rsarvis
New member
As I'm sure you are all aware, Va. state elections this year in November provide an opportunity to unseat many of the anti-gun incumbents in the Va. State Senate. One such incumbent is Dick Saslaw, thirty-year incumbent Democrat and Senate Majority Leader. I'm running against him in the 35th District—his first Republican challenger in 12 years.
http://www.robertsarvis.com (More Issues statements, including on gun rights, to be posted very soon.)
Obviously, if you live in the 35th District, I'd like your vote. But this post isn't just about me; it's about all the candidates challenging incumbents, and the importance of voting for candidates who support individual rights. Find out where they stand, and VOTE!
As for me, gun rights are a personal, political, and constitutional issue. When I was young, my dad taught me gun safety and took me target-shooting at Fairfax Rod & Gun Club. Growing up knowledgeable about gun safety and the responsible recreational use of guns and rifles led me as an adult to have respect for law-abiding gun-owners and their rights. Attempts to demonize "gun culture" and demean gun-owners (remember when Dick Saslaw compared gun-owners to the cast of Deliverance?) just don't square with my experience knowing gun-owners and gun enthusiasts. And because I have followed policy analyses of gun-control laws, I know that strict gun-control laws, or deep skepticism of widespread gun-ownership, is unjustified. Indeed, law-abiding gun-owners are the friends of both liberty AND public safety. And as a constitutional matter, I have kept abreast of the debate over the original meaning of the Second Amendment and I am satisfied and confident that D.C. v. Heller was decided correctly and that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms.
http://www.robertsarvis.com (More Issues statements, including on gun rights, to be posted very soon.)
Obviously, if you live in the 35th District, I'd like your vote. But this post isn't just about me; it's about all the candidates challenging incumbents, and the importance of voting for candidates who support individual rights. Find out where they stand, and VOTE!
As for me, gun rights are a personal, political, and constitutional issue. When I was young, my dad taught me gun safety and took me target-shooting at Fairfax Rod & Gun Club. Growing up knowledgeable about gun safety and the responsible recreational use of guns and rifles led me as an adult to have respect for law-abiding gun-owners and their rights. Attempts to demonize "gun culture" and demean gun-owners (remember when Dick Saslaw compared gun-owners to the cast of Deliverance?) just don't square with my experience knowing gun-owners and gun enthusiasts. And because I have followed policy analyses of gun-control laws, I know that strict gun-control laws, or deep skepticism of widespread gun-ownership, is unjustified. Indeed, law-abiding gun-owners are the friends of both liberty AND public safety. And as a constitutional matter, I have kept abreast of the debate over the original meaning of the Second Amendment and I am satisfied and confident that D.C. v. Heller was decided correctly and that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms.