Democratic lawmakers in Virginia picked vetoes by Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) Wednesday to try to override and push for gun control.
The move was made during a reconvened session of the Virginia House of Delegates, and Democrats took aim at vetoed bills ranging from prohibiting the possession of semiautomatic firearms to the banning of firearms on college campuses and hospitals, according to a report.
HB 1607 would prohibit the importation, sale, manufacturing, purchasing, or transferring of assault weapons, a term gun rights advocates have long pointed out has no real definition.
Youngkin vetoed the bill last month, but Del. Dan Helmer recited common Democratic rhetoric that these semiautomatic firearms are made for war.
“These firearms were designed for the battlefield, not for our streets,” said Helmer, a veteran. “They are too terrified of Donald Trump to act.”
Republican Del. Nick Freitas, a combat veteran and Green Beret, backed the veto of HB 1607, citing the Second Amendment.
“The only people in this room terrified of something are apparently our Democrat colleagues, of our own law-abiding citizens,” Freitas said. “The reason why we have the Second Amendment is not because the founders got back from an especially rigorous hunting trip. The reason why we have the Second Amendment is because our founders recognize that free citizens have to have the means to be able to provide for their own security.”
Another vetoed bill used by Democratic delegates as an opportunity to speak on increasing gun control was HB 1869.
Current law prohibits the possession of firearms for people convicted of or facing restraining orders pertaining to domestic violence related to spouses or people they share children with. HB 1869 would add “intimate” partners to the present code.
“Individuals convicted of felony assault and battery already automatically lose their firearm rights,” Youngkin said in a statement explaining his veto. “This proposal, however, aims to extend the prohibition of firearm possession for misdemeanors beyond existing restrictions for family and household members. It would now encompass a vaguely defined category of intimate partners without an objective standard.”
Two additional vetoes selected by Democratic lawmakers included HB 1876 and HB 1977, which would ban firearms on Virginia’s public college campuses and hospitals, respectively.
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Those bills fail to recognize the differences across the commonwealth and the right of Virginians to protect themselves, Youngkin said.
Youngkin vetoed all of the aforementioned proposed gun control measures on March 24, and all of the vetoes were sustained Wednesday.