Virginia – -(AmmoLand.com)- Two years ago, Second Amendment supporters suffered a serious reverse in the 2019 off-year elections in Virginia. We saw the gun-rationing scheme re-imposed by anti-Second Amendment extremists who took power.
In some ways, it showed some of our failures. We have failed to address the worries of those in the suburbs, opening fertile ground for Bloomberg to attack us. Second Amendment supporters also failed to deal with the attacks Andrew Cuomo started on our ability to make the case for our Second Amendment rights.
Now, given recent reporting, things look like they are making a 180. Glenn Youngkin, dirty tricks aside, looks to be headed for a win as governor, and the momentum could lead to seeing a pro-Second Amendment majority in the Virginia House of Delegates along with taking the lieutenant governorship and the attorney general.
Youngkin and a pro-Second Amendment House of Delegates – if elected – will stop the bleeding in terms of attacks on our rights. That is not a bad thing. Virginia’s state senate is not up for election until 2023, and the House of Delegates will be up for election as well, so Second Amendment supporters will have more work to do if they want to move the ball forward on passing pro-Second Amendment legislation.
Most important could be if Jason Miyares wins the attorney general election. This would be a potential game-changer, especially if there is legal action against some of the anti-Second Amendment legislation that has been passed. Perhaps Second Amendment supporters can use the “sue and settle” approach that
But Second Amendment supporters would be foolish to think that all of the problems with winning elections in states like Virginia have been solved with what looks to be a good night on November 2. The fact is, like the 2018 midterms, this election looks to have shifted on unrelated issues, mostly education. Second Amendment supporters, though, have a vested interest in keeping an eye on what goes on in schools. The fact is, this may be an opening to reach out to those same parents to make the schools safer, and it can even help reduce the effectiveness of the Bloomberg attacks.
The good news is that there are some trends that Second Amendment supporters can feel good about – but capitalizing on these trends will take a lot of work. In addition, how we come across will matter as well. Second Amendment supporters, though, need to work to defeat anti-Second Amendment extremists at the federal, state, and local levels via the ballot box as soon as possible.
About Harold Hutchison
Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.