Last Updated on January 16, 2020
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has ordered firearms banned from the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol complex, under the guise of a state of emergency declaration.
The declaration comes less than a week ahead of the VCDL’s Lobby Day demonstration – expected to be the largest ever – in which tens of thousands of 2nd Amendment activists will descend on the State Capitol complex in opposition to Bloomberg-sponsored gun control and confiscation bills pushed by the Governor and Democrat legislators.
In his Wednesday news conference, Northam said “We have received credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration planned for Monday.”
He added, “This includes extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before major incidents, such as Charlottesville in 2017.”
Northam claims these threats include suggestions of “storming” the Capitol.
“Based on these threats, I am declaring a state of emergency in Richmond from Friday evening until Tuesday evening,” said Northam.
Despite widely publicized claims from state officials that no specific threats have been received or identified, Governor Northam disagrees and has joined fellow Democrats and anti-gun advocacy groups in painting 2nd Amendment activists as white supremacists, and an inherent threat to the safety of Virginians.
“Three years ago, Virginia and the nation, watched horrified as civil protest was marred by violence and hate,” said reads Northam’s Executive Order 41, comparing Lobby Day attendees to murderers. “We lost three Virginians. We must take all precautions to prevent that from ever happening again.”
The order goes on to claim that a “substantial number of these demonstrators are expected to come from outside the Commonwealth,” a talking point that has become extremely popular among anti-gun Democrats, as the Northam administration attempts to minimize the massive grassroots network that has popped up in Virginia, seemingly overnight, and has led to over 90% of the state’s counties voting to declare themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
READ MORE: West Virginia Plans To Accept Virginia Counties That Secede Over Gun Control Concerns
In addition to banning firearms, Executive Order Forty-One bans scissors, toy guns, glass bottles, and a laundry list of household items and sports equipment from the grounds of the State Capitol.
While Northam’s emergency declaration claims authority via Section 44-146 of the Code of Virginia, that section makes abundantly clear that what the Governor seems to be illegal.
“Nothing in this chapter is to be construed to: Empower the governor, any political subdivision, or any other governmental authority to in any way limit or prohibit the rights of the people to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by Article I, Section 13 of the Constitution of Virginia, or the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States,” reads Section 44-146.15 of Virginia’s code.
Additionally, the code forbids the prohibition of “the otherwise lawful possession, carrying, transportation, sale, or transfer of firearms” under a state of emergency declaration.
Northam’s racist yearbook photos were famously exposed last year by National File Senior Reporter Patrick Howley, who uncovered the photos of Northam wearing either blackface or Ku Klux Klan robes.
Should Northam be challenged on his gun ban, he may have a legal battle on his hands.
