Via – Reuters
A pro-gun rally expected to draw thousands around Viriginia’s capitol building on Monday has authorities bracing for violence, but it also marks shifting battle lines in the U.S. gun debate.
Those backing tougher curbs see Democrats taking control of the Virginia legislature for the first time in a generation on campaign promises of tougher access to arms as offering a model for other traditionally gun-friendly states.
Facing off against them are gun enthusiasts.
They argue Virginia is stomping on their constitutional right to bear arms and vow that Monday’s rally will help citizens understand how quickly they can lose the ability to carry guns, based on who wins at the ballot box.
“The Virginia election last November was an indictment of guns, and it was not an outlier,” said Christian Heyne, who leads legislative efforts at the gun violence prevention group Brady.
“Virginia candidates flipped things on their head when they won because of the gun issue, not despite it. That is a fundamental shift.”
Tension rose ahead of the rally after the FBI arrested three members of a small neo-Nazi group last week, who authorities said had hoped to ignite a race war through violence at the gathering, reminiscent of a 2017 white supremacist rally in nearby Charlottesville.
People across the United States were focused on the Virginia gun issue, said Philip Van Cleave, leader of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which is organising Monday’s rally.
“People are looking at this and saying, ‘This is a canary in the coal mine. If they’re coming after rights in Virginia, then they’ll be coming for ours as well,'” Van Cleave said on Sunday.
“They don’t want us to fail in stopping this. We’ve gotten huge donations from other states.”
Van Cleave has rejected calls for violence, but he has urged tens of thousands of armed militia leaders from across the United States to be in Richmond’s streets to provide security for his group.
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