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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. Success! Gretna Town Council approves new range!
2. Coverage of VCDL at Wednesday's Bedford County Board of Supervisor meeting
3. Newport News selecting new police chief from 5 candidates - your input is needed!
4. New indoor shooting range in Shenandoah Valley
5. Poor turnout of gun owners in the last election
6. Typhoid Mike Bloomberg strikes again
7. ODU Safety Timely Warning
8. VA now honors Idaho Enhanced Permit
9. Dinwiddie looking at possible gunfire noise ordinance
10. Supreme Court takes gun rights case on convicted policeman
11. Senate says no to U.N. gun control
12. MILLER: Washington National Cathedral used to attack NRA, destroy illegal guns
13. DC Police divided over supplying guns for gun control event
14. [MI] Two women shot, killed at Detroit senior center
15. [NV] Slain teacher hailed as 'fallen hero' after school shooting
16. [TN] Police officer fired after shooting and pepper spraying squirrel
17. [IN] Pastor pulls gun, stops robbery at Evansville business [VIDEO]
18. Brooklyn: Black youths pummel white couple in bloody racial attack.
19. [NC] Armed bystander thwarts stun-gun robbery outside Concord bank
20. Active-shooter incidents have tripled since 2009: Holder
21. After Westgate, Interpol Chief ponders 'armed citizenry'
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1. Success! Gretna Town Council approves new range!
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Congratulations VCDL! Your phone calls and emails to Gretna Town Council members just paid off!
From godanriver.com: http://tinyurl.com/k2g7xad
Gretna pulls trigger on indoor shooting range
BY JOHN R. CRANE
Gretna has given the go-ahead for a proposed indoor shooting range.
During a meeting Monday night, Gretna Town Council approved an amendment to the town's ordinance allowing indoor shooting ranges in the business district under a special-use permit.
Council also approved a zoning amendment changing the proposed shooting range's property — owned by Jimmy Hunt — at Coffey Street and Va. 40 from residential to business, said Gretna Town Manager David Lilly.
Mike Burnette, owner of PointBlank Sporting Goods, plans to open a range on land that already contains a building he would convert into a firing range and gun store.
The 25-yard range would be located in the basement of the building. During a joint meeting of town council and the Gretna Planning Commission in October, Burnette said that portion of the building would be retrofitted with the necessary qualifications for a safe shooting range, including ballistic walls capable of stopping high-powered rounds, and equipped to minimize outside noise.
The proposal also stated the building would include a ventilation system to remove unwanted lead residue from the firing of a gun and a rubber barrier around the walls to capture lead dust.
In addition, Burnette said during the October meeting a range officer certified by the National Rifle Association would be on guard at the range whenever anyone was shooting. He said no pre-loaded guns would be allowed on the property, although clients can bring their own ammo provided it's in a separate container.
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2. Coverage of VCDL at Wednesday's Bedford County Board of Supervisor meeting
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Here is coverage of the Bedford County Board of Supervisors meeting where VCDL thanked them for supporting armed school teachers. Two photos in the article:
From news advance.com: http://tinyurl.com/lgsbc93
Gun rights advocates applaud Bedford supervisors' efforts
Justin Faulconer
BEDFORD — The president of the Virginia Citizen's Defense League praised the Bedford County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday for lobbying the state to pass legislation to allow teachers to legally carry guns in schools.
The board recently voted 6-1, with Supervisor Annie Pollard opposed, to include the request in a priorities list for the next General Assembly session.
Supervisor John Sharp said the hope is teachers licensed to carry firearms could elect to do so, saving taxpayer money in protecting schools. It would be a voluntary measure.
VCDL President Phillip Van Cleave said the organization dedicated to preserving Second Amendment rights was pleased to learn of the board's stance.
"That's an idea that can save lives," he said.
Many major mass murders across the country have taken place in gun-free zones, he said.
"Obviously, you guys recognize that is not what we would want to see happen in Bedford," he said.
