GOA’s Erich Pratt passionately underscored the critical role of the Second Amendment, proclaiming, “It is the right which protects all the other rights. That’s why we cannot compromise, not even a little bit.” (Newsbreak.com, January 15, 2024)

Richmond Times-Dispatch, January 15, 2024
by Charlotte Rene Woods and Dave Ress

On Monday morning, hundreds of gun rights supporters clustered by the Bell Tower in Capitol Square for a rally with the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

Wearing orange “guns save lives” stickers and armed with custom-made or VCDL-branded signs, the group listened to speakers, including Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America.

“We cannot compromise,” Pratt told the rally’s attendees, “because every new compromise becomes the starting point for the next set of calls for gun control.”

Read more at Richmond.com

The Washington Post, January 15, 2024
by Gregory S. Schneider and Laura Vozzella

[Philip] Van Cleave’s group assembled a few hundred gun rights advocates Monday on a frigid Capitol Square — with a secure bus parked nearby to stash their weapons. Firearms have been prohibited in the square since 2021, a year after thousands of gun rights advocates from around the country swamped downtown Richmond with a massive protest against gun control….

The Second Amendment “is the right which protects all the other rights. And that’s why we cannot compromise, not even a little bit. Not even a little gun-control light,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, said at the rally.

Bundled-up supporters wearing orange “Guns Save Lives” stickers joined him in chanting the key lines of the Second Amendment: “shall not be infringed.”

Read more at The Washington Post

Cardinal News, January 15, 2024
by Markus Schmidt

[F]or most Republicans and gun rights activists, all Democratic measures seeking to restrict access to guns are non-starters — especially the proposed assault weapons ban.

“These are commonly owned rifles that many people own and use to protect their families, these are self-defense tools,” said Jordan Stein, a spokesman for Gun Owners of America, who attended Monday’s rally.

Another proposal of concern for gun rights advocates is House Bill 319, also sponsored by Helmer, which would prohibit nationally recognized instructors affiliated with the pro-gun lobby groups National Rifle Association and United States Concealed Carry Association from teaching classes to obtain handgun permits.

“This bill would make obtaining a handgun permit quite difficult,” Stein said. “Oftentimes anti-gunners talk about safety, but that bill would actually make it harder for you to attend a class that would make you safer with a gun, it’s kind of ironic. We are going to fight this tooth and nail every step of the way, and we hope to kill the bills in the legislature. And if we can’t do that, we are urging Youngkin to veto them.”

Read more at Cardinal News