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Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at:
http://www.vcdl.org/join
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VCDL's meeting schedule:
http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT:
http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. VCDL President to speak at Caroline County Tea Party meeting Sunday
2. Fredericksburg Fall Freedom Festival, Update (and we still need help)
3. VCDL now has a new Statewide Gun Show Coordinator and VCDL Update Editor!
4. Bloomberg gets 3 Pinocchios for his ads against Cuccinelli
5. Sheriff candidate in Hopewell a VCDL member
6. Bedford County Board of Supervisors wants to be able to arm teachers!
7. Radford repeals outdated gun laws
8. Town of Berryville updates pneumatic gun ordinance
9. Lowering gun permit fees not 'reasonable'
10. Felon gets 9 months for attempted illegal buy at gun show
11. ATF at a crossroads with persistent mistrust
12. Report: Police chief ignored rules to get illegal guns
13. Miller: Smoking gun exposed-D.C. police chief cover up
14. Three-point plan to stop mass shootings
15. PA public hearing halted after supporters's gun falls from holster
16. Almost a year after Newtown, does anyone care about gun control anymore?
17. Police officers are three times more likely to murder than a CHP holder?
18. Kenya and gun control
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1. VCDL President to speak at Caroline County Tea Party meeting Sunday
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I've been invited to speak at the Caroline County Tea Party meeting this Sunday, November 3, which runs from 1 PM to 3 PM.
The meeting is being held at:
Timber's Restaurant
8026 Prosperity Way
Ruther Glen, VA 22546
The meeting is open to the public.
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2. Fredericksburg Fall Freedom Festival, Update (and we still need help)
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Fall Freedom Festival (being held by SSG Tactical) in support of our
SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!
Sunday, November 3rd. Rt. 3 / Plank Rd. Fredericksburg VA. 10-6 pm
Venue is WESTWOOD OFFICE PARK Rt. 3 / Plank Road Fredericksburg VA
22401 Located between the Shoneys / Best Western 2205 Plank Rd. and
the Lone Star Steakhouse 2051 Plank Rd.
SSG's web site is:
https://www.ssgtactical.com/default.asp?
Sorry for the late notice, but we just learned of this event. The shifts from
10am – 2pm and 2pm – 6pm. If you can help, please send Bruce Jackson
an email at
Bruce@vcdl.org.
This will be an outdoor event so dress appropriately. We will have the VCDL
Canopy there.
(and from the flier)
Forty vendors including Sig Sauer and Fausti, non-profits like Delta
Waterfowl and Ducks Unlimited, stuff for the ladies who aren't wearing
camo, door raffles every 30 minutes throughout the festival and
Friends of the NRA's Wall of Guns raffling 50 different firearms.
Autographs with William Bethards from Top Shot and a book signing with
author Emily Miller; Emily gets her gun…but Obama wants to take yours.
Great Virginia Barbeque, ice cream and more!
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3. VCDL now has a new Statewide Gun Show Coordinator and VCDL Update Editor!
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I would like to welcome and thank two new volunteers!
Neal Jefferis is our new Statewide Gun Show Coordinator. His first gun show update went out earlier today.
Dan Brooks joins EM Brandy Polinowski as the VA-ALERT Update editor. The next Update will be Dan's.
I look forward to working with both of these gentlemen as VCDL continues its work to protect your right to defend yourself.
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4. Bloomberg gets 3 Pinocchios for his ads against Cuccinelli
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Thanks to Diego Wilson for the link.
A well deserved spanking for Bloomberg:
From
washingtonpost.com:
http://tinyurl.com/q3nehvz
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5. Sheriff candidate in Hopewell a VCDL member
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The current Sheriff of Hopewell, Greg Anderson, is a long time VCDL member. He is stepping down this year. I noticed that one of the candidates for Hopewell Sheriff, Cathie Mitchell, is also a VCDL member and has the VCDL logo on her web site:
http://cathiemitchellforhopewellsheriff.com/index.html
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6. Bedford County Board of Supervisors wants to be able to arm teachers!
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Bedford County Board of Supervisor member John Sharp is leading the charge to get the law changed so that teachers can be armed to protect the children and themselves. The Board of Supervisors is backing him in the effort by requesting a bill be introduced to fix the problem.
I am very disappointed in the Bedford County sheriff, wanting training effectively on par with being a police officer. That's not needed at all. Utah allows any CHP holder to carry in a school. Ever heard of any problems with a shooting in a Utah school?
Hats off for John Sharp! (John will be speaking at the Bedford Tea Party meeting tonight I am told.)
From
wdbj7.com:
http://tinyurl.com/n5eo48m
From
wsls.com:
http://tinyurl.com/pkkfgbp
From
west.com:
http://tinyurl.com/kgce57q
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7. Radford repeals outdated gun laws
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VCDL EM Dave Knight has been working for quite a while to get Radford to remove outdated/preempted gun ordinances off the books. His work has now reached fruition.
The Radford City Council has finally acted to repeal its obsolete and preempted gun-related ordinances - 70-35 thru 70-44:
Sec. 70-35. Weapons—Carrying concealed.
Sec. 70-36. Same—Sale of certain weapons to minors.
