RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action hosted a gun safety advocacy rally at Capitol Square on Wednesday morning.
The rally was scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Bell Tower.
Family members of loved ones who were killed during gun violence attended the chilly rally holding signs of the victims.
"I want you to take a minute and look around, look at the folks that paid the ultimate price, lives stolen, beautiful lives stolen," said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action.
The dozens of attendees held signs and chanted "Virginia is for gun safety."
Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger and candidate for governor, who also once served as a volunteer for Moms Demand Action, called on lawmakers to pass "commonsense" gun legislation.
"Firearms need to be stored properly and secured when there is a minor in a home. We need to prevent the sale of high capacity magazines, and we must stop them from getting into the wrong hands on our streets," Spanberger stated.
Virginia lawmakers must work together to pass any meaningful legislation regarding guns, as both houses of the General Assembly are controlled by the Democrats and Gov. Glenn Youngkin is a Republican.
“We started last year, and we were able to pass some bipartisan bills. Although Governor Youngkin vetoed the majority of our gun safety bills, we're back here today to continue to fight,” said organizer and Moms Demand Action volunteer Shantell Rock.
The group said last year they were able to help enact several pieces of gun safety legislation into law with bipartisan support, including a measure to prohibit auto sears, a measure to hold gun owners accountable for allowing children under their care with certain dangerous histories to access firearms, and an expansion of Virginia’s secure firearm storage tax credit to include more devices such as cable locks.
“Building on last year’s bipartisan progress on gun safety, volunteers with Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action continue to lead the fight for lifesaving gun laws,” the group said in a press release.
Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) President and gun rights advocate Philip Van Cleave said in a statement that duplicate bills proposed by the Democrats are basically “virtue signaling.”
“Many of them have the same wording as bills that were vetoed last year and, consequently, we expect they will be vetoed again if they end up on the governor’s desk,” Van Cleave wrote in a statement.
For instance, SB 744 would prohibit the sale of “assault firearms” to anyone under 21 years old.
HB 2241 prohibits a person convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime from possessing firearms.
“Misdemeanors should never take away a person’s civil rights. The bill is unconstitutional under the U.S. Supreme Court’s New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen decision,” Van Cleave said in response to HB 2241.
VCDL does support HB 2412, which would allow guns at highway rest stops and ABC stores, while SB 837 lowers the concealed handgun permit age from 21 to 18 years old.
The two sides may compromise on HB 2595, which would add more gun safes sold by commercial retailers as eligible for a tax credit. Gov. Youngkin signed similar legislation into law last year.
VCDL and pro-gun rights advocates will rally on Lobby Day 2025 at 10 a.m. on Monday, January 20, at the Bell Tower.
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