Today, the Virginia Governor Ralph ‘Coonman‘ Northam suffered a humiliating defeat in his effort to politically exploit the Virginia Beach spree killing. He called the legislature to a special session to consider a host of radical gun control measures in an effort to capitalize on a tragedy and make some political hay in an election year.

Of course, the Demanding Moms also turned out to show their support for re-creating past tyrannies with their support for gun control. And the Virginia Citizens Defense League called out gun owners to oppose Northam’s political theater.

WVIR covered the story:

Advocates for gun control and for gun rights showed up at the State Capitol Tuesday to represent their cause as the General Assembly meets for a special session to discuss gun control.

After a Virginia Beach city employee shot and killed 12 people on May 31, Northam ordered the special session, calling for passage of a wide range of gun-control measures. The session got underway Tuesday.

Yes, the special session did get underway today. And barely two hours later, the legislature adjourned until November, handing Northam a humiliating political defeat. From The Washington Post: The Latest on Virginia’s special legislative session to consider stricter gun laws after another mass shooting (all times local): 1:30 p.m. The Virginia General Assembly has voted to adjourn until November, as Republicans rejected Democrats’ request to vote on a series of gun control measures.

Just what did Governor Coonman want to impose upon residents? The VCDL has a list:

R ed Flag laws – forget the unconstitutionality of this law, no one thought the Virginia Beach murderer to be a threat, so that law would have changed nothing



Universal Background Checks – the Virginia Beach murderer passed at least two background checks, just like the Virginia Tech murderer. And street thugs don’t go through background checks to get their guns



One Handgun a Month – the murderer bought the two handguns he used a year apart, not even a month apart



“Assault Weapon” ban – no “assault weapons” were used in the Virginia Beach massacre. Long guns are rarely ever used in crime



Magazine-capacity limits – the commission on the Virginia Tech massacre concluded that restricting

– the commission on the Virginia Tech massacre concluded that restricting magazine size would not have changed the outcome

Silencer/suppressor ban – it is extremely rare that a lawfully owned suppressor is used in a crime. They are not popular with criminals because 1) the gun shot is still loud and 2) it doubles the length of a handgun, making it much more difficult to conceal



Bump-stock ban – bump stocks have only been used in one crime, out in Nevada and there is no evidence that it increased the number of injuries or fatalities



Allow local government to implement gun control (get rid of firearm pre-emption law) – the Virginia Beach government building was already a “gun-free zone.” What are they going to do, make it a double-gun-free-zone? This legislation would make gun laws in Virginia extremely hard to comply with, benefiting criminals, who don’t care about laws, and dissuading good people due to the complexities of carrying legally as they travel through the state

Punish those who’ve had a gun stolen if they don’t report it quick enough – as if having your gun stolen isn’t bad enough, you will get punished by the State if you don’t report it fast enough. How do you prove you reported the theft within the arbitrary timeframe the law would require?

Charge gun owners with a felony if a child has access to loaded gun – this includes a “child” who is a 17-year-old, has broken into your locked house, and found a loaded gun in your nightstand! There have been many cases where someone under 18 has used a firearm to save their life during a home invasion. That would get the parent a felony charge under this law.

Obviously, Northam’s little stunt served as some red meat for his supporters. But few probably thought the special session would adjourned moments after coming to order.

Here’s the AP’s full report: