Care About Preventing Gun Violence? This VA Senate Race May Have A Big Impact

The National Rifle Association, which is headquartered in Virginia, has released its candidate grades and endorsements in Virginia’s state Senate races, and the GOP candidate in a key northern Virginia district not only earned an A, but also boasts the NRA’s endorsement.

Republican Juan Pablo Segura is running in state Senate District 31, a key open seat in northern Virginia that both Republicans and Democrats see as a must-win in November. Segura is the son of billionaire Enrique Segura, who’s already funneling massive sums of money into his son’s campaign. He supports Youngkin’s abortion ban and has vowed to fight against the “woke agenda.” Despite his full-throated endorsement by the NRA, Sugura makes no mention of his opposition to gun safety legislation on his campaign website and has not posted the pro-firearm organization’s endorsement.

Segura’s Democratic opponent is Russet Perry, a former prosecutor in the Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s office and CIA officer who is running on a public safety platform that includes protecting vulnerable Virginians from domestic and gun violence. She has been endorsed by Moms Demand Action and Giffords PAC, two major gun safety advocacy groups.

“This should not be a partisan issue; this is an issue of public safety and should be embraced by all members of our society,” Perry says of gun safety on her campaign website. She specifically mentions limits on magazine capacity and an assault weapons ban as anti-gun violence measures she will push for in the state Senate.

The future of firearm violence in the commonwealth is very much at stake in this year’s General Assembly elections. Despite several high-profile mass shootings leading up to the legislative session, the Republican-controlled House of Delegates blocked every meaningful gun safety proposal that passed the state Senate in this year’s legislative session (gun owners who purchase safes for their firearms are now eligible for a tax credit).

Meanwhile, the Democratic-majority Senate successfully stymied House measures that would have rolled back existing gun safety measures, including the state’s red flag law, background check requirements, and restrictions on carrying firearms in state buildings.