In the wake of last Friday's massacre at the Virginia Beach Municipal Building that left 12 dead, embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph "Blackface or Klan" Northam announced he's calling a special session of the legislature to pass more gun control laws.
"The nation is watching," Northam said at a new conference. "We must do more than give our thoughts and prayers. We must give Virginians the action they deserve."
Northam said he would seek universal background checks, bans on assault weapons and suppressors, extreme risk protective orders, child access prevention and other restrictions.
It's important to note that there is no indication that any of these proposed laws would have stopped last Friday's attack.
- The attacker used two .45 caliber handguns, not a so-called "assault weapon."
- The attacker legally purchased the handguns, and passed the background check necessary to do so.
- Suppressors have nothing to do with the lethality of the weapons they are attached to, and it is unclear whether or not the suppressor used last week was legally obtained.
- Child access prevention is a non sequitur if your concern is passing laws to stop what happened last Friday.
- Extreme risk protective orders, also known as red flag laws, would also have been superfluous in this situation. Not a single one of the shooter's co-workers, family or anyone else contacted by the media or police have said they saw something like this coming.
After mass shootings like this, there are often calls for government officials to "do something." Many are eager to comply, but face the same problem Northam faces: Absent draconian gun confiscation or the like, nothing they are advocating would have actually stopped the event.
Democratic Presidential hopeful Cory Booker was on Jake Tapper's show on CNN when he was asked the specific question many 2nd Amendment defenders commonly ask: Which one of your specific gun control proposals would've prevented the Virginia Beach massacre?
After much bluster and an over-reliance on talking points, viewers got their answer: None.