Sec. 70-37. Same—Discharging firearms along street.
Sec. 70-38. Same—Discharging firearms in other public places.
Sec. 70-39. Same—Discharging shot, etc., from gravel shooter, air gun, etc.
Sec. 70-40. Same—Discharging arrows, etc., from bow or crossbow.
Sec. 70-41. Same—Discharge or shooting of firearms, air or gas operated weapons, bows, and crossbows prohibited; exception; penalties for violation.
Sec. 70-42. Same—Sale, possession, etc., of blackjacks, etc.
Sec. 70-43. Same—Carrying dangerous weapon to place of religious worship.
Sec. 70-44. Same—Sale, etc., of toy firearms.
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8. Town of Berryville updates pneumatic gun ordinance
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Member Bryant Condrey told me that Berryville has now fixed their pneumatic gun ordinance to be in line with Virginia law (allowing anyone to discharge an air gun on their property as long as they take reasonable care that the projectile does not leave their property).
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9. Lowering gun permit fees not 'reasonable'
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Elitist newspaper editor deciding what gun owners can and can't afford. Some gun owners are not as lucky as others and are not made of money. Why should we be charged more than is necessary to cover the permit?
Member Jay Minsky emailed me this:
--
From
newsadvance.com:
http://tinyurl.com/mblzzr3
Lowering gun permit fees not 'reasonable'
by The Editorial Board
October 6, 2013
City Councilman Jeff Helgeson and the Virginia Citizens Defense League believe that the fee the city charges for concealed weapons permits should be dropped by 60 percent, from $50 to $20.
We disagree.
Helgeson first raised the issue over the summer, in the aftermath of a disturbance with racial overtones at Miller Park. The presence of more concealed weapons, he has argued, has the potential to make the parks safer.
"Government can't be everywhere at all times," he said, indicating that the folks with concealed weapons could help maintain order in the parks. That, surely, is a reckless approach to public safety in Lynchburg.
One way to increase the number of concealed weapons at the parks and elsewhere in the city is to reduce the fee for the permit application, which Helgeson points out is significantly higher than that of neighboring counties. "It would be nice to have that fee reduced so more people can defend themselves, defend their loved ones and defend their families if the situation warrants," he said.
So, he persuaded Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a statewide gun rights group, to appear before City Council last month to explain that the city's approach to concealed gun permits is excessive and needlessly expensive. "I think it's overkill," Van Cleave said, suggesting the city does not need detectives to process the permit applications.
The gun rights activist said that conducting a background check on a concealed carry applicant is a "quick, simple procedure" that should not involve detectives.
But Police Chief Parks Snead said the permit approval process is more complicated than it appears. The chief pointed out there are 20 grounds for denying a permit and each must be investigated when an application is received. It takes about an hour to complete the process. The permit request is then submitted to Circuit Court, which makes the final ruling.
Helgeson said he believed the city could streamline its permit process and lower its fee.
During a council meeting on Sept. 10, members agreed that the concealed gun permit fee should be reasonable to the extent of recouping the costs incurred by the city. But members disagreed over what qualified as reasonable costs. Councilman Randy Nelson said an hour per application review seemed reasonable.
"The person making decisions about issuing a permit … needs to be someone who knows what they're looking at," said Nelson, "so they aren't making imprudent and irresponsible decisions that would allow individuals to carry a deadly weapon with reckless inclinations.
"I don't think I'd want to be hiring someone who is paid $5 an hour to take on those responsibilities."
We don't, either.
From all appearances, the police department is conducting the concealed weapons permit applications right and without any quarrel from those who have received the gun permits. Is the aim of reducing the fee to get more concealed weapons on the streets? Is that why the Virginia Citizens Defense League has become involved in the issue?
For the safety — and sanity — of Lynchburg, there has to be a better reason than that.
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10. Felon gets 9 months for attempted illegal buy at gun show
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From
timesdispatch.com:
http://tinyurl.com/n8qx75j
Felon gets 9 months for attempted illegal buy at gun show
by Mark Bowes, Richmond Times-Dispatch
October 11, 2013
A New York felon pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to illegally purchase a semi-automatic pistol at a Virginia gun show in a case being touted as a key example of the cooperation between licensed firearm dealers and police in stopping prohibited gun sales.
Lamont Reaves, 27, who was convicted in 2007 of a felony crack cocaine offense in New York and also charged with earlier gun offenses, entered a guilty plea in Henrico County Circuit Court to attempting to possess a gun after having been convicted of a felony.
Judge Gary A. Hicks accepted a recommendation by prosecutor Robert C. Cerullo and sentenced Reaves to two years in prison with one year and three months suspended. Sentencing guidelines called for an active prison term of seven to 11 months.
According to a summary of evidence, Reaves, who now lives in Richmond, tried to persuade numerous federally licensed firearms dealers to sell him a gun privately and without a background check at the Showmasters gun show July 7 at the Richmond Raceway Complex.
The dealers refused and alerted state trooper D.M. Sottile, who eventually identified Reaves and arrested him after determining he had a felony record.
Cerullo, a former police officer who prosecutes many of Henrico's gun crimes, said the case is indicative of the cooperation between firearms dealers at gun shows and state police to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands.
