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Lobby Day: A Peaceful Event Filled With Inflammatory Ideas

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The Capitol Square gun rally Monday managed to avoid outbreaks of violence, but the abundant rhetoric still struck an ominous note for the Commonwealth.

After all the talk, after all the hype, lobby day in Richmond on Monday came and went without any serious incidents from the around 22,000 overwhelmingly white protesters who assembled in Capitol Square to let the governor know their feelings on any future gun legislation. (Spoiler: They’re against it.)

There were no shots fired, no fights, and the only arrest made was of one young woman for wearing a mask that covered her face — despite the fact that I personally witnessed dozens and dozens of people covering their faces. There was a lot of bluster, as well as a lots of implied threats about “corrupt government,” a lot of rhetoric about Governor Northam being a tyrant, and a circus atmosphere — complete with Alex Jones of InfoWars cruising the streets around the Capitol in an armored truck with a megaphone, right across from another truck carrying a large sign that said “Epstein didn’t kill himself.”

So how did this all happen?

The wheels for this rally were set in motion on November 5, 2019, when Democrats took control of the state legislature. This marked the first time they had control of both houses of the General Assembly as well as the governor’s office since 1994. Almost overnight, a number of 2nd amendment-related facebook groups popped up with names like “Virginia Rising,” “Take Back Virginia,” and “Virginia Patriots.” These groups regularly updated their members with information, both real and imagined, about what the Democrats would do to infringe the gun rights group members felt were God-given.

The Virginia Citizens Defense League, founded in 1994 in reaction to the last time Democrats took over the state, immediately started planning a rally for January 20, the traditional Lobby Day for the General Assembly. Piggybacking off a movement beginning in other states, first Illinois and then moving on to Arizona, Florida, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, California, and New Mexico, individual municipalities around Virginia declared that they would ignore laws that would take away their 2nd amendment rights. These municipalities often took on the moniker of “2nd amendment sanctuary cities.” As of January 16, the number of cities and towns in Virginia that have signed on to this pact is 105 and growing.

Fun fact: Phillip Van Cleave, the president of the VCDL and the main speaker at lobby day, was featured last year in an episode of the Sacha Baron Cohen TV series Who is America? In the show, he was coerced by the comedian into saying that three-year-olds should be armed in classrooms; he even did a fake commercial, holding up guns with cutesy puppet attachments.

The major issue for these 2nd Amendment defenders was the Democrats’ proposal of “red flag laws” that would allow guns to be confiscated if the owner’s possession of them posed a “substantial risk of injury to himself or others.” As of today, this law is still pending; it has passed the Virginia state Senate, but must be approved by the House Of Delegates before going to Northam. This bill became a flash point, and remained so at the rally on Monday, as signs, including a large banner, showing a semi-automatic rifle and the words “come and take it” can attest.

This bill, which represents tyrannical government overreach to its detractors, along with governor Northam’s decision to declare a state of emergency the weekend before the event and ban weapons from Capitol Square, sent many people who were already mistrustful of government into overdrive. On Friday, three days before the event, state Senator Amanda Chase, who later spoke at the event, wrote on Facebook that 2nd Amendment advocates were being set up and warned that “if anything goes wrong… you could be arrested as a domestic terrorist.” Of course, as RVA Magazine learned from the FBI in the aftermath of the 2017 Unite The Right rally in Charlottesville, a US citizen cannot be prosecuted for domestic terrorism.

An hour of speeches were scheduled for 11 am at Lobby Day, but when I arrived at 7:30 am, there were already thousands of people stretching around every corner. Along with many others, I milled around, waiting for something to happen and unsure of where to go. Perhaps we were waiting for that promised threat of violence. “We hope it’s not another Charlottesville,” Phillip Van Cleave had said.

Signs were being distributed en masse that said “94% of Virginia localities say: No more gun control.” Other signs showing the famous blackface and KKK photo from Ralph Northam’s old medical school yearbook, captioned with the words, “The man behind the sheet wants your guns.” The mood of the attendees was proud and defiant as they stood side by side with their fellow advocates, many carrying large rifles and declaring their 2nd Amendment rights to be non-negotiable.

The narrative you believe about Lobby Day seems to depend mainly on whether you are for or against the proposed legislation it was reacting to. There doesn’t seem to be any middle ground. There wasn’t a whole lot of nuanced discussion along the lines of, “I hate this proposal, but this other one has some merit.” In speeches, chants, and slogans, Governor Northam was regularly referred to as a tyrant; in the crowd, some held signs that referenced the state motto of Virginia, “sic semper tyrannis,” translated as “thus always to tyrants.”

