RICHMOND, Va. -- Dozens of volunteers from Moms and Students Demand Action came to Richmond on Thursday to press Virginia lawmakers to address gun violence. Each came with their own story for getting involved in the movement.
For Shantell Rock, it was a shooting in her Prince William County community two years ago.
"A nine-year-old was shot while playing outside in a drive-by shooting," Rock said. "That's the same streets that my kids walk. So I was very upset about it."
The group is confident they'll see some results this year as Democrats, who typically support stricter gun laws, now have control of both the Virginia House of Delegates and the State Senate.
"We ushered in a whole new crew of people that are going to be working to put lives first," Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action, said. "There's many things that we want to do to end gun violence across Virginia."
Dozens of bills related to guns have already been filed for lawmakers to consider, but the group highlighted ones like enhanced background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and gun lock or safe requirements.
"And of course, the daily gun violence that we see in our communities all too often, we want to make sure that we are fortifying groups on the ground that are preventing violence in the community," Ferrell-Zabala said.
Virginia Citizen's Defense League Philip Van Cleave does not support many of the measures Ferrell-Zabala wants to see become law.
"Don't take away the rights of good people to protect themselves. That's the opposite of that," Van Cleave said.
Van Cleave and other gun rights supporter have their Lobby Day next week to speak to lawmakers and share their perspectives on the issue.
Van Cleave said among the bills his group opposed were weapon bans and restrictions on concealed carry permits.
He said they do support some proposals like extending the tax credit for securing firearms.
"Using a carrot instead of a stick," he said. "Most of this stuff is, again, sticks, you know, basically making it harder."
While Democrats have the majority to pass legislation, their majority is not large enough to overcome any veto Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin may issue.
During his State of the Commonwealth speech on Wednesday, Youngkin's only mention on the topic was to say Virginia already had among the strongest gun control laws in the country.
"Therefore, I’m asking you: allow us to hold accountable those criminals that commit crimes with guns by lengthening and making more severe the penalties in order to keep them off the streets," he said in his speech to state lawmakers.
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