Is That Really All That Much?

Virginia Governor "Blackface" Northam signed a bill increasing the corrections budget by $250,000 to, "increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment” of Northam’s gun control measures.

That sounds like a lot of money until you consider that it costs, on average, $32,773.35 to house a prisoner for a year in Virginia.

This increase in funding will house fewer than 8 additional prisoners.

I think there's a disconnect between the funding anticipations and the level of noncompliance.

It says to me that they're not seriously planning on doing much active enforcement of the gun ban, but are going to take the "death of a thousand cuts" approach and nab people by the ones and twos as they're apprehended for other things.

Once again, they're playing the longer game.

OK, they do nothing about the existing supply of guns in Virginia, but they have managed to stagnate it because no manufacturer will be selling or distributing to Virginia under such a ban.

These laws prevent a current owner from taking someone shooting without a significant risk of being arrested for owning a now illegal gun, thus preventing the gun culture from propagating.

Of course, they might get a new legislature and governor next cycle and they might repeal these stupid laws.

Might.

I note that there as once a national "assault" weapon ban that Republicans rode a landslide election into power on the promise of its repeal... only to let it sit until it expired on its own.