He spoke of an incident in Mississippi where a student tried to kill as many as he could but an assistant principal ran to his car to get his firearm. He held the student at gunpoint until police arrived. A law prevented him from having the gun in the school and lives were in danger as a result, Van Cleave said.
He thanked the board for "a good first step" and a precedent the group hopes can spread to other localities. About two-dozen residents show their support for the request.
Thaxton resident John Briscoe said teachers should not have to give up their rights to defend themselves by entering a school building.
Chairman Steve Arrington read a letter from Liberty Counsel, a Christian-based legal entity with ties to Liberty University that supports the board's request.
"Teachers should be allowed to defend themselves," Arrington said at one point while reading the letter.
Several school board members have said they are not sold on the idea of allowing teachers to be armed.
School Board Chairman Gary Hostutler said in a recent phone interview he prefers having more school resource officers for safety enhancement, a request from Bedford County Sheriff Mike Brown that the board shot down this year due to funding concerns.
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3. Newport News selecting new police chief from 5 candidates - your input is needed!
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If you live in Newport News, you will have a chance to hear each of the 5 police chief candidates speak and then give your input to the City Manager as to who to pick. Each candidate will field questions.
I suggest asking the following questions (you probably will only get to ask one question, but hopefully there will be enough there to split up the questions):
1. Will the candidate sign off on NFA (National Firearms Act) forms for purchasing Class III items (machine guns, silencers)?
2. Does the candidate support citizens lawfully carrying firearms for self-defense?
3. Would the candidate support or enforce the confiscation of guns from the citizens of Newport News under orders from any local, state, or federal entity?
From dailypress.com: http://tinyurl.com/lek9n3a
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4. New indoor shooting range in Shenandoah Valley
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The Gun Range LLC
4883 Early Rd.
Mount Crawford, VA 22841
540-434-8999
http://www.thegunrangellc.com/
https://www.facebook.com/gunrangellc
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5. Poor turnout of gun owners in the last election
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I will say that the number of gun owners who voted could be much high than stated below. That's because many people don't want strangers to know if they own guns or not.
From breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/la4cwps
Poor Turnout from Gun Owners in VA Governor Race
by AWR Hawkins
An exit poll from the Virginia gubernatorial election Tuesday reveals a poor turnout from gun owners.
In fact, of all the voters who took part in the election, less than half had a gun owner in their household.
According to CNN, only 47 percent of voters said they had a gun owner in their household, while 53 said they did not.
Of the 47 percent of gun owners, 59 percent voted for Ken Cuccinelli (R), 33 percent for Terry McAuliffe (D) [PVC: Voting for more gun control? That is shameful.], and seven percent for Robert Sarvis (L), with one percent preferring not to say who they voted for.
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6. Typhoid Mike Bloomberg strikes again
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From Jeff Knox with firearmscoalition.org:
Typhoid Mike Bloomberg Strikes Again
By Jeff Knox
(November 6, 2013) New York City's controversial billionaire mayor was slapped down again in races in Colorado and Virginia on Tuesday. Unfortunately, Unfortunately, in Virginia, the slap was only symbolic as Bloomberg's chosen gubernatorial and Attorney General candidates actually won their elections. The fact that the races were so close and some Democrats are blaming the razor-thin margin of victory on Bloomberg's "help." Democrat Terry McAuliffe, whom Bloomberg supported to the tune of about $2 million, eked out a win over Republican Ken Cuccinelli. This in spite of the fact that all of the polls had the former Clinton fundraiser ahead by double digits just a couple of weeks ago, before Bloomberg started flooding the airwaves with anti-gun, pro-McAuliffe TV ad's. At least one Democrat leader has suggested that Bloomberg and his ads helped to drag McAuliffe down and almost cost him the election.
Bloomberg also spent a million dollars on advertisements targeting Republican Mark Obenshain in his race for Virginia Attorney General. At this point it looks like, Obenshain has lost that race by a total of 32 votes out of over 2 million cast. While both Virginia races go in the Win column for Bloomberg, the speculation among Democrat campaign pros that Bloomberg and his money cost votes rather than buying votes is significant.
