RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), a gun rights organization, bused gun rights supporters into Richmond from around the state for Lobby Day at the Virginia General Assembly on Monday.
Several speakers, including Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt, voiced their opposition to the Virginia lawmakers who have introduced legislation to expand gun control.
“The Second Amendment is so important. It is the right which protects all the other rights,” Pratt said. “That’s why we cannot compromise, not even a little bit. Not even a little gun control-lite. We cannot compromise because every new compromise becomes the starting point for the next set of calls for gun control.”
Virginia legislators have filed dozens of bills related to guns including enhanced background checks, banning assault weapons, and requiring gun locks or safes.
VCDL President Philip Van Cleave told CBS 6 that his prominent gun advocacy group opposed the weapon bans and restrictions on concealed carry permits.
He said the VCDL did support some proposals like one that would extend the tax credit for Virginians who secure firearms.
“The right to keep and bear arms is a civil right so important that our founding fathers enshrined it and protected it in the constitution,” Van Cleave told the crowd near the Bell Tower.
Later Monday afternoon, dozens of activists gathered in the same spot to send a much different message.
The Virginia Center for Public Safety held a vigil and rally to advocate for laws that they believe would combat gun violence.
“Gun violence knows no background, no geography, no color, no history. My own daughter was shot and injured at Virginia Tech in 2007 and thrust our family into a journey that we didn't expect," said Lori Haas, an advocacy manager with Johns Hopkins' Center for Gun Violence Solutions.
Haas said she hopes the General Assembly takes up safe storage measures that would require parents to lock up their firearms around children.
“We intend to get a lot of laws passed, and we intend to get a lot of legislation on the governor’s desk," Haas said.
Speaker of the House, democratic delegate Don Scott, joined the crowd Monday in support of their mission.
“We know that we have a problem with gun violence in America," Scott said. “This is my promise to you: We will, in the House of Delegates, we will pass a ban on assault weapons.”
Last Thursday, dozens of volunteers from Moms and Students Demand Action came to Richmond to press lawmakers to address gun violence in Virginia.
“We ushered in a whole new crew of people that are going to be working to put lives first,” Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director, Moms Demand Action, said about Democrats who now control the Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate.
While Democrats have the majority to pass legislation, their majority is not large enough to overcome any veto Governor Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, may issue.
During his State of the Commonwealth speech, Youngkin's only mention of the topic was to say Virginia already had among the strongest gun control laws in the country.
"Therefore, I’m asking you: allow us to hold accountable those criminals that commit crimes with guns by lengthening and making more severe the penalties in order to keep them off the streets," he said in his speech to state lawmakers.
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