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Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join.html
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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. Gigantic Hillsville gun show coming up - help needed!
2. VCDL meeting at Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club (RRPC) THIS Wednesday
3. Newport News picnic - RSVPs needed
4. Gun owners to stage open carry 'read-in' to protest misleading library rules
5. VCDL Supper Meeting in Christiansburg on September 17
6. Who needs a gun in Roanoke?
7. LTE: Gun debate ignores existence of evil
8. Trader Jerry's has ammunition stolen with trailer
9. PWC Fair and Chesterfield County Fiar are anti-liberty
10. Stepfather charged in accidental shooting death of Woodbridge 4 year old
11. No firearms on Amtrak's Auto Train
12. Gun laws won't stop shootings
13. How the Government could limit guns immediately
14. Gun Control - The coward's and fool's answer to ending violent crime
15. Gun sales rise amid fear of stricter gun control laws
16. Q&A on D.C.'s gun laws
17. Body blocking bullets
18. Gun violence is social disease, public health experts say
19. Alabama woman shoots home intruder
20. Video shows armed clerks scaring off masked robber
21. Students with gun permits get segregated dorms at University of Colorado
22. In this small town, everyone can carry a handgun except police
23. Jesse Jackson Jr's FOID card
24. Man accidentally shoots self in Nevada theater
25. American gun lovers turn to Russian AK-47s
26. Women driving up gun sales in Virginia
27. Richmond Library "read in" video now online
28. Heads-up: Sportsman's Warehouse photocopying IDs
29. Help needed to man VCDL booth at the Norfolk Gun Show September 8-9
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1. Gigantic Hillsville gun show coming up - help needed!
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The massive Hillsville Gun Show and Flea Market is being held over the Labor Day weekend. If you've never been to this event, you aren't going to believe the size - they have had attendance in the 400,000 to 500,000 range over a four day period! The entire town of Hillsville is consumed by this event.
In the past we have handed out tens of thousands of our "Guns Save Lives" stickers, creating a sea of bright orange stickers.
LOCATION
HWY 58, Hillsville VA--one mile off of I-77, Exit 14.
If you are coming from the Roanoke area, it is best to take take HWY 100 off of I-81 to Hillsville
VCDL has spaces 647 & 648 in Row 8
SHIFT HOURS
We will need some morning helpers to arrive not later than 7:30 AM for set up
Friday, August 31 - 8 AM to 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM to 5 PM
Saturday, September 1 - 8 AM to 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM to 5 PM
Sunday, September 2 - 8 AM to 12:30 PM, 12:30 PM to 5 PM
Monday, September 3 - 8 AM to 4 PM
We could use at least four helpers per shift. "ALL DAY" helpers are a plus! Board member Al Steed Jr. is working on the use of a 3 bedroom house for overnight stays with no charge for those coming from a distance and wishing to assist two days or more.
Contact Al Steed Jr. for more information or to volunteer at:
SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org
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2. VCDL meeting at Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club (RRPC) THIS Wednesday
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There will be a VCDL meeting in the Charlottesville area THIS Wednesday, August 29. The meeting will be hosted by the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club (RRPC) and will feature speakers Steve Webb, Steve Sandow and Jeremy Webb. The topic will be reloading your own ammunition.
As with past meetings at RRPC we will begin with a pot luck dinner. The main course (sloppy joes) and beverages will be provided and those attending dinner are requested to bring a side dish of your choice. If you are unable to bring a dish please don't let that keep you from joining us for dinner as there is always plenty to share. If you will be eating, please RSVP to:
pat.webb@vcdl.org
and put the number attending dinner in the subject line (i.e. 8/29 meeting, 2 for dinner). If you are only attending the meeting and not the dinner, there is no need to RSVP.
If you live in the west-central part of VA this is an excellent opportunity to see the facilities at RRPC. The range has been actively supporting VCDL and the shooting community in general for some time and has much to offer.
You do not need to be a member of VCDL or of RRPC to attend this meeting. In fact, we encourage you to spread the word and invite your friends and neighbors.
Details:
VCDL Meeting
Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012
Pot Luck Dinner: 6:30 p.m.
Meeting: 7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Topic: Reloading Ammo
Place: Rivanna Rifle & Pistol Club
1570 Old Lynchburg Road
Charlottesville, VA 22903
RSVP (for dinner only) pat.webb @ VCDL.org
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3. Newport News picnic - RSVPs needed
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The VCDL cordially invites the general public to a picnic at the Riverview Park in Newport News, VA on Saturday, September 15 from 11 AM until 2 PM. This is a family affair so bring the little ones along and enjoy the beautiful park. Food and drinks will be provided by the VCDL but attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share if they so desire.
VCDL president Philip Van Cleave and Delegate Brenda Pogge will be speaking at the picnic. Delegate Pogge carried an important bill for VCDL this year, which allows local government employees to keep their firearms in their private vehicles while at work.
The Riverview Park is located at:'
125 City Farm Road, Newport News, Virginia 23602
http://mapq.st/NZ8OC5
PLEASE RSVP at this email address:
picnic.nn@vcdl.org
In the SUBJECT LINE put "RSVP n", where "n" is the number in your party.
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4. Gun owners to stage open carry 'read-in' to protest misleading library rules
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EM Ed Levine informed me about this:
--
From guns.com: http://tinyurl.com/9x729ug
Gun Owners to Stage Open Carry 'Read-in' to Protest Misleading Library Rules
by dabneybailey
August 14, 2012
You could be the most hardcore advocate of the Second Amendment, and you'd still have to admit that there are some places where you aren't allowed to carry guns. Private property is a good example. If there's a sign posted at a private business or restaurant then you either obey their rules and leave your gun, or go somewhere else.
However, the government (much to gun owners' chagrin) has the authority to tell us where we can and can't carry firearms. If they tell us that carrying a gun on school grounds is illegal, then there's not much that be done about it (outside of voting in different politicians or fighting the unjust law in court).
But what happens when the government tells you not to carry a firearm in a place where carrying a firearm is perfectly legal? And even worse – what if a government servant misinforms the public by saying that it is illegal when it's not? Both of those questions were recently tackled by Philip Van Cleave, the president of Virginia Citizens Defense League.
It's Not Allowed, But Totally Legal
You see, the public library in Richmond, Virginia, has this long, extensive list detailing everything that isn't allowed, and revealing just how much they love the word "prohibited." Smoking is prohibited; soliciting services is prohibited; misuse of restrooms is prohibited; carrying concealed weapons of any type is "prohibited by state law."
Ooh, they really beefed up that last one, didn't they? Guns are prohibited by state law. But, as it turns out, they aren't. In fact, in January 2012 the Virginia General Assembly looked at a bill that would give libraries the authority to prohibits firearms, but it failed.
So Van Cleave, nice guy that he is, called up the library and explained that the wording was incorrect. He reminded them that the library has no authority to tell people that they can't carry weapons into a public library when the law allows it.
But the library folks didn't take down the restriction, but they did shuffle around the wording a bit. Van Cleave said that the new terminology is "Carrying concealed weapons is prohibited, except as permitted by law," which glosses over the fact that concealed carry weapons are permitted by law, but the implication will probably intimidate or confuse gun owners into leaving their firearms at home.
You'd think that a bunch of librarians would be more precise with their terminology.
We're Not Breaking Any Laws!
Van Cleave wants to clear up any confusion about the misleading wording by holding a public read-in at the Richmond Public Library tomorrow and he invites as many Virginians with guns as possible to participate in this perfectly legal peaceful assembly.
Van Cleave announced in a mass email, "As I see it, they are discouraging concealed carry in the library with their confusing policy. So, I guess they want everyone to open carry. So be it."