On the other side of the country, Bloomberg didn't come anywhere close to winning. For the third time this year he suffered a crushing defeat in the state of Colorado. Only a month ago two of his minions were defeated in the first ever recall of State Senators in Colorado's history, then, on November 5, Bloomberg was heavily invested in an effort to pass an education initiative. Coloradans saw the initiative as a massive tax increase and rejected it overwhelmingly in spite of – or possibly to some degree because of – Bloomberg spending a million dollars in support.
The upshot is that voters are so annoyed by Bloomberg and his arrogant, busybody attitude, that it looks like he is no longer able to buy his way past his own negative image. As predicted several weeks ago in this column, Bloomberg is becoming, not only his own worst enemy, but also an enemy of everyone and everything he supports. He is becoming a pariah in politics – a self-funded poison pill, killing all that he touches. He has started funneling money through his various front organizations, but for now, the money is still easy to trace back to him. I suspect he will soon make a greater effort to hide his contributions, much as George Soros has done over the past decade. No matter. We and others will be watching and making every effort to expose his expenditures and defeat his causes.
As I've said before, I think Mike Bloomberg is the most dangerous man in America, because he has virtually unlimited financial resources and he's willing to expend vast amounts of those resources to impose his will on the American public. He has sworn to give away his $25 billion (and growing) fortune by the time he dies, and he's set up a foundation to administer that process. Presumably, much of that money will go toward endowing other foundations whose mission will be to dole out grants to researchers and organizations advancing Bloomberg's social agenda – like gun control and government supervision of individual diets.
One certain recipient is the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and their Center for Gun Policy and Research which has been churning out anti-rights junk-science for decades. The position of the university and its various schools, centers, and institutes is to treat guns like a disease, applying epidemiological protocols to irradicate the threat to public health they say guns represent. Of course their "research" never factors in the 2 million times every year that a gun is used to stop a criminal attack, or the deterrent value of armed citizens.
Since he graduated from John Hopkins with an engineering degree in 1964, Bloomberg has contributed over $1.1 billion to the school. Bloomberg's fingerprints can be found in every corner of the university's various campuses and facilities, from the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children's Center at Johns Hopkins Medical Center to the choice of artworks in the main campus quad. As the "most generous living donor to any US educational institution," Bloomberg wields significant influence on the Johns Hopkins campuses. His latest donation - $350 million - is earmarked for the School of Public Health; $100 million to go toward scholarship programs, and the rest to fund 50 new faculty research positions. While much of that endowment may fund worthy, even lifesaving efforts, it's a safe bet that the Center for Gun Policy and Research will receive its cut of the bounty to crank out more of their trademark anti-rights propaganda disguised as research.
While the 70-year-old Bloomberg may have become a political Typhoid Mary in person, his legacy will be a dangerous opponent to liberty long after he is gone. His funding has attracted other anti-liberty foundations such as the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and of course, the Joyce Foundation, all of which also provide funds to the Center for Gun Policy and Research.
Unfortunately, there are few such foundations bankrolling the work of pro-liberty researchers like Professor John Lott and his new Crime Prevention Research Center. Pro-rights organizations tend to have to rely on folks like you and me for their funding.
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7. ODU Safety Timely Warning
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Member John Young emailed me this:
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Who needs a defensive weapon at gun-free ODU?
Sigh.
From Old Dominion University Alerts
ODU Safety Timely Warning?
October 19, 2013
ODU Police are investigating an attempted robbery that is reported to have occurred at approximately 1:38 a.m. Oct. 19 at 49th and Powhatan - Lot 44.
The victim reported he was walking alone through Lot 44 when he observed three males exit a black two-door Hyundai Elantra. He was initially approached by one male, struck in the face without provocation and a fight ensued. The other two males joined in, pinned the victim to the ground and began attempting to remove his wallet from his pocket. The victim continued to struggle and the suspects left the scene in the vehicle without property. The victim sustained minor injuries and declined medical treatment.
