The state of Virginia used to be fairly pro-gun, but we’ve seen a serious flip in recent years. Now, the Old Dominion State has been on an anti-gun tear. It’s not a great look, and I feel bad for gun owners in the state.

However, it seems that Gov. Ralph Northam doesn’t have the support to do just anything he wants when it comes to guns. We know because an amendment to a gun control bill just went down in flames.

The Virginia Senate rejected the governor’s amendments to a bill that restricts the gun rights of anyone convicted for assault and battery of a family member.

Under House Bill 1992, introduced by Del. Kathleen Murphy, D-Fairfax, anyone convicted of assault and battery of a family or household member would be prohibited from owning, purchasing or transporting firearms for a period of three years.

Gov. Ralph Northam proposed increasing the probation period from three years to five years. The governor also wanted to expand the bill to include individuals who were living together or who had cohabitated within 12 months.

The individual’s Second Amendment rights automatically will be restored after the probationary period, unless they receive another disqualifying conviction. Anyone who fails to comply with this bill would also be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

This may include jail time for up to 12 months, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.

…

Lawmakers in the House passed the amendment along party lines, but it failed in the Senate. Democrats joined Republicans to vote against the changes.

Opponents said the measure is too restrictive for a misdemeanor charge.

Now, I can’t really consider it good news since it’s likely the original bill will pass, but it’s interesting to see Northam’s anti-gun push can only go so far before even members of his own party feel obligated to put a halt to it.

I’m also glad to see that the Senate put a halt to the cohabitation provision.

See, based on the wording here, this could label two roommates who get into a fight as domestic abusers. I’m talking about two heterosexual guys who happen to just share an address as a way to split the expenses. That can lead to tensions that may, occasionally, erupt into a physical altercation.

Under this kind of provision, though, these guys would be labeled domestic abusers and be denied their Second Amendment rights for no good reason.

That’s a huge problem, and part of the problem with the so-called boyfriend loophole. There’s really no way for the law to differentiate between actual romantic partners and people who just know each other fairly well.

Luckily for Virginians, that’s kind of irrelevant right now. Northam’s efforts have gone down in flames, and it’s a beautiful sight to behold. The only shame here is that it’s unlikely to become a regular occurrence.

Still, you’ve got to hand it to Northam. He certainly laid down the roadmap for politicians trying to dodge blackface scandals. Just vow to push gun control and the media pretends the whole blackface thing never happened. I wonder if that’ll change if Northam fails to continue producing gun control for them.

I hope we get to find out.

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