The read-in will take place Aug. 15, from 5pm to 7pm at the Richmond Public Library on 101 East Franklin Street. Van Cleave said he will kindly give heads up to the local police to warn them about the event, and anticipates that this story will gain the attention of more gun rights advocates and local media.
This event should send a strong message to the people of Richmond, Virginia. To the government the read-in will say, "You can't trick us into compliance just because you don't like guns." To fellow citizens the read-in will say, "Don't be intimidated by the library's misleading rules; they can't stop you from exercising your right to defend yourselves."
Tomorrow should be a great moment in the history of personal freedom. You may take our library cards, but you can never take our freedom!
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5. VCDL Supper Meeting in Christiansburg on September 17
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VCDL will again have a meeting and supper on Monday, September 17 at:
AMELIA'S PIZZORIA & RESTAURANT
1130 CAMBRIA ST NE
CHRISTIANSBURG, VA 24073
Phone: 540-381-7878
Fellowship starts at 6 PM, food will be served at 7 PM. BUFFET COST $12.00, price to include drinks (soft drinks, tea and such)--and tips.
DIRECTIONS:
* I-81 to EXIT 118 B (VA Tech exit) to 460 Bypass
* Take the "Christiansburg" exit; then immediately take the "Downtown" exit
* Turn LEFT at the traffic light onto CAMBRIA ST
* Restaurant is on the LEFT a few blocks down the street.
This event is open to the public. AMELIA's is known for their fine food and great service!! We respectfully request an RSVP to include numbers in your party, so the proper amount of food may be prepared, and seating can be prepared. Speaker to be announced.
RSVP to al@vcdl.org
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6. Who needs a gun in Roanoke?
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Jack Doyle emailed me this:
--
From roanoke.com: http://tinyurl.com/8eeswfq
Roanoke woman reports 2 men robbed her of debit card
by Chase Purdy
August 16, 2012
A Roanoke woman was robbed early Monday morning by two men demanding she hand over her debit card, police said.
Police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said the unidentified woman was walking in the 1500 block of Lafayette Boulevard Northwest at 12:12 a.m. when two men approached her. One of the men pulled out a gun, physically assaulted her and then ran away, police said the woman reported.
She then went to the 2400 block of Florida Avenue Northwest, where she called police, Johnson said.
Johnson described the two as tall, black men with short hair. The woman told police one was wearing a green shirt with baggy jeans. The other wore a black shirt with jeans.
Police have not made an arrest or named any suspects.
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7. LTE: Gun debate ignores existence of evil
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From roanoke.com: http://tinyurl.com/9o962ad
Letters: Gun debate ignores existence of evil
August 11, 2012
Is Norman Prince for real ("Officials are afraid to confront gun lobby," July 25 Pick of the day)? His listing of certain shooters by name greatly perturbs me. Their names should never be spoken or printed. The governor of Colorado is right on point in refusing to mention the name of the recent shooter. To mention their names only gives them the fame they wanted. I believe it is wrong to show their pictures or print their names.
After the Virginia Tech killings, I vowed never to mention the murderer's name. I agree with Gov. Mike Huckabee that there is evil in this world and with his decision not to mention their names. I realize it is not politically correct to mention the word evil.
Just where does Prince get off calling them psychotic? Like many liberals, he probably does not believe that there is such a thing as evil.
I grow weary of the attempts to paint violence as a mental health issue or a gun issue. I do not buy the assertion that the shooters were all mentally ill or that guns are the problem. The issue is a cultural one, and the presence of evil cannot be ignored.
JOE PAINTER
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8. Trader Jerry's has ammunition stolen with trailer
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Board member Al Steed Jr. reported that gun dealer Trader Jerry's in Salem had a trailer stolen a week ago in the evening after the Roanoke Gun Show. The trailer contained some furniture, clothes, WW 2 medals--and 7,000 to 8,000 rounds of .308 ammo. No guns are known to have been in the trailer. Trade Jerry's signs are painted on the sides of the trailer. Trailer was said to have a flat tire when last seen.
If you see this trailer or see someone selling a lot of .308 ammunition that strikes you as odd, contact your local PD to report it.
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9. PWC Fair and Chesterfield County Fair are anti-liberty
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More foolishness from two county fairs. They should move the fairs to North Korea, where the attitude about liberty would be more suitable to them.
Chris Jones emailed me this:
I attended the Prince William County Fair today, and noticed a sign outside the fence. "No Weapons". I normally carried concealed (I have a permit) and so the sign caught my attention. I thought that the PWC Fair was a government event, and so VA state law should trump county laws. However, I researched a little more and saw that the land is privately held. Needless to say, I will not be attending the fair anymore since it's a "gun free" zone.
Thought I would share my story, and perhaps add the event to your Gun Unfriendly list.
--
David Cosby emailed me a photo of a "No firearms" sign at the ticket booth at the Chesterfield County Fair. I had heard from a source that this was coming.
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10. Stepfather charged in accidental shooting death of Woodbridge 4 year old
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As if losing a child isn't bad enough, the Woodbridge County Attorney is doubling-down by going after the father in a freak accident that no one could have predicted.
Jason Seiler emailed me this:
--
From washingtonpost.com: http://tinyurl.com/cxuwkay
Stepfather charged in accidental shooting death of Woodbridge 4-year-old
by Jeremy Borden
August 9, 2012
The stepfather of a 4-year-old Woodbridge boy who found a loaded handgun and accidentally shot himself has been arrested on a child cruelty charge, Prince William County police said.
The boy, Kyrell Kyyon McNeill, climbed into a family member's truck on July 25, found the loaded weapon and shot himself in the head. Jasmine Darnell Matthews, 27, Kyrell's stepfather, has been charged with cruelty and injuries to children for leaving the loaded gun "in another family member's unsecured vehicle," according to a police statement.
Matthews, who authorities say works as a security guard, lives at the house where the death occurred, in the 14800 block of Empire Street.
"It is a tragic accident.. . . I don't think he could foresee exactly how this would happen,"said Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert. "But he could see that a young child could gain access to a weapon and harm himself. It was a negligent act and that's the basis of the charge."
The boy apparently climbed into the bed of the family member's truck and slid through the cabin window, Ebert said. That's where he found the loaded handgun on the back seat.
Ebert explained that the charge does not "require or infer intent" and comes with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The boy's mother was watching him from the home's front window, Ebert said.
Matthews has been released on a $20,000 unsecured bond and a court date is not yet available.
--
Here is a Washington Post story where I am quoted:
http://tinyurl.com/cx6j4am
Lessons sought in case of Woodbridge boy, 4, who killed himself with gun
By Jeremy Borden, Published: August 20
For some, there is a lesson in the story of a 4-year-old Woodbridge
boy who got access to a handgun and accidentally killed himself.
For others, it is simply a tragedy that borders on the unimaginable.
But accident or not, the events that led to the death of Kyrell Kyyon
McNeill could have stiff legal consequences.
The boy climbed into a relative's truck July 25, found the loaded
weapon and accidentally shot himself in the head, police said. He
gained access to the gun by sliding through a cabin window,
Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert (D) said.
The longtime prosecutor said that he keeps a handgun in his vehicle's
glove compartment but ensures it's locked and that he "is scared to
death" of a child getting access to it.
Ebert said the owner of the gun bears responsibility. His office
charged Jasmine Darnell Matthews, 27, Kyrell's stepfather, with
cruelty and injuries to children for leaving the loaded gun "in
another family member's unsecured vehicle," according to a police
statement.