Felons, and in many cases people with misdemeanor convictions, are prohibited by law from buying or possessing firearms. So are people who have been involuntarily committed for mental illness.
Sottile and other state troopers have developed a rapport with firearms dealers at Virginia gun shows, and those relationships have helped reduce illegal gun sales, authorities said.
"Licensed gun dealers play a major role in stopping illegal gun purchases, especially straw purchases," Sottile said. "In my experience at gun shows and licensed firearms storefronts throughout the Richmond area, dealers have contacted me if they suspect someone — through his or her conversation with the customer or the customer's odd behavior — is attempting to make an illegal purchase."
"I can't thank the dealers enough with whom I work with for their help in aiding in criminal prosecution," he added.
Cerullo said several firearms dealers from whom Reaves attempted to buy a gun in July were willing to testify against him if he had decided to take his case to trial.
In his report, Sottile said numerous dealers flagged him down at the gun show to advise that Reaves had asked them where he could buy a gun through a private sale and not through a licensed dealer.
Jerry Cochran, owner of Trader Jerry's, and Gary Lewis, owner of Gary's Guns and Transfers, informed Sottile of their encounters with Reaves as he went table to table trying to buy a gun, according to evidence.
How private sellers of firearms interact with police at gun shows is less clear. Under current Virginia law, private sellers can conduct sales without submitting a background check of the buyer.
Gun control advocates have for years urged the Virginia General Assembly to close what they call the "gun show loophole" and require background checks for every buyer. The gun lobby has argued that private sales make up a very small percentage of firearms transactions and that many of the sellers take steps to ensure they aren't selling a gun to a prohibited person.
Sottile said some private sellers at gun shows have signs indicating they have a private collection for sale, while others have no signage.
Cerullo said it's difficult to say what percentage of gun show transactions are private because they aren't tracked.
"I've heard the argument from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, but how does anyone say whether they are numerous or not if we don't track it?" Cerullo said. "They say it happens all the time. Maybe. But then maybe not."
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11. ATF at a crossroads with persistent mistrust
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Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
--
From
dailyjournal.com:
http://tinyurl.com/mdeu54x
ATF at a crossroads with persistent mistrust, White House pressure, an unconvinced Congress
by Alicia A. Caldwell, Associated Press
October 06, 2013
WASHINGTON — When President Barack Obama picked B. Todd Jones to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, it looked like the moment had arrived when the beleaguered ATF would reassert itself as an agency with teeth.
It was January, and the nation was embroiled in a rare debate on gun control, the result of the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school the previous month. The White House pushed for tougher gun laws and Congress seemed unusually willing to consider them.
It didn't work out that way.
One by one, the bills failed. Support for expanded background checks fizzled. Jones' nomination sat idle for eight months before the Senate finally confirmed him.
Two months into his tenure, Jones is stuck between a White House with high expectations for curbing gun violence and a Congress that has little appetite for strengthening his agency.
"The debate going on in this town right now makes it real clear to anyone who's got a mind and is forward-looking and not living day to day that the resources are going to be diminished," Jones said. "We're also going to have to and have been doing more with less. We're not right-sized, we're not resourced."
The ATF is supposed to not only investigate gun crime but also inspect firearm dealers annually. But a recent internal report found the agency has nowhere near the manpower needed to conduct those inspections. More than half the nation's gun dealers haven't been inspected in the past five years.
There are 2,380 ATF agents, a number that's remained relatively constant for more than a decade. One-fourth of those agents are eligible to retire this year.
Jones, 56, said he will push to expand hiring to bring in enough new agents in time to learn from those about to retire. Jones had been the agency's acting director since 2011 and also was the U.S. attorney in Minnesota.
During his confirmation hearing, Jones acknowledged that ATF was "very much in distress." Repairing that hasn't been easy so far.
The ATF was among the many federal agencies rushing to the Washington Navy Yard last month when a Navy contractor killed 13 people and terrorized his office building with a sawed-off shotgun.
Tracing guns is the ATF's responsibility. But in the first high-profile investigation since being confirmed, Jones saw the FBI snub his agents and trace the shotgun itself. Neither agency has commented on the situation.
Also, late last month the Justice Department's inspector general issued a scathing report on the agency's handling of cigarette smuggling cases between 2006 and 2011. The report concluded ATF mismanaged undercover operations, lost track of millions of cigarettes and misused some of the $162 million in profits from the investigations.
The conclusions recalled the missteps of the failed operation "Fast and Furious," in which the ATF allowed gun-runners to buy weapons in hopes of tracking them and disrupting Mexican gun smuggling rings. The ATF lost track of the guns.
Jones joined the ATF as acting director in 2011, after the most egregious details of that operation came to light. He said he had no role in it.
Still, controversy over operation stalled his nomination. At his confirmation hearing, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he wondered "why are we even here today?"
The legacy of "Fast and Furious" continues haunts the agency today, to Jones' frustration.
"I'm tired of ... constantly being flogged for mistakes," he said. "There's much, much more that we've done right that that public never hears about than the snafus that they do hear about."
Nearly every field division leader has been replaced since Fast and Furious came to light. Jones said he's refocusing its resources on where they're needed the most.