Inside the Capitol Square, we were all unarmed; it was so crowded that while I was able to record audio from the hour of scheduled speeches, I was unable to see them. The 13 speakers largely reflected everything I had seen online and heard in the hours of chants leading up to their speeches, where people on microphones rallied the crowd with chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A,” “we will not comply,” and a complete sing-along of the “Star Spangled Banner.”  

The speakers pounded home the talking point that gun rights are given to us by God, the Constitution upholds those rights, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed, and therefore, in light of all these things, the proposed laws are unconstitutional, and so are the lawmakers proposing them.

Here are some samples of what they said in their speeches:

Virginia Senator Amanda Chase: The governor is violating your constitutional freedoms.
Virginia Delegate Nick Frietas: All of us have an inherent right to self-defense.
Virginia Delegate John McGuire: Common sense gun legislation is the Kate Nixon bill, which says that if you get shot in a gun-free zone, you can sue the governor.
Sheriff Danny Diggs: I’m from York County, where we dealt with a tyrant.
African American Pro-gun advocate Antonia Okafor: It makes sense that it’s MLK day, because we are all Americans and we bleed the same… In Texas we like to say, “Come and take it!”
Pro-gun advocate Dick Heller, who won a lawsuit overturning DC’s handgun ban: Today on Martin Luther King Day, our character is of freedom.
WRVA radio host Jeff Katz: We may have come on different ships, but we are in the same boat now.

Many referenced Martin Luther King Jr., whose birthday was also celebrated on Monday. However, none mentioned that King, a noted advocate for non-violence who was murdered by a gun, gave up his own guns years before his death.

The larger media narrative reported that Lobby Day was a peaceful event. However, make no mistake, these are not peaceful ideas. They do not allow room for negotiation; the life-size guillotine set up on the street right outside the square indicated as much. The language many advocates use is certainly bluster, and few people take their implied threats seriously, but when they speak of a new Civil War or sacrificing their life for their rights, as shown in this InfoWars video, it’s obvious that they are passionate about it.

When the measure of success of a large-scale event is that no fights or shootings took place, that’s a pretty low bar. And based on the temper of the crowd, it seems likely that if counter-protesters hadn’t mostly chosen to stay home, even this bar might not have been cleared.

Meanwhile, Virginia’s Senate has continued to pass the very laws gun advocates rallied so fiercely against — and with the House Of Delegates containing an even larger Democratic majority, chances are good that the bills will soon proceed to Governor Northam’s desk. The future infringement protesters railed against is likely to become a reality very soon. Hopefully, the “peaceful” atmosphere can continue to prevail.

Photos by Joshua Dudley

Making Sense of Virginia’s Many “Second Amendment Sanctuary” Resolutions

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As we approach the start of the 2020 General Assembly session, here’s an up-to-date look into an ongoing fight over guns that has the whole Commonwealth concerned.

It has been a truly tumultuous month since Virginia’s November elections.  Specifically, the conversation around the Second Amendment, gun ownership and potential gun control legislation has flooded headlines. Since the commonwealth went “full blue” last month, a large handful of counties and municipalities have declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.” There has been a heated discussion about what that term means, and how it will be upheld if gun control legislation is passed during the upcoming General Assembly session. 

So, how did we get here? What have people been saying across the state? Who are the key players? Well, let’s try and figure that out.

What’s happening?

As we know, the November 5 elections resulted in the first completely Democrat-controlled Virginia state legislature in 26 years. Many were quick to hypothesize about issues that would climb to the top of the docket once the General Assembly session begins in January.  The issue of gun control legislation immediately took center stage.

It began in Campbell County on November 7 — only two days after the elections. At a board of supervisors meeting, Brookneal District Supervisor Charlie Watts proposed a resolution emphasizing the board’s “deep commitment” to maintaining its citizens’ Second Amendment rights. In the resolution, Watts declared the county a “Second Amendment sanctuary” — meaning that the supervisors of Campbell County support gun rights and oppose any legislation that would limit gun ownership. The resolution passed unanimously, and thus, the snowball was pushed down the hill.

