Virginia Democrats fought to curb the gun control revolt Monday by requiring equal protesters for each when hearings began.

This meant even if thousands of advocates for one side showed up, only 30 would be allowed in if only 30 advocates for the other side were present.

Virginia Pilot reporter Marie Albiges reported, “Police told me the room is split so that each side gets the same number of people to talk/observe the meeting, a directive from the New Democratic majority.”

The Washington Free Beacon reported “thousands” of NRA members did show up, but the Virginia Shooting Sports Association notes members of Michael Bloomberg-funded Moms Demand Action were escorted past them to keep numbers equal:

New rules put in place by committee majority. A lot of pro gun people who had waited in line since 7:00am were not happy to have people in "Mom's Demand" t-shirts escorted in ahead of them. — Virginia Shooting Sports Association (@VSSA) January 13, 2020

The massive turnout of NRA members still had a strong impact, as Democrat lawmakers withdrew a bill that would have centered on the confiscation of AR-15s and similar guns.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.