Democrat lawmakers in Virginia recently passed Senate Bill 749, which they disingenuously call an “assault weapons ban.” In truth, the law bans commonly and widely owned semiautomatic rifles and handguns.

The specifics of the legislation make it clear that it directly infringes on Virginians’ Second Amendment rights. The bill would not only ban the sale of popular semiautomatic firearms like the AR-15, but it would also classify and ban the sale of common magazines that hold 15 or more rounds as “high-capacity magazines.”

A first-time offense under the law would result in a class 1 misdemeanor, which carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

In justifying the bill, its author, state Senator Saddam Salim, invoked the 2007 mass attack at Virginia Tech. The glaring problem with that example is the fact that the assailant used two handguns, a .22-caliber Walther and a 9mm Glock, neither of which had a magazine with a capacity greater than 15 rounds. The perpetrator simply brought multiple magazines, unloading 17 magazines as he walked around the “gun-free zone” with no one armed to confront him until law enforcement showed up. By the end of his attack, he had killed 32 people and injured 17 others before he committed suicide.

The truth is, Democrats hate the Second Amendment and have repeatedly attacked the constitutional right via their disingenuous demand for “commonsense” gun control laws. This law is just the latest example.

As Salim rationalized, the “overall goal of this bill is to ensure that we have less [sic] weapons of war on the streets.”

But that’s the fundamental problem. The whole point of the Second Amendment, as the Founders saw it, is to ensure that all citizens have the right to bear “weapons of war.” Indeed, Virginia’s own motto, “Sic Semper Tyrannis” (Thus Always to Tyrants), epitomizes the spirit undergirding the Second Amendment and the motivation for the American Revolution.

Democrats reject this view because they don’t want the government to be ultimately answerable to the citizenry, which is ironic given their party’s name.

Despite the fact that Democrats control both houses of the Virginia legislature and the governor’s mansion, Governor Abigail Spanberger has yet to sign the legislation. Many wonder why she’s delaying, given that she has clearly expressed support for this bit of gun-grabbing — even during her campaign.

The answer is political calculus. The law would not take effect until July 1, giving Spanberger plenty of time to wait before signing. Strategically, she may be waiting to sign until after the statewide vote on the Democrats’ gerrymandered redistricting map measure on April 21. The blatantly partisan map, which would effectively eliminate four Republican-held districts and give Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 congressional seats, is being sold under the false pretense of “fairness.”

The last thing Spanberger wants to do is sign a law that would motivate the state’s Republicans and independent voters to show up en masse to vote against the gerrymandered map, given that the state is nearly evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Furthermore, Spanberger knows that as soon as she signs the bill, it will trigger immediate lawsuits. And given that the law is so obviously a violation of the Second Amendment, the likelihood is near certain that the courts, and especially the U.S. Supreme Court, will strike it down. So, in light of all of that, she is likely waiting for a more opportune time to spend the Democrats’ capital on a losing issue.