Rural turnout in VA is higher than 2017 and running 10-15 points more conservative. Lotta factors, but the 2A Sanctuary movement that swept the state in the wake of the 2019 elections energized and woke up a lot of people who typically stay home on Election Day. #VaElections2021
Left is Cumberland County in 2017, right is Cumberland County in 2021.
Dickenson County in the western part of the state. Left is 2017, right is 2021.
In 2017, Ed Gillespie won Nelson County by a whopping four votes. In 2021 @GlennYoungkin won it by 12 points. #VaElections2021
@GlennYoungkin One more. Prince Edward County. Home to beautiful and bucolic Farmville. Went for Northam 51-48 in 2017.
Tonight Youngkin won it 54.5-45, with increased turnout too.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
The biggest problem with David Chipman's appearance on Chinese state-run media immediately after Sandy Hook is what he said, not where he said it. bearingarms.com/camedwards/202…
During his interview, Chipman repeatedly said that the death of school children didn't have to be "meaningless," as long as there was gun control legislation enacted as a result. 2/
Now, it could be that Chipman was just a craven gun control lobbyist willing to exploit the deaths of school children because that's what he was paid to do, but I suspect that Chipman is, in fact, a true believer with an almost spiritual faith in the idea of gun control. 3/
The DOJ's new proposed rule on pistol braces and AR-style pistols has been released, along with model "red flag" legislation. A brief thread with some initial impressions. #2A#guncontrol
First, while the DOJ says its trying to offer clear guidance for the gun industry, their "solution" is a new worksheet/checklist that offers up a lot of subjective language rather than a standard, easy-to-follow definition. 2/
However, the DOJ *does* try to redefine "rifle" under both the Gun Control Act and National Firearms Act with one very vague and fuzzy sentence. 3/
There are 20-million modern sporting rifles in private hands, yet 2x as many Americans are murdered each year by someone using their fists or feet than a rifle of any kind.
Trying to ban and arrest our way to safety a) doesn’t work and b) violates our civil rights.
I realize some people don’t give a shit about 2), but we should all care about the first part, particularly when we know strategies that are far more effective at reducing violent crime without any new gun control laws.
As for the “this is how we did it in the Marines” argument, we don’t live on a nationwide military base. Civilians simply have more freedom than active duty soldiers, including freedom of speech and the right to keep & bear arms. We can talk about expanding rights of soldiers...
I don't think these red flag bills are coming from a place of "let's take all your guns". I understand the point they're trying to address: to stop the most dangerous people from hurting themselves or others.
But this bill doesn't do that, @marcorubio. Here's why. 1/
@marcorubio A lot of the requirements that you have in place for due process protections are great. But there's no requirement that the person deemed to be a danger to themselves or others receives any mental health treatment whatsoever. 2/
@marcorubio In fact, wouldn't it be better if there was a requirement that the initial determination that you were a danger came from a doctor who actually examined you, instead of a judge in a courtroom in a hearing you most likely aren't even allowed to attend? 3/
Three years ago today Miss E went to the ER in Farmville worried she was having a heart attack. She wasn’t, but the chest X-Ray showed something weird in one of her lungs. “Probably pneumonia,” they said, and sent her home with antibiotics. 1/
A couple of weeks went by and she went back for another look at her lungs. Nothing had changed. That’s when we started to get a little concerned. They scheduled her for a biopsy. Meanwhile, life went on. We got a puppy. My car caught fire. And we waited for the procedure. 2/
When the biopsy results came back inconclusive, we were both a little relieved. We still didn’t know what was wrong yet, but whatever it was, it wasn’t something easy to detect, like cancer. We joked about bringing in Dr. House for a consultation. 3/