VA Democrats Poised to Take Pensions from Sheriffs Who Opposed Gun Control

During CPAC, Culpepper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins told Breitbart News that Virginia Democrats are punishing sheriffs who continue to stand against gun control.

On December 7, 2019, Breitbart News reported Jenkins’ announcement that he was ready to “deputize thousands” to defend Second Amendment rights had the Virginia Democrats passed gun bans and other controls that were being pushed.

He made clear he equated his actions with calling forth the militia to defend freedom. He quoted Richard Henry Lee from 1788, saying, “A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves…and include all men capable of bearing arms.”

Over the past weekend of CPAC, Jenkins told Breitbart News:

In early December I came out against the newly proposed legislation to restrict everything from ‘assault weapons,’ so-called ‘assault weapons,’ to ‘high capacity magazines…and said that if we’re going to take away weapons from law-abiding citizens I intend to swear in thousands of citizens as reserve deputy sheriffs so they can keep those weapons and be able to protect themselves and use them.

Jenkins said that he and other sheriffs who took a similar stand were threatened with having insurance coverage removed “from deputies and staff.” He said that sheriffs throughout the state were offered a $10,000 raise “if we would tuck tail and follow [the Democrats’] lead and stop the push-back.”

But Jenkins refused to cower, and said they responded by saying “they would take away the raises of the deputies if we didn’t stop.”

He said State Sen. Janet Howell (D) “introduced a bill for next session where she could remove the pension of sheriffs…next year for…saying that we won’t follow unconstitutional laws or that I would use my lawful powers as sheriff to swear in thousands of people as deputies.”

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. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.