Gun Rights Groups Seek to Block Virginia Governor’s Emergency Declaration

Second Amendment advocates after a hearing where four gun control bills passed the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 13, 2020. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Gun rights advocacy organizations are going to court to put an end to the temporary state of emergency declared by Virginia’s governor ahead of a planned demonstration in the state’s Capitol Square.

The Jan. 15 executive order signed by Gov. Ralph Northam, who is a Democrat, prohibits “all weapons, including firearms, from Capitol grounds” in advance of a Jan. 20 rally for gun rights that is expected to draw “tens of thousands of advocates.”