Speaking outside a Roanoke City Council meeting, Fairfax said the wave of counties that have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries doesn’t sway his opinion on the importance of gun control.

Instead, Fairfax said the focus should remain on what he called “common sense measures” to keep communities safe.

“I think that’s what we’ve really got to focus on. We’ve got to have a thoughtful, respectful discussion when we go back to the General Assembly,” said Fairfax. “But we’ve also gotta understand that we’re here to protect each other, to keep everybody safe.”

Of course, he’s already made it clear that he has no interest in discussion. After all, just what does he think the sanctuary county movement in Virginia is really about?

Virginia state law includes a provision where local governments can’t have a law that runs counter to state law, which is why most of these sanctuary efforts are resolutions rather than ordinances. However, they’re a declaration that these counties won’t enforce unconstitutional laws, a term which describes pretty much everything Governor Ralph Northam has been pushing.

Fairfax says that he wants to talk, but the problem is that he’s not listening. If he were, he’d come to understand that the bulk of Virginia counties have no interest in “assault weapon” bans, gun rationing, magazine capacity limits, or any of the other nonsense he and his party have been supporting for some time now. They’re not willing to curtail their rights because a handful of urban counties seem to believe that they know better than the rest of the state.

The truth is, Fairfax and the rest of the anti-gun lawmakers need to listen.

Instead, they’re making threats. They’re bound and determined to bend these rural counties to their will. Regardless of what they want, Fairfax and company have decided they know what’s best and are going to cram it down their throats.

But what he should be doing is listening.

This sentiment should be difficult to dismiss, yet that’s what’s happening. They’re bound and determined to push for this, and ultimately, they’ll pay the price.

Bear in mind that while Republicans may have lost the legislature, it doesn’t mean gun control is what did it. Instead, there are a lot of issues facing Virginia. Had gun control been a concern, why didn’t they lose the legislature previously when they expanded gun rights in the state? After all, they repealed the state’s gun rationing law, among other measures, and still held the legislature without an issue.

Virginians outside of the D.C. suburbs and a couple of small areas are sending a warning. They make up a good bit of the state and it won’t take nearly as much for them to rally enough like-minded folks in those urban enclaves as Democrats may like to believe.

Fairfax is saying that these counties aren’t changing his mind, but if that’s true then it may well turn out to be to his detriment.