17 times
The rally, organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), is structured as Lobby Day; the day on which pro-Second Amendment citizens show up to support gun rights. VCDL’s Philip Van Cleave told CNN his group has been coming to the state Capitol every January 20 since 2003 without incident.
This year took a new turn when Gov. Ralph Northam (D) voiced concerns over so-called “violent rhetoric” and put a gun ban in place to guarantee the pro-Second Amendment citizens in attendance cannot be armed.
The Post reports on various self-declared militia members who are coming in from other states to attend the rally, and they note the militia members who pledged to never return to Charlottesville while armed made no such pledge regarding Richmond, the location of Monday’s rally.
The Post also reports that the “FBI arrested three alleged members of a white-supremacist group on gun charges” Thursday, and that “they planned to attend the Richmond rally and incite violence.”
Northam is asking all “nonessential staff to stay home, and many lawmakers urged aides to stay away, though committees will still meet and both chambers will convene floor sessions.” Virginia Senate and House pages “were given the day off for safety.”
On January 14, Breitbart News reported Michael Bloomberg-funded Moms Demand Action’s suggestion that Second Amendment Sanctuary resolutions are “lawless” and proponents of such resolutions are “extremists.”
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/01/19/wapo-presents-virginia-gun-rally-as-charlottesville-2-0/