Was Gun Rally Important for Cuccinelli?

One would think that with all the duties assigned to the attorney general of Virginia, he would find little time to speak to a small rally of gun-rights supporters in Richmond.

But there he was. Ken Cuccinelli took the time away from his job as the state’s top legal officer to speak to a gathering at the Bell Tower in Capitol Square. Many of those attending openly carried firearms holstered on their hips. They wore fluorescent-orange stickers proclaiming “Guns Save Lives.”

The event was held to drum up support for a national “Second Amendment March” in Washington next week. As Media General News Service reported, a few gun-control activists stood silently observing the proceedings.

Cuccinelli talked about his love for the Constitution and said that Virginians have “been very good about protecting” constitutional rights, such as the right to bear arms. But, he said, “every year is a battle.”

One of those “battles” came during the General Assembly this year when the gun supporters finally pushed a measure through that would allow folks with concealed weapons to take those weapons into bars. Opponents argued correctly that the mix of guns and alcohol is a deadly one, but Gov. Bob McDonnell has said he will sign the legislation.

Cuccinelli also made reference to his earlier efforts to “defend the Constitution” by filing lawsuits against the federal government challenging global-warming research and legislation that provides health care for millions of Americans who would not otherwise receive it.

Among those at the rally was Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League who criticized “anti-Constitution, anti-freedom, anti-gun” Senate Democrats in the Assembly for killing a number of pro-gun bills in a special subcommittee.

So anyone who is opposed to the free flow of guns throughout society is opposed to freedom and the Constitution? Van Cleave probably knows better than that, but it makes for good rhetoric at a gun-rights rally. He added that he wanted to tell the Assembly that Second Amendment rights are non-negotiable.

Which is fine. He certainly has the right to speak his position. And he has the right to carry a pistol, if he wants. And he has the right to gather at a public rally at the Capitol.

But that doesn’t explain why Cuccinelli would take the time to lend his support to such a rally. Wasn’t his appearance political pandering at its worst to the rabid gun crowd — pandering that helped create the perception that the government is out to get them and their guns?

Of course it was. Are gun rights all that important to the attorney general? Would he like to see guns strapped on every hip in Virginia? That’s the clear impression he left with those who read and heard about his appearance at the gun rally.

One would hope that Cuccinelli picks his battles a little more carefully in his months to come as Virginia’s attorney general.