My husband, Stephen, left for Richmond this afternoon. Armed with only his new St. Tikhon’s Seminary prayer book, his prayer rope, a recent confession with our priest, and the Eucharist from Diving Liturgy this morning, he’s ready to attend Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) Lobby Day tomorrow.
Even though he has a North Carolina conceal-carry permit, Stephen decided not to take a weapon to Virginia, not even for the drive up. There is reciprocity between the two neighboring states, but he doesn’t want to give anyone the impression that he’s a trouble-maker. He’s just a normal guy going to take a stand for his rights and to symbolically fight for his family and his children’s future.
It’s all about optics these days. And Stephen is under no illusions about the well-funded and well-protected beast he’s up against. He knows the narrative is usually whatever the state and their apparatchiks want it to be.
VCDL members and other law-abiding rally attendees are already being painted as “gun extremists … [who] will descend on the Virginia General Assembly, hoping to intimidate lawmakers into rejecting the democratic will of the people.” In case you didn’t hear that, “right-wing gun fanatics [will] descend on Richmond.” Like locusts, law-abiding gun owners are the hungry instigators, you see, just devouring the benevolent, well-intentioned work of selfless public servants who simply want to lead and protect the people. Don’t fall prey to conservative hate.
The narrative of the blood-thirsty brutes rabble-rousing their way into the otherwise peaceful city of Richmond has been engineered by Gov. Ralph Northam, who already declared a temporary State of Emergency. This is the exact same thing that then-VA-governer Terry McAuliffe did before the lawful Unite the Right rally, and we know how that turned out.
In fact, Northam name-drops “Charlottesville” because he knows darn well the political power it wields him, hushing critics and empowering leftist foot soldiers, both on the streets and in the newsrooms. The state, the corporate media, the police, and progressive lawyers have done a bang-up job of creating the mythos that “white supremacists” descended upon the otherwise happy city. They were just minding their business and, poof!, “neo-Nazis” were taking over and trying to ruin their quaint Blue Ridge utopia. These domestic terrorists only hate us for our freedoms, you know.
And to further poke his finger in the collective eye of legal gun-owners, Northam’s executive order also includes a ban of all weapons in Capitol Square because … Charlottesville. And since the “deadly 2017 white nationalist rally … involved heavily armed protesters,” writes NBC, “Northam’s declaration will also ban items like helmets and shields … [which] some white nationalists carried.”
Yeah, it was those very shields that protected my good friend Carolina Contrarian and her stay-at-home-mom companion as they made their way through the cop-less and barbaric “gauntlet” set up in Charlottesville. But, but Nazis! Protect your women and hide your children! Huh, turns out it was those devilish “white supremacists” who were the ones protecting the ladies. Yet, the narrative rolls on despite the facts.
Northam cites “threats of armed militia storming our Capitol” and “extremist rhetoric similar to what has been seen before in … [wait for it] … Charlottesville.” See, the man’s just keeping us safe. Northam says that “out-of-state militia groups and hate groups … are coming to intimidate and to cause harm.” Bad guys are aiming for you, but this time, they have guns.
Conveniently, the FBI just happened to nab some “neo-Nazis” who they claim were planning to descend upon Richmond and wreak havoc. And we’re supposed to believe this, why? Because a corrupt federal police force that considers sharing “racist views” and having “disdain” for protected minority groups a crime, and the liars at the New York Times tell us so?
Or because elitists pedal the propaganda of the Counter Extremism Project, which is akin to an international version of the subversive Southern Poverty Law Center, constantly calling a “hate group” any organization that opposes globalism and multiculturalism, and a “hater” any person who stands for decentralization and tradition. As far as I can surmise, these supposed “neo-Nazis” broke no laws, other than not worshiping at the altar of cultural Marxism. If you don’t believe that’s a thing, just ask James Fields.
It is this supposed “credible intelligence” that Northam continues to use in defense of his illegal banning of weapons from capitol grounds. It’s all undergirded by the fictional, but too-often believed Charlottesville narrative and the anarcho-tyranny that has become the “new normal” as a consequence.
As thousands of people visit [no, that can’t be the right verb] … come to [hmm, still not volatile enough] … travel to [oh yeah, enter in our fifth-column talking point] …. “descend on” Richmond, state lawyers say they are “determined to prevent another tragedy” like Charlottesville. Don’t worry your pretty little head that Northam is clearly in violation of a 2012 law the General Assembly passed in reaction to the disarmament of law-abiding citizens in Louisiana during Hurricane Katrina.
