Controversial Virginia 'assault weapons ban' edges closer to law after white supremacists said it would spark 'civil war'

Attempts to ban assault firearms in Virginia led to massive armed demonstrations and hopes of 'civil war' among white supremacists

The Virginia House of Delegates has passed a measure banning the possession of assault weapons, a controversial move which sparked armed demonstrations and hopes of a “civil war” among members of a white supremacist group who were arrested by the FBI.

The measure must still pass in the Virginia Senate before becoming state law. However, another similar bill banning certain assault firearms failed in a Virginia Senate committee earlier this session.

House Bill 961, which has been described as one of the most ambitious proposals put forth by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D—VA), sets restrictions on magazine sizes and makes it a felony to possess, purchase or sell assault firearms.

The law would make it illegal to import or manufacture assault firearms across the state, home to the National Rifle Association headquarters and often considered a state with some of the most lax gun laws in the country.

Gun control became a major platform for Virginia Democrats, who regained control of the General Assembly during a historic vote in November of last year, flipping both houses in the deeply red state and vowing to deliver sweeping measures to combat an increase in statewide gun deaths.

A package of gun control measures that advanced in the House of Delegates led to massive turnout among guns rights activists at Virginia's annual Lobby Demonstrations, who demanded officials reject laws banning the possession of assault weapons. The FBI arrested multiple alleged members of a known white supremacist group who were reportedly anticipating violence at the massive armed demonstrations that would result in a civil war.

Hidden cameras caught the arrested men discussing the guns right rally, according to court filings from federal prosecutors who said they advocated for attendees to kill people and cause mass destruction. All three men were arrested before the demonstrations.

Many people called for calm ahead of the event, including Susan Bro, the mother of civil rights activist Heather Heyer who died while demonstrating against the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Ms Bro told The Independent in an exclusive interview before the demonstrations in Richmond: “The violence is not okay, and extreme measures are not okay either.”

Ms Bro, who has since become a prominent voice in the national conversation surrounding gun safety, also noted how several more controversial gun control measures that passed in the Virginia House of Delegates later failed in the Senate.

“I just think everyone needs to take a moment and breathe," she said, "but I think we’re past that point.”

The latest measure passed in a 51-48 vote in the House on Tuesday after it was introduced by Democratic Delegate Mark Levine.

Brian Moran, the states Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, supported a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while recalling the mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007, in which a shooter opened fire on the college campus using a high-capacity magazine.

"Assault weapons are not protected by the Second Amendment, because they are weapons of war. And that is again the courts' words, not mine," Mr Moran reportedly said in a recent hearing. "They're not protected by the Second Amendment, just like machine guns."