On Monday, the NRA held a town hall in Virginia Beach, where a gunman shot and killed 12 people and wounded four more just over a month ago. Simultaneously, concerned community members gathered at a forum to discuss common-sense gun safety legislation that elected officials will consider next week. The special session ordered by Gov. Northam begins next week on Tuesday, July 9th.
As the Washington Post reported this morning, the two gatherings shed light on the deep divide between lawmakers influenced by the gun lobby and communities searching for solutions to devastating shootings in Virginia. The piece goes on:
“The issue has crystallized what’s at stake in elections this fall, when Republicans try to defend their razor-thin majorities and Democrats try to seize control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than two decades.”
The special session also comes amid an organizational crisis the likes of which the NRA itself has never endured before. Most recently, the group’s top lobbyist and heir apparent, Chris Cox, resigned, and at least two NRA board members and major donors have called for the NRA’s executive vice president Wayne LaPierre’s resignation. The recent revelations about the NRA have the “Trump campaign sweating,” according to a new Politico report.
Volunteers with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America will be at the statehouse Tuesday morning for the start of special session, urging lawmakers to support the proposed gun safety legislation, such as background checks, extreme risk protection orders and prohibitions on large capacity magazines and silencers.
If you’re interested in an interview with Moms Demand Action volunteers around the special session or would like more info on the NRA in crisis, please don’t hesitate to reach out.