Ebert said the charge does not "require or infer intent" and comes
with a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Matthews, who authorities say works as a security guard, lives at the
house where the death occurred, in the 14800 block of Empire Street in
Woodbridge.
"It is a tragic accident. . . . I don't think he could foresee exactly
how this would happen," Ebert said. "But he could see that a young
child could gain access to a weapon and harm himself. It was a
negligent act, and that's the basis of the charge."
Matthews's attorney did not return a phone message Friday seeking comment.
Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
which lobbies for "creating an America free from gun violence," said
first and foremost the concern should be with the boy's parents.
"I think we have to be respectful of a family going through a
tremendous crisis," Gross said. "I'm sure the hearts of everybody go
out to the parents. I couldn't imagine a bigger nightmare than that."
But, he said, even random-seeming tragedies should be evaluated.
"I don't think we should look at these as random tragedies and move
on," he said. "What's the appropriate way as a civil society we should
deal with these tragedies?"
Gross said that from swimming pools to bike helmets, new rules over
the years have sought to ensure greater safety. "All anybody is saying
is we need to do the same thing about guns," he said.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League,
which advocates for the rights of gun owners, said his concern was
with the law under which Matthews was charged. Van Cleave said he
finds it troublesome that Matthews could be charged under a statute
when it seems there was no ill intent on his part.
"If the [authorities] want you, they'll find something if they really
want to get you," Van Cleave said.
"They're implying the father was torturing this child when he died,"
Van Cleave said of the "cruelty and injuries" language of the charge.
"Based upon the story, I don't get that."
He said the criminal charge casts aspersions on the thousands of
law-abiding gun owners. In Virginia, it's legal to have a gun and
conceal it, with a permit.
"The vast majority of people are doing it right. Do [gun owners] need
special treatment because we're gun owners? No, we don't," Van Cleave
said.
What both sides can agree on is the toll taken by the accident.
"You're horrified for the parents. I don't think they could have
predicted this tragedy," Van Cleave said.
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11. No firearms on Amtrak's Auto Train
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Guy Willis emailed me this:
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Since Florida has reciprocity with Virginia, I was considering taking my conceal carry pistol to Tampa for the duration of the Ron Paul Festival. I had read that Amtrak in the last few years had reversed its policy of banning firearms on its trains and as long as my firearm was unloaded and in a locked case I would be OK checking it upon arrival at the station. In scheduling my trip I decided to take the Amtrak Auto Train which would allow me to take my car to Florida. On the Auto Train they do not have checked baggage because it is presumed you will leave your baggage in your car. I called Amtrak customer service today to see if taking the auto train makes a difference regarding transporting firearms. After 5 minutes on hold while the customer service rep spoke to her supervisor I was told that Amtrak passengers may not take their firearms on the Auto Train. Disappointed, but I thought I would let you know since I could not previously find this policy explained on the Amtrak website or online.
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12. Gun laws won't stop shootings
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Board Member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
--
From hamptonroads.com: http://tinyurl.com/9cx4gze
Va., Colo., Wis. poll: Gun laws won't stop shootings
by Kevin Robillard
August 8, 2012
Voters in three swing states with gun massacres in the recent past support a national ban on high-capacity magazines — but don't think additional laws will prevent mass shootings, a New York Times/Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows.
Fifty-eight percent of likely voters in Colorado support a ban on the magazines. Last month, a man walked into a movie theater in Aurora and opened fire, killing 12. Fifty-seven percent support a ban in Wisconsin, where a man killed six people at a Sikh temple in suburban Milwaukee on Sunday. In Virginia, another swing state with a mass shooting in recent memory, 52 percent of likely voters support the ban.
The shooters in Aurora, at Virginia Tech in 2007 and in Tucson, Ariz., last year all used high-capacity magazines, which enable a gunman to continue firing additional bullets without stopping to reload. The federal assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 had a ban on high-capacity magazines. Six states have bans or strict limitations on the magazines now.
Thirty-eight percent of likely voters in Colorado, 44 percent of voters in Virginia and 43 percent in Wisconsin think the nation's gun laws should be stricter.
Half of Coloradans, 44 percent of Virginians and 48 percent of Wisconsinites think the laws should be kept the same. Less than 10 percent in each state think the laws should be made less strict. Among likely voters in gun-owning households, about 6 in 10 think the laws should be kept the same in all three states, and around a quarter think the laws should be tougher.
Regardless of changes in the law, voters in the three states don't think future mass shootings can be stopped by laws. Two-thirds of likely voters in Colorado, 60 percent in the Old Dominion and 57 percent in Wisconsin don't think stricter laws can stop future attacks.
Pluralities in each state also think the nation's presidential candidates haven't spent enough time addressing gun laws. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group founded and funded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is making a push to get both President Barack Obama and presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney to spend more time talking about their gun control plans on the trail.
The poll of 1,463 likely voters in Colorado, 1,412 likely voters in Virginia and 1,428 likely voters in Wisconsin was conducted between July 31 and Aug. 6.
The poll was conducted before the Wisconsin shooting and after the shooting in Colorado.
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13. How the Government could limit guns immediately
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More thuggish suggestions from the dark side. Have the Government extort gun dealers and manufacturers into acting "responsibly." Yep, big government is always so very responsible itself and Fast and Furious is proof positive.
EM Dave Hicks emailed me this:
--
From slate.com: http://tinyurl.com/8kdztk5
How the Government Could Limit Guns Immediately
by Eliot Spitzer
August 7, 2012
It happened again, for the second time in just over two weeks—the horror of a gun-wielding maniac wreaking havoc and death. The attack in Oak Creek, Wis., was motivated by a right-wing racist agenda, one that blames "others" for the problems of the sick individual who pulled the trigger. Yes, people pull the trigger—but guns are the instrument of death.
Gun control is necessary, and delay means more death and horror.
So, what have we heard from the presidential contenders? Pablum. Mitt Romney hides behind a misunderstanding of the Second Amendment, and the White House blames Congress. Here's what White House press secretary Jay Carney said on Monday: "[President Obama] does support renewing the assault weapons ban. I think what I've noted in the past, and what I noted here, is that there has been reluctance by Congress to pass that renewal."
Here is a different idea: If the White House really wants to act—and not just give us more rhetoric, something it is very good at—it has the tools to do so. And so, for that matter, does Mike Bloomberg, one of the few clarion voices speaking out for gun control.
They could use government's power in the marketplace—as the largest purchaser of guns—to force the companies we buy from to act responsibly. I first proposed this idea when I was attorney general of New York in 2000, but it proved impossible to forge a coalition of executives willing to act. Maybe things have finally changed.
The government uses its power in the marketplace to influence private companies all the time. Here are just two examples. The infamous TARP program made bailout funds conditional on limits to executive compensation, and properly so. And contractors who want to work for government entities, at the municipal level in particular, in many cases have to pay a "living wage" and ensure diversity in their work force.
Here is how it could work with guns: The Defense Department and the city of New York are among the largest purchasers of guns. If the president and the mayor truly believe that semi-automatic weapons should not be available to private purchasers, and that magazines with more than 10 bullets should not be sold over the counter, they should simply say that, from now on, the federal government and the city of New York, as a matter of public safety, will not buy any weapons or ammunition from companies that do not agree to pull semi-automatics from their stock and refuse to produce magazines with more than 10 rounds other than for sale to the government. President Obama and Mayor Bloomberg should announce that semiautomatic handguns with high-capacity magazines—the kind used in Oak Creek; Aurora, Colo.; Tucson, Ariz.; and Virginia Tech—can no longer be sold to private citizens by any company that wants to do business with the federal government and the city of New York.
The major gun manufacturers will agree to the limits imposed by their major customers.
