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  • 2019-11-29 (xsd:date)
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  • Would a Proposed Virginia Law Outlaw Martial Arts and Firearms Training? (en)
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  • In late November 2019, the Alex Jones conspiracy trolling site Infowars posted an article originally published by junk news site Natural News that falsely reported the state of Virginia will consider legislation outlawing martial arts and firearms instruction. Under the headline, PROPOSED VIRGINIA LAW WOULD OUTLAW KRAV MAGA, BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU, KICKBOXING, TAI CHI, FIREARMS INSTRUCTION AND SELF-DEFENSE TRAINING, the story reads: None of this is true, and oddly enough, the story in question includes not only a link to the bill but copy-and-pasted bill language, so readers can see for themselves that the proposed legislation does not say what Natural News claimed it said. Virginia, like nearly all other U.S. states, already had a law on the books restricting unlawful private military-type activity. The current Virginia law renders it a felony if a person: Senate Bill 64 would amend the current law by also making it illegal to, [Assemble] with one or more persons with the intent of intimidating any person or group of persons by drilling, parading, or marching with any firearm, any explosive or incendiary device, or any components or combination thereof. The amendment makes no mention of martial arts or firearms classes. As the Georgetown Law Institute for Constitutional Law and Protection noted, Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 was the site of deadly violence resulting from a white supremacist rally at which: Although Natural News chalked this amendment up to the fact that voters in November 2019 handed Virginia's state government over to a Democratic majority for the first time in a generation, that characterization is misleading. The bill's sponsor, Louise Lucas, is a Democrat, but Lucas is not part of the new Democratic legislative majority; she assumed her Virginia Senate seat in 1992. Furthermore, as we earlier noted, almost all states in the U.S., with both Democratic and Republican leadership, have some type of law outlawing certain paramilitary activities or at least restricting unauthorized private militias. Virginia's law predates its new Democratic state majority. Finally, the laws don't make it illegal for martial arts or shooting-range instructors to teach students disciplines like krav maga, Brazilian jiu jitsu, kickboxing, tai chi or firearms instruction. The laws restrict people from various military-like activities that result in violence and civil disorder. The amendment to the Virginia law, specifically, prohibits marching with weapons or explosives for the purpose of intimidation. We therefore rate this claim False. (en)
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