Democrats Pass First Gun Ban of 2020

In case you missed it, and you were planning to attend the Virginia Citizens' Defense League Lobby Day on January 20, 2020, you might want to leave your gun at home.  John Lott has the story at Townhall.com entitled Virginia Lawmakers Have Voted To Ban Guns From State Capitol Building. One of the things I always liked about Virginia was that you could carry your gun into the Capitol Building, unlike here in North Carolina. It indicated to me certain trust in the citizenry, and made me trust the legislators a bit more. Here, the fact that they do not trust me causes me to think that maybe I should not trust them.  Lott's main point though, is that the legislators are creating yet another "gun free criminal empowerment zone":

The problem with gun-free zones, which ban law-abiding civilians from carrying, is that they don’t exactly scare off criminals. In fact, they have just the opposite effect. Disarming everyone, including legislators or staffers, on their way to and from the buildings leaves them easy targets to criminals and terrorists. The murderers have an incentive to disobey the law precisely because the law-abiding obey it.

...snip...

Gun-free zones are magnets for murderers. Even most ardent gun control advocates would never put “Gun-Free Zone” signs on their homes. Let’s not ignore the evidence and let the fear that something might go wrong put lives in danger.

Meanwhile, over at the American Thinker M. Catherine Evans has more details on the ban at Within 48 hours of taking over the Virginia legislature, Democrats pass first gun ban of 2020. Typical of the way Democrats operate these days, the vote took place out of the public spotlight, in a party line vote, during which they cowardly blamed the Capitol Police:

Democratic House Majority Leader Charneile Herring claimed the sudden policy decision by the Joint Rules Committee, just a handful of people, was at the request of the Capitol Police. "I think there are times when we sort of have to trust what our law enforcement officers are telling us," she said. When asked by reporters, after the rushed and less than transparent committee meeting, Capitol Police Col. Anthony Pike said he had made no recommendations on whether guns should be banned, only how to implement the ban. GOP Del. Kirk Cox called Herring's attempt to put the onus on the Capitol Police "a deliberate misrepresentation, there's just no way around that, " he said.

Please go read both pieces for full details. The purpose of Lobby Day has always been to actually speak with Delegates and Senators about gun issues. It seems fairly clear, though, that these people are not interested in discussing these issues, indeed their minds are already made up. Still, one has to try or be accused of not taking advantage of the system. I would however leave you with a quote from Thomas Jefferson:

"... I advise the gun. While this gives a moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprize, and independance to the mind. Games played with the ball and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be the constant companion of your walks."

Perhaps Democrats in Virginia should take a lesson from one of the founders of their party, and a fellow Virginian.