Use the power of the government as a purchaser, as a consumer, to get the companies marketing these products to change their behavior. And do it now. Stop blaming the legislature and act, immediately.
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14. Gun Control - The coward's and fool's answer to ending violent crime
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From janmorganmedia.com: http://tinyurl.com/9qh2739
GUN CONTROL- The Coward's and Fool's Answer to Ending Violent Crime
by Jan Morgan
August 14, 2012
In America, GUN CONTROL should mean a balanced stance and smooth trigger pull. Instead, we have arrived at a place in this country where liberal elitists believe it is the answer to ending violent crime. It never ceases to amaze me that people who present themselves as intellectuals, and gun owners as ignorant uneducated hicks, can't comprehend simple statistics much less history on the issue of gun control.
The recent mass shooting in Colorado has the gun control advocates scrambling once again, pushing their legislators for tighter restrictions on guns or even gun bans in America. Why is it that when criminals use guns in the commission of crimes, people want to take guns away from law abiding citizens who didn't do anything wrong.
90 million gun owners with over 300 million guns in this country KILLED NO ONE LAST YEAR. In fact over two million innocent people used guns to save lives. In most of those cases, the gun owner simply had to pull a gun to stop an attacker, never having to pull the trigger.
If those statistics are not sufficient, why do these gun control advocates refuse to acknowledge the states in cities and states in America that have tighter gun control laws? Those areas of the country have a higher violent crime rate than cities and states with fewer gun control laws. The reason is simple. If you take guns away from law abiding citizens, you remove their ability to defend themselves and their property. Criminals do not abide by gun control laws, so criminals remain armed in a population of people who are unarmed. It is a criminal's paradise. Homes and people are easy targets.
If gun control crime stats are not enough to convince the anti-gun crowd of the error in their thinking, how about a simple glance at history? In the 20th century, 170 million people were annihilated by their own governments after being disarmed. In the minds of evil leaders, gun control is not about guns, it is about control. Remove the citizens guns and you have the ideal environment for tyranny.
Since America is so divided on this issue, perhaps we should just split the country. Lets have all the gun owners move to southern states and all the anti-gun advocates move up north. It would be interesting to see how long it takes for all the criminals to move up north to make their living among the defenseless and how soon those anti-gun citizens would be begging for guns.
Our Founding Fathers were intelligent men who understood this simple logic. They understood that the ability to defend your life and property is a God given right, not a right given by the government. Remember, what the government gives, the government can take away. Americans must NEVER submit their legally obtained firearms, their defense, to a government, especially one that has openly provided firearms to mexican drug cartels, criminals, while at the same time, wants to remove guns from law abiding citizens. That in itself should be, ENOUGH SAID.
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15. Gun sales rise amid fear of stricter gun control laws
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From cbsnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/8plv929
Gun sales rise amid fear of stricter gun control laws
by Tammy Leitner
August 17, 2012
(CBS News) Gun sales are rising across the country with 10.2 million guns sold this year, a record pace 20 percent ahead of last year according to the FBI.
Los Angeles mother Michelle Schy is among a growing number of Americans arming themselves out of fear. Schy said the shootings in Aurora, Colo., Virginia Tech, and Columbine prompted her to take the classes. The after-school activities for her two teens involve taking gun classes, knife training, combat and self-defense.
Also driving those sales is the fear of stricter gun control laws under a second Obama administration. Nolan Avery, manager of the LAX gun range said he hasn't seen this type of spike during other presidential elections and believes it's specific to President Barack Obama.
The Los Angeles range makes its own ammunition and supplies, but says it can't keep up with the demand. Nationally, one major gun manufacturer has stopped taking any new orders because they can't keep up with the old ones.
The FBI tracks background checks on gun owners. Their numbers project three million more guns could sold by the end of this year.
"The fact that in the last month or so that they've even spiked higher, actually even surprises me," said Alan Gottlieb, of the Second Amendment Foundation, a Washington State-based non-profit firearms activism group. "Because they've been so high. It's hard to get a spike when you're already at a record sales number."
The numbers are high because moms like Schy say they have no choice. "I'm not going to let them go to a movie theater and be slaughtered."
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16. Q&A on D.C.'s gun laws
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From washingtontimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/92pltkv
MILLER: Q&A on D.C.'s gun laws
by Emily Miller
August 15, 2012
The shooting at the Family Research Council in Washington on Wednesday raised many questions about the guns laws in the District of Columbia. As people continued to tweet me questions, I decided to answer them all in one post. Below are your questions, followed by my responses. Feel free to elaborate in the comment section at the bottom.
Q: Is it legal to carry a concealed firearm in DC?
A: No, the nation's capital does not recognize the right to bear arms. It is illegal to have a gun outside the home in D.C. The city was forced in 2008 to recognize the right to keep arms when the Supreme Court ruled that the 30-year total ban on handguns was unconstitutional in the Heller decision.
Q: Does DC accept CCW from other states? Which ones?
A: No concealed carry permits can be used in D.C. It's important for visitors to the nation's capital to know this so that they don't get arrested for an innocent mistake. It happens too often.
Under no circumstances can a non-resident of the District bring a gun into the city. Army 1st Seargent Matthew Corrigan spent two weeks in jail for unregistered guns.
Residents can have guns in their homes if each one is registered with the city.
Also keep in mind that ammunition has to be registered so non-residents can be arrested for this, as happened in the case of Army Specialist Adam Mecker. The city council is moving to make it a civil instead of a criminal offense for visitors to get caught with unregistered guns or ammunition, but that bill has not had a hearing yet.
Q: How has that law not been overturned?
A: The main excuse the local politicians use for not granting any carry rights -- open or concealed -- is that having congressmen, the president and Supreme Court justices around town makes this a unique case and legal guns would put them in more danger. Read more here. Of course, if someone wants to assassinate the president or lawmaker, he won't care that carrying a gun is illegal.
Q: Woollard v Sheridan may change things in the next few years. Are you going to be DC's test case!?
A: The recent court Woolard case which ruled that neighboring Maryland's carry permit process was unconstitutional because it puts the burden on the citizen for proving a need to carry the gun, rather than the state saying why you cannot, is being watched very carefully for its impact on D.C.
Just last week I asked D.C. city council chairman Phil Mendelson about the carry laws, and he said of the Woolard ruling that, "I'm anxious to see it play out and what the court is thinking." He's been saying that since the ruling first came down in March. Bottom line, D.C. knows if that decision sticks, it will soon be forced in court to allow carry rights.
Q: When do you see the courts finally allowing law-abiding-citizens to carry on the streets of DC? What about reciprocity?
A: I think it could happen in the next two years as long as Woollard holds up in court. Also, D.C. politicians want, more than anything, to get more autonomy with their budgets. They know however that Congress is not happy with the overly-restrictive gun laws.
We saw recently that Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, single-handedly sunk the D.C. budget autonomy bill in the Senate by attaching amendments that would give more gun rights to residents, including carry rights. Read more about the move here. The combination of Congress and the courts are putting a lot of pressure on D.C. to allow carry rights.
However, as it did with the right to keep arms, I would expect an onerous process that will make it virtually impossible to actually get a carry permit. Read here about what changes the city was forced to make on its registration process this year. Reciprocity I would only expect to be done in D.C. when forced on the federal level. The Senate has held up the House-passed bill on national reciprocity since April.
Q: How is one supposed to transport their firearms in DC?
A: The police made it very complicated, but we forced them to clear up the information they were giving to the public. Read about them giving out false information on the transport laws here and here and then the city council forcing them to stop here.
