Richmond: State of Emergency in Face of "Militias" and Hate Groups Gathering

The Trump/Pence regime and Republicans have repeated sought to suppress information on the threat posed by self-style "militias" and white nationalist and white supremacy groups - not coincidentally,  pillars of the GOP base in the age of Trump.  Not surprisingly these groups have a large overlap of membership with "gun rights" groups.  With the memories of August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville and the mass shooting in Virginia Beach last year, the vast majority of Virginians want gun control legislation enacted this session of the Virginia General Assembly.  Indeed, Virginia voters elected a Democrat majority in no small part because of Republican obstruction of the will of the majority of Virginians.   Stated another way, the 2019 Virginia election saw the majority of Virginians at last say "no more" to Republicans putting the rights and wants of small minorities of extremists over the rights of the majority.  Now, with much desired gun legislation before the legislature, some of the same elements that brought mayhem and murder to Charlollesville, appear poised to descend on Richmond and apparently "storm" the Virginia Capitol to frighten legislators into not passing needed gun control laws. Virginia's Governor has vowed not to allow these elements to bring violence to the streets of Richmond or the Capitol grounds. The Washington Post reports on Gov. Northam's actions and the threat posed by hate groups and out of state "militias."  Here are story excerpts:

RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam is declaring a state of emergency and temporarily banning weapons from the Capitol grounds in advance of a gun-rights rally planned for Monday, citing “threats of armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol.”

Monday is the state’s traditional citizen lobbying day, and gun-rights groups are organizing a large demonstration to oppose several far-reaching bills being advanced by the Virginia General Assembly’s new Democratic majority.

The rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond.

Northam asked that nonessential state employees not come to work Monday, a state holiday on which legislative staffers would normally be on duty since the legislature is in session.

The governor — flanked by Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D), state, capitol and city police leaders, and state Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian Moran — began his announcement by stating his belief in the right to debate, assemble and bear arms.

But he said authorities had “received credible intelligence,” some gathered via “dark web channels used by white nationalists outside Virginia,” about groups with “malicious plans” such as “storming our Capitol” and “weaponizing drones” over Capitol Square.

“This includes out-of state militias and hate groups from across the country,” Northam said. “They’re not coming to peacefully protest. They’re coming to intimidate and cause harm.” He said information circulating on the Internet is being “fueled by misinformation and conspiracy theories.”

The governor took pains to distinguish between the extremists he said were latching onto the planned rally and the law-abiding gun-rights activists who for years have “peacefully assembled” at the Capitol. “No one wants another incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville in 2017,” said Northam, referring to the deadly violence that followed a “Unite the Right” rally that centered on opposition to removing a Confederate statue in the university town. “We will not allow mayhem and violence to happen here.” Monday’s rally is being organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, one of many grass-roots groups that turn out every year for the citizen lobbying day. The organization expects a much larger crowd this year, with the legislature advancing measures that would require background checks on all firearms purchases, allow law enforcement to temporarily remove guns from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others, let localities ban weapons from certain events and government buildings, and cap handgun purchases at one per month.

Gun control became a dominant issue in the 2019 elections in Virginia, following a deadly mass shooting in a Virginia Beach and a decision by the then-GOP-controlled legislature to swiftly adjourn a special session Northam called to address gun legislation in the aftermath.

In recent weeks, VCDL President Philip Van Cleave has encouraged supporters to leave intimidating long guns — including assault-style rifles such as the AR-15 — at home. He has welcomed out-of-state militias but warned them not to get into confrontations with gun-control activists. And he has tried to keep other incendiary issues out of his event.

“This is not about [Confederate] flags, statues, history, etc. Just guns,” he wrote in a statement to supporters.

One can only hope that such threats convince legislators to pass even more stringent gun control laws than now contemplated, including a ban on assault weapons  and stiffer penalties for out of state actors who violate Virginia's laws.  Having been at the Virginia Capitol - a beautiful and historic building designed by Thomas Jefferson - over the weekend, no one who is not up to no good should ever want to bring a gun onto the Capitol grounds much less into the Capitol.

