Then-Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is pictured in a 2021 file photo campaigning for the Old Dominions governor’s office. Fairfax allegedly killed his estranged wife before shooting himself on Thursday. (Steve Helber / AP)
By Michael Schwarz April 17, 2026 at 12:46pm
As a conservative Christian, you try your hardest to extend grace to the muddleheaded Democrats with whom you must co-exist.
They make it difficult, however, when they politicize tragedies that you would never dream of exploiting for partisan advantage.
Thursday on the social media platform X, the student-led gun-control group March For Our Lives used the alleged murder-suicide committed early Thursday by gun-control advocate and former Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax as a pretext for demanding even more gun control, prompting X users to castigate the group for exploiting the murderous act of a fellow “gun-grabbing” Democrat.
Police found Fairfax and his estranged wife, Cerina Fairfax, dead Thursday inside their Annandale home. The couple, though separated, still lived together while going through the divorce process.
“Today, we woke up to the devastating news of the shooting death of Cerina Fairfax by her estranged husband, reminding us that when domestic violence is combined with access to guns, it too often ends in irreversible tragedy,” March For Our Lives wrote.
Indeed, the gun-control advocates could not go one full sentence without blaming the guns.
“We cannot afford to treat cases of domestic violence shootings as private tragedies,” the post continued. “They are preventable acts of violence that demand loud and urgent systemic intervention.”
Then, the group elaborated on “systemic intervention” before expressing sympathy to Cerina Fairfax’s family and friends.
Today, we woke up to the devastating news of the shooting death of Cerina Fairfax by her estranged husband, reminding us that when domestic violence is combined with access to guns, it too often ends in irreversible tragedy. We cannot afford to treat cases of domestic violence…
— March For Our Lives (@AMarch4OurLives) April 16, 2026
Note, too, that the group never mentioned the troubled former lieutenant governor by name. That fact did not escape X users’ attention.
Why didn’t you mention Justin Fairfax by name?
Could it be that he was one of your fighters? One of the most extreme gun-grabbers out there? Heck, in 2020, he was the tie-breaking vote for the red flag bill in Virginia.
Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife.
Own it. https://t.co/GBfRAuHGmA pic.twitter.com/R3YPYY1COZ
— The🐰FOO (@PolitiBunny) April 17, 2026
Virginia has a red flag law. It didn’t work
Justin Fairfax was one of your own, pushing the laws you insist we should have and yet he murdered his wife.
Perhaps you should sit this out.
— Entropy Generator (@ENTROPYGNRTR) April 16, 2026
Meanwhile, other X users lamented the group’s audacity in exploiting an alleged murder-suicide in order to disarm the innocent.
A gun-grabbing Democrat that you supported just murdered his wife and now you want to infringe on my rights?! https://t.co/JKJRYJuIDq
— Aidan Johnston (@RealGunLobbyist) April 17, 2026
You guys are out of touch with reality. We will never give up our rights because of other people committing crimes.
— MattB (@Matt325ci) April 16, 2026
No honest conservative Christian, of course, would ever exploit the alleged Fairfax murder-suicide for political advantage. After all, the estranged couple had two children, both in the home at the time of the shootings. One of those children, in fact, placed the 911 call that alerted police to the unfolding violence.
Liberal Democrats, however, seem to operate under a demented moral code of their own creation. As they have shown over the last 10 years, for instance, they will break ties with friends and even family members who support President Donald Trump.
Thus, those Democrats see everything through a political lens. The shameless exploitation of the alleged Fairfax murder-suicide represents merely the latest example.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
Michael Schwarz holds a Ph.D. in History and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. He has published one book and numerous essays on Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Early U.S. Republic. He loves dogs, baseball, and freedom. After meandering spiritually through most of early adulthood, he has rediscovered his faith in midlife and is eager to continue learning about it from the great Christian thinkers.
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