Virginia’s Ballot This November: Safety or Extremism?
Our gun violence prevention work at Brady is backed by evidence showing that creating a gun safety culture will save lives. But even as we partner with Americans, gun owning and non-gun owning alike, to create that gun safety culture, some elected leaders undermine it. In particular, elected leaders who do not speak out against gun violence, like the horrific assassinations of Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, compromise our work. And if that isn’t harmful enough, some elected officials feed division and violence by engaging in dangerous rhetoric themselves.
Consider, for example, Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears’ recent comments at a clergy luncheon in Suffolk, VA, following the Minnesota shootings.
Earle-Sears’ remarks were recorded by others in the room, who were shocked by her threats to use “huge firepower,” “grenades,” and “flak jackets” against the “enemy,” which she described as “our fellow citizens.”
These remarks are part of a concerted and deliberate pattern on the Lieutenant Governor’s part to put the gun industry before the people she is sworn to represent. Earle-Sears campaigned in 2021 while openly clutching an assault-style rifle. After the Uvalde mass shooting that took the lives of 19 fourth graders and two teachers via an assault weapon, she spoke at the NRA convention and blamed “fatherless homes” and lack of school prayer as the origin of the massacre that shocked even tenured medical professionals for its horrendous damage to human bodies. Following a 2023 shooting in Richmond, Sears commandeered a presser to blame “gangs” even before details of the shooting were confirmed, spreading misinformation and compounding pain for the impacted Richmond community.
It’s quite simple: Earle-Sears wants to invoke the imagery and rhetoric of a “guns everywhere” Virginia while taking no responsibility when unfettered access to guns leads to deadly outcomes. Stoking the flames of extremist rhetoric and not acknowledging the role of easy access to firearms is part of what fuels gun violence in our country, and she is quick to take her gun industry talking points to the most extreme place possible without care or concern for the consequences.
Elected officials have an obligation to acknowledge the fact that easy access to firearms is a primary contributing factor to gun violence across the country. Given the increasing rise of violence with firearms against elected officials, those seeking elected office should seek common ground and enhanced public safety instead of political intimidation and threats. The Second Amendment is not a license to incite violence.
Virginia, my home, has sadly faced the devastating human toll of gun violence. We have seen heartbreak in our schools, communities, places of worship, and beyond — like Virginia Tech, Virginia Beach, and in cities across the Commonwealth. Brady and our grassroots chapters worked tirelessly in response to these tragic incidents with lawmakers to pass meaningful gun safety legislation, measures like universal background checks and extreme risk protection orders, which are designed to save lives.
Yet, time and again, these efforts are met with deep-seated opposition, often cloaked in extreme and distorted interpretations of the Second Amendment. Earle-Sears and Gov. Glenn Youngkin have vetoed virtually every gun safety bill put before them, like HB 2064, a bill requiring firearms dealers to provide locking devices when selling or transferring firearms, or HB 1869, preventing individuals convicted of assault and battery against an intimate partner from accessing firearms.
In campaigns across this country, we have politicians like Earle-Sears who vow to reject common-sense, proven solutions that protect the lives of our most vulnerable citizens. That will not result in a better, safer, or more free America.
But this is not just about policy disagreements. This is about the fundamental health of our democracy. This is about the brutal reality of what happens when political disagreements become “justification” for bloodshed. When political leaders speak in terms that hint at or justify violence, they fuel it. They embolden extremists and create a climate where violence becomes increasingly likely. We saw the tragic consequences of violent rhetoric on January 6, 2021. We see it in the rising threats against election workers and public health officials, just to name a few. We saw it in Minnesota.
The upcoming gubernatorial election in Virginia presents a choice. Voters must consider where candidates stand not only on gun policy, but also on their respect for the democratic process. Are candidates committed to protecting all Virginians from gun violence, or are they and Earle-Sears willing to sacrifice public safety for extreme ideology?
At Brady, we believe that leadership means upholding the rule of law and working exhaustively to protect every person from gun violence. It does not mean using divisive rhetoric that could lead to bloodshed. I urge all Virginians to consider these concerns as they head to the polls. The stakes for public safety and for the future of our democracy could not be higher.
We can and we MUST demand more from our leaders.
What Can You Do at This Moment?
I urge my fellow Virginians to learn more about gun violence prevention leaders like Abigail Spanberger, who is running against Earle-Sears for Governor of Virginia. You can also call your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators and ask them what they are doing to lower the temperature in our political climate and to prevent gun violence in Virginia and across the country. You can peacefully demonstrate in your community for leadership that will fight for safer communities and a free and democratic form of government. Encourage your friends and neighbors to register to vote and then turn out for and/or support candidates who will create the change we need.
As Ben Franklin said, it’s “a republic, if [we] can keep it”. The responsibility to keep it, safe and democratic, rests with all of us.