Northam Wisely to Ban Guns from Virginia Capitol Grounds

In my view, gun fanatics who parade around with the open display of guns do so for two principal reasons: (i) to compensate for deep feelings of sexual inadequacy, and (ii) to intimidate others, especially those who oppose the open display of weaponry in public places. Recognizing this latter motivation, Gov. Ralph Northam is about to ban guns from the Virginia Capitol grounds as the legislative session proceeds and in advance of an expected gathering of gun fanatics who oppose common sense gun control measures that a significant majority of Virginians want enacted.  There is zero legitimate reason that legislators and others should feel threatened and intimidated by gun gun fanatics around the Capitol - or any public place. A piece in the Washington Post looks at Northam's common sense move and the likely shrieks and whines of the gun nuts and white supremacists (in my mind, the two are typically one and the same).  Here are story excerpts: 

Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday will announce at least a temporary ban on firearms on the grounds of the state Capitol, two people briefed on his plans said late Tuesday.

The move comes just days after newly empowered Democrats banned guns from the Capitol building and an adjacent legislative office building. And it comes just ahead of a gun rights rally planned for Monday, which organizers say will draw tens of thousands to Capitol Square.

The rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond.

Security has been unusually tight during the General Assembly session that kicked off last week, as Democrats — who won control of the House of Delegates and state Senate in elections in November — consider far-reaching gun-control legislation. . . . . Crews have been erecting steel crowd-control barricades around the manicured Capitol grounds in recent days.

The teenagers who normally work in the House and Senate as pages were given the day off Monday, the first business day after a joint House-Senate committee on Friday banned weapons from the Capitol and legislative office building. The ban is not subject to review by the full legislature.

Hundreds of gun rights activists flocked to the Capitol that day to protest the ban and to testify against the first gun-control bills to make it to a Senate committee that morning.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced four bills to the full Senate. The measures would require background checks on all firearms purchases, allow law enforcement to temporarily remove guns from individuals deemed a risk to themselves or others, let localities ban weapons from certain events and government buildings, and cap handgun purchases at one per month.

There were no incidents Monday, but law enforcement officials remain concerned about the rally planned for next week. That event is being organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League, one of many grass-roots groups that turn out every Jan. 20 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — for what is a traditional day of citizen lobbying at the state Capitol.

Democrats won their majorities in the November elections, ending a 26-year stretch when Republicans were able to quash any proposed restrictions on guns.

Gun control took on greater prominence in the fall elections following a deadly mass shooting in a Virginia Beach in May and after the GOP-controlled legislature swiftly adjourned a special session that Northam had called in the aftermath.

Kudos to Northam.  Hopefully, (i) the ban of guns on the Capitol grounds becomes permanent, and  (ii) the four bills reported out to the Virginia Senate sail through to quick passage.

Hampton City Council Withdraws "Gun Sanctuary City" Resolution

Downtown Hampton, VA.

While Hampton City Council withdrew a "sanctuary city" resolution to the outrage of gun fanatics and likely white supremacy last night, it is still troubling that any such resolution was ever put into motion, especially because it was the white city council members in a majority black city who first brought up the resolution.  The optics were terrible and many blacks residents, rightly in my view, saw racism in the move to consider the resolution. The fact that the resolution - which would have had no legal basis  and arguably would have encourage extremists to ignore new gun control laws likely to be passed by the General Assembly - was ever brought up in the first place is a study in cowardice.  Thankfully, after reflection, City Council unanimously withdrew the resolution.  The move is in sharp contrast to action taken by the City of Virginia Beach recently that saw city council cave to the demands of gun nuts and extremists. WAVY-TV looks at the action in Hampton and also has a listing of localities who have pandered to gun extremists and, in my view, white supremacists.  Here are highlights:

Hampton City Council has signed onto a letter supporting Second Amendment rights, without actually voting on anything.

The move was met with “boos” from the hundred or so gun-rights supporters that gathered in council chambers Wednesday night in hopes of seeing an official resolution passed supporting Second Amendment rights.

For nearly two hours speakers on both sides of the issue spoke in front of the council.

