The tension in Virginia is growing. The Democratic majority in the General Assembly – apparently virtually all virulently anti-gun (hoploclastic) – is pushing more and more. Led by the two truly disgusting politicians which are the governor and his lieutenant, the pre-planning for the legislation session is well underway. And the major emphasis seems to be the disarming of Virginians. While preparing for resistance to those acts of disarmament. These people in Richmond seem intent on tyrannizing their fellow Virginians.

Perhaps they should remember their state motto. “Sic Semper Tyrannis” – thus always to tyrants. And Thomas Jefferson’s words

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Despite claims about withdrawing some of proposed anti-liberty legislation, it appears that they are doubling down. Not just threats against the 90% of Virginia jurisdictions (by land area) which have declared themselves “Second Amendment Sanctuaries” but threats to use National Guard troops to round up the scofflaws – no doubt starting with the various sheriffs and police chiefs and their officers.

The Hagmann Report has a very interesting article. Let me quote much of it:

402, paragraph Q of the 2020 Commonwealth of Virginia Budget Bill allocates $250,000 from the general fund “for the estimated net increase in the operating costs of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment of sentencing legislation as listed below. This amount shall be paid into the Corrections Special Reserve Fund, established pursuant to § 30-19.1:4, Code of Virginia.”

1. Allow the removal of firearms from persons who pose a substantial risk to themselves or others — $50,000
2. Prohibit the sale, possession, and transport of assault firearms, trigger activators, and silencers –$50,000
3. Increase the penalty for allowing a child to access unsecured firearms –$50,000
4. Prohibit possession of firearms for persons subject to final orders of protection –$50,000
5. Require background checks for all firearm sales –$50,000

Of note is that § 30-19.1:4 addresses the budget “Increase in terms of imprisonment or commitment; fiscal impact statements; appropriations for operating costs.”

Now, what can we glean from this? First, of course, that they expect the gun bills to pass – the Democrats of Virginia’s General Assembly are united and confident. And don’t expect any defections on this issue. Despite the fact that Virginia looks like this (VCDL map – black are jurisdictions which have not yet adopted the 2A Sanctuary resolutions.)

Most of the black areas are the cities and the big urban/suburban areas around DC, Hampton Roads (Norfolk, etc.), Richmond and Charlottesville). (I’m not sure why Essex and Highland Counties, both very rural as Virginia goes, are black as of 23 DEC 2019.) But it shows how the Commonwealth is badly split – much like recent federal elections.

HuffPost has a vicious attack on the effort in Virginia, full of lies and innuendo, entitled “The Growing, Cultish Paranoia Behind ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary’ Counties.” (The title says it all, doesn’t it?) It calls the fear that government will take away their guns as “unfounded,” ignoring the bald facts that the proposed legislation will indeed do exactly that.

Walter Williams, writing for LewRockwell.com, explains the mess well, as nothing more than an attack on the Second Amendment, and therefore the entire Bill of Rights.

The budget figures are a bit bizarre, for several reasons. It costs $22,000 per prisoner for Virginia prisoners (by the way, they have nearly 30,000 people in prison), so this $250K amounts to only about 11 “prison-years.” So is just the seed money, or do they think that after the first dozen or so are convicted and imprisoned, everyone else will cave in? Or are they looking at ways to reduce those per-inmate costs? Are there suitable places for detention camps, where a few bucks for concertina and guard towers (and guards, of course) will stretch a lot further?

Or maybe they figure that once Trump and Pence are convicted and out of office, that Miz Nancy will shovel money their way, or let the state have some space on military bases to warehouse the prisoners? Or perhaps that there won’t be that many prisoners to worry about after the SWAT teams do their thing? Or maybe they are hiding more money in other places, figuring that as soon as the resistance is clear, they can declare a state of emergency and martial law and steal the money from where ever.

Or is this nothing more than a ploy to rile the poor pathetic liberty-lovers who want to resist their betters? So that Richmond DOES push them into an outright rebellion which can then be put down by force? And at the same time, set off the fuses in a half-dozen other states?

All speculation on my part, but scary. As I have tried to analyze earlier (in my commentary back on 14 December), there doesn’t seem to be any way for the General Assembly and the Governor to force this down the throats of probably half the state’s people in 90% of its land area. (Especially since Virginia is very well suited for guerilla warfare, even in urban areas. A fact which both Lincoln and Grant feared when Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House.) But then, we can’t depend on hoplophobes and hoploclasts to be rational or reasonable.

Continued in part 2.