Gov. Ralph Northam was declaring a state of emergency over threats of “armed militia groups storming our Capitol” ahead of a gun-rights rally next week

Northam said the state of emergency will be in place from Friday evening to Tuesday evening. The ban includes open and concealed firearms and other weapons like sticks, bats and chains, according to the emergency declaration order.

"Please know that we have been preparing extensively to protect public safety at Monday's rally, but no one wants another incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville in 2017," Northam said. "We will not allow that mayhem and violence to happen here."

The House Republican Leader affirmed that there are indeed credible threats from a few agitators, but says that this in no way reflects the busloads of Virginians coming to rally at the Capitol:

Statement of House Republican Leadership on Governor Northam's State of Emergency pic.twitter.com/KHeTCoX1TM

— VA House GOP (@vahousegop) January 15, 2020

The chairman of the Virginia GOP had a different take:

Republican Party of Virginia Chairman Jack Wilson condemned Northam’s declaration.

“Northam and the rest of the Virginia Democrats have made their session goal crystal clear: a disarmed, vulnerable, and subservient citizenry,” Wilson said in a statement.

I’m with the chairman here. It’s one thing to prepare for credible threats and all, but to declare a state of emergency over a 2nd amendment rally? C’mon. I understand the past history with Charlottesville, but a state of emergency just seems like an overreaction.

All of this is really because the Virginia legislature is passing new gun control measures that would limit how many guns someone can buy per month and it would force background checks on private sales. They are also passing a new red flag gun confiscation law which would no doubt be enforced liberally.

The NRA responded to all of this, as well as compliments the governor threw their way, with the following statement:

“If Virginia Gov. Northam sincerely respects the efforts of the NRA and its 5 million members, he can demonstrate that respect by not infringing our rights.” – Jason Ouimet, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action

— Stephen Gutowski (@StephenGutowski) January 16, 2020

I couldn’t agree more. If Northam really had respect for both the NRA and his citizenry, he’d refuse to sign any of these new gun control laws. But after beating the blackface/kkk scandal nad getting reelected, there’s zero chance he’s going to pass up the opportunity to make citizens of Virginia less safe.