The resolution as initially proposed expressed support for law-abiding citizens to keep their guns. It also urged the General Assembly and Gov. Ralph Northam to not take any action that would violate freedoms guaranteed in the state or federal Bill of Rights.

Council members Linda Curtis, Eleanor Weston Brown and Billy Hobbs brought forward the resolution.

But when it came time for a vote, Brown withdrew the resolution citing fear it “is perceived we would undermine the rule of law with this.”

“Because we did not want to create misunderstanding in the general Public’s we decided that it was best to withdraw the resolution and not create that misunderstanding or give the inference that Hampton could be a second amendment sanctuary city,” Brown said.

Localities across Virginia are considering the idea of becoming Second Amendment sanctuaries, which are localities that have pledged not to use public resources to enforce any laws they see as unconstitutional. Some have passed resolutions simply in support of citizens’ Second Amendment rights, while others have said discussions on gun laws belong in Richmond.

Here’s the rundown on where area localities stand:

• Accomack County: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 18.

• Chesapeake: City Council did not make the city a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 10.

• Exmore: Exmore officials have passed a resolution to become a Second Amendment sanctuary city.

• Gloucester County: The Board of Supervisors voted to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.

• Hampton: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but hundreds voiced their support at the council meeting Dec. 11. The NAACP also attended and came out against the idea. Mayor said the issue is “premature.”

• James City County: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 10.

• Isle of Wight: The Board of Supervisors did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution to affirm its commitments to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

• Mathews County: The Board of Supervisors voted Dec. 17 to become a Second Amendment sanctuary.

• Newport News: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but a large crowd attended a Dec. 10 meeting to voice support for gun rights.

• Norfolk: City Council has not voted on any Second Amendment-related resolution, but a large crowd of residents voiced their support Dec. 10.

• Northampton County: The Board of Supervisors passed a resolution expressing its support for the rights of citizens to bear arms under the Second Amendment Dec. 10, but the resolution did not declare it a “sanctuary.”

• Poquoson: Poquoson City Council voted to become a “Constitutional City” and uphold citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 9.

• Southampton County: Southampton officials have passed a resolution to become a Second Amendment sanctuary city.

• Suffolk: City Council voted on December 16, 2019 in support of a resolution reaffirming Suffolk’s commitment to the Constitutions of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Surry County: County officials did not make the county a “sanctuary,” but approved a resolution affirming its commitment to citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment Dec. 5.

• Virginia Beach: City Council voted Jan. 6 to become a “Second Amendment Constitutional City.”

• York County: The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 Dec. 17 to become a “Constitutional City” and uphold citizens’ rights under the Second Amendment.

The vast majority of Virginians support common sense gun control laws - something Republicans have blocked for many years.  That so many localities have felt the need to pander to extremist minorities is a testimony in how ready too many elected officials are to prostitute themselves to extreme and unsavory groups.

Rural Virginia Demonstrates Why It is Dying Economically

Both Governor Ralph Northam and his predecessor Terry McAuliffe have pushed for a Virginia that is "open for business and welcoming to all" as part of their successful effort to attract new businesses and investment to Virginia. It's an approach that recognizes that businesses are only going to relocate to areas that will be welcoming to and where transferred employees will want to live.  This simple concept has not sunk into the minds of much of the population of rural Virginia - especially Southwest Virginia - who demand that the state government (and the rest of the taxpayers in the state finance) do something to turn around the continued economic decline of their region.  Yet perhaps the biggest deterrent to an economic turn around is the residents themselves many of whom continue to be racist, elect racist and homophobic representatives to the General Assembly who seek to disenfranchise minority voters, and who are hostile to those they deem "other" - which translates to any non-white and non-right wing Christian. 

