For weeks now, the new Democrat majority in Richmond has been ramming through a host of gun control bills on a regular basis.
But some of the Democrat-backed attacks on Virginia gun owners are being supported by Republicans too.
And one such Republican even reported a massive $44,000 in-kind donation from the Democratic Party of Virginia last year.
For the first time since the 1990s, the Democratic Party has taken over complete control of Virginia’s government.
And the new Democrat majority is more to the left on several key political issues than any previous Democrat majority in history, including a flurry of new gun control legislation that is currently making its way through the General Assembly.
The result has been numerous new laws being passed, all of which are designed to restrict Second Amendment rights for millions of Virginians — including registration requirements, bans, licensing restrictions, expanded “gun free zones,” so-called “red flag laws” that strip citizens of their constitutional rights without due process, and more.
A clear majority of the Democrat leadership in Richmond openly campaigned on these bills, and it comes as no surprise to see them pushing them through in spite of spirited opposition from gun rights activists across the Commonwealth.
However, some Republicans in Richmond are now openly voting with Democrats to strip Second Amendment rights away from the general public.
Delegate Glenn Davis (R-84) represents a district in Virginia Beach, and has been in office for six years.
He’s amassed a substantial record of voting with Democrats on a host of issues, most notably Obamacare expansion in the 2018 session.
Prior to 2018, Davis was one of the only Republicans in the General Assembly to openly support the expansion, able to finally get his way after a wave of Democrats were elected to the legislature after the 2017 elections.
Davis ran for re-election in 2019, touting his record of voting with Democrats on key issues in order to paint himself as a moderate in his competitive district.
But Davis did one thing no other Republican in Virginia did.
He reported an in-kind donation from the Democratic Party of Virginia for $44,000 while campaigning for re-election.
After reporting the in-kind donation, Davis even boasted about it on social media.
Davis’ donation was also the second largest donation he received from any single group during the 2019 election cycle.
And since winning his race just over three months ago, Davis’ recent voting record in favor of multiple gun control bills in the House of Delegates has raised eyebrows, especially in light of his reporting a donation from the Democratic Party.
In particular, Davis has voted with Democrats to expand gun confiscation orders and establish a state-recognized day intended to demonize gun owners.
Overwhelming majorities of Republicans opposed both.
However, Davis hasn’t just voted for Democrat-based gun control bills; he’s even carried some of his own.
Davis also carried a bill this year that would make it harder for Virginians to get a concealed carry permit.
This bill was later killed by Democrats and then re-introduced by one of their own, with Democrat Senator John Bell of Loudoun County putting forward identical legislation to Davis’ original bill several weeks after Davis had filed his.
Bell’s bill, which he took directly from Davis’ legislation, passed the Virginia Senate by a 21-19 vote at the end of January and now awaits a vote in the House of Delegates.
As the General Assembly approaches its halfway point in the 2020 session, Davis’ anti-Second Amendment legislation is now giving Democrats even more ideas for targeting gun owners in Virginia.