After years of Democrats telling us they're merely for so-called "common sense" gun control, Virginia Democrats are going all out on gun confiscation now that they control their state's legislature. One proposed bill, SB 16, states that "It is unlawful for any person to import, sell, manufacture, purchase, possess or transport an assault firearm" and makes such actions a Class 6 felony (punishable with jail time between one and five years). SB 16's definition of "assault firearm" includes 100% of assault rifles, and most types of handguns and shotguns.

The most obvious fight Virginia's gun grabbers will have is with logistics. There's no registry of firearms in Virginia, making it practically impossible to force anyone to turn their guns in. They have to assume most gun owners will simply be afraid of being caught with their then-illegal firearms and turn them in. One VA lawmaker did float the Orwellian idea of using credit card data to try to identify gun owners, though.

Then there's the fact that over 90% of Virginia's counties have taken a page out of the left's playbook on illegal immigration and became second amendment sanctuaries, where local law enforcement will simply refuse to enforce new gun laws. While these counties only account for 40% of Virginia's overall population, it does account for the majority of the state's (legal) gun owners. So strong is the opposition to gun control that one Sheriff promised to deputize his entire town if gun control laws were enacted, which would exempt his citizens from them.