The suspects are described as in their 20's and were last seen wearing dark colored jeans and tee shirts.
#1 black male, 6' - 6'2", dread locks style hair, medium complexion, muscular build.
#2 black male, 6' - 6'2", dark complexion, goatee no mustache.
#3 black male, 6' - 6'2", dark complexion
Members of the community are reminded to follow these safety precautions:
* Walk in pairs whenever practical.
* When walking, follow well-lit pathways.
* Avoid carrying and displaying valuables or large sums of cash.
* Utilize the SafeRide van service or the University escort services by calling 757-683-3477.
The investigation is continuing and anyone with information should contact Detective Janka of the Old Dominion University Police at 757-683-4000.
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8. VA now honors Idaho Enhanced Permit
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My contact at the Virginia State Police had mentioned to me that recognition of Idaho permits was coming.
Gary Slider (handgunlaw.us) emailed me this:
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Idaho is reporting that they have reciprocity with Virginia for their Enhanced permit only. Idaho issues the Regular and the Enhanced. The Enhanced takes more training and they did it to get more reciprocity.
Virginia listing: http://vsp.virginia.gov/Firearms_Reciprocity.shtm
Under mutual recognition list.
Idaho listing: http://www.isp.idaho.gov/BCI/index.html.
Click on "License to Carry Concealed Weapon" in the header.
Scroll to the bottom of the window that opens.
Click on "CWL RECIPROCITY WITH OTHER STATES."
The window that opens now lists Virginia honoring the Idaho Enhanced Permit Only. If you click on Virginia in the listing, the letters back and forth between Idaho and Virginia can be seen.
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9. Dinwiddie looking at possible gunfire noise ordinance
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Those of you in Diwiddie need to keep an eye on this. Once the Board of Supervisors is going to consider a proposal, VCDL will need to get involved.
From Progress-Index.com: http://tinyurl.com/muf96c6
Dinwiddie supervisors will look at gun issues
By Vanessa Remmers
October 21, 2013
DINWIDDIE - William and Delores Bland sometimes wonder whether they are in the midst of a war.
The couple, who have lived in their house on Squirrel Level Road for 40 years, are often left rattled by target shooting taking place near their home.
"It is not unlawful for them to be out there. But because it is out in the open, we get most of the sound," Delores Bland said. "It sounds like something booming from a cannon."
The Blands said the methodical shots will go on for several hours throughout the week, including Sunday. The couple said they are never afraid for their safety, but are mainly concerned about the noise.
"Three weeks ago, it was deafening noise all day long," Delores Bland said. "We want to make clear that we are not trying to take any rights away from hunters. We love hunters."
They are simply hoping that county leaders can do something to curtail the sound of these target shootings, the Blands said. Delores Bland suggested a noise ordinance or a requirement for a muzzler.
Delores Bland said there is significant support for a change among residents in her neighborhood. Nearly the entire neighborhood addressed the issue at a recent town hall meeting held by District 3 Supervisor William Chavis and District 4 Supervisor Daniel Lee, Delores Bland said.
At the Oct. 15 meeting, the Board of Supervisors decided to form a committee to look into the issue. Supervisors will decide committee appointments at their next meeting.
Lee, who called for the committee's formation, said that the group will likely address all the issues regarding gunfire in areas that are residentially zoned. In addition to target shootings near homes, residents have also lodged complaints about celebratory gunfire in neighborhoods.
Lee added that complaints about gunfire have come in from agricultural areas as well. The committee may also look into such complaints, he said.
"Realistically, I think we are going to get enough different groups throughout the county that they are going to look at a range of those kind of issues," Lee said.
County Attorney Tyler Southall brought the celebratory gunfire issue before supervisors earlier this year after he received a complaint from a resident. The issue seemed to lose traction after subsequent board discussions did not include the topic.
