The Virginia Attorney General issued an authoritarian warning to Virginia gun owners. His directive was clear, and it has not been well received. You will surrender your guns when we tell you to do so. Herring was quoted precisely, decreeing, “[w]hen Virginia passes these gun safety laws that they will be followed, they will be enforced.” The backdrop to his threat is the growing Second Amendment Sanctuary movement.
Mark Herring isn’t just a former blackface-wearing, Virginia democratic good ole boy, he’s part of the new wing of the authoritarian left. He believes the Constitutional rights Virginians have are subject to his whim. And, when the Constitution interferes with his personal beliefs and political agenda, he gets to ignore it. His subjects do not. If Virginians think the Bill of Rights guaranteed to them are going to be trampled by unconstitutional infringement, well … you little pissant subjects better submit.
You think that’s hyperbole? It’s not.
This is the same Mark Herring who decided he didn’t have to uphold or defend laws he didn’t like when he was elected the Virginia AG. In fact, he declared a state law unconstitutional and refused to enforce or defend it. Why? Well, it turns out he doesn’t think he has to wait for the US Supreme Court to rule. He can ignore laws he thinks are unconstitutional. Indeed, he suggested he had a duty to do so.
However, for the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding, gun-owning, Second Amendment revering Virginias who fear the radical left’s efforts to infringe on their rights, well he wants them to know that the choice and moral obligation to defend and secure their rights doesn’t lie with them. You’re not as free as he is.
That’s leftism in a nutshell. Laws are for little people to follow.
If you think AG Herring is a bit cavalier with your rights … well … you’re right. He’s always been that way. Indeed, as the Attorney General he penned an opinion suggesting that illegal aliens had the right to apply for and obtain in-state college tuition, something a legal resident of New Jersey can’t do here in Virginia. In fact, there is a federal statute … a host of them … which not only prevents this type of illegal behavior, but there is a statute that makes it a federal felony to “encourage and illegal alien to enter or stay in the United States.”
We should Prosecute Sanctuary Leaders giving aid and encouragement to illegal aliens.
Virginia’s new “progressive” majority should be leery about any effort by the Commonwealth to curtail the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Virginians. Indeed, those leaders should ask why it is that they persistently run on and attempt to limit our bill of rights.
In addition, Virginians should be very concerned about the lawless and reckless Mr. Herring, who already has his sights on the most powerful Governorship in the United States. Herring has proven that he will misuse state power in an attempt to quash those who disagree with him politically. He has proven he will abandon the people and their rights if it suits him. And, he has shown that he lacks the good judgment on which decent people can rely.
His black-face past is just a part of his black mark on the Commonwealth.
We live in a dangerous time in this country. And, in Virginia, the danger is greatest. A new majority, emboldened by a hard-left progressive group of legislators, working with a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, all with distinct, troubling records, are preparing to foist on Virginians legislation that could push the bounds of infringement of our Constitutional rights. This in a Commonwealth where that right is as sacrosanct as any.
The embers of discord are burning bright. Virginians are organizing. The climate is explosive and dangerous. What is needed is responsible, thoughtful, leadership in which all Virginians can trust. Mark Herring certainly doesn’t offer that. And, if he is not careful with his proven and stated heavy-handed tactics, he just might spark a confrontation.
It is worth reminding elements of the left that the Second Amendment is not deer hunting Amendment. It is not a musket Amendment. It’s not a collective right. Those are myths. It is a personal right of the people to ensure that they are secure in their liberty, not merely from intruders, but from the heavy hand of government. It is not government’s job to ration that right … it is the government’s mandate to secure it.
In Virginia, Mark Herring is dangerously close to crossing a line … some … many … believe that “line has been crossed.” Like most authoritarians drunk on power, Herring sees the imposition of his superior judgment over the rights of the people as a right to rule rather than govern.
I don’t think that we are at war yet. But I will say this … following the Second Amendment movement very closely … other do.
If Mr. Herring isn’t over the line. He’s on it, leaning in … flipping off patriots who don’t view their Constitutional rights as negotiable. His next step … his next collection of words … they better be much better calculated than his last … lest the AG find out that Constitutional rights “will be enforced.”
To Virginians I say this. Act
responsibly. Organize. Work to ensure your rights are not eroded. Do so through
the rule of law. Be the example of the civil society. Do not give the
authoritarians the confrontation they want to create laws to disarm you.
Whatever laws are passed, if any, by the new legislature will be challenged.
They will end up before the Supreme Court. That is how our Republic is
designed, and that is the system of law for which we stand. We have ample time to use the pen … while we
sheath the sword.
Virginia will either become ground zero for the fight to protect and preserve the Second Amendment … or it could be the next Fort Sumpter.
