Donald Trump on Coronavirus Shutdown: ‘They Are Trying to Take Your Guns Away in Virginia’

President Trump told reporters Saturday he believes the Democrat-led Virginia government is trying to use the coronavirus shutdown to take guns away.

Trump was asked about shutdown policies in various states and he made clear he believes many governors have gone too far in their efforts.

He then pointed to Governor Ralph Northam’s (D) approach in Virginia as an example. Real Clear Politics quoted Trump saying, “I think Virginia is a great case though because they are using this, they are trying to take your guns away in Virginia and if people in Virginia aren’t careful that’s what’s going to happen to them.”

On April 10, 2020, Northam signed a body of gun controls into law. Those controls include a limit on the number of guns a law-abiding Virginia can buy in a given month, a ban on private gun sales, and reporting requirements for stolen firearms, among other things. The requirement on stolen guns punishes the gun owner if the theft is not reported within a set period of time.

On April 18, 2020, Breitbart News quoted Trump saying Northam did a “horrible thing” in signing those gun controls.

A Wall Street Journal reporter asked Trump if it was proper to spend time defending the Second Amendment during the coronavirus crisis and Trump responded, “I think that’s an easy one, that’s not even politics, we’re entitled to a Second Amendment. To me that’s liberty … where does it all stop?”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.