The federal transport laws apply in the District. The law is simple: you can transport a gun from one place to another where you can legally possess it as long as the gun is properly stowed. So in D.C., I can legally possess in my home and then take it, for example, to a shooting range in Virginia.
Q: Please explain if the DC recognizes the federal law that allows the transportation of unloaded firearms through all 50 states?
A: Yes, see above. Though if a cop in D.C. arrests you while legally transporting your gun, as happened in the case of Lt. Augustine Kim (read his story here), then call a good firearms attorney.
Rep. Morgan Griffith has a bill in Congress that would be helpful for anti-gun locales like D.C. to make the federal law as clear as possible. Read about his legislation here.
Q: How do you get a newly-purchased gun to the home???
A: This falls under the federal transport laws, as it's legal to have the gun at the registry office and the home. I brought my new gun home from the police station on the Metro in a locked box -- perfectly legal! Read my story here, with a photo of my gun in the subway.
Q: Emily you mentioned in an article that DC might start using cards (vice paper) for registrations. any word on that?
A: The Metropolitan Police Department is supposedly working on my suggestion to upgrad the flimsy registration certificates to cards to keep in a wallet. Things move slowly here.
Q: I would think that the VP's firearms would protected by federal privilege right? (Ryan if elected)
A: I've never heard of a federal privilege. Members of Congress are bound by D.C.'s gun laws when they are in town. I think Rep. Paul Ryan will have to go through the same registration process as the rest of us, which I wrote about in the paper today in: Ryan is first on Second Amendment.
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17. Body blocking bullets
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From washingtontimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/9ud3ql3
MILLER: Body blocking bullets
FRC shooting shows why the right to bear arms is needed in D.C.
by Emily Miller
August 16, 2012
An unarmed security guard thwarted a gunman in Washington on Wednesday using nothing but his body - and that's just what D.C. officials want. Mayor Vincent C. Gray cited Leonardo Johnson's being shot in the arm while protecting coworkers at the Family Research Council (FRC) as proof the capital city's restrictive gun laws are effective. It's dangerous to think unarmed guards are always going to be able to protect the innocent from determined criminals.
On Thursday, the mayor told NewsChannel 8's Bruce DePuyt that he is "proud of the gun laws we have here in the District of Columbia," which he called "the most stringent, restrictive" in the country.
Mr. Gray believes it's significant that the accused shooter, Floyd Lee Corkins II, bought a 9mm handgun in his home state of Virginia. "He would not have been able to do that in the District of Columbia," the mayor said. "When guns are available, they will get them - like in a situation like this and use them for potentially tragic purposes, as this man did yesterday."
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier said Mr. Johnson was a "hero" because "he didn't allow the armed person past the front, so he did his job."
Mr. Johnson might have been able to do his job without getting shot had the city recognized his constitutional right to bear arms. The District does allow law enforcement and the military to carry while engaged in official duties. Special police and campus police who have been commissioned by Ms. Lanier also are allowed to protect themselves with firearms while on the job. It's unknown whether Mr. Johnson, a full-time employee who handles security as well as facilities management, had a special police commission.
Firearms attorney Richard Gardiner surmises that Mr. Johnson "was probably not armed because FRC did not want to register a gun." All firearms in the city have to be registered by an individual or a company. According to Mr. Gardiner, the registration would be in the name of the organization and the bizarre process would have required FRC President Tony Perkins to personally undergo D.C.'s 12-step registration ordeal.
FRC's position opposing homosexual "marriage" may have motivated the shooter, who reportedly had bags of Chick-fil-A sandwiches in his backpack. The fast-food chain has come under criticism from left-wing groups since its CEO, Dan Cathy, said he supports traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
While Mr. Gray pats himself on the back over Washington's gun laws, they haven't done anything to stop criminals from obtaining illegal guns. In the last year, there have been 1,285 robberies with guns and 552 assaults with guns, the latter being the charge against Mr. Corkins. The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms. No American should have to defend himself with his body.
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18. Gun violence is social disease, public health experts say
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As I had warned last week, we are going to see an escalation in calling guns a "disease" or a "pathogen" and attaching them with fake-science. Bloomberg is actively pushing this agenda (I have my sources ;-) )
The "public health experts" below are nothing more than anti-freedom control-freaks with white lab coats. If what they are saying sounds nonsensical to you, don't worry, that's because it is.
From huffingtonpost.com: http://tinyurl.com/bwz9ftn
Gun Violence Is Social Disease, Public Health Experts Say
By MARILYNN MARCHIONE
August 11, 2012
MILWAUKEE -- Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol? Yes, say public health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.
What we need, they say, is a public health approach to the problem, like the highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago, even as the number of vehicles on the road rose.
One example: Guardrails are now curved to the ground instead of having sharp metal ends that stick out and pose a hazard in a crash.
"People used to spear themselves and we blamed the drivers for that," said Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine professor who directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
It wasn't enough back then to curb deaths just by trying to make people better drivers, and it isn't enough now to tackle gun violence by focusing solely on the people doing the shooting, he and other doctors say.
They want a science-based, pragmatic approach based on the reality of a society saturated with guns and seek better ways of preventing harm from them.
The need for a new approach crystallized last Sunday for one of the nation's leading gun violence experts, Dr. Stephen Hargarten. He found himself treating victims of the Sikh temple shootings at the emergency department he heads in Milwaukee. Seven people were killed, including the gunman, and three were seriously injured.
It happened two weeks after the shooting that killed 12 people and injured 58 at a movie theater in Colorado, and two days before a man pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Ariz., last year.
"What I'm struggling with is, is this the new social norm? This is what we're going to have to live with if we have more personal access to firearms," said Hargarten, emergency medicine chief at Froedtert Hospital and director of the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "We have a public health issue to discuss. Do we wait for the next outbreak or is there something we can do to prevent it?"
About 260 million to 300 million firearms are owned by civilians in the United States; about one-third of American homes have one. Guns are used in two-thirds of homicides, according to the FBI. About 9 percent of all violent crimes involve a gun – roughly 338,000 cases each year.
Mass shootings don't seem to be on the rise, but not all police agencies report details like the number of victims per shooting and reporting lags by more than a year, so recent trends are not known.
"The greater toll is not from these clusters but from endemic violence, the stuff that occurs every day and doesn't make the headlines," said Wintemute, the California researcher.
More than 73,000 emergency room visits in 2010 were for firearm-related injuries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
At the same time, violent crime has been falling and the murder rate is less than half what it was two decades ago. And Gallup polls have shown support for stricter gun laws has been falling since 1990. Last year 55 percent of Americans said gun laws should remain the same or become more lenient.
Dr. David Satcher tried to make gun violence a public health issue when he became CDC director in 1993. Four years later, laws that allow the carrying of concealed weapons drew attention when two women were shot at an Indianapolis restaurant after a patron's gun fell out of his pocket and accidentally fired. Ironically, the victims were health educators in town for an American Public Health Association convention.
That same year, Hargarten won a federal grant to establish the nation's first Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
"Unlike almost all other consumer products, there is no national product safety oversight of firearms," he wrote in the Wisconsin Medical Journal.
That's just one aspect of a public health approach. Other elements:
_"Host" factors: What makes someone more likely to shoot, or someone more likely to be a victim. One recent study found firearm owners were more likely than those with no firearms at home to binge drink or to drink and drive, and other research has tied alcohol and gun violence. That suggests that people with driving under the influence convictions should be barred from buying a gun, Wintemute said.
_Product features: Which firearms are most dangerous and why. Manufacturers could be pressured to fix design defects that let guns go off accidentally, and to add technology that allows only the owner of the gun to fire it (many police officers and others are shot with their own weapons). Bans on assault weapons and multiple magazines that allow rapid and repeat firing are other possible steps.
