By Dave Workman
Justin Fairfax, once a rising Democrat star in Virginia, who served as the Lt. Governor from 2018 to 2022, and was a high-profile gun control supporter rubbing elbows with Moms Demand Action activists, fatally shot his wife and then himself Thursday in Annandale, VA.
WTOP News is reporting he purchased the gun used in the murder-suicide in 2022. He reportedly shot his estranged wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, before turning the gun on himself.
Various news agencies are reporting that Fairfax’s tenure as lieutenant governor had been “overshadowed” by two allegations of sexual assault, which he denied. But it appears his career began a downhill slide after his term in office ended.
The New York Post is reporting that he used money “meant for his kids” to purchase the handgun.
It appears the murder-suicide was the result of an on-going domestic situation, the couple were getting divorced, and Fairfax had allegedly fallen into alcoholism.
So far, it does not appear the gun control groups with which he had become allied during his political career have issued any statement.
The Associated Press is reporting that Fairfax had “spiraled in recent years.” At one point early in his term as lieutenant governor, it appeared he might have had to step into the role of governor when then-Gov. Ralph Northam became mired in his own scandal when a photo of him in blackface, which was published in Northam’s medical school yearbook, surfaced.
This case is making international headlines, as the BBC is also covering it. According to the BBC report, the couple’s two children were at home when Fairfax murdered his wife and then turned the gun on himself. The children are reportedly with grandparents now.
Adding perspective to the incident, David Codrea—writing at Ammoland News—notes, “It wasn’t ‘gun violence’ that killed Fairfax and his wife, it was him. Since there are no reports at this writing that the gun he used was illegally owned, it’s fair to presume he went through a background check when he bought it. And he only needed a few rounds.
“Time and again,” Codrea adds, “it is shown that those who don’t trust us with guns and demand to control them really can’t trust and control themselves.”
Various online images have surfaced showing Fairfax either with a group of Moms Demand Action activists, or speaking at one of their events a few years ago.