Frank Surotchak, chief of ATF's violent crime analysis branch, said his analysts merge gun-trace data with FBI crime statistics, which has helped agents focus some of the country's roughest cities, including Stockton, California, and Camden, New Jersey
While federal laws prevent ATF agents from using trace data alone to move to revoke a gun dealer's license, the data can be used to build intelligence on potential criminal gun dealers.
Jones said he's also made less noticeable internal policy changes, including launching what he describes as a new business model dubbed "Frontline." It is intended to find gaps that allow lawfully purchased guns to end up on the black market.
He said that's the agency's "sweet spot" and he wants his agents getting back to that fundamental mission.
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12. Report: Police chief ignored rules to get illegal guns
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Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
--
Who cares about laws when it is to our favor?
From
breitbart.com:
http://tinyurl.com/lw93op6
REPORT: POLICE CHIEF IGNORED RULES TO GET ILLEGAL GUNS FOR FEINSTEIN PRESSER
by AWR Hawkins
October 9, 2013
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request has revealed that Washington Metropolitan Police (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier looked the other way while D.C. Police and the Philadelphia Police Department supplied Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) with guns that were illegal in Washington, D.C.
Feinstein used the guns as display items on January 24 when she pushed for more gun control in the wake of the heinous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary.
According to The Washington Times, a lobbying group contacted Chief Lanier on December 24, 2012, seeking "examples"--i.e., firearms--Feinstein could use to bolster gun control arguments on Capitol Hill. A week later "Feinstein's press secretary, Tom Mentzer, asked the commander of the police department's Crime Scene Investigation Division, Keith Williams, for 10 specific firearms."
These guns included a Bushmaster AR-15, a "Tech 9 handgun, Smith & Wesson MP15, and a Glock 19 with 'extended magazine,'" among others.
The Times says Chief Lanier "wanted to help Mrs. Feinstein]" with one caveat--she "didn't want the media to know."
So Cmdr. Williams emailed Feinstein's press secretary to say the police would "prefer" there be "no mention of the fact that the weapons came from D.C. or were recovered by MPDC in the official language or speeches."
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13. Miller: Smoking gun exposed-D.C. police chief cover up
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Elitists consider themselves better than the rest of us. In their minds rules and laws don't apply to them.
Member Thomas Carroll emailed me this:
--
From
washingtontimes.com:
http://tinyurl.com/okmte56
MILLER: Smoking gun exposed- D.C. police chief covers up giving Feinstein illegal 'assault weapons'
by Emily Miller-The Washington Times
October 9, 2013
Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier seems to think that gun-control laws don't apply to the liberal elite. The police chief helped Sen. Dianne Feinstein acquire "assault weapons," which are illegal to possess in the District, for a news conference early this year to promote a ban on these firearms, then tried to cover up the police involvement.
Now, a response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveals Chief Lanier's shocking willingness to bend the rules for partisan and ideological purposes.
Feinstein wants guns
Lobbyist Chuck DeWitt emailed Chief Lanier on Christmas Eve last year. "Sen. Feinstein has asked us to bring examples of assault weapons used in the worst incidents over the past few years." The CEO of the Lafayette Group told the chief that the guns would be put on display at a media event and asked, "Could you put me in touch with your person who would have any of these weapons?"
Chief Lanier's response was not turned over.
However, a week after Mr. DeWitt's request, Mrs. Feinstein's press secretary, Tom Mentzer, asked the commander of the police department's Crime Scene Investigation Division, Keith Williams, for 10 specific firearm models used in high-profile mass shootings, including a Bushmaster XM-15, Tec-9 handgun, Smith & Wesson M&P15 and a Glock 19 with a "high-capacity magazine."
Since Cmdr. Williams did not have all the firearms the senator sought, Mr. DeWitt asked Philadelphia police to provide the missing ones, which meant bringing "the P15 and the Glock extended magazine" to Washington.
All of these firearms are illegal in the city — even on federal property — owing to the District's law banning rifles with a detachable magazine and such features as a pistol grip or folding stock and all firearms with a magazines capacity of more than 10 rounds.
Lanier's coverup
Chief Lanier wanted to help Mrs. Feinstein, but didn't want the media to know.
Cmdr. Williams emailed Mr. Mentzer to put a "bug" in his ear that the police would "prefer that no mention of the fact that the weapons came from D.C. or were recovered by MPDC in the official language or speeches." Mr. Mentzer replied, "By not mentioning where the weapons came from, we open ourselves up to the same charge against David Gregory."
He was referring to the anchor of NBC's "Meet the Press," who knowingly procured an illegal 30-round magazine in the District as a stunt for his TV show, but was not charged.
The office of Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance W. Gainer coordinated bringing the illegal weapons onto Capitol Hill for Mrs. Feinstein's dramatic Jan. 24 news conference introducing her new "assault weapons" ban.
Kathryn Stillman, the campus-access coordinator for Mr. Gainer, emailed Cmdr. Williams and Mrs. Feinstein's staff to recommend the firearms be mounted on a board with zip ties so that Mrs. Feinstein could "point or even touch, but no need for any particular handling." This was to ensure that it could be argued later that the senator never had "possession" of the illegal guns.