"Board members had expressed concern that they didn't want it to apply the agricultural areas of the county, which is the vast majority of the county," Southall said in May.
On Friday, Southall said that similar complaints have continued to be received.
Currently, Dinwiddie County code only restricts gun discharges near schools. The county's current noise ordinance does not specifically mention guns. Guidelines for the setting up of target shootings date back to 1990, Southall said.
Southall added that the noise ordinance may not be the most effective tool for tackling the target shooting issue. Since noise ordinances are hard to enforce, Lee said that an effective regulation may be a distance ordinance that regulates how far someone must be from a residential neighborhood before discharging a weapon.
During the Oct. 15 meeting, the board unanimously supported a resolution that opposed any legislation that would expand hunting to Sundays. Currently, hunters are able to hunt every day of the week except for Sunday.
Even though he understood that Sunday hunting benefits hunters who travel to Dinwiddie for a weekend, Lee said he supported the resolution. Supervisors agreed, citing the safety and their desire for citizens to have access to open spaces.
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10. Supreme Court takes gun rights case on convicted policeman
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VCDL was party to an amicus brief on this case at the circuit court level.
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
--
From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/m2wcmaw
Supreme Court takes gun rights case on convicted policeman
By Ken Klukowski
October 20, 2013
Gun rights return to the Supreme Court this year, challenging a federal regulation that resulted in a police officer's felony conviction when he purchased a firearm for his uncle.
Bruce Abramski is a former police officer whose uncle wanted to buy a firearm. His uncle is a law-abiding person who can legally purchase, but since Abramski is a former policeman, there are gun shops where he can buy firearms at a discount. Thus, he decided to buy the gun for his uncle.
Everyone who purchases a firearm at a federally-licensed firearm retail store is familiar with Form 4473. The form is created by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and, among other things, asks whether you are the actual purchaser of the firearm, versus purchasing for someone else. Form 4473 tells you that if you say you are not the actual buyer, you cannot purchase the gun.
Abramski and his uncle checked with several gun dealers, all of whom said the legal way to proceed was for Abramski to purchase in his home state of Virginia as the actual buyer, then go to his uncle's home in Pennsylvania, where they could go to another federally-licensed firearm dealer to have his uncle fill out the same ATF paperwork and undergo the same background check, then have the firearm transferred to the uncle.
Abramski did so. Then he was charged and convicted of a federal felony for making a false statement that is "intended or likely to deceive" a gun dealer "with respect to any fact material to the lawfulness of the [gun] sale."
Federal appeals courts with jurisdiction over many of the states in America understand that this provision of federal law is designed only to prevent "straw man" sales, where a buyer obtains the firearm on behalf of a convicted felon, domestic batterer, mentally ill person, or some other sort of person prohibited from buying guns. It is to make sure someone doesn't get a gun on behalf of someone else who would be refused the sale after they failed a federal background check. In the Supreme Court's words from 1976, it is to "keep firearms out of the hands of those not legally entitled to possess them because of age, criminal background, or incompetency." It was not written to prevent a policeman from being a nephew who tried to save his law-abiding uncle some money.
Nonetheless, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond (with jurisdiction over the Mid-Atlantic states) agreed with two other federal appeals courts in holding that when Abramski checked the box affirming he was the purchaser, he committed a serious federal crime.
If Abramski purchased the gun on his own, then decided to give it to his uncle as a free gift, that would be legal. Or if Abramski bought it for himself, then the following week decided to sell it to his uncle, that would be legal. But because his uncle wrote him a check for the gun before Abramski went to the store to buy the gun, and thus was acting as his uncle's agent to buy a gun, Abramski became a federal felon.
Question 11a on Form 4473 is poorly worded. That wording was chosen by ATF, not Congress. If Question 11a instead asked if you are purchasing on behalf of someone who cannot legally purchase a firearm, then Abramski would honestly have said "no," and there would not be any criminal conviction.
On Oct. 15, the Supreme Court granted review in Abramski v. U.S. Arguments are likely around February, with a decision before July 2014.