_"Environmental" risk factors: What conditions allow or contribute to shootings. Gun shops must do background checks and refuse to sell firearms to people convicted of felonies or domestic violence misdemeanors, but those convicted of other violent misdemeanors can buy whatever they want. The rules also don't apply to private sales, which one study estimates as 40 percent of the market.
_Disease patterns, observing how a problem spreads. Gun ownership – a precursor to gun violence – can spread "much like an infectious disease circulates," said Daniel Webster, a health policy expert and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore.
"There's sort of a contagion phenomenon" after a shooting, where people feel they need to have a gun for protection or retaliation, he said.
That's already evident in the wake of the Colorado movie-theater shootings. Last week, reports popped up around the nation of people bringing guns to "Batman" movies. Some of them said they did so for protection.
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19. Alabama woman shoots home intruder
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An Alabama criminal found out the hard way that a mother isn't going to let him get to her children if she can stop him from doing so. With a gun she could stop him, and she did.
Charles Losik emailed me this:
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From theblaze.com: http://tinyurl.com/bre7tzv
ALABAMA WOMAN SHOOTS HOME INTRUDER TO PROTECT HERSELF AND HER AX- AND KNIFE-WIELDING DAUGHTERS
by Madeleine Morgenstern
August 17, 2012
An Alabama woman said she was forced to shoot an intruder that broke into her home this week in order to protect herself and her daughters.
Martha Lewis of Dora, Ala. told WVTM-TV it was about 3 a.m. Tuesday morning when she heard a loud noise, which turned out to be someone kicking in her door. Lewis said she called the police and grabbed her gun, then went to her daughters' room and told them each to get something to defend themselves with. She said one grabbed an ax and one got a butcher knife.
They were at the top of the stairs when they saw a man standing there at the bottom.
"I knew when he stepped on the landing that I would have to shoot him," Lewis told the station. "He starts like coming up the stairs and he said, 'would you shoot me?' And I said 'I don't want to have to but I will.'"
Ignoring her warnings, the man kept coming — and that's when Lewis said she fired.
"It wasn't like, oh can I pull the trigger? It was like when should I shoot? When will he be close enough that I know I won't miss him? That's one of the things that was going through my mind," she said.
The man stumbled outside into the yard where police found him, WVTM reported. Police said he's 25-year-old Michael Jacobs and was hospitalized in stable condition.
Lewis told the station one of the responding police officers said it would have been a different situation if she hadn't been armed.
"One of them said we would be writing up a different report if she had not had that gun," Lewis said.
Police said Lewis will not be charged for shooting the suspect. He faces charges of burglary and criminal mischief as well as possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to WVTM.
Lewis said she's had the gun for about three years but only for protection purposes.
"There's so much talk about banning guns and gun control but they're for protection," she said. "There's no way that I could have fought him off."
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20. Video shows armed clerks scaring off masked robber
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Jay Minsky emailed me this:
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Stories about store clerks defending themselves have been almost routine this past year. What also has become routine is the criminals scampering to get away when faced with armed clerks defending themselves. In this story the criminal dropped his weapon when trying to leave the store,
From abcactionnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/cxdb2hz
Video shows armed clerks scaring off masked robber
by Erik Waxler
August 8, 2012
DADE CITY, Fla. - Authorities say they are dealing with a serial robbery case. They say they have seen similar incidents in Pasco County, Hernando County, even Sumter County.
They say the men are armed and dangerous. Although yesterday, at a store in Dade City, the clerks were ready for that danger.
In a matter of seconds a quite night at the Kwick Pick Food Store turns into in a shoot out.
Surveillance video shows a masked man walking in, pointing a gun at the two guys working behind the counter.
But what the would-be robber didn't expect, both of the clerks had guns of their own.
"As soon as he walked in, he pointed the gun at the guy in the kitchen, and so the cashier started shooting at him," said clerk Yazin Shanablih.
Shanablih wasn't working when the shoot out happened Tuesday, at about 1 in the morning.
But he showed us a couple of the bullet holes that still remain.
After the clerks started shooting, the video appears to show the gunman fire back at least one time. The cashier looks like he got off three shots, the third shattered the window as the masked man ran off.
Shanablih says he still can't believe no one was hit. "They missed each other, but almost too close."
The Kwick Pick clerks were armed and ready this time because just four nights earlier two masked men successfully robbed the store.
They ordered the customers to the ground. Took their wallets and emptied out the cash register.
"I couldn't believe it because I've been here like four years and since four years we've been 24 hours, never closed the doors, never had no problem at all," said Shanablih.
While investigators don't know who the armed men are, they do have the gun used in the latest robbery attempt.
You can see in the video the masked man drops the weapon as he high-tails it out of the store.
Shanablih says knowing the clerks here are armed will probably keep the robbers from ever coming back. "After the second time, yea, they won't think about it."
We're told the clerk who works at the register and fired back is shaken up and taking a well deserved week's vacation. At the store, the window that was shot out has already been replaced and it's business as usual.
Investigators say they believe the same robbers also hit a store in Trilby, one in Brooksville, and two in Sumter County.
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21. Students with gun permits get segregated dorms at University of Colorado
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It's all about control and the Ivory Tower loves controlling everyone and everything.
Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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From usnews.nbcnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/8j75z6a
Students with gun permits get segregated dorms at University of Colorado
by Sevil Omer
August 17, 2012
The University of Colorado will segregate students who have concealed-weapons permits in special dorms, but their firearms will have to be locked up before bedtime, according to campus police.
University officials have amended their student housing contract at its Boulder and Colorado Springs campuses to accommodate students who are 21 years or older and have concealed-weapons carry permits, said Ryan Huff, public information officer with the University of Colorado's campus police in Boulder.
"If you have a permit, you can carry a concealed weapon on campus, as long as its hidden away from view, and you can even have it with you in class," Huff told NBC News. "What you can not do is have it on you at a ticketed event, such as football games, or in any of the residence halls on campus."
The university's policy change comes after the Colorado Supreme Court upheld an appeals-court decision in March that struck down the university's ban on guns.
"I believe we have taken reasonable steps to adhere to the ruling of the Colorado Supreme Court, while balancing that with the priority of providing a safe environment for our students, faculty and staff," CU-Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano said in a statement on the university's website.
University officials say both campuses will establish a residential area for students with permits but will ban guns in all other dormitories, according to the new policy.
Huff said those who live in residence halls will have to lock up their firearms with police, but can check out their weapon before and after they go to their residence hall. For those living in family housing units, he said, safes will be established and supervised by the housing monitor.
"Ultimately, CU-Boulder and Students for Concealed Carry have the same goal in mind, the safety of campus patrons," David Burnett, director of public relations for Students for Concealed Carry, said in an email to NBC News. "We feel that CU's previous policy of expecting criminals to comply with 'no-gun' stickers on the doors was absurdly ineffective, and are happy they have made the change to allow campus carry."
The new policy, however, isn't sitting well with James Manley, a lawyer for the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a nonprofit group in Lakewood, Colo., that advocates liberty and freedom.
"We still need to see the actual language of the policy before we make a decision on how to proceed," Manley told The Daily Camera in Boulder.
University officials say less than 1 percent of its staff, faculty and students have concealed-carry permits, according to the Boulder newspaper.
Under Colorado law, to get a concealed-carry permit, a person must be 21 or older, get a federal background check and demonstrate competence with a firearm, including through a class, or military or police service.