Coverup unravels
After seeing the weapons on display at the press event, I asked Mr. Gainer's office about the legality and was told that the firearms were the property of the D.C. and Philadelphia police departments. A spokesman for Mrs. Feinstein, Brian Weiss, told me that his office "coordinated" with the police and that "the weapons were under Washington MPD possession the entire time."
But when I asked Chief Lanier's spokesman, Gwendolyn Crump, about the guns, she refused to confirm they belonged to MPD. I followed up the next day with several more questions to Ms. Crump.
From the FOIA documents, I now know that she sent my second email to Chief Lanier, who then forwarded it to three people with notes.
Chief Lanier wrote to Philadelphia Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, "I am really disappointed in Terry [Gainer]. This is exactly why I didn't want to participate." She said to Mr. Gainer, "This is completely contrary to our agreement to participate in this event. We will not participate again."
The chief wrote to lobbyist Mr. DeWitt, "So much for our agreement." Mr. DeWitt replied: "Well, Ramsey and Feinstein followed our script, but who would have guessed that [Gainer] would burn us." He drafted a response for the police to send to me and added in a note, "I don't know how you put up with people like Emily … ." Chief
Lanier replied, "Thanks, Chuck, unfortunately this will be the next tail wagging our dog for weeks."
No special favors for Republicans
A week after Mrs. Feinstein's publicity stunt, Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were refused permission to bring a hunting rifle and an AR-style rifle to the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Mrs. Feinstein's "assault weapon" ban.
The Republican senators sent a letter of complaint to committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, but were still forced to use just a photo of a standard wooden hunting rifle with a plastic pistol grip at the hearing in order to demonstrate that simply adding the ergonomic feature transformed the gun into one that would be illegal under her ban.
Mrs. Feinstein's staff gloated: "I was gratified to hear Sens. Cruz and Graham complaining that getting weapons into their hearing today was 'unworkable,'" Mr. Mentzer emailed Cmdr. Williams and another officer with a news story about the Republicans not being able bring in even a legal rifle. "I find you guys ENTIRELY practical, for the record."
The police have yet to turn over a majority of the documents I requested. The FOIA officer wrote that she was "still searching" and "will release them, if any are located."
The police stonewalling and cover-up are so that the public doesn't find out that Chief Lanier enforces laws differently in the District, depending on whether you are a powerful liberal who opposes Second Amendment rights, like Mr. Gregory and Mrs. Feinstein, or an average American.
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14. Three-point plan to stop mass shootings
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Board Member Jim Snyder emailed me this:
--
This is Ignatius Piazza's plan to stop mass shootings. Since Columbine, he has maintained that it was psych drugs, not guns, that was responsible for the carnage.
----
My answer to stopping mass shootings is quite simple. A three step approach outlined below.
It may take some time to bring Congress around to seeing the light, but if we continue to expose the real reason for mass shootings and champion the real solution to stop mass shootings, we will eventually educate the entire country to understand what we have known all along.
Here is what needs to be done...
1. Outlaw Gun Free Zones. Stop creating Helpless Victim Zones by disarming people in public places. Such policies only encourage attack because the perpetrators know there will be no armed resistance.
2. Pass National Concealed Carry and encourage responsible citizens, law enforcement, and military personnel to carry a concealed weapon with them at all times and to train regularly to use their concealed weapon to defend themselves and others around them.
3. Immediately stop tax payer support of the psychiatric industry and their allies in the pharmaceutical industry who have falsely advertised their way into hooking 1 out of 5 Americans on psychiatric drugs, many of them children. Psychiatry and the drugs they push are the common denominator responsible for the epidemic rise in military suicides, teen suicides, depression and violence we are seeing in America today. EVERY toxicology report of every mass shooter, including the most recent Navy yard shooter reveal psych drugs as the culprit. Psychiatry does not work! Psych drugs pose much greater risk than benefit! Because psychiatry causes more harm than good, it NEEDS government funding in the form of Medicare and Medicaid to keeps it alive. Remove all tax payer supported, government funding of psychiatry with the drugs they push and you will see psychiatry quickly experience a well-deserved death.
With these three steps, taken aggressively and immediately, America will become stronger and healthier.
Dr. Ignatius Piazza
Founder and Director
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute
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15. PA public hearing halted after supporters's gun falls from holster
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Inexcusable.
1. Take your UNLOADED gun and your carry holster. Put the gun in the holster, stand over your bed, turn the holster upside down and shake vigorously. If the gun falls out of the holster, throw the holster away and get a better one.
2. Put your UNLOADED gun in your carry holster and put the holster on. Roll around on the floor. If the gun falls out of the holster, throw it away and get a better one.
Member Bill Watkins emailed me this:
--
From
washingtonpost.com:
http://tinyurl.com/n64u5h3
Pa. police chief's public hearing halted after supporter's gun falls from holster onto floor
by Associated Press
October 10, 2013
GILBERTON, Pa. — A hearing for a Pennsylvania police chief who made profanity-laced Internet videos about liberals and the Second Amendment was halted suddenly Thursday night after a handgun belonging to one of his supporters slid out of its holster and crashed onto the concrete floor.
