RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The debate over gun control in the Commonwealth was among the top concerns at this year’s Lobby Day at the Virginia State Capitol.
Two rallies were put on outside the Capitol on Monday, Jan. 15; one held by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), a pro-Second Amendment group, and another by the Virginia Center for Public Safety (VACPS), an organization that works to reduce gun violence.
“We are out here fighting for a right that needs to be defended,” said Cam Edwards, a VCDL speaker from Farmville.
Edwards, who was joined by a few hundred others at the VCDL rally, gathered to call on lawmakers to reject several proposed gun control measures including one to ban assault weapons, and another to limit where people with a concealed carry permit can carry their handgun.
“We are fighting for our fellow Virginians who want to be safe, who want to protect their families, who will not, will not, give up their right to keep and bear arms to do so,” Edwards said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the issue, Elizabeth Paul, a University of Virginia student, urged lawmakers to take action at the VACPS rally after an on-campus shooting at UVA killed three people in 2022.
“We ask lawmakers to say enough is enough and pass these commonsense, life-saving bills,” Paul said, who spoke at the VACPS rally,” Paul said.
“Just last year my friends and I were huddled in the library for just over 14 hours,” Paul said to a group gathered at the Bell Tower. “We didn’t know where the active shooter on our campus was. We didn’t know if our friends were safe. We didn’t know if we would make it through the night,” Paul said.
Looking ahead, any legislation on gun control would need bipartisan support with Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin in the Governor’s Mansion, and Democrats controlling both chambers in the General Assembly.