On July 20, a mass shooting occurred at a midnight screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" in the suburb of Aurora. James Holmes, a 24-year-old former doctoral student at the University of Colorado, is accused of killing 12 people and injuring 58 others in the spree.
Huff said there is no connection between the university's new policy and the Aurora shootings.
"The university wanted to make sure its new policy was in place before students returned for the school year," he said.
According to the university website, students will start returning to residence halls on Tuesday; classes begin for the semester on Aug. 27.
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22. In this small town, everyone can carry a handgun except police
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Chet Szymecki emailed me this:
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Just wanted to take a moment and put a smile on your face Phil - kinda goofy story and a fair example of how strange laws can be. Misdemeanors should never disqualify any free man from lawful ownership of firearms. [PVC: Agreed!]
From wcfcourier.com: http://tinyurl.com/9zvx3wc
In this small town, everyone can carry a handgun except police
by Chuck Shepherd
August 17, 2012
Police report
New Mexico is an "open carry" state, with otherwise-law-abiding adults authorized to display loaded handguns in public. However, in the town of Vaughn (pop. 500), perhaps the only ones not authorized to carry are the town's two police officers. Chief Ernest Armijo had been convicted in 2011 of criminal nonsupport of a wife and two sons, and among the conditions of probation was the prohibition on gun possession. Deputy Brian Bernal has his own domestic issue: a conviction for family violence that bars him, under federal law, from carrying.
[SNIP]
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23. Jesse Jackson Jr's FOID card
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Interesting situation. What's good for the goose is certainly good for the gander.
Jay Britt emailed me this:
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From daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com: http://tinyurl.com/8z4z8a7
Jesse Jackson Jr's FOID Card
by
Sunday, August 12, 2012
It's well known among Illinois gun circles that anti-gun advocate Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (IL-2 D) has a FOID card and is a regular customer at a gun shop in the South Suburbs. Yes, double standards abound.
JJJ is also currently seeking mental health treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN for Bipolar Disorder. Hope he is feeling better but here's the crux of the matter, since he has now been in a mental health institution w/i the last five years, according to the FOID act, he is ineligible to possess a FOID card or firearms w/i this state:
(iv) He or she has not been a patient in a mental institution within the past 5 years and he or she has not been adjudicated as a mental defective; (Note: this is for initially obtaining one.)
So that begs the question (one of many): Are the Illinois State Police going to revoke his FOID card as required by the act(sec8-e) or is he going to receive preferential treatment?
Update: here's sect 8E:
Sec. 8. The Department of State Police has authority to deny an application for or to revoke and seize a Firearm Owner's Identification Card previously issued under this Act only if the Department finds that the applicant or the person to whom such card was issued is or was at the time of issuance:
(e) A person who has been a patient of a mental institution within the past 5 years or has been adjudicated as a mental defective;
As a resident of Chicago (according to the IL State Board of Elections), are his firearms stored at his home?
If so, does he have a Chicago Firearms Permit and/or registrations and will they be revoked by the city?
If not, where are they stored? Elsewhere in Il or at his out of state residence while attending the Hill?
Since he has called for bans on handguns and semi-auto firearms, does he own any of the firearms he wants to deny others?
I think these are all relevant and important questions to have answered.
And another issue is the response by the anti-gun groups like the ICHV or Brady Campaign. They go on about keeping guns away from people w/ mental health issues. Will they now be hypocrites now that one of their pet politicians falls under that category or will they call for him to dispose of his firearms? What is Chicago Mayor and MAIG member Emanual going to say? Will he call JJJ out or will he cover for him just like his predecessor Daley did for Alderman Mell?
I think we at least know the answers to those.
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24. Man accidentally shoots self in Nevada theater
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1. Carry your gun in a holster that holds the gun securely
2. Only carry a gun that has a drop safety
3. If you must carry a gun without a drop safety, then don't have a round in the chamber
From wtop.com: http://tinyurl.com/9b43xex
Man accidentally shoots self in Nevada theater
August 15, 2012
SPARKS, Nev. (AP) - Police say a man accidentally shot himself in the buttocks at a Nevada movie theater during a showing of "The Bourne Legacy."
Police in Sparks, Nev., say the 56-year-old man's injuries are not life-threatening and no others were hurt.
Authorities say the case will be sent to the city attorney for possible charges.
The incident comes less than a month after a shooting at a suburban Denver theater that left 12 dead and 58 injured.
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25. American gun lovers turn to Russian AK-47s
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Jay Minsky emailed me this:
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Izhevsk Machine Works was going into bankruptcy about a year ago because of the massive amounts of surplus of existing AKs around the world and the multitude of countries making cheaper versions of the AK with the former Soviet Union giving these countries the tooling and expertise during the Cold War. The patent for the AK expired long ago so Izhevsk has little recourse on fighting the competition other than finding new markets who can afford their more expensive AKs. This strategy may be working.
From msnbc.msn.com: http://tinyurl.com/97rlxer
American gun lovers turn to Russian AK-47s
US civilians are now buying about the same number of Kalashnikov-style weapons as the Russian army and police
by Andrew E. Kramer
August 15, 2012
IZHEVSK, Russia — The nickname of this town, home of the factory that makes Kalashnikov rifles, is the "Armory of Russia." Over the years, it has armed a good number of other countries, too, as the lathes and presses of the Izhevsk Machine Works clanged around the clock to forge AK-47s and similar guns for insurgents and armies around the world.
But these days, many of Izhevsk's weapons are headed somewhere else: the United States.
Despite the gun's violent history — or perhaps because of it — American hunters and gun enthusiasts are snapping up tens of thousands of Kalashnikov rifles and shotguns. Demand is so brisk that the factory has shifted its focus from military to civilian manufacture over the last two years. United States sales of the civilian versions, sold under the brand name Saiga, rose by 50 percent last year, according to officials at the factory, known as Izhmash.
Over all, the United States is the world's biggest market for civilian guns. That is partly because of comparatively lenient gun ownership laws, which have become a topic of renewed debate after a rampage last month in which a masked gunman killed 12 people and wounded 58 in an Aurora, Colo., movie theater. Although no Kalashnikovs were involved, police say one weapon used by the man charged with the shootings, James Eagen Holmes, was a popular semiautomatic pistol made by the Austrian company Glock.
Russian weapons accounted for a tiny portion of the $4.3 billion American gun market last year, but Saiga sales rose far faster than the overall growth rate of 14 percent in 2011.
"I bought a Saiga because it was made in Russia, right beside its big brothers, the AKs," Josh Laura, a garage door installer and former Marine in Maryville, Tenn., said in a telephone interview. "No rifle in the world has been as reliable as this one."
Selling rifles to Americans and other civilians is fundamental to the efforts to save Izhmash, which has made Kalashnikovs since soon after their invention in 1947 but is now struggling.
Gun owners: 'We are your neighbors, co-workers, friends'
Demand for new military guns in the Kalashnikov family has evaporated. Simple, durable and relatively cheap to manufacture, about 100
million have been produced over the decades, or about one for every 70 people on earth. Inventories are overflowing, used AK weapons have flooded the market, and cheap Chinese knockoffs are stealing many of the customers that remain.
'Quality and versatility'
For American gun enthusiasts, an authentic Russian-made Kalashnikov is appealing not only for its historical importance as the weapon of choice in so many global conflicts, but also because of its reliability.
"The quality and versatility far surpassed anything else on the market," said Terry Sandlin, an electrician in Scottsburg, Ind., who has three Saigas — two shotguns and a rifle.
Although the civilian versions cannot fire bursts of bullets with a single trigger pull — a military feature known as fully automatic mode — it otherwise shares many features of military guns. Izhmash works with an importer who modifies weapons to add pistol grips or large-capacity magazines in states where those features are legal.
