminals. It penalizes peaceable citizens who have complied with every regulation already on the books. And voters know it.<\/p>\n

Sixty percent of Virginians oppose an \u201cassault weapons\u201d ban. Strong majorities oppose gun-related taxes which disproportionately impact regular families. Pricing a constitutional right out of reach for working adults isn\u2019t justice, and it\u2019s not about public safety. It\u2019s political retribution for exercising a right too many Democratic lawmakers find objectionable.<\/p>\n

Pakistan says a new round of peace talks with Afghanistan is underway in China after deadly fighting Pakistan says a new round of peace talks with Afghanistan is underway in China after deadly fighting<\/p>\n

There are also efforts underway to undermine federal law which protects lawful businesses such as family-owned gun ranges and firearm manufacturers. This is not what we want, and it\u2019s not who we are. The right to self-defense is not a fringe idea. It\u2019s a mainstream value deeply rooted in our constitutional tradition.<\/p>\n

Public safety and constitutional liberty are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they go hand in hand. Violent crime is plunging across the country and commonwealth, while the number of guns in the hands of lawful owners is at an all-time high. Spanberger should veto these bills and work to keep Virginia safe and free instead of fruitlessly searching for security at the expense of our fundamental civil rights.<\/p>\n

Cam Edwards of Farmville has covered the Second Amendment for 20 years as a broadcast and online journalist, and serves on the board of directors for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Virginia gun bills take aim at the Constitution As a Virginia resident and a longtime advocate for the Second Amendment, I\u2019ve spent decades covering the gun debate from every angle. I\u2019ve spoken with lawmakers, law enforcement officers, gun owners and crime victims. And I can tell you this: What happened in Richmond this legislative session … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-o-the-day","category-goobermint"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=115984"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115984\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":115985,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115984\/revisions\/115985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=115984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=115984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=115984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}