I love Virginia. I love its mountains, its farms, its small towns and the hunting traditions that have been passed from one generation to the next. I also happen to be a gun owner.
Those two things are not contradictory. In my experience, they go hand in hand because both reflect a culture that values personal responsibility, self-reliance, and individual liberty.
When Virginia’s lawmakers debated new restrictions on lawful firearm ownership, supporters believed they were taking meaningful steps to reduce “gun violence.” Many of us who own firearms believed something else would happen. We believed thousands of otherwise hesitant Virginians would decide it was time to exercise a constitutional right before it became more difficult to do so.
Gun stores filled up. Background checks surged. First-time buyers became gun owners and longtime shooters decided now was the time for a new one. FBI background check data, widely used as the best available indicator of gun sales, showed just how dramatic the response was.
Virginia’s background checks climbed roughly 70 percent in March compared with the previous year, nearly 80 percent in April, more than doubled in May. This June’s volume exceeded three times the previous June’s total as the July 1 deadline approached. While background checks aren’t the same as firearm sales, the trend is unmistakable. Thousands of Virginians decided they would rather lawfully exercise a constitutional right today than wonder whether they still could tomorrow.
Whether someone supported the legislation or opposed it, the outcome should give all of us something to think about. An effort intended to discourage lawful gun ownership encouraged many Virginians — including lots of first-timers — to go out and buy one instead. Often many times over.
I don’t think that was the result the anti-gunners were aiming for (pun intended).
When government signals that it wants to restrict a constitutional right, people often become more determined to exercise it. There’s nothing that makes an American want something more than the government telling him he can’t have it. My state became just the latest example, and to be clear I’m damned proud to be a Virginian because of it. Sic semper tyrannis indeed.
Thousands of law-abiding citizens jumped through the hoops. They completed the paperwork, passed the background checks and legally purchased firearms. They followed every law the Commonwealth put up to discourage them required.
That matters because we weren’t criminals exploiting loopholes. We were citizens willingly participating in a legal process. Too often, the public debate blurs the line between violent criminals and responsible gun owners, even though they have very little in common.
The Virginia gun owners I know are veterans, law enforcement officers, teachers, nurses, mechanics, farmers, pastors, small business owners and parents. We hunt because we love the outdoors. We shoot competitively because we enjoy mastering a skill. Some of us carry a firearm because we believe protecting our families is one of life’s most important responsibilities. What we share isn’t fear or anger. We share a commitment to doing things the right way.
As a Virginian and a gun owner, I don’t celebrate the increased firearm sales because I believe more guns automatically make us safer. I see something different. I see thousands of citizens choosing to exercise a constitutional right through the legal process. More importantly, I see no reason to believe law-abiding Virginians suddenly became the source of the violent crime that concerns us all.
We exercised our Second Amendment rights legally, just as the Constitution intended. Rights remain meaningful only when responsible people are willing to exercise them. That also means accepting the responsibility that comes with those rights.
If we ask our fellow Virginians to trust us with our freedoms, we should earn that trust every day. We should pursue quality training, practice safe storage, mentor new shooters, hunt ethically, and conduct ourselves in a way that reflects well on every responsible gun owner in the Commonwealth.
I also want to extend an olive branch to the Virginians who supported stricter gun laws.
I don’t believe most of you dislike gun owners, nor do I believe you wake up looking for ways to take away anyone’s freedoms. I believe many of you are responding to the same heartbreaking tragedies that affect all of us. When children are murdered, when families lose loved ones, or when violence tears apart a community, my heart breaks just as yours does. We may disagree about the solutions, but I don’t believe we disagree about the value of human life.
If your goal is to reduce violent crime, then it is my goal, too.
Let’s work together where we can. Let’s improve access to mental health care. Let us support law enforcement as they target violent repeat offenders. Let’s invest in mentoring young people before gangs and violence recruit them. Let’s encourage every gun owner to seek training, practice safe handling, and store firearms responsibly.
At the same time, I ask that those who advocate for additional restrictions recognize something that Virginia has demonstrated so clearly. Law-abiding citizens value this constitutional right deeply. When many believed that right might become more difficult to exercise, they exercised it through the legal process. They did exactly what responsible citizens are supposed to do.
The overwhelming majority of those new gun owners aren’t the source of the violence that concerns us all. They’re your neighbors, your coworkers, your fellow church members, and the parents sitting beside you at Friday night football games. They’re not the people terrorizing neighborhoods or preying on innocent victims. They’re ordinary Virginians exercising a constitutional freedom responsibly.
To my fellow Virginia gun owners, I have a simple challenge. Don’t let this moment end with the purchase of a (first or another) firearm. Let it begin there. Invite a curious neighbor to the range. Teach a first-time shooter with patience and humility. Be the safest person on the firing line and the most ethical hunter in the woods. Listen before you argue. Answer honest questions with respect instead of frustration.
The Second Amendment does not simply need defenders. It needs ambassadors.
If we truly believe this right matters, then let us become the kind of people who make that case without raising our voices. Let our character speak louder than our politics. Let our conduct make it impossible to confuse responsible gun owners with violent criminals.
Virginia’s recent experience should teach us more than a lesson about firearm sales. It should remind us that constitutional rights matter to millions of ordinary citizens. It should also remind us that every right carries a responsibility to strengthen the community around us.
The best argument for the Second Amendment will never be made in Richmond or Washington. It will be made every day by responsible Virginians who live with humility, integrity and respect for both their neighbors and the Constitution they cherish.