In the days that followed, a number of other counties began holding meetings to discuss adopting sanctuary resolutions and policies. One after another, board of supervisors meetings were being flooded with crowds gathered in the hundreds — even thousands in some cases — to voice their support for such policies. Appomattox and Pittsylvania counties designated themselves sanctuary counties as well. 

To this date, at least 20 counties, and a couple of independent cities, across the state have declared or have considered declaring themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries. Below is a map showing counties known to have adopted or considered adopting such policies.

Almost all of the counties that have adopted or considered adopting sanctuary are rural, with a large number of them being in the southwestern part of the state.

It’s worth noting that this post-election behavior is not the first Virginia has heard of Second Amendment sanctuaries. Back in April, months before the current wave, Carroll County adopted a resolution declaring themselves a Second Amendment sanctuary in response to similar actions nationwide.

What’s important to understand about these declarations is that because of the Dillon Rule, they have no legal authority unless the General Assembly adopts actual legislation that legitimizes them. The Dillon Rule says that unlike the powers of the states, municipalities only have powers that are expressly granted to them by the state government. Virginia is one of 31 states that abides by the Dillon Rule. Because of this, counties and cities cannot legally refuse to enforce laws and policies they don’t agree with.

Who are the key players?

One group that has made a lot of noise since the November election is the Virginia Civil Defense League — a non-profit organization created to protect citizens’ right to bear arms. Their president, Philip Van Cleave, has been urging lawmakers and law enforcement across the state to adopt sanctuary policies. He’s even gone on record suggesting that law enforcement not enforce gun-control legislation should any be passed by the General Assembly.

“We can push for more Second Amendment Sanctuary Localities, like Carroll County, which will refuse to enforce unconstitutional gun laws,” the group stated. “Sheriffs and other law enforcement have no obligation to enforce unconstitutional laws, either.”

Van Cleave and other VCDL members have been present at many of the meetings held across the state since November 5.

“VCDL is not going to back down — the fight is on,” Van Cleave wrote in a statement.

Philip Van Cleave at Virginia Citizen Defense League’s 2012 Roanoke County Picnic. (Image via VAGunRights/YouTube)

Meanwhile, gun-safety groups like Moms Demand Action, led by Shannon Watts, viewed the elections as a massive win for gun-control activism.  These groups have been in long-running, heated debate with organizations like the NRA and VCDL over gun-control legislation. 

What are people saying?

As can be expected, many gun rights supporters have turned up to meetings to have their voices heard. Here is a short list of quotes from people across the state:

  • “If we don’t have our guns to protect our rights, we’re not going to be able to worship freely.” – Dr. Mark J. Matney, resident, Washington County
  • “I read somewhere the quickest way to overthrow a country is to disarm citizens, and that’s what we’re seeing.” – Bennie Woody Jr., resident, Amherst County
  • “All I can say is we’re just going to have to lock and load.” – Joe Davis, Dan River supervisor, Pittsylvania County
  • “It is time to stand up to tyrants who want to transform America into something that it wasn’t meant to be,” Mark Matthews, retired firefighter and sheriff’s deputy, Pittsylvania County

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office even posted on Facebook about their lack of enforcement of any potential gun control restrictions: “I want to assure the citizens of Lee County that me and my officers will stand up to any federal or state agency that attempts to infringe upon our gun rights. We stand for the Constitution and the second amendment. May God bless Lee County and our great nation.”

For as many governing bodies have adopted Second Amendment sanctuary declarations, lawmakers have been quick to educate citizens to the reality of the situation.

Tim Tatum, supervisor for the Blue Ridge district in Franklin County, spoke in support of showing solidarity with other districts across the state. However, he was quick to remind the crowd of over 350 people in Franklin County of the principle laid out by the Dillon Rule.

“I want to make sure that all of you don’t get some false sense of security that when we pass this that this gives you some type of protection from any laws that the state may pass,” Tatum said.

Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons. (Photo via Lee County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook)

What’s next?

The reality of the situation is this; we have no way of knowing. For many, the comments and stances of radical gun owners across the state have been terrifying. Regardless of an individual’s beliefs, the idea of a law enforcement agency outwardly expressing that they will not enforce enacted law is troubling and concerning. 

The 2020 General Assembly session begins in early January, and all eyes, both in Virginia and across the nation, will be on the Capitol in Richmond. With gun-safety laws expected to headline the Democratic docket, we will have to wait and see what physical results come as a result of the shift in political power. 

