A Virginia state senator called Second Amendment supporters “little kids” at a public meeting over the weekend as tensions between gun rights activists boil over in the state.
Sen. Dave Marsden, who supports Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, is an advocate of proposed gun control legislation and is part of the Democratic majority in the Virginia General Assembly. Instead of apologizing for the insensitive remarks, Marsden called Second Amendment supporters “mentally ill” in a letter he sent following a meeting with constituents.
Mornings on the Mall host Mary Walter read part of Marsden’s letter on-air and asked him to comment.
“Too many of your members and other 2A supporters appear to have mental health issues,” Walter quoted.
“A significant number of these things were indicative of very unstable people, and this is worrisome,” replied Marsden. “The responses I was getting were from people who showed signs of having mental health difficulties.”
After Democrats swept into power in both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly last November, gun rights supporters passed Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions in 75 of 96 Virginia counties to protect their rights to own and bear firearms in their localities. Gov. Ralph Northam has threatened to deploy the National Guard if local police refuse to abide by new laws passed in this year’s General Assembly session.
“The Second Amendment community is very, very concerned about us approaching the problem as a mental health problem, and this is just indicative of exactly what they’re talking about. There are a lot of people who have mental health issues that are engaged on the current issues, and that’s a concern to all of us,” stated Marsden.
Marsden supports red flag laws that allow courts the ability to seize guns from citizens temporarily if someone believes they are a danger to themselves or others.
“What people are upset with, and I can absolutely see their point of view, is that you have your guns removed from you, and then you have to go through the court process, spend money for a lawyer, to prove your innocence in order to get your rightfully owned guns back from the government,” said Walter. “It’s a guilty-before-innocent law.”
“This is in the hands of the courts, not the legislature or anyone else. We make these kinds of determinations all the time,” responded Marsden.
by Spencer Neale
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