The loaded semi-automatic handgun landed inches away from Gilberton Chief Mark Kessler and his attorney. It did not go off, but attorney Joseph Nahas said that he and other officials were concerned about the safety of everyone in the tiny, crowded meeting room at borough hall.
Nahas said the hearing will be continued at a nearby courthouse, where weapons are prohibited, at a later date.
"To have what happened in this particular room made of concrete and steel, I think, could be fatal for many, many people," he told the audience.
The supporter who dropped the weapon declined comment.
"It's alarming," Nahas said afterward. "I can't conduct my job appropriately when handguns are being dropped on concrete."
The gun incident marked an abrupt end to a hearing at which Kessler was fighting to save his job. Town officials already have voted to begin the process of firing him, but under due-process rules the chief is entitled to call witnesses at a public hearing.
Nahas has said borough council trumped up unrelated charges against Kessler, the only member of the town's police force, to conceal its intent to fire him over the videos.
Kessler has said his much-watched Internet videos, in which he fired automatic weapons while using foul language, were intended to draw attention to the erosion of constitutional rights. The former coal miner has spoken at gun-rights rallies around the country.
Before it was adjourned, Thursday's hearing focused on allegations that Kessler made improper use of a state purchasing program to buy discounted tires for his personal vehicle and failed to submit crime reports as required under state law. Kessler denies he did anything wrong.
The borough's attorney also introduced transcripts of Kessler's Internet radio show, in which he made vulgar sexual references to borough council members, called one a drunk and threatened violence against another.
The attorney had the mayor, Mary Lou Hannon, read from the transcripts, then asked her whether it was conduct becoming a police officer.
"It's unacceptable," Hannon said.
Nahas had been cross-examining the mayor when the gun clattered to the floor behind him.
Surprised and then irritated, Nahas turned to the weapon's bearded owner and said, "You gotta go!" The man left.
Nahas, the other attorneys and the hearing examiner then huddled privately before returning to announce the hearing's adjournment.
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16. Almost a year after Newtown, does anyone care about gun control anymore?
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Member David Custer emailed me this:
--
From
nbcnews.com:
http://tinyurl.com/oc7c7us
Almost a year after Newtown, does anyone care about gun control anymore?
by Tony Dokoupil, Senior Staff Writer, NBC News
October 4, 2013
In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, gun control was ground zero in American politics, captivating the public and politicos alike. It flared again late last month after a gunman killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard.
But now, as the first anniversary of Newtown approaches, the forces for gun control have little to celebrate, a lot to mourn and scant hope of change in the near term. On the front lines, activists say they are demoralized and adrift, the movement fraying at the roots as its leaders struggle to reignite a fading national moment for change.
"It's not going well at all," says Sally Christ, 56, a donor to Americans for Responsible Solutions, a major gun-control lobby launched this year by former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Two months ago, she and other supporters celebrated on the waterfront in Portland, Maine, noshing on lobster and looking toward a strong push for gun reform legislation this fall—a push that hasn't materialized and, thanks to Obamacare and Congress, probably won't.
"There are some little bits and pieces," says Christ, a former public health educator. But "it's not like getting people to quit smoking. It's not sexy."
That's a stark change from almost a year ago. A troubled young man had just killed 20 students and six adult staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School, opening fire with a semi-automatic arsenal. The 2007 Virginia Tech shooting was bloodier, but Newtown and its young victims struck a special nerve. President Obama pledged to put "everything I've got" behind reforms, proposing the broadest gun control legislation in decades, and the groundswell of public support doubled the size of the two largest gun control lobbies in America, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
It also gave rise to a third lobby: Americans for Responsible Solutions. Giffords pitched the group as a counterbalance to the National Rifle Association, one with "millions" of supporters and cash to match the clout of the opposition. "Legislators will no longer have reason to fear the gun lobby," she promised in an editorial announcing the organization. "Fight, fight, fight" she added in a poignant stump speech over the summer, her words slurred by the path of an assassin's bullet she survived in 2011.
But this seemingly unbeatable political coalition—three deep-pocketed groups, allied with a sitting president, seemingly aligned with a huge majority of Americans—enters the fall on a low ebb that seemed unimaginable just a few months ago. "It's not important enough, sadly," says Johnathan Abbinett, 60, a founding member of the Nevada chapter of Americans for Responsible solutions. His chapter colleague Christian Gerlach, 26, isn't even sure the chapter exists any more. "I only went to that first meeting," he says, before changing the subject. "I'm actually getting ready for Obamacare. I'm a coordinator."
In interviews with leaders of the Big Three, as well as more than half a dozen members of Americans for Responsible Solutions—all of them prior volunteers of time or money—a picture emerged of a movement at a dangerous crossroads.
At a glance the effort to avert another mass shooting has never been stronger. Giffords' so-called Super PAC raised $6.6 million in the first half of 2013, more than any other, and its organizing arm recruited half a million new members. All told, the lobbying effort of the gun control side is on pace to spend more than it did after the Columbine shootings in 1999, according to data provided by the Center for Responsive Politics.