Top Photo by Specna Arms on Unsplash

VA Pro-Gun Organization Helps Shoot Down Gun Safety Bill

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Richmond has seen an uptick in gun thefts over the last several years, and often, these guns end up in the wrong hands. 

In the Virginia House and Senate, legislators recently struck down a bill that would require gun owners to report missing weapons within 24 hours of noticing they are gone. Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham, who worked with state legislators to bring the bill to the General Assembly floor, described it as a “simple piece of legislation that would allow him and his officers to do their jobs.” 

In an effort to curb the stream of unaccounted firearms in our city, HB-43 was introduced. The bill required the lawful owner to report missing firearms within 24 hours, or face a civil fine of no more than 250 dollars. This would help police to keep a list of any missing firearms, and occasionally return stolen property. 

The bill was vehemently opposed by the Virginia Citizens’ Defense League, whose membership significantly overlaps with the NRA and who endorsed 7th district-loser Dave Brat. Brat refused to comment on this issue. 

“The victim gets punished twice: Once by the theft or loss, and next by the government for not reporting the loss quickly enough,” said the VCDL. 

The NRA and VCDL both advocate for responsible gun ownership, making the VCDL’s reaction puzzling for a bill designed to promote that exact purpose. As a responsible gun owner myself, I find it suspect that anyone who owns a firearm would not wish to do their civic duty, and inform the police of a missing firearm in the community. 

Shoddy logic from this group shouldn’t come as a surprise. The VCDL’s President, Phillip Van Cleave, in case you’ve forgotten, appeared on Sasha Baron Cohen’s TV show Who Is America. Van Cleave’s scene in the show depicts the VCDL President unironically promoting guns for children as young as three years old — which clearly does not align with responsible gun ownership. 

A VCDL spokesperson was quick to point out that “there are times when a lost or stolen gun will not be used in a crime for five, ten, or twenty years.” This logic is blatantly a Red-Herring defense, irrelevant and meant only to deter attention from the issue at hand: and it still admits that the gun will eventually be used in a crime. The police are better off having an idea of how many — and what kind of — weapons are unaccounted for, and gun owners need to take responsibility for handling their firearms with care. 

Guns are a huge facet of American life, and that doesn’t look like it will change anytime soon: But without effective regulation, it should come as no surprise that gun-related crimes continue to be magnanimous in our society. 

Meet the Virginia Man Who Wants to Arm Toddlers

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Philip Van Cleave, President of the Virginia Citizens Defense League and “Friendly Grown Up,” wants to arm your toddler with pistols, machine guns, and grenade launchers.

Van Cleave was apparently duped by filmmaker and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen on the inaugural episode of Cohen’s new television series, “Who is America?” The clip, which has already been viewed upwards of 11 million times on YouTube, features Cohen posing as an Israeli anti-terrorism expert soliciting Van Cleave’s advocacy for a program called Kinderguardians that would train and arm toddlers to protect themselves from school shooters.

Van Cleave is an influential, yet gullible, gun lobbyist in the region. His opinions on second amendment issues are frequently cited by the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and he has been interviewed on 60 minutes, Nightline, and by the Washington Post. Van Cleave also organizes an annual pro-gun rally at Capitol Square in downtown Richmond attended by Republican politicians.

This is not the first time Van Cleave has become the object of ridicule in front of a national audience. In 2013 he was interviewed by John Oliver on The Daily Show, and struggled to make a coherent argument against gun control.

Oliver mockingly tells the audience: “You can’t argue with Philip, even his logic is bulletproof.”

Cohen’s prank is far more elaborate. The producers of “Who Is America?” reportedly provided Van Cleave with limousine rides and monetary compensation for meals and other expenses over the course of the two-day shoot.

During the segment, Van Cleave seems blissfully unaware that he is being tricked. He is delighted when Cohen, in disguise as Col. Erran Morad, suggests arming children between the ages of three and 16. “We were thinking seventh or eighth grade,” said Van Cleave, “but you’re talking much younger than that.”

Cohen’s Morad then tells Van Cleave that Kinderguardian’s wants “three-year-olds who are real experts at what they’re doing, not three-year-olds who are reckless.”

“We don’t teach two-year-olds because they call it the terrible twos for a reason,” he adds.

Cohen’s costume, which features extensive face makeup, is barely passable, and the interview and accompanying instructional video are so bizarre that one has to wonder how Van Cleave wasn’t aware that something strange was going on.

