Virginia Democrats have sent a sweeping gun-control package to hard-left Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk this past week.  The assault weapons ban was introduced in January at the very start of the expanded Democratic majority's rule in Richmond and is considered one of the most divisive issues facing Virginia residents as leftists seek to assert dominance over the state.

The firearms ban drafted by Sen. Saddam Salim (an immigrant from Bangledesh) would ban a wide range of firearms and features, including semi-automatic center-fire pistols with magazines exceeding 15 rounds, rifles with detachable magazines and weapons with certain characteristics such as collapsible or thumbhole stocks and threaded barrels.  

Salim asserts that there are "so many assault weapons in circulation" and that his bill will "gradually" take them off the street, but stop short of retroactively criminalizing possession of any of the slew of newly-categorized "assault weapons." 

As we have seen in progressive controlled countries like Canada and Australia this past year, though, the leftist strategy is always to ban new guns first, then move to confiscation later.  It's a primary reason why Democrats in the US can never be allowed to take majority power in the US again.   

The Virginia legislation is considered one of the worst attacks on the 2nd Amendment in recent memory by gun control advocates, and has triggered a series of pro-2A protests at the state capitol.  

In the wake of this attempt to disarm law abiding Virginia citizens, a former Army National Guard member (Mohamed Bailor Jalloh) who had spent eight years in prison for attempting to aid the Islamic State, opened fire on a classroom at Virginia's Old Dominion University last week.  The terrorist screamed "Allahu Akbar", shooting one person and wounding two others before ROTC students subdued him and, reportedly, stabbed him with a knife and beat him to death with their bare hands.  

The incident was just one example of multiple Islamic attacks that were thwarted by regular citizens in the past two weeks.  Rather than praising the actions of the ROTC students as a shining example of American bad-assery, Virginia Democrats have decided to use the event as a rationale to push forward their gun ban.  They claim that the students successful unarmed self defense is proof that civilians don't actually need guns to protect themselves from mass shooters.

It's hard to wrap one's mind around the insanity of this argument.  Obviously, those students would have preferred to have firearms on hand to defend themselves, rather than just a knife or their mitts.  And, it is likely that had they been armed, the attacker would not have had the opportunity to shoot three people.  Furthermore, not all mass shootings occur in close quarters where victims have the option of engaging hand-to-hand.   

The attack itself was clearly designed to send a message that America's young military trainees are not safe at home, but only because they are stuck on campuses where concealed carry is prohibited.  The need for an armed citizenry has never been more apparent, given the number of left-wing and Islamic inspired terror attacks in the past couple years.  But Democrats are not truly concerned about public safety. 

Virginia's new left-wing state government has, for some reason, made firearms bans their first and most important legislative goal.  This is taking place at a time when gun restrictions are in retreat due to growing court challenges across the US.  One has to wonder if Virginia Democrats are disappointed that Mohamed Bailor Jalloh was killed before he could shoot more people.   

Now they have to try and make lemonade from lemons by spinning the heroic actions of Virginia students against an active shooter into a "we told you so" moment for gun control.