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11. Senate says no to U.N. gun control
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Member Ray Kasey emailed me this:
--
From Townhall.com: http://tinyurl.com/kp62gvw
Senate wins big victory for 2nd Amendment
By Katie Kieffer
October 21, 2013
Tired of depressing news? Smile, because here is some very positive news: 50 U.S. Senators--both Democrats and Republicans--have pledged to stop Obama's latest attack on the Second Amendment.
Last week, all 50 senators wrote a letter to Obama pledging not to ratify the United Nations' Arms Trade Treaty. In order for this treaty to be ratified, it would need 60 "yay" votes in the Senate. This means, gun owners will not need to forfeit their God-given right to self-defense and President Obama is on notice that his latest attack on the Second Amendment is dead on arrival in the Senate.
This fall, the Obama administration signed the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. As I warned gun owners in August, this treaty undermines your Second Amendment rights, places international law on a pedestal above our Constitution and encourages the creation of a national gun registry.
Obama pledged that he would never sign the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty. In October of 2009, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the U.S. would only enter the Arms Trade Treaty by "the rule of consensus decision-making." However, these 50 U.S. Senators write that Obama broke this pledge, because: "in April 2013, after the treaty failed to achieve consensus, it was adopted by majority vote in the U.N. General Assembly. We fear that this reversal has done grave damage to the diplomatic credibility of the United States."
These 50 senators write that this treaty: "encourages governments to collect the identities of individual end users of imported firearms at the national level, which would constitute the core of a national gun registry." This means that Obama broke another promise to the American people by signing this treaty. On March 25, 2013, his spokesman told the press that Obama was absolutely not working to create a national gun registry. Apparently, he was.
U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe sponsored an amendment in the Senate to show opposition to the treaty. Now, this letter is a further sign that the U.S. Senate will not allow our President to subvert both the Second Amendment and our ability to, as this letter states: "conduct our own foreign policy." Obama's own State Department has called the treaty "ambiguous" and so senators are very concerned that the terms of the treaty would severely restrict our ability to exercise our national sovereignty and conduct our own foreign policy. This treaty would effectively put global bureaucrats in charge of micromanaging our interactions with our own allies.
Here are the names of the 50 U.S. Senators who courageously took a stand for your freedom against the Obama administration:
Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, Sen. John Barrasso, Sen. Mark Begich, Sen. Roy Blunt, Sen. John Boozman, Sen. Richard Burr, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Sen. Jeff Chiesa, Sen. Daniel Coats, Sen. Tom Coburn, Sen. Thad Cochran, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Mike Crapo, Sen. Ted Cruz, Sen. Mike Enzi, Sen. Deb Fischer, Sen. Jeff Flake, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Chuck Grassley, Sen. Kay Hagan, Sen. Orrin Hatch, Sen. Dean Heller, Sen. John Hoeven, Sen. James Inhofe, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Sen. Mike Johanns, Sen. Ron Johnson, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Mike Lee, Sen. Joe Manchin III, Sen. John McCain, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jerry Moran, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Rand Paul, Sen. Rob Portman, Sen. Mark Pryor, Sen. James Risch, Sen. Pat Roberts, Sen. Marco Rubio, Sen. Tim Scott, Sen. Jeff Sessions, Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. John Thune, Sen. Pat Toomey, Sen. David Vittor, Sen. Roger Wicker
If your senator is one of the above 50 who signed this letter to Obama, please write to them and say "thank you" for standing up for your natural, God-given right to self-defense as well as our country's right to manage our own foreign policy.
Gun owners like you have been speaking up loudly and clearly against this treaty. By speaking out, you have encouraged these 50 Senators to take a strong stand for freedom. Even though this treaty is now dead on arrival in the Senate, if your senator is not one of these 50, you should write him or her and encourage them to get on-board. All Americans need to be on the same team: Team Freedom.