Now, with Democrats in control of state government and poised to pass legislation long backed by a majority of Virginians, including sensible gun control laws, the rural areas are vowing to refuse to enforce any new gun control laws and showing themselves to be precisely the types of areas new progressive businesses would want to avoid. And the avoidance is not limited to businesses.  One couple I know moved to a rural county thinking they'd like living in the country.  Now their plan is to move to the Richmond area since they do not want their children to grow up in such a racist and bigoted environment. The Washington Post looks at the rural insanity that will only help these areas to die even more economically.  Here are highlights:

AMELIA COURTHOUSE, Va. — Families, church groups, hunt clubs and neighbors began arriving two hours early, with hundreds spilling out of the little courthouse and down the hill to the street in the chilly night air.

They were here to demand that the Board of Supervisors declare Amelia County [population 13,020] a “Second Amendment sanctuary” where officials will refuse to enforce any new restrictions on gun ownership.

A resistance movement is boiling up in Virginia, where Democrats rode a platform on gun control to historic victories in state elections earlier this month. The uprising is fueled by a deep cultural gulf between rural red areas that had long wielded power in Virginia and the urban and suburban communities that now dominate. Guns are the focus. Behind that, there is a sense that a way of life is being cast aside.

In the past two weeks, county governments from the central Piedmont to the Appalachian Southwest — Charlotte, Campbell, Carroll, Appomattox, Patrick, Dinwiddie, Pittsylvania, Lee and Giles — have approved resolutions that defy Richmond to come take their guns.

Some of the unrest is fanned by gun rights groups, such as the National Rifle Association and the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which have used social media and old-fashioned networking to offer boilerplate language for resolutions. But the movement is speaking to the anxieties of many who are unsettled by a state that has shifted from red to blue with shocking speed.
 All of the top leaders in the new Democratic-controlled legislature hail from urban or suburban districts in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Richmond. The liberal suburbs outside Washington have the largest delegation in the legislature. And the status of lawmakers from rural red parts of the state has never been lower. “We need to send a signal to Richmond about Northern Virginia. We don’t want their influence to affect us down here. We’re very different people,” said Clay Scott, a 25-year-old construction project manager whose family has lived in Amelia for generations. When the General Assembly convenes in January, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has promised to move quickly with Democratic leaders to pass measures such as universal background checks, limits on the types and numbers of firearms that can be purchased and a “red flag” law allowing authorities to seize weapons from someone deemed a threat.

The proposals “were essentially on the ballot in November,” said Brian Moran, Northam’s secretary of public safety. “And the people have spoken through their votes.”

Refusing to carry out a judge’s order to seize weapons from someone would be breaking the law. That could mean jail time. Local agencies receive funding from the state, so even adopting the stance is provocative.

“The notion that law enforcement would not follow the law is appalling,” said Lori Haas, a longtime activist with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. “I suspect that many of these counties and their elected officials are posturing in front of certain voters.”

As the sanctuary movement has spread around the country, Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence found that it generally has not led to active resistance. “As a practical matter, these are largely symbolic,” said Adam Skaggs, chief counsel and policy director at Giffords. “We haven’t seen cases where there are folks that are outright defying the law.”

Only one person out of the dozens who spoke expressed a different point of view. Allison Crews, 44, . . . The main thing that impressed her about the public hearing, she said, was the number of people who showed up — far beyond anything she had seen in years of attending county meetings.

“I wish we’d see those crowds for things like water quality in the town, or the school system,” she said.

So many of these rural residents are their own worse enemies yet are too blind to grasp that reality.  The Amelia County website describes the county as an "undiscovered treasure" yet with residents like those attending the meeting described in the article, most tourists - who will come from urban areas the residents despise - will likely avoid it like the plague.

The True Face of Virginia Republicans

Gun carrying Amanda Chase - the true face of the GOP.

