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Things heating up in Virginia
"Second Amendment sanctuary" resolutions have been adopted by 75 of Virginia's 95 counties, and and the anti-gun politicians are reacting. Proposals range from prosecuting sheriffs for violating their oaths of office (laughable) to sending in the National Guard (what could they do, even if they wanted to?).
Further proof that this is not about fighting crime -- it's a front in the culture-war, and those on the other side have now lost their minds.
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Isn't the threat of using a select militia, like the national guard, to disarm the people one of the main reasons that our founders wisely included the second amendment?
A lot of the Va NG members are from the sanctuary counties. They may just do an about face and side with the citizens.
Virginia's AG---the General to whom all Guardsmen in the State report, and who is appointed by the Governor---is trying to get ahead of this story with letter to all Guardsmen.
It's serious, for several reasons, if TAG has to do this.
He senses that there will be legal issues. His JAG would have told him to not comment otherwise.
His Guardsmen are asking questions about what they'll be expected to do.
Press might be asking questions about how his forces, reporting ultimately to him, would be used.
If the Va Gov calls out the State NG to enforce State anti-gun laws, or to "arrest" elected sheriffs for not enforcing them, could the President then federalize the NG and order them home, or even to enforce Federal Civil Rights laws (i.e. 2nd Amend, 14th Amend, Heller, etc), as Pres. Eisenhower did in Arkansas in the 1950s over school discrimination?
I'm not lawyer, just wondering.
Constitutionally, the Sheriff would be morally, ethically, lawfully correct to tell the Governor to go @$*#& and %##@%^ %@^$# and die.
I would like to see the sparks fly when the Guvna decides to test a Sheriff's resolve.
Shades of The Fugitive Slave Act.
What's the point of having power when you can't bend the people to your will.
The short answer is yes, the president could federalize the VA National Guard to prevent it from being used to seize guns.
And in fact, that's really the only winning move for everybody if the governor decides to use them. It's a win for the governor, because he can claim he tried. It's a win for the gun owners because they don't have to face a potential shooting war, same with the National Guard with the added benefit that they don't have to choose sides. Win for the president who needs to burnish his pro-gun bona fides for the election after the bump stock and silencer fiascos.
...Well reasoned . I wonder if The City can be sued ? Sue the pants off them, I say. But, it's San Francisco. Their pants are already down and gone.