Virginia antifa group Seven Hills plans to join Second Amendment supporters outside the Virginia General Assembly as thousands descend on Richmond, Virginia, for the annual Virginia Citizens Defense League gun rally on Monday, Jan. 20.
“I think it’s been pretty important for us to focus on the fact that gun control in America has a legacy of racist enforcement,” said Seven Hills spokesman James, who withheld his name to protect himself from being identified. “Like taking guns away from black people because black people were perceived as a threat to property and the sanctity of the state.”
Pro-gun activists will travel from as far away as Texas next week to protest new legislation proposed by the Democratic majority in Virginia that will limit handgun purchases, institute red flag laws, and require mandatory background checks on private transfers of guns in the Commonwealth. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam has prioritized gun control this session, and bloc voting by the Democrats almost assures the passage of such legislation.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is probably the first assault on the Second Amendment, and we’re going to see many after that,” remarked Virginia Republican state Sen. Bill Stanley after the three bills passed.
Antifa Seven Hills represents a rejuvenated movement among the far-left to protect the Second Amendment rights of American citizens. Situated in the heart of the South, Seven Hills claims to believe in fostering dialogue across the political divide on issues of structural injustice, such as the disproportionate effect that gun laws have on people of color.
“In the case of Antifa Seven Hills, they believe they’ve got more in common with working-class white Virginians, regardless of their political bent, than they do with many of the moderate Democrats who helped their party win control of the Legislature in November, for the first time since 1994,” added Vice.
Seven Hills isn’t the only far-left group organizing against gun legislation. The Socialist Rifle Association and Redneck Revolt, both anti-fascist groups, have opened more than 90 chapters combined across the country with the purpose of protecting the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
“I think what’s particular about the South is that we have to be a bit more creative and sensitive to the people around us — instead of fulfilling some sort of meme of what antifa is,” James told Vice. “That’s really what we’re trying to work against right now, especially by talking to conservatives and showing we aren’t just a black-clad group of rabble-rousers who are out for attention and have jobs funded by George Soros.”
