WATCH: VA Republicans End 'Sideshow' on Gun Control Early - Dems Fume

Eric Schaffer | July 10, 2019
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After a mass shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal building in May, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) called for a special session to take place in the Virginia General Assembly to debate and vote upon new gun control legislation.

Going in, it was wholly obvious that opinions on the new spate of legislation would be divided upon party lines. Speaker of the House Kirk Cox said that Democrats were merely posturing for political gain: “The whole thing is just an election-year stunt,” Cox said

"All they were interested in is having a sideshow just on gun control, they weren't even interested in broadly arguing the whole issue. So we thought it would be much better to take the election politics out of it and send everything to the crime commission," Cox told radio station WMAL Wednesday.

Republicans, in a move which is currently in contention for "Troll of the Year," ended the special session a mere 90 minutes after it had started without voting on any of the proposed gun control legislation.

Needless to say, Virginia Democrats and protestors were not pleased, with one man shouting, “Gutless bastards!” from the House of Delegates gallery.

But of course, some Democrats think there must be some nefarious motive behind the early adjournment. Senate Minority Leader Richard L. Saslaw (D-Fairfax) said that the NRA is behind this, as they dictate how Virginia Republicans vote, not principles or anything:

“The Republicans in this state are totally controlled — I mean 100 percent controlled — by the National Rifle Association," said Saslaw.

Discussing why he aided in ending the session, as some Democrats are suggesting, prematurely, Speaker of the House Kirk Cox said that Democrats were merely posturing for political gain: “The whole thing is just an election-year stunt,” Cox said

As it stands, the Virginia General Assembly is to remain adjourned until November 18th. For now, Virginia Republicans have scored a political victory, but only time will tell if they can stay on top.
 

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