The instructional video, which bears some resemblance to the Nickelodeon children’s show “Blue’s Clues,” features Morad and Van Cleave introducing a fictitious gun TV series for toddlers, named “Gunimals.” They start with the “Puppy Pistol,” a .22 caliber pistol with a stuffed dog attached to the top.

“Remember to point Puppy Pistol’s mouth right at the middle of the bad man,” said Van Cleave. “If he has a big fat tummy, point at that.”

Other guns available in the series are “Gunny Rabbit” and “Uzi-corn”, both submachine guns, as well as “Dino-gun,” a fully automatic machine gun, and “Rocket Ship RPG,” a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.

“We’re gonna teach you how you can stop these naughty men, and have them take a long nap,” said Van Cleave.

At the end of the clip, in a segment called “Song Time with Gunny Rabbit,” Cohen has Van Cleave perform an instructional sing-along to the tune of the children’s song, “Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes.”

“Aim at the head, shoulders, not the toes, not the toes,” sings Van Cleave, in a painfully awkward monotone.

After the episode aired last week, Van Cleave stated that he knew that he was being pranked, and only went along with it so that he could warn other gun rights activists who might also be lured into the trap.

Nate Peterson, creator and host of the Richmond-based podcast “Let’s Get Drunk and Talk About It,” interviewed Van Cleave recently, and said he considers Van Cleave a friend of the show.

“I thought he was done with that kind of stuff, you know,” said Peterson. “If his goal was to see the joke through to the end so that he could stop others from going on the show, he didn’t do a good job.”

It was reported that Cohen has also successfully fooled prominent Republican figures Sarah Palin, Joe Walsh and Roy Moore into appearing on his show, and will be featured in upcoming episodes of “Who Is America?”

“Who Is America?” premiered on July 15. The first season will run seven episodes, with the final episode airing on Aug. 26.

Virginia House of Delegates Considers Allowing Guns in Places of Worship

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RICHMOND – After a committee endorsed the proposal on a party-line vote, the House of Delegates is considering legislation to allow people to bring guns and knives into a place of worship in Virginia.

Delegates are scheduled to vote this week on House Bill 1180, which would repeal the state’s ban against carrying weapons into a house of worship while religious services are being held.

Del. Dave LaRock, R-Loudoun, said he is sponsoring this bill on behalf of concerned churchgoers.

“Recent shootings in churches have leaders across the country reevaluating their security plans in places of worship,” LaRock said, referring to church attacks in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and Charleston, South Carolina.

The existing law states, “If any person carries any gun, pistol, bowie knife, dagger or other dangerous weapon, without good and sufficient reason, to a place of worship while a meeting for religious purposes is being held at such place he shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor.”

At a meeting of the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee last week, LaRock said the law is ambiguous.

“The statute restricts those in charge of places of worship from exercising full control over their own private property,” LaRock said. “By repealing this law, we will remove a barrier to churches forming plans to protect and defend their establishments against malicious attacks.”

Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League testified in support of the bill. He said the current law “is forcing pacifism, if you will, on churches. It’s taking away their ability to do certain ceremonial things.”

Representatives of faith communities disagreed. Bryan Walsh spoke on behalf of the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy.

“Faith leaders we have spoken with, and members of our community, don’t feel that this bill makes places of worship any safer,” Walsh said. “We want our places of worship to be places of peace, not violence.”

Amanda Silcox, who also works at the center, echoed Walsh’s testimony, stating, “We believe places of worship should be safe havens for people, not places of violence.”

LaRock said HB 1180 will not invite violence in houses of worship. “Repealing this bill will do nothing more than to allow the formation of sensible security plans for places of worship and the best way to avoid disaster is to plan and prepare,” he said.

Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, said he saw no need for LaRock’s legislation.

“If a law is working just fine, and there aren’t really any problems with the law, we should just leave it alone,” Simon said.

Lori Haas, a lobbyist for the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, requested more time for public reaction to the bill, which was filed on Jan. 10.

“There are many, many, many members of faith communities across the commonwealth who might have an opinion about this bill, might want to express their support or opposition to the bill,” Haas said.

Despite her plea, the Militia, Police and Public Safety Committee voted 12-9 in favor of HB 1180, sending the bill to the full House. The Republicans on the panel voted unanimously for the measure; the Democrats voted against it.

Story By Thomas Jett via Capital News Service. Photo by Opposition Report

 

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