By: Brenden Boudreau

In the wake of the “gun free zone” shooting in Virginia Beach last week, anti-gun Democrat Governor Ralph Northam is calling for a special session of the state legislature to pass gun control, and Republican legislative leadership already appears to be caving.

According to the Virginia Gazette, Republican Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment “said he expects the General Assembly to consider bills to limit the sales of extended magazines.”

Northam is also calling for universal gun registration and criminalizing the private transfer of firearms. Additionally, he’s calling for prohibiting firearms in even more public places, despite the fact that 98 percent of mass shootings since 1950 have happened in so-called “gun free zones.”

The fact that Republicans in the General Assembly are already looking to cut a deal is troubling news for pro-gun Virginians in a state that is changing demographically with the growth of political influence by Northern Virginia.

But Republicans looking to betray their constituents on gun control to appear “reasonable” on the issue to the media and potential voters do so at a high risk.

With their majorities being a slim as they are in Richmond, they can ill afford to alienate a sizable portion of their base with the general elections quickly approach this fall.

As was witnessed during the 2018 election cycle nationwide, Republicans who were soft on gun rights faired much worse than Republicans who stuck to their guns and supported the right to keep and bear arms.

In the weeks ahead, the National Association for Gun Rights will be mobilizing the grassroots to help turn back the coming gun control tidal wave forming in Richmond.

Right now, pro-gun Virginians need to start holding their elected officials’ feet to the fire so they know any compromise on the Second Amendment will come with a high political cost.

Brenden Boudreau is the Director of Field Operations for the National Association for Gun Rights, writing from Michigan. Contact him at [email protected]. Disclosure: In addition to his work with the National Association for Gun Rights, the author is also Executive Director of Great Lakes Gun Rights.