Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has recently reentered the spotlight after multiple gun owners gathered to criticize her unpopular assault-style firearms ban. Ever since the bill was signed in May, the controversial legislation has sparked debate in Virginia, with many residents slamming the governor.
As reported by WDBJ, many gun owners and firearm shop owners recently gathered at the C&E Salem Gun and Knife Show at the Salem Civic Center, where they discussed how the ban could affect them. The measure was put on hold before it took effect in July, and it will remain unenforced until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on it.
At the event, gun owners reportedly considered the ban a direct infringement on the Second Amendment, while shop owners believed their businesses would be heavily affected if modern sporting rifles could no longer be sold. Others deemed the persecution of gun owners misguided, saying, “It’s not guns that kill people. It’s the person behind the gun. Those are the ones that should be prosecuted.”
Virginia Residents Criticize Spanberger
Opposition to Virginia’s assault-style firearms ban does not come solely from gun owners, however. For example, residents on r/Virginia believed the whole idea was a mistake: “Calling out lawlessness and craziness while trying to break our Constitution in Virginia was insane. What a blunder; it’s going to take the entire term to recover any trust.”
Even some seemingly liberal voters were against it: “Spanberger gets elected based on the very real anti-Trump sentiment thanks to the large amount of federal workforce cuts, and what does she do? She immediately squanders that valuable political capital on a divisive, unpopular, and unenforceable gun law that gives Republicans the soundbite headline they were looking for.”
Some folks were not surprised that Spanberger pushed the controversial law forward: “Democrats are pushing state gun bans all over the country. Some states have even recently banned Glocks. It’s just what you’re going to get with any Democrat right now.”
Others complained about some details of how it worked: “The police exemption is always the worst part to me. If this is a weapon of war too dangerous to be on our streets, why is there one in every cruiser?”
Judging by these comments, the law could cause quite a stir in Virginia. For now, at least, the ban remains unenforced while the legal challenge proceeds.