But the pro-gun side has grown even more, the CRP data shows. It has added popular no-compromise groups, such as Gun Owners of America, and maintained a nine-to-one spending advantage on Hill. The NRA alone has outspent the Big Three in 2013, stoking members with an ad campaign built around the need to "stand and fight" Washington regulators. It says a million new people signed up in the first 9 months of the year, bringing the NRA rolls to 5 million strong, more than double what the Big Three muster combined.
"Our growth is unprecedented," NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre announced at the group's annual meeting in May. "By the time we're finished, the NRA must and will be 10 million strong."
Such lopsided growth mirrors what happened after the Columbine massacre. The Senate failed to pass a bill requiring universal background checks, among other popular reforms, and the gun control movement was swallowed by a wave of gun rights activism. It spent the next decade in the wilderness, starved of funding and support as the NRA won victory after victory.
This time—after the failure of a similar background check bill in April, and the recall of two pro-reform politicians in Colorado last month—the mission has narrowed to a single overarching goal: maintain the momentum. "It's like a sugar rush," says Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign, of the cycle of public concern after a major shooting. "It seems like we have intensity—there's sympathy, there's outrage—but that intensity proves to be transitory."
Exactly why is a bit of a mystery, but veteran activists point to an intensity gap.
The nation's private firearms are in the hands of just 20 percent of the population, a wedge defined by those who own numerous weapons and feel safer as a result. For years, polls from NBC have shown super majority support for what gun control advocates call "sensible reforms," from background checks to limits on commando-style assault weapons. But when such reforms come up for a vote, guess who makes the most political noise? Not the side that uses words like "sensible" and "common sense." As Dan Gross of the Brady Campaign puts it: "Common sense is not an intense emotion."
The Big Three are trying to make it one. That's why, in late June and early July, Team Giffords—which includes Gabby, her husband Mark Kelly, her service dog Nelson, and a phalanx of operatives—toured seven states in seven days. Toting a suitcase of their own firearms, they preached "gun responsibilities," and tried to engage hardline locals and gun rights politicians. At the same time, Mayors Against Illegal Guns ran a 100-day, 25-state summer bus tour, calling for an end to gun violence.
But the results of both tours were mixed at best. In state after state, major politicians ducked Giffords and Kelly, despite (or perhaps because of) ample advance notice of their arrival. In Alaska, Mark Begich, one of four Democrats who voted against closing the gun show loophole, was said to be vacationing on an island without cell service when the tour arrived. In North Dakota, "friends in the NRA" forced a last minute venue change, according to a Team Giffords advance man, who himself declined to be named for fear of mixing with gun-grabbers from Washington. And when members of MAIG arrived in Fargo, the mayor told them that guns were not a problem.
The grassroots side of the campaign struggled as well. At a MAIG event in Columbus, Ohio, the Buckeye Firearms Association organized a counter rally that drew twice the crowd. In Raleigh, N.C., when Giffords passed through, a gun blogger turned out two-dozen people shaking green signs that read: Guns Save Lives. But perhaps the most dramatic scenes were in Manchester and Dover, N.H., where protesters arrived "full battle rattle," as one man noted on a Facebook page for the counter-protest, toting guns—including an AR-15—and forcing Giffords out a back exit after her speech. The same week, Mayors Against Illegal Guns made its own campaign stop in the state, where police subdued one pro-gun activist with a taser and dispersed the crowd.
Even a fresh mass shooting failed to kick-start the movement for gun reform. Hours after the Washington Navy Yard slaughter on Sept. 16, MAIG convened more than 100 shooting victims and survivors, many of whom had been campaigning steadily since Newtown or before. They were tired and angry, their hope of reforms breaking up like glass on the Capitol steps.
And they decided to escalate their rhetoric, jettisoning "lost" for "killed" or "murdered," and adding graphic new details to well-oiled speeches on the Capitol lawn. But again it didn't work. By the grand finale, a reading of the long list of people killed by gun violence this year, the audience had thinned to nothing. Even the advocates had drifted away to a reception, according to the Washington Post.
So why doesn't anyone seem to care? The easy answer from the left involves the NRA, its fervent supporters, gun manufacturers, and words like "greedy" and "heartless." But the truth is, as always, more complicated.
To make the world safer, the gun control lobby wants fewer guns in the hands of bad guys. The pro-gun side supports the same goal. But it also wants more guns in the hands of the good guys, believing that a bullet is the best way to stop the next unfolding national tragedy. Both sides think the other is crazy and dangerous, but only the pro-gun side seems to have supporters who are passionate enough to focus on almost nothing else.
"They're single-issue people and we aren't," says Beverly Moffet, a retired judge in Columbus, Ohio, and a supporter of Americans for Responsible Solutions. "That's their side's greatest strength and our great weakness."
Even before Washington shutdown, the Big Three had almost no hard events on the calendar for October, and sparse calls to action compared to earlier in the year. Each organization will mark the Newtown anniversary in December, but how, exactly, they aren't ready to say. And a similar sense of hiatus pervades activists on the front lines. None of those contacted were willing to rank gun control as their top concern, or even something they were still working on, not with marriage equality, immigration reform, health care, and poverty crowding the mind.
If there were another vote in Congress, Moffet added, "I think people would turn out for it."
Until then, however, she doesn't see the point.
