Interesting interview by Sam Shirazi of Ashley Lantz from the Brady PAC, about the incoming Virginia Democratic “trifecta” and what that might mean for legislation on gun violence prevention. A few highlights include the following.
- “In the next session, the legislature will be considering a number of bills, including those to ban ghost guns, a gun industry accountability measure that’s being led by Senator Adam Ebbin and Delegate Dan Helmer, measures on secure storage, and hopefully law to ban assault weapons as well. So we’re very excited. The sky is the limit going into this next session. And we believe that these candidates who were just elected on November 4th will meet the mandate that they were given to keep Virginia’s communities safe.”
- “We heard a lot of voters talk about this being a repudiation of Glenn Youngkin’s actions, including the deadly vetoes of more than 30 gun violence prevention bills in the last two years alone. And Abigail Spanberger made gun violence prevention a top issue, a real central issue from the very beginning of her campaign. She wasn’t afraid to talk about it. She met with people about it. And that all had a very powerful result. And I think, you you know, when gun violence prevention is the number one killer of our kids in America, Virginians care quite deeply about this issue.“
- “…there are other takeaways from this election that I would point out as well. One of them being that there’s really immense value in forcing gun extremists to defend themselves in every single race, on every single turf. And for decades, gun extremist candidates who have been bought and paid for by the gun industry have been able to cherry pick their battles and in Virginia and in other states as well. And they’ve been able to dominate the electoral map. This cycle, Speaker Don Scott and campaign chair Dan Helmer ran a bold and brilliant strategy of putting up candidates in every House district. And now we have this powerful majority of 64 seats, and they are going to work to pass meaning meaningful reforms that save lives.”
- “…the sky is really the limit, but we think that there will be a number of bills considered, particularly because Glenn Youngkin vetoed every gun violence prevention bill that was put before him. including almost 20 in and the last session. So we are hoping that there will be a secure storage measure, the measure to ban ghost guns, and one of our top priorities, which is holding the gun industry accountable. The assault weapons ban may be on the docket as well…and we also will be working on a permit-to-purchase bill in addition. So we have a long list of priorities. We think that this assembly is ready to take up all of them and ready to act on this issue.”
- “Governor-elect Spanberger has been a longtime champion on this issue. She will sign gun violence prevention legislation. I think that…you have to keep in mind that this this assault weapons ban has to be on the table, but so do other priorities. An assault weapons ban is not a standalone solution. There are many solutions that must be addressed, including those that I mentioned – the ghost guns ban, secure firearm storage, gun industry accountability. So it’s one piece of the puzzle.”
- “No one’s taking guns. We are trying to keep guns out of the hands of people who pose a danger to themselves or to others. That is a common sense measure. Common sense measures like secure storage, we’re trying to enact that. That is simply asking people to use a gun lock or a gun safe…So the idea that we can’t have any gun violence prevention reform is simply absurd. And it’s not what the voters want. It’s just absurd.”
- “If the takeaway of either party from the 2024 and 2025 elections is that it needs to abandon gun violence prevention and crime prevention, then those candidates should be prepared to lose many, many future elections. But I do hope by now that Democratic candidates realize that they can walk and chew gum, that they can address significant and understandable affordability concerns that we all share, and also deliver on everyday concerns such as gun violence prevention. The real political liability right now is extremism run amok. It’s really about Republicans who are out of touch with their constituents’ desire for safety and who kowtow to the corrupt interests of a gun industry that’s more interested in their own profits than our lives. And that’s shown in the opposition of extremists to even the most basic of gun safety protections like secure firearm storage. And that’s a real vulnerability that we should all be paying more attention to and talking about.”
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