Resistance on the Rise: Virginia has Over 100 Gun Sanctuary Counties

Virginia gun owners are pushing their local governments to create “gun rights sanctuaries.”

In these “sanctuaries”, local officials will allegedly oppose any Second Amendment infringements.

According to an Associated Press report, the pro-Second Amendment group Virginia Citizens Defense League is leading the way in championing these sanctuary initiatives.

The sanctuary resolutions vary from county to county and in the last two months more than 100 counties, cities, and towns in Virginia have passed similar resolutions according to a story from the New York Post.

What’s taking place in Virginia is no isolated incident. These resolutions started to spring up in Illinois then spread to other states such as California, Colorado, and New Mexico.

The sanctuary movement in Virginia has grown largely in response to Democrats gaining full control of the Virginia state legislature as of 2019. Right off the bat, Virginia Democrats such as Governor Ralph Northam started proposing gun control laws. Some of these proposals included universal background checks, assault weapons bans, and red flag gun confiscation laws.

On Friday, December 20, 2019, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring declared that the resolutions are “part of an effort by the gun lobby to stoke fear” and said they “have no legal effect.”

As Virginia becomes bluer over time, the threat of gun control will become even stronger.

If gun rights activists are locked out of the state government, they will have to use local resistance measures such as sanctuary counties and other mechanisms which strengthen local governments’ ability to resist state and federal gun control.