Virginia’s Democratic Delegate Dan Helmer, who authored the Commonwealth’s ban on modern sporting rifles and standard-capacity magazines, is regretting his invitation to ask him anything at a recent Reddit townhall.
Virginians took him up on his offer. And, boy, did they have questions.
Delegate Helmer quixotically offered in his invitation to “ask me anything” with an explanation of his ill-fated gun grab, explaining his military service and four terms in elected office in Virginia. He explained, “That’s why I passed the long-awaited bill to ban assault weapons, protecting our communities and our loved ones,” adding, “I believe government should work for the people.”
Turns out, the people of Virginia are thinking he’s working for special interests and not for them.
The People Have Spoken
“The majority of people don’t want your version of gun control. Flat out banning types of commonly used firearms is way too overboard,” wrote Far-Lion-4439 in a post, adding, “Dan, with all due respect, why can’t we meet in the middle: Can we please focus more on keeping these firearms, you’re worried about, out of the hands of criminals and the mentally unwell and not just blankety [sic] banning them or the carry of them? We’re for common sense gun control but we aren’t for your version of ‘common sense’. Please stop trying to disarm law abiding gun owners. You’ll never have our vote with this extremist take. A lot of people from both political spectrums agree. Love everything else you’re doing. Stop trying to take away our freedom.”
That was among the more polite comments. That’s because Delegate Helmer sponsored Virginia’s HB 217, the House of Delegates bill that banned the sale of the most-popular selling centerfire rifle in America. NSSF estimates there are over 32 million in circulation. A recent study by Georgetown University’s William English estimates that figure might be much, much higher, at 40 million in the hands of law-abiding Americans.
Delegate Helmer’s bill, along with a Senate companion bill, were signed into law by Gov. Abigail Spanberger. That was met with immediate court challenges, including one funded by NSSF. Virginia’s law banning the sale of MSRs is now on hold, enjoined from being enforced by the state until the U.S. Supreme Court renders a decision in Viramontes v. Cook County, a challenge to similar state bans on MSRs. That decision is expected by June 2027. Virginia’s courts said nothing happens in the Commonwealth until that decision is issued. For all of Delegate Helmer’s gun ban bluster, he got nothing.
Gun Control $$$ vs. Right to Buy
So, Delegate Helmer’s vision of a disarmed Virginia ran into a legal buzzsaw, and worse, it stoked the ire of Virginians left wondering who really represents them in the Assembly.
“How much Bloomberg money did it take for you to agree to ignore the Virginia constitution?,” asked SunkEmuFlock.
That answer is $42,097 from antigun billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety gun control group. That’s just part of the $2.5 million he poured into Virginia in 2020, the year Delegate Helmer won his seat in the Assembly.
Virginia’s ban on selling MSRs and standard-capacity magazines, in the meantime, is shelved. That didn’t sideline Virginians, though. In the run up to the law’s effective date of July 1, NSSF-Adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figures for June closed out with a 241 percent increase in background checks, year-over-year. There were 123,699 background checks completed that month. That’s 87,482 more than June 2025, when 36,217 background checks for the sale of a firearm were completed. That’s not all. There were 468,778 background checks completed in the first six months in Virginia for a gun sale this year. That’s 224,178 more than were conducted in the state during the same six months in 2025. That’s a 91 percent increase, year-over-year.
The Gun Control Show Goes On
That doesn’t mean Delegate Helmer isn’t trying to squeeze all the gun control sentiment from his failed law that he can. He co-opted the momentum into a failed bid at partisan gerrymandering Virginia and carving out a congressional district that would have him sitting in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Delegate Helmer launched his third (you read that correctly) bid for a U.S. House seat after he steered his party’s carving up of the electorate to favor gun control Democrats in Virginia that would have tipped the scales from a current 6-5 Republican congressional split to a Democrat 10-1 delegation. Delegate Helmer ultimately abandoned his Washington, D.C., dreams when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of a state court ruling that blocked the redrawn congressional district maps. Delegate Helmer ultimately abandoned his Washington, D.C., dreams when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of a state court ruling that blocked the redrawn congressional district maps.
Delegate Helmer has heard from the people he represents in Richmond. The problem is that he’s not listening to what they’re saying.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
To hear or not to hear!
In other words: I hear you butt don’t care for what you say!
Gun control & the suicide scam and lies: Turning Loss Of Life Into a Fundraising Model
“Every year on ‘Firearm Suicide Prevention Day,’ anti-gun lobby groups roll out the same cropped infographic: 48,824 total suicides, 57% involving a firearm, and the claim that owning a gun ‘triples your risk.’
The numbers are real. The sermon is a con.
In this video, Paul breaks down what groups like Newtown Action Alliance won’t tell you. They bury the fact that total suicides dropped while method mixes shifted. They ignore the other 21,000 Americans who took their own lives without a gun. They overlook the alcohol, the untreated depression, and the crumbling support systems—because you can’t fundraise a gun ban off of broken homes, isolation, or the need for stronger fathers.
Your family’s ability to defend against violent crime tonight is not up for negotiation against a stranger’s crisis in another zip code. But if you actually want to save lives, the solution isn’t disarming law-abiding citizens—it’s being an active witness in your own home, spotting the warning signs early, and treating acute crises like an emergency without surrendering your rights.”
ht* tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejpIdOwY5xE
Context matters:
On September 9, 1776 the Continental Congress officially adopted the name ‘United States,’ rejecting the label of ‘United Colonies’ and thus solidifying the independence movement. The resolution to do such read:
“Resolved, That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered, for the future, to the ‘United States.’
—- Continental Congress officially adopted resolution September 9, 1776”
ht* tps://pjmedia.com/catherinesalgado/2026/09/09/america-250-congress-officially-adopts-united-states-of-america-n4957042
The voice of history speaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kztqNfjOp5A
Whores gotta whore.
I think Helmer is listening to his constituents. Note that his constituents are idiots too.
In the City of Richmond (distinct from surrounding Richmond County, which went Trump +30), the 2024 presidential vote split was:
Kamala Harris (D): ~82%
Donald Trump (R): ~16%
Others: ~2%
Total votes cast: approximately 108,143, with a turnout of 61%. Harris’s +66-point margin in the city was one of the widest in the state.
There is one question that should always be asked of these idiots. Can you point to any evidence anywhere in America that shows that gun control has ever reduced crime, ever ? Because it never has. All of the criminals retain their guns. Every single time. The gangbangers wander around the streets flashing their guns in public. All without consequence. Gun control has ever prevented or reduced violence anywhere in the world. Gun does have a well known record.
A record of turning citizens into subjects, a record of aiding tyrants in the subjugation and slaughter of millions around the world. Again, every single time.
Why are so many people willfully ignorant?
My favorite example for the “sensible gun control” fallacy actually involves auto insurance. I am required by law to carry a minimum level of liability coverage on my insurance. I am also required by law to carry a liability coverage for uninsured motorists. Why?
If everyone is required to have liability insurance, surely there would never be an instance where I was involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist. Yet, here we are. Because everybody knows that law abiding citizens will purchase the required minimum liability coverage. But the problem lies with people who simply ignore the law and put the rest of us at risk.
Law abiding citizens pose little to no risk of instigating gun violence. Those people who would start shooting are also likely to fit the uninsured motorist type. Surely, a well crafted sensible gun law will stop them… Right?