Watching political ads for the coming Virginia elections in November, 2019, one thing is striking: most Republicans are running ads that (i) would have one think they were Democrats, (ii) totally misrepresent their actual voting records - e.g., Chris Jones who voted against Medicaid expansion four times - or  (iii) avoid indicating that they are Republicans.  Besides Jones, among other local Republicans who are seeking to appear deceptively moderate is 91st district GOP candidate Colleen Holcomb who, despite her brazenly false campaign web page is a far right Christofascist extremist.  The big question will, of course be how many voters are fooled by the deceptive depictions of what GOP candidates really stand for even as most work strenuously to sell themselves as something that they are not.  An exception to this phenomenon is Republican Virginia state Sen. Amanda F. Chase of Chesterfield County who flat out reveals what the Virginia GOP is really all about: supporting Trump, anti-gay, anti-women's rights, pro-guns, and largely anti-modernity.  A piece in the Washington Post looks at Chase and the consternation she is causing among many Virginia Republicans who do not want voters to know their real agenda.  Here are article highlights (take a good look at Chase, because if the GOP retains control of the General Assembly, she embodies the true GOP agenda): 

In a state where Trump’s approval rating is in the basement, Chase is the rare suburban Republican who is embracing [Trump] the president as she seeks a second term in a pivotal election this November.

All 140 seats in the state legislature will be on the ballot and Republicans are defending razor-thin majorities: the GOP has a 51-48 edge in the House and a 20-19 advantage in the Senate, with one vacancy in each chamber. If Democrats flip both chambers, they would have full control of state government for the first time in a generation.

Democrats are banking on ­anti-Trump sentiment to help them in suburban districts. Many Republicans, meanwhile, are trying to avoid talking about the president or divisive issues such as guns and abortion.

Not Chase. . . . “I won’t be quiet. I won’t be silenced,” she declared to about 40 donors at the country club. “I’m going to continue to boldly represent our family values and those values which make Virginia, Virginia. We are not California. We are not New York. And we will not be, as long as I’m serving in the General Assembly.”

The 49-year-old freshman lawmaker says Democrats and ­RINOs — Republicans in name only — are aligned against her because she is a conservative truth-teller. At a time when the GOP can’t afford to lose a single seat, some Senate Republicans fret that the drama swirling around “Senator Annie Oakley Chase,” as some call her, threatens to put her reliably red district in play.

“What she does, we all pay a price for,” said one frustrated GOP senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid.

Chesterfield County Sheriff Karl Leonard, a Republican who withdrew his support this spring because Chase would not apologize to the police officer, has been in the senator’s sights ever since. She threatened to hurt his fundraising — “I’ll let my Republican donors know,” she texted — and has been campaigning with his challenger, an independent. On Friday, she accused Leonard of making Chesterfield a “sanctuary city.” That was news to the sheriff, who last year backed Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), an immigration hard-liner.

On Monday, the Chesterfield County GOP ousted Chase for attacking Leonard and promoting the independent challenging him.

Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax), who saddled Chase with the Annie Oakley nickname, said she also reminds him of the president. “She’s a replica of Trump,” Saslaw said. “His conduct is bizarre, and so is hers.” Chase supporters compare her to Trump, too, but favorably.

During a special legislative session in July, a gun-control group wielding a video camera put Republicans on the spot as they passed through the Capitol’s marble hallways. As the video crew lobbed questions about expanding background checks, a pair of suburban Republicans scattered. Chase didn’t run; she said flatly that she wouldn’t support anything that infringes on gun rights. Chase’s Democratic challenger — another Amanda, Amanda Pohl — has used some of Chase’s headlines to raise money. After the El Paso mass shooting in August, Chase put out a video calling for an end to “gun-free zones that are creating safe havens for criminals who don’t follow the law.” Pohl, a social worker and former hospital chaplain who favors expanded background checks, promoted the video, too — calling Chase’s response “outrageous and dangerous. She is out of touch with our district and with reality.”

Pohl has outraised Chase so far this year, $252,000 to $189,000, and had more cash on hand heading into September.

Emotions were high last year as a handful of Senate Republicans were about to break ranks and vote to expand Medicaid — something the GOP had fiercely opposed for years. House Republicans had done an about-face after an anti-Trump wave in 2017 all but wiped out their 2-to-1 majority. Now Senate Republicans were crumbling.

In a closed caucus meeting ahead of the vote, Chase warned the four defectors that she would see to it that they all got primary challengers, according to wit­nesses.

Do NOT be fooled by Republican candidates' deceptive campaign websites and/or ads that depict them as moderates.  They are not moderates and hope voters fail to understand their true agenda.  Vote Democrat to move Virginia forward.