Virginia Second Amendment activists who protested gun control measures in Richmond did so peacefully and without threats of the type of violence that led to the death of a woman in Charlottesville two-and-a-half years ago.
The state’s annual Lobby Day on Monday saw gun rights activists express their displeasure with firearms proposals moving through state government, now fully in Democratic control, without incident. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam credited his teams for de-escalating “what could have been a volatile situation.”
“We are all thankful that today passed without incident. The teams successfully de-escalated what could have been a volatile situation. I will continue to listen to the voices of Virginians, and will do everything in my power to keep our Commonwealth safe,” tweeted Northam, 60, who has a bit under one year left in office.
Around 22,000 gun rights protesters from around the country rallied at the Virginia Capitol, despite reports of white supremacists, fringe militia groups, and antifa members who many feared would be in attendance and cause problems similar to the violent riot in Charlottesville on Aug. 12, 2017. Then, a car was deliberately driven into a crowd of people who had been peacefully protesting the “Unite the Right” rally, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 28 people.
Ahead of Monday’s gun rights rally, the FBI arrested several men with alleged hate group ties. Northam declared a state of emergency before the rally and prohibited all weapons, including firearms, in the zone around the state Capitol.
“They’re not coming to peacefully protest. They are coming to intimidate and cause harm,” Northam said at a press conference last week. “No one wants another incident like the one we saw at Charlottesville in 2017. We will not allow that mayhem and violence to happen here.”
Democratic lawmakers said they are listening to constituents’ feelings about guns while also pushing into law what they call public safety measures.
“Ever since I got here in 2012, this happens every Martin Luther King Day. People try to hijack what should be a truly important day for Virginia, where we talk about and we try to respect the history and legacy of Martin Luther King, and I’m personally offended by mixing both messages, but we also — it’s our job to listen to everybody,” Democratic Del. Alfonso Lopez told the Washington Examiner.
Republican state Sen. Emmet Hanger was more sympathetic to the protesters.
“The individuals that I’ve encountered today as I exited my car this morning, and I walked through a couple of hundred people that were armed, were a very controlled group and were hospitable,” Hanger told the Washington Examiner. “I think the preparations that people had and the concern were well-founded because they’re have been extremes, I guess we would say, on both sides of the issue, which have kind of hyped it up and caused a somewhat of a heated environment where people expected confrontation.”
The annual rally hosted by the Virginia Citizens Defense League invited speakers such as Stephen Willeford, the man who shot and ran after the mass shooter in the Sutherland Springs, Texas, church in 2017.
Protesters cheered and repeatedly chanted, “USA,” as well as, “We will not comply,” referring to gun control measures lawmakers are considering or have passed.
