The governor of West Virginia, in a stunning move that echoes the Civil War-era creation of his state, on Tuesday invited Virginia counties upset with Richmond’s liberal, anti-gun turn to shift borders and join his state.
“If you out there, no matter where you be, Virginia or wherever you may be, as an individual or a business or whatever, West Virginia is waiting for you with open arms,” said Gov. Jim Justice.
“Our state supports personal freedom, and we value the Second Amendment and the rights of the unborn. Come join us. You will never regret it,” he added at a press conference in Martinsburg, West Virginia, 13 miles from the border with a Virginia county where some officials are open to joining West Virginia.
He also said that West Virginia embraces President Trump, who is despised by many federal workers in Northern Virginia that have a big impact on statewide elections. “We should be thankful for all he’s done,” he said.
Justice’s statement endorsing secession was an unexpected but ringing endorsement of legislation before the West Virginia legislature that would let Virginia border counties join the state.
It has become such a hot topic along the border that the White House and President Trump are paying attention to it, according to sources.
It was offered as a long-shot package by Republican Del. Gary Howell after the Virginia voters put their legislature in Democratic hands for the first time in years. In just a few weeks, they have voted for several liberal initiatives including gun control, prompting a massive 22,000-strong, pro-gun rally at the capital in Richmond.
Howell now has 40 of 100 delegates as co-signers, and the legislation has jumped in importance. What’s more, he has a team looking at how West Virginia would admit Virginia counties. Also in the West Virginia Senate, Sen. Charles Trump has offered a resolution urging Frederick County to join West Virginia.
Over 90% of Virginia’s counties have already moved to split from Richmond’s campaign for gun control, creating gun “sanctuaries” and potentially paving the way for other anti-Richmond votes.
Justice was joined by Jerry Falwell Jr., president of Liberty University in rural Lynchburg, Virginia, and a close Trump ally.
While Justice promoted the freedoms West Virginia offers to conservative, pro-Trump Virginians who now feel ignored, Falwell ripped the new majority in Richmond and backed efforts by border counties to vote to leave in the upcoming election.
“Democrat leaders in Richmond, through their elitism and radicalism, have left a nearly unrecognizable state in their wake,” said Falwell.
“The Democrats are anti-life, anti-Second Amendment, anti-liberty, and even anti-business with their oppressive environmental regulations,” he added.
Falwell is urging quick action by disgruntled counties and sees the issue as a good one for Republicans in the 2020 election, even among younger voters in part because Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam is targeting support for online students.
“The threat from the radical left is real, and it’s spreading across the country and tearing our national family apart from the seams, but we have a rare opportunity to make history in our time by pushing back against tyranny in Washington and in Richmond,” he said, adding, “We need a state government that is not elected by federal workers in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., that will protect our God-given rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and I believe West Virginia will do just that.”
