GOA Shut Out of Discussion on Virgin Islands Gun Ban Bill

In our society, we’re supposed to be free to not just say what we think, but to challenge lawmakers on measures before they pass. We’re supposed to be able to have our voices heard by our elected representatives so they know where we stand on the laws they wish to pass.

Silencing opinions is a terrible precedent, especially when people have taken the time out of their days and lives to attend public meetings and were scheduled to speak.

In the US Virgin Islands, they’re currently considering a measure that would ban so-called assault weapons, suppressors, and so-called large capacity magazines, while requiring mandatory training for anyone who wants to own a long gun of any other kind. 

Gun Owners of America reported on X a few days ago that they were scheduled to speak in opposition to the bill.

Instead, they got there and were shut down.

.@GunOwners was to testify against gun control in the US Virgin Islands today, but through political chicanery, GOA & USVI gun owners were blocked & couldn’t testify.

Sen. Carla Joseph, the Rules & Judiciary Committee Chair was outraged that gun owners’ voices were silenced. https://t.co/BgqIKYaL9Z pic.twitter.com/iDn4g2mw1P

— Luis Valdes (@RealFLGunLobby) October 9, 2025

Sen. Joseph, for the record, is a Democrat who one might believe would favor what happened. However, she also seems to believe in the rights of the people to address their elected representatives, and she was quick to call out here colleagues for their actions.

As she should have. 

I have to respect her comments, because, well, she’s right.

Luis Valdes, GOA’s director for outreach in the Virgin Islands, had this to say to me on Thursday:

Gun Owners of America (GOA) continues to defend the Second Amendment across the nation—and that includes every corner of America, from the mainland to our far-flung territories in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The right to keep and bear arms is not limited by geography. “Shall not be infringed” applies to every corner of America. Lawmakers, no matter where they are, need to remember that.

It is deeply concerning to see lawmakers in the U.S. Virgin Islands attempt to silence law-abiding gun owners. These citizens were exercising their First Amendment rights to defend their Second Amendment freedoms, and their voices—along with GOA’s—were suppressed.

As GOA’s Director of Outreach for the U.S. Virigin Islands, I commend Senator Carla Joseph for standing up in defense of both the Constitution and the people she serves. By holding up her personal copy of the U.S. Constitution during the proceedings, she reminded her colleagues that the First Amendment must never be violated—especially when Americans are fighting to protect their fundamental right to self-defense.

GOA will not stay silent on this issue. We will fight gun control in the islands with the same tenacity we fight it in Washington DC. We will not compromise nor will we ever give up.”

GOA shouldn’t stay silent.

This is insane. This is wrong on every level.

It’s bad enough to ignore the voice of the people, but to outright silence them so you don’t have to listen is far worse. This is the kind of thing that leads to the suppression of free speech we’re seeing in Europe. It starts with something simple, but it spreads unless it’s combatted.

And the truth is that the law being discussed would make it absolutely impossible for people to have the means to defend themselves should the government of either the United States or the Virgin Islands decide to cross that line.

Joseph spoke quite eloquently on the matter, and while I don’t know where she stands on the bill itself, I respect her position on the rights of the people to address their elected representatives.

Seriously, heads should (metaphorically) roll over this one.

Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.

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