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17. Police officers are three times more likely to murder than a CHP holder?
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Member James Durso emailed me this:
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From
ammoland.com:
http://tinyurl.com/kvad6mz
Police Officers Three Times More Likely to Murder Than Concealed Carry Permit Holders
by Dean Weingarten
October 07, 2013
Arizona - In 1994, when Arizona started its shall issue concealed carry weapon (CCW) program, there was considerable interest in how many and what types of homicides would be related to the new law.
I started teaching classes for the Arizona CCW permit when it went into effect, and I immediately noticed that my students were well above average in attitude, responsibility, and civility. They always pitched in to assist in setting up where necessary, and their personal checks have always been good.
When the first statistics became available, I eagerly digested the information. One person with a CCW permit had committed a homicide, although not with a concealed weapon. It was a domestic situation, and the perpetrator was a retired police officer.
The question arose, how often do police officers commit homicide compared to concealed carry permit holders? Of the two, which is more common?
It appears that a person is three times safer with a concealed carry permit holder than they are with a police officer.
Attempting to determine how the homicide rate of people with CCW permits compares to that of police officers is not an easy task. There are several sources that show that people with CCW permits are far more law abiding than the general population.
One would like to believe that the same is true for police officers, but data is much harder to obtain for them. Agencies that employ sworn officers do not like to tarnish their name with the misdeeds of officers, and unlike a few states that track crimes committed by CCW permit holders, I do not know of any government database of crimes committed by peace officers.
The best reported crimes are homicides. It is a significant event that is difficult to ignore. There is usually a body. Media usually reports all the homicides that they learn of.
I found two sources of data that seem roughly comparable: One being the anti-gun Violence Policy Center (VPC) (
http://www.vpc.org/fact_sht/ccwtotalkilled.pdf ) who attempts to track all homicides that are committed by CCW permit holders. The data is incomplete, in that it relies on publicly reported stories, but it gives us a useful figure. It does not seem likely that many reported stories are missed. (we can also assume by the source that VPC data is biased against lawful gun owners)
For police, I used a web site that tracks domestic homicides committed by police officers, and another that does the same for police involved domestic violence. The data is comparable to the VPC data in that it relies on publicly reported stories. Data was available for complete years from 2008 – 2011 for comparison of the two groups.
Florida was chosen to represent CCW permit holders, because accurate numbers of permits were obtainable from the Florida Department of Agriculture. Florida has the highest total of CCW permits of all the states, and the number of resident concealed carry permits in Florida is reasonably close to the number of sworn state and local peace officers in the United States.
The Violence Policy Center (VPC) says that Florida tops the nation in killings by people with concealed carry permits. VPC has complete years in their data base for 2008 – 2011 for Florida. There are 27 total killings that are unjustified homicides by CCW permit holders, and 14 of those are domestic homicides. The rate of domestic homicides per 100,000 per year is .583 per 100,000 for CCW holders.
The homicide rate nationally dropped from 5.4 to 4.7 per 100,000 during this period, and the Florida homicide rate dropped from 6.4 to 5.2 per 100,000. Since we are only looking at CCW holders in Florida, we would expect those rates to be a bit higher than the national rate for this period.
When we look at the numbers for sworn officers, I found 52 domestic homicides committed by sworn police officers from 2008 – 2011. For the police, nationally from 2008 through 2011, the rate is 52/2,818,924 or 1.854/100,000 domestic homicides per 100,000 police per year.
For the data that we have, police appear to be three times as likely to commit murder as a concealed carry permit holder.
If we include all unjustified homicides (suicides were not included) found in Florida by the VPC for CCW holders for the entire four years, the rate is only 27/2,400,713 or 1.125 per 100,000 population per year. This is comparable with the homicide rates in developed western European countries. It is 61% of the rate for police officers for domestic homicides alone.
There are no complete and definitive sources of data that will give us an accurate ratio of unjustified homicides committed by police compared to CCW holders. The numbers are very small and no one keeps a national record of them.
However, the numbers found for domestic homicide cases, which are some of the easiest solved and most highly publicised cases, offer strong evidence that CCW permit holders are less likely to commit unjustified homicide than police officers, as little as one third as much.
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18. Kenya and gun control
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EM Dave Van emailed me this on Kenya laws (where the mass shooting in a mall recently happened). Gun control on steroids and a massacre to go with it:
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"Carrying an illegal firearm is a serious crime, which under Section 4 of the Act attracts up to 10 years in jail without the option of a fine.
In fact, if the firearm or ammunition is one of the types prohibited in law, then the sentence shall not be less than seven years and not more than 15 years.
The same is the case if you are in possession of more ammunition that those permitted.
But if you are convicted for failure to renew the firearms certificate by negligence, then you shall pay Sh500 for every day you had the gun with an expired certificate.
If you fail to pay the fine, then you go to jail for up to two years.
There are some guns such AK47, G3 and MP5 which are described as "specified firearms" under Section 4A of the Firearms Act.
Possession of any of these without a firearms certificate or any lawful justification attracts life imprisonment.
You face the same penalty if, being licensed to carry or trade in such a firearm, you hire it out or unlawfully permit another person to take possession of or use it in organised criminal activities."
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