The mother of Heather Heyer, the Virginia woman killed at the Charlottesville rally in 2017, is a gun owner and believes some of the proposed gun control measures in the Virginia General Assembly might be pushing the limits of rational legislation.
Susan Bro sent a message to gun rights activists considering violence at a gun rights rally at the Virginia Capitol in Richmond: “We don’t need your help.”
“I grew up with guns,” Bro said to CNN on Monday before the protestors rallied around the capitol. “I believe in common sense gun measures, but not extreme measures.”
Democrats scored big in the 2019 elections and won total control of the Virginia government. For them, such a victory gives them a mandate to introduce legislation such as handgun purchasing limits, universal background checks, and “red flag” gun confiscation orders.
Other gun control proposals include “assault weapons” bans, however, some moderate Democrats have expressed concerns about how far some of their radical colleagues want to go with gun control.
Bro stated that she thinks some of the gun control agenda items are “a bit extreme,” but noted that it had some good proposals. She believes that it is important that the debate be conducted in a calm and non-violent manner.
Authorities originally feared violent confrontations in the days leading up to the Richmond rally, which prompted Governor Ralph Northam to declare a state of emergency,
Bro encouraged potential troublemakers to stay away from Richmond
“If you are there to actually speak with representatives, to have your voice heard, to have calm conversations about what’s happening, by all means be there,” Bro declared. “But understand that it may be dangerous today because there are foolish people who want to stir up more hate.”
Bro now heads up the Heather Heyer Foundation, which runs a scholarship program commemorating the young young civil rights activist who “dedicated her life to promoting equal rights for all people.”
It’s good to see some voices of moderation chime in these discussions. What is generally heard among most gun control proponents are radical calls for gun control overreach and even bans on commonly-held weapons such as the AR-15.
This is one debate where emotion should not cloud our better judgement.