It's not surprising that Giffords.org, the anti-gun group, is taking a victory lap over last night's Virginia gubernatorial race. They've got Abigail Spanberger and Democrats in power, so they'll undoubtedly try to strip Virginians of their God-given Second Amendment rights.
Virginians have once again established a gun safety stronghold across the commonwealth! With the wins in the House of Delegates and the election of gun safety champion Governor-elect Spanberger, a safer future is finally within reach. pic.twitter.com/6t2WvNORgS
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) November 5, 2025
But it is ironic on two fronts. First, Giffords.org has not called for tougher criminal penalties for gun crimes. In fact, quite the opposite.
They explicitly reject tougher prison sentences for nonviolent gun possession offenses, as well as oppose tougher prison sentences for illegal possession and trafficking. Why? Because of "racial disparities" and "mass incarceration" and a fear that such policies would "harm people of color."
From the Giffords.org website:
However, Giffords does not support the penalty structure, which increases the length of potential prison sentences for illegal possession and trafficking offenses, established by these provisions and the potential implications these harsh penalties could have on people prosecuted under these provisions, particularly people of color.
The only way to end gun crime is to put violent criminals behind bars. Especially those who commit crimes with guns and break the myriad gun laws we have on the books. Failure to do so shows that Giffords.org — and any other Democrat who believes in weak policies for gun offenses — is not serious about addressing gun crime or violence. It shows their goal is the disarmament of law-abiding citizens and the dismantling of our Second Amendment rights.
Nor did Giffords.org condemn Jay Jones, Virginia's Attorney General-elect, who openly fantasized about putting "two bullets to the head" of Republican Todd Gilbert and wished Gilbert's young sons would die in their mother's arms so Democrats could pass gun control legislation.
Instead, Giffords.org endorsed Jones and called him a "gun sense champion" when they endorsed him for the VA House of Delegates.
Delegate Jay Jones was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2017 to represent the 89th District. A lifelong resident of Norfolk, Delegate Jones’s commitment to public service was generations in the making. During his time in the House of Delegates, Delegate Jones has proven himself to be a strong supporter of gun safety legislation. In his role on the House Appropriations committee, Delegate Jones provided key votes in support of state investments in community violence intervention programs.
It would seem, to us at least, that the first step in any "gun safety legislation" would be not wishing for your political opponents and their young children to be shot so you can use that crime as political leverage.
We guess that's not how Giffords.org feels, however.