A Virginia judge declined an appeal to halt Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s last-minute emergency gun ban on state Capitol premises ahead of a major gun rights rally set for Richmond, Virginia, next week.
Judge Joi Taylor said on Thursday that Northam has a right to set emergency procedures when called for and that the governor was within his rights to enact the temporary gun restriction because he heads the Department of General Services, an executive branch overseeing the Capitol square.
Lawyer David Browne argued for the gun rights activists’ appeal, claiming the right to bear arms was a form of free speech and saying they should be allowed to “peacefully assemble in the manner they see fit.”
The Virginia Citizens Defense League planned the annual gun rights rally for Monday, and tens of thousands of people from as far away as Texas are planning to attend and protest new gun bans proposed by the Virginia General Assembly.
[Read more: Gun advocates see ‘registry’ and ‘confiscation’ coming to Virginia]
“I don’t care if you’re taking my guns or the next generation’s guns — we’re not doing it. We’re not going to play along with this,” VCDL leader Philip Van Cleave told NBC12. “It’s a war on people like me and other law-abiding gun owners, and we’re tired of this stuff.”
Northam warned of violent clashes similar to those that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, where far-right groups clashed with protesters at “Unite the Right” after local lawmakers proposed the removal of Civil War Gen. Robert E. Lee’s statue.
“This is not another Charlottesville,” said Browne. “This is a completely different group of people.”
The VCDL and Gun Owners of America have now moved their appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court, but with government offices closed ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and a short timespan to win an appeal, hopes of overturning the ban are slim.
The Virginia Senate passed three gun control bills on Thursday that will now head to the House of Delegates for confirmation before being signed into law by Northam. The bills include a monthly handgun purchase limit, mandatory background checks for all private sales of guns, and the right for localities to ban guns at public events.
