Earlier this week, we reported you how Congressman McEachin said that Virginia officials could call out the National Guard to enforce new gun control.
Since his inflammatory comments, hundreds of gun owners in Virginia have burnt up the phone lines and email boxes of high ranking officials at the Virginia National Guard.
It didn’t help when—instead of cooling things off–Governor Northam replied to the outrage by essentially saying, “I’m not saying I will, but I’m not saying I won’t” in reference to calling out the National Guard against gun owners and sheriffs.
Northam’s actual statement was, “If we have constitutional laws on the books and law enforcement officers are not enforcing those laws on the books, then there are going to be some consequences but I’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it.”
Buddy, you’re on that bridge and it’s burning down around you.
A Response Is Warranted
This hubbub has prompted a response from the Virginia National Guard. You can read the full text below. Just be forewarned: they don’t tell the Governor or McEachin to jump off a cliff, which would be the most satisfying and appropriate response.
Maj. Gen. Timothy P Williams, the Adjutant General of Virginia issued this statement in response to the many calls and emails they received:
“We have received multiple questions regarding proposed legislation for the 2020 General Assembly session and the authority of the Governor of Virginia to employ the Virginia National Guard in a law enforcement role. Please make sure you share this message with your all of your personnel.
We understand and respect the passion people feel for the U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment rights. We will not speculate about the possible use of the Virginia National Guard. I encourage everyone to be patient while we allow our elected officials to work through the legislative process.
We have not received any requests from the Governor, or anyone on his staff, about serving in a law enforcement role related to any proposed legislation.
I expect our Soldiers, Airmen and members of the Virginia Defense Force to be professional and respectful in their discussions about this subject. As private citizens, our personnel are free to express their opinions to their elected officials, but they should not engage in any political activity while in a uniformed status.
We will provide regular updates when appropriate during the General Assembly session. Please utilize your chain of command to direct any questions or concerns to my office, and we will do our best to address them.”
How To Play Peacemaker
Essentially, this guy is playing the middle ground. He doesn’t have orders, plans, or an obvious bias against gun owners. On the other hand, what guy is going to stand up and say, “If the time comes, I’ll tell my boss to screw himself” until he absolutely must?
Not many.
We think he should, of course. But it looks like the National Guard is waiting and hoping that the legislative process works this out before they have to make that call. We like to imagine that there are more than a few members of Virginia’s National Guard who would have a hard time obeying an unlawful command to disarm their fellow citizens.
Strange things are happening, folks, and we haven’t seen the last of them.