The Government Can Take Your Firearms with Red Flag Laws: Abigail Spanberger Made It Happen
Virginia's red flag laws allow the government to take away your Second Amendment rights without due process—and gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger (D) helped make it happen.
Former Virginia Representative and current gubernatorial hopeful Abigail Spanberger (D) has systematically undermined the Second Amendment rights of Virginia gun owners by advocating for Orwellian and unconstitutional red flag laws.
During her tenure as a Virginia Representative, she consistently supported red flag law legislation. As a U.S. Congressperson, Spanberger backed the Biden-endorsed Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2021—a law that required red flag laws in order to qualify for mental health funding. Officially known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), “red flag laws” empower civil courts to revoke the Second Amendment rights of any Virginian deemed a "risk," with no clear limit on how long those rights can be withheld.
“The problem with [red flag laws] is that you’re trying to predict the future, and you just can’t do that. We don’t live in a society where we punish people based on actions they may take at some unknown point in time, if ever,” said Adam Kraut, executive director of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), in an interview with Restoration News. “We live in a society where laws exist to do one of two things: either deter conduct or punish conduct after it occurs. That is it, plain and simple.”
In addition to supporting the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act while in Congress, which allocated $5.1 million to Virginia for red flag laws in 2021, Spanberger also voted for the Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2022, an adjacent bill of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, that further advanced restrictive gun policies nationwide by allocating $750 million for red flag laws.
As a result, 21 states and the District of Columbia received assistance from the Federal government in stripping citizens of their Second Amendment rights.
(RELATED: Abigail Spanberger Will Spell the End of Gun Rights for Virginians)
While the national tide on gun control has shifted, with many states rolling back restrictive firearm policies, Virginia remains a prime target for the gun control lobby. Spanberger’s track record includes volunteering for the anti-gun group Moms Demand Action and speaking at one of their rallies in January, where she called for further gun control measures.
Her congressional vote history tells the full story: Abigail Spanberger is no friend to Virginia gun owners.
If elected governor, Spanberger could usher in an administration that undermines the Second Amendment by emboldening red flag laws and advancing unconstitutional legislation previously blocked by current Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R).
Under her leadership, Virginia risks becoming yet another failed state that combines the worst of extremist California-style laws and Washington, DC establishment politics.
