CLAIM: In an August 29, 2023, op-ed, Gabby Giffords claimed, “gun laws are saving lives” in Virginia and called for voters in the state to reject Republican candidates in order to protect gun control.
VERDICT: False. Virginia Democrats passed and secured numerous gun controls that were enacted in 2021, yet 2022 was more violent than 2021.
Writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Giffords noted:
We have an epidemic of gun violence in the United States and in the commonwealth of Virginia. More than 110 people die each day from gun violence nationwide, and in 2021, nearly 1,250 people died from gun violence in Virginia. … If radical Republicans take control of the state Senate and keep the House of Delegates, much of the progress we’ve made over the past 10 years will be lost. Not only will they not fix the problem, they’ll also go backward, weakening gun laws and making the problem worse.
Later in the op-ed, she wrote, “In 2021, Virginia made enormous progress and enacted a strong package of gun safety laws that included measures to protect survivors of domestic violence and limit open carry, but more can be done.”
The laws passed in 2021 included a ban on carrying a gun to Capitol Square, an allowance for school boards to ban guns in their own buildings, a ban on guns for domestic abusers, and an expansion of the period of time a gun dealer has to complete a background check.
The 2021 gun controls were passed after Democrats enacted universal background checks, a red flag law, a one-handgun-per-month purchase limit, and gun storage laws in 2020.
But even with all of this gun control, WRIC pointed out that violent crimes, including homicides, were higher in 2022 than in 2021.
Overall, violent crime “increased from 16,823 offenses in 2021 to 17,655 offenses in 2022” in Virginia. Moreover, “the reported homicides in Virginia increased from 562 to 621 from 2021 to 2022.”
Giffords’ claim is false. Gun control laws are not saving lives in Virginia.
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 and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
