The Liberal Gun Club in Virginia

As folks may know, the Virginia Legislature is planning on some new measures, some of which appear to be poorly thought out, and that’s causing some waves in the “2nd Amendment Community.” Sanctuary cities, National Guard deployments, some really dire rhetoric from “both sides.”

Our Virginia chapter saw this coming and has been preparing our ground game, even before these dire pronouncements. We have been planning to at least get some of the same face time our Oregon chapter managed last year.

To that end, we’ve begun reaching out directly to lawmakers. Rallies are great, but direct action and dialog is also needed. These things go hand in hand.

We believe that by demonstrating that we are real citizens, with normal lives who happen to value constitutional protections is key. We believe that by providing alternatives to accomplish the stated goals of these lawmakers, to reduce violence and death, rather than just saying “shall not be infringed” loudly, will either put lie to their stated intent, or show them there are alternatives that might actually accomplish those goals.

The Honorable Donald McEachin

110 North Robinson Street

Suite 403

Richmond, VA 23220

Dear Representative McEachin, As members of The Liberal Gun Club, a grassroots organization focused on supporting left of center gun owners across America, we would like to meet with you regarding your comments about the enforcement of proposed gun laws in Virginia. According to the Washington Examiner, on December 11, you made the following comments: “And ultimately, I’m not the governor, but the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law. That’s his call, because I don’t know how serious these counties are and how severe the violations of law will be. But that’s obviously an option he has.” In the current political climate, this kind of statement is not helpful to the constructive conversation about laws related to firearms ownership. What it shows is that so-called “common sense gun reform” was never about reasonable gun laws but about the government trying to find a reason to confiscate personal property, protected by the 2nd and 4th Amendments, without any compensation. While your comment does not specifically state this, it is implied. Just as we condemn the incendiary tweets and remarks made by the President. we reject this kind of inflammatory language that is only intended to divide Virginians into “us” and “them”. We are an organization of liberals and moderates who own firearms and want to participate in the national discussion of gun rights, firearms safety promotion, and the shooting sports, free from extremist political rhetoric. We are proud that we welcome non-stereotypical firearms owners and provide a venue for fellowship, training and conversation in an affirming and inclusive environment. We support projects like Walk The Talk America (https://walkthetalkamerica.org/), a grassroots mental health education and outreach program, believe the best program of treatment for street level interpersonal violence is seen in Ceasefire and Cure Violence, and know that holistically dealing with domestic violence are approaches

that dramatically reduce societal violence. Will you join us in a conversation about protecting basic and fundamental rights while designing and implementing evidence based interventions that attack the root causes of violence in society? We would like to sit down with you and discuss our concerns. Thank you for your time,

VA/MD/DC Chapter, The Liberal Gun Club

We have more in common with some of these folks than not. Its time to show them. We urge Mr. McEachin and his colleagues, and Governor Northam, to accept our invitation to discuss real, evidence based approaches to violence prevention. That’s the goal, right? To save lives?

Lets find some real solutions.

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