On the eve of the anniversary of a mass shooting at Virginia Tech, a gun violence prevention organization is expressing outrage that Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin hasn’t passed measures designed to protect students.
The Virginia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots network, released a statement ahead of the 18-year mark where 32 people were shot and killed and 17 others were wounded.
Two semi-automatic pistols, one of which was a Glock equipped with a high-capacity magazine, were used in the shooting on the Blacksburg campus.
For two years in a row, Virginia lawmakers passed measures that would prohibit high-capacity magazines and prohibit the carry of firearms on college campuses.
Youngkin has vetoed these measures both years.
“It was a cold, crisp, April morning 18 years ago when our community was shattered, the safety and security of our world torn to shreds and our campus left wounded and bleeding,” said Caitlin Czeh, a volunteer with the Virginia chapter of Moms Demand Action and a survivor of the mass shooting at Virginia Tech. “Lax gun laws with loopholes big enough to jump through, and cracks in a broken system, allowed for someone to access firearms who never should have been able to, and our communities will forever be changed.
“While we can’t bring back the people who we lost, we can honor them and their memory, through action and service for a safer Virginia.”
An incoming freshman at Virginia Tech, Zoë Flynn, doesn’t feel safe as long as semi-automatic guns are on the streets.
“As a student in Virginia, no amount of lockdown drills or campus security could ever make me feel safe enough when semi-automatic guns can still end up in the wrong hands,” said Flynn, a volunteer leader with the Alexandria Community Students Demand Action chapter. “We continue to advocate for stronger gun safety laws in honor of the students and teachers who were killed in the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, and for every survivor of gun violence since then.
“It’s not enough for us to just honor them with thoughts and prayers, we need to honor them with action.”
Gun violence survivors and gun safety advocates with the Virginia chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action will support a gun-sense candidate hoping the legislation will be signed by the next governor of Virginia.
On April 10, Everytown for Gun Safety endorsed Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger for Virginia governor in November’s upcoming election. Spanberger is a former Moms Demand Action volunteer and first woman to be elected to represent Virginia’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Everytown will spend $1 million in TV and digital ads, grassroots organizing and direct voter contact.
“As a former CIA officer and federal law enforcement officer who was also a Moms Demand Action volunteer, Abigail Spanberger understands that common-sense laws to keep guns out of dangerous hands are crucial to ensuring public safety,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.
“As the next governor of Virginia, I will sign legislation into law to help keep Virginia families safe from gun violence — not veto commonsense proposals for progress,” said Spanberger. “I’m grateful to Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for their commitment to bringing Virginians together to build stronger, safer communities — and I’m grateful for their strong support as I work to serve Virginians as their next governor.”
Spanberger will face current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in the November election.
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Crystal Graham
