The exploding battle over gun control in Virginia could help President Trump return the state to the GOP in the November elections, according to a leader of the effort to swat back limits on weapons.
“Gun owners are wide awake. Donald Trump is going to be the big beneficiary of this,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
“He should be tweeting more stuff on it, taking advantage of it, activating his base,” he added.
In reaction to plans by the state’s new Democratic legislative majority to pass sweeping gun control measures, some 100,000 gun owners and supporters have flooded into county and city meetings in the past two months to call for “gun sanctuaries” to ignore any new state laws.
EMERGENCY AIRLIFT: @Magpul_HQ sent us 1,000 30 Round PMAGs to hand out tomorrow in Richmond to NRA members who show up to fight Northam’s extreme gun ban!
We’ll see everyone TOMORROW at the General Assembly Building in Senate Sub-Committee Room #1 on the 5th Floor at 8am! #valeg pic.twitter.com/wovch0bTuU
— NRA (@NRA) January 13, 2020
The state GOP has attended many of those meetings to sign up new voters.
Trump lost Virginia to Hillary Clinton in 2016, 44.4% to 49.8%. And, in the 2019 state elections, Democrats took control of Richmond.
Lines at the general assembly! pic.twitter.com/R28XsUNQVu
— Phil Van Cleave VCDL (@VCDL_ORG) January 13, 2020
But in threatening gun control, said Van Cleave, Democrats “woke a sleeping giant” that should help the GOP this year.
“They basically declared war on gun owners,” he said, adding, “People are now active, awake, and they’re angry. They’re not just saying, ‘Oh, it’s irritating.’ They’re mad.”
Gun owners proved that early Monday when they jammed a Senate committee meeting being held to review several gun control bills, including gun bans, a universal background check, and a limit on handgun purchases.
VCDL and other gun groups pushed for supporters to show up at the meeting. One group said the meeting room was divided between pro- and anti-gun control supporters.
The National Rifle Association encouraged attendees with free ammunition magazines and T-shirts.