Maksim V. Kuzyuk, a board member of Izhmash and former chief executive, said that he studied the global market for small arms before deciding to focus on the United States.
"Typically, an American family will have five or six short- and long-barreled guns," Mr. Kuzyuk, a former director of the Boston Consulting Group in Moscow, said in an interview. "Some collectors have more than 20 guns."
And in the United States, Izhmash cannot be underpriced by Chinese competitors. The federal government has banned most imports of Chinese handguns and rifles since 1994.
Selling Saigas in the United States is integral to the enterprise's evolving business model of making single-shot civilian guns to occupy workers and equipment in between government orders for fully automatic assault rifles. About 70 percent of the factory's output is now civilian rifles, up from 50 percent two years ago. Of the civilian arms, about 40 percent are exported to the United States.
That means American consumers are now buying about the same number of Kalashnikov-style weapons from Izhmash as the Russian army and police.
This shift has been encouraged by the Kremlin, which wants to revive a range of military industries by improving their economies of scale and helping them blend military and civilian manufacturing.
Russian Technologies, a state holding company of which Izhmash is a part, is pursuing this policy across a range of industries, from aviation to truck manufacturing. The goal is to improve efficiency as Russia begins a $613 billion rearmament program, financed by oil money.
Although AK pattern rifles are used every day in global conflicts, very few are bought from Izhmash because of the ready availability of used guns as well as licensed and bootleg copies. The Russian army isn't planning many new orders until the AK-12, a new model to be introduced this year, is widely available.
The sales of civilian rifles in the United States are helping to pay for the factory's retooling for the AK-12, ultimately making it cheaper for the Kremlin.
Owen Martin, owner of Snake Hound Machine, a gunsmith in Manchester, N.H., that specializes in Kalashnikov rifles, said that, by the same token, Russian military orders were helping keep down the price of AKs he and others buy in the United States. "It means our guns are cheaper," he said. "Nobody perceives it as unpatriotic."
Obama: 'AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals'
American gun sales rose sharply in 2009, after President Obama's election and the onset of economic recession. Sales of semiautomatic rifles, in particular, benefited from customer concern that Mr. Obama would seek to more tightly regulate rifles with features resembling military weapons, according to Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Izhmash benefits from American gun laws that are looser than in its home market. In Russia, consumers can buy a long-barreled firearm only with a police permit, which requires a clean criminal sheet, a diploma from a gun safety course and a medical certificate of sanity. In the United States, laws vary by state, but buyers often need to clear only an F.B.I. criminal background check.
However, gun control in Russia is less strict than in some other former Soviet countries. Estonia, for example, proscribes carrying a weapon while drunk. "If they did that here, well, nobody would hunt," said Igor V. Anisimov, the Izhmash director of foreign sales.
It was with this mandate, Mr. Kuzyuk said, that he came to Izhmash as chief executive in 2010 after working for another Russian Technologies enterprise, Avtovaz, the maker of Lada cars. (In May, he moved to yet another company in the group that makes helicopter parts.)
At Izhmash, as with other Russian military plants, he said, "the basic problem was the volume of production was significantly lower than what the factory had been designed for" — essentially a land war between superpowers.
Bootleg copies
Although AK pattern rifles are used every day in global conflicts, very few are bought from Izhmash because of the ready availability of used guns as well as licensed and bootleg copies. The Russian army isn't planning many new orders until the AK-12, a new model to be introduced this year, is widely available.
The sales of civilian rifles in the United States are helping to pay for the factory's retooling for the AK-12, ultimately making it cheaper for the Kremlin.
Owen Martin, owner of Snake Hound Machine, a gunsmith in Manchester, N.H., that specializes in Kalashnikov rifles, said that, by the same token, Russian military orders were helping keep down the price of AKs he and others buy in the United States. "It means our guns are cheaper," he said. "Nobody perceives it as unpatriotic."
Obama: 'AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals'
American gun sales rose sharply in 2009, after President Obama's election and the onset of economic recession. Sales of semiautomatic rifles, in particular, benefited from customer concern that Mr. Obama would seek to more tightly regulate rifles with features resembling military weapons, according to Lawrence Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Izhmash benefits from American gun laws that are looser than in its home market. In Russia, consumers can buy a long-barreled firearm only with a police permit, which requires a clean criminal sheet, a diploma from a gun safety course and a medical certificate of sanity. In the United States, laws vary by state, but buyers often need to clear only an F.B.I. criminal background check.
However, gun control in Russia is less strict than in some other former Soviet countries. Estonia, for example, proscribes carrying a weapon while drunk. "If they did that here, well, nobody would hunt," said Igor V. Anisimov, the Izhmash director of foreign sales.
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26. Women driving up gun sales in Virginia
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Board Member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
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From wjla.com: http://tinyurl.com/8mlepwf
Women driving up gun sales in Virginia
by Jenny Doren
August 10, 2012
In the wake of Virginia repealing their one handgun per month law, women are driving up gun sales in the state.
The news has some doing a double take as the face of the American gun owner is shifting.
These days, you'll find a lot more heat-packing women wielding revolvers.
Katelyn Grande, of Woodbridge, just started target shooting.
"I enjoy coming here," she said.
The 23-year-old school teacher visited Sharpshooters Small Arms Range in Lorton for the first time a couple of weeks ago. She's been back three times since.
"I did a better job than I thought I would do and it makes me feel good that I could protect myself if anything was to happen," Grande said.
Then there's Springfield resident Pam Tesnow who's been shooting since the 70's.
"I have 3 children. I have 8 grandchildren," she said.
Tesnow says firing a weapon builds strength.
"If a mature female learns how to use one of these things, it develops confidence. If you have confidence, you develop a sense of protectiveness even if you're not caring the weapon," she said.
Mike Collins works in the shooting range's sales department and says he's seen a nearly 40 percent increase in female buyers, compared to last year.
"I guess it gives them a sense of empowerment," Collins said.
Trader Jerry's, the largest dealer at gun shows in Virginia, says its overall sales by women are up 25 percent.
Even gun manufacturers are picking up on the trend, creating pink guns, pink grips and guns sized for women's hands.
"They are pretty cute," Grande said.
But Karen Hemmings says you shouldn't be fooled by appearances. A few months ago she never pictured herself holding a gun, but working in a security office requires her to be skilled in shooting.
"It's like any skill. You have to keep it up," she said.
There's no typical female gun owner as they come from all walks of life – single women, moms and grandmoms.
Firearms transactions are also up in Virginia with a nearly 30 percent increase in sale from 2011. That percentage does not reflect the actual number of guns sold, but rather the number of times a registered dealer conducts a background check on a potential buyer.
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27. Richmond Library "read in" video now online
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Thanks to Don Litten for putting together this video of the Richmond Library protest. For those who couldn't make it, this will give you a sampling of the event.
On some computers the file below will being playing immediately. Other computers may try to download it first.
http://www.vcdl.org/media/Read_In.mp4
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28. Heads-up: Sportsman's Warehouse photocopying IDs
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Member Steve Wirt sent me an email about Sportsmans Warehouse photocopying his drivers license and his CHP without asking his permission when Steve purchased a gun. While not illegal, this is just a "heads up" for those of you who may not be amenable to such a thing.
The only Sportsman's Warehouse that I am familiar with is in Roanoke.
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29. Help needed to man VCDL booth at the Norfolk Gun Show September 8-9
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NORFOLK http://www.showmasters.us, September 8-9
Saturday, September 8 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 9 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Jerry Brunner at Norfolkgunshows@vcdl.org to help at
the Norfolk Scope.
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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