The law “specifically forbids the governor from using a declaration of emergency to ban guns, except within emergency shelters,” explains WaPo. “Both Northam and state Attorney General Mark R. Herring (D) … were state senators at the time and voted in favor of the policy.” My how times have changed.
A Circuit Court denied a motion made by VCDL and the Gun Owners of America against Northam’s restriction of firearms on Capitol grounds. And then when the groups appealed it to the VA Supreme Court, the high-court lawyers claimed the pro-gun attorneys failed “to include enough information to merit taking action” and that no transcript of the lower-court hearing was provided. Now the appeal won’t be heard until after the rally and after the temporary ban has ended on Tuesday. Convenient.
The leftists screech, white nationalists are coming to town to “disrupt our democratic process,” so screw the law! They’re even disrupting the holiest and most reverent holiday of Saint MLK! The racist bastards should be shot. Perhaps we can arrange that.
But what I’ve heard from a good cop friend and Dissident Mama follower who is actually on duty for tomorrow’s rally is that the police are using Charlottesville as the template of what NOT to do. And I’ve been assured that VCDL, which has held its annual lobbying event for years without incident, has always had a good rapport with both police and legislators. The thinking is that this bodes well for the protection of pro-gun rally-goers.
Typically, lobby days are pretty innocuous. NGOs meet with politicians and other public employees to advocate for the group’s cause usually without much fuss. The NRA’s lobby day was held the previous Monday without too much fanfare, well, except for the Capitol Police harassing this man at his home more than 100 miles away from Richmond days after the event. Hmm.
It’s precisely because of these topsy-turvy times that I don’t find much solace in assurances of law and order. Plus, what about the counterintelligence feds, who will surely be woven into the crowds unofficially? Or what about the VA Police who will be officially on duty in Richmond?
After all, it was the State Police who were part of the “law enforcement” that followed stand-down orders, allowing barbaric nihilists to take over the streets of the Charlottesville both during and after that fateful Unite the Right rally. It was this state-supported chaos that emboldened UNC professor Dwayne Dixon and his Redneck Revolt minions to chase James Fields, creating the very scenario that got the Heather Heyer killed. (If you don’t think Dixon’s proud admission via Tweet condemns him, watch this video.)
Speaking of tax-payer-subsidized “counter-protester” Dixon, Redneck Revolt and their equally violent comrades in the John Brown Gun Club and other assorted flavors of the anti-racist rainbow mafia will be present at tomorrow’s lobby day. Whereas the gun-totin’ lefties claim they want to recruit VCDL members to their armed revolution, the vast majority of cultural Marxists see self-defense for a movement overwhelmingly comprised of white folks as racist. Bigoted crackers just want to make everyone’s “lives miserable through intimidation.”
I did a “Richmond” search on Twitter late Friday evening, and the vast majority of posts were mainstream “news” stories about the arrest of the three shoot-em-up “neo-Nazis,” accompanied by unhinged editorials and endless comments ranting that MLK Day was being diminished by the gun-nut rally. Apostasy!
The deceitful narrative continues to be spoon-fed to the masses, but who will you believe? The power-hungry government, the lying media, and the anarcho-tyrants who want to disarm, silence, and maybe even kill you? Or will you believe my husband of 20 years – a father of three sons, a computer geek, and a devout Orthodox Christian – who is in Richmond in peace. He will be in attendance with my sister, Lisa, who is a government employee, a traditional Catholic, and a mother of two. Maybe you’ll believe her.
Armed with only body cameras, love for their families, and conviction in the Lord, these two fun-loving foodies and dedicated dog-people have bravely chosen to be just a couple of the “10,000 unarmed” citizens VCDL hopes to have within the gun-free barriers. They’re simply normal people taking a stand for what they know is right.
But will it be Charlottesville 2.0? Or Charlottesville x 1,000? Or the Boston Marathon Bombing? Or the Boston Massacre? Or Tienamnen Square? No one knows till tomorrow.
What I do know is that I love my husband. He is my and my children’s hero. And I adore my sister. She has always set me straight. Won’t you please pray for them, and all the good people who will be in Richmond? And let’s also pray that people’s eyes are wide open to truth.
“O Lord, you who steadied the hand of Peter as he began to sink on the stormy sea, if you are with Stephen and Lisa, no one is against them. Grant to them the shield of faith and the mighty armor of the Holy Spirit to protect them and guide them to do Your will. The future we put into your hands, O Lord, and we follow You to a life in Christ. Amen.”
I’ll be posting an essay as to why Stephen and I felt like at least one of us should go to VCDL Lobby Day. It should be up by morning, since I can’t sleep anyway.
Source: Dissident Mama – Please pray for Richmond