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12. MILLER: Washington National Cathedral used to attack NRA, destroy illegal guns
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Member Dale Hawley emailed me this:
--
From WashingtonTimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/m8quv69
MILLER: Washington National Cathedral used to attack NRA, destroy illegal guns
By Emily Miller
October 20, 2013
The Washington National Cathedral, a symbol of unity among faithful Americans, was the site of a politically divisive event promoting gun control on Sunday.
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, and the Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the cathedral, exited the church service to participate in a event based on a theme of "beating swords into plowshares."
The gun-control leaders donned protective eye gear and took up hammers to bang on the gun parts that blacksmiths had turned red from heat.
Before the dramatic performance in Northwest Washington, I interviewed Mrs. Edelman about her goals.
"This is a public health crisis," the longtime liberal activist said. "The NRA has blocked gun violence research, so most parents don't know that having a gun in the home puts themselves and their children in more danger."
"The NRA and the gun manufacturers are selling guns to people by making them believe it will make them safer!" she railed. "The gun manufacturers are even marketing guns for 4- and 5-year-olds."
I asked where she saw those advertisements for guns for preschool children. Mrs. Edelman paused and then told me to call Josh Sugarman, a radical anti-gun proponent who founded the Violence Policy Center.
Mrs. Edelman seemed particularly animated when talking about the more than 5 million members of the National Rifle Association.
"We can beat the NRA," she said. "Most members of the NRA support background checks and a reasonable ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips."
I asked Mrs. Edelman if she was aware that gun violence had decreased steadily in the past 20 years.
She pointed at me and said, "A child is shot and killed every three hours in this country!"
According to the most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 380 children age 14 and under were killed by firearms in 2010, and 1,337 among those age 15 to 17.
Mr. Hall, wearing his clerical collar, echoed Mrs. Edelman's words in saying the church's events were intended to "put a spotlight on gun violence as a major public health crisis."
I asked the clergyman if he was aware that gun ownership has gone up in this country but that gun crime has gone down.
"Those of us who are opposed to gun violence need to work with gun owners to lessen gun deaths," he said.
I asked if, by that reasoning, he was saying gun owners supported gun violence. He said that is not what he meant.
The dean said he represented "a faith community, standing in the center to find consensus."
I asked who was represented this day on the side opposing gun control.
"This is not about the Second Amendment," he answered. "This is about putting the spotlights on gun deaths."
The priest said he was not speaking on behalf of the Episcopal Church but insisted, "Everything I'm saying consistent with the church's position since 1976 on gun violence."
Earlier this year, Mr. Hall spoke at Sen. Dianne Feinstein's press conference in support of her new "assault-weapon" ban, which got only 40 votes in the Senate in April.
Asked about it now, he answered, "I don't think it is going to pass because the NRA is against any regulations of guns."
Raymonde Charles, a spokesman for the Children's Defense Fund, said the event at the church was co-sponsored by Mayor Vincent C. Gray and the Metropolitan Police Department, which provided the "illegal, confiscated guns."
Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier's spokesman told me Saturday that the gun parts were not illegal because they were "inoperable." However, that is legally irrelevant under city laws. Most of the pieces being used to bang into shovels appeared to be barrels, though one was attached to a receiver.
"Active guns can't be on cathedral grounds," Ms. Charles explained.
Actually, guns can't be outside the home in the District of Columbia at all. And all firearms in the city must be registered.
But enforcing the multitude of gun laws on the books didn't seem to be a high priority for this group. Neither does recognition of the fact that no gun-control law had ever led to a reduction in violence.
The cathedral is one of the most visited tourist sites in Washington because it is a place of unity of faiths. It should not be used for political grandstanding.
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13. DC Police divided over supplying guns for gun control event
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As usual, gun controllers consider themselves above the law.
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/opqrztf
DC Police divided over supplying guns for gun control event
By Awr Hawkins
October 20, 2013
D.C. law enforcement representative accuses city's police chief of unfairly enforcing laws to provide props for anti-gun event.
On October 20, the Children's Defense Fund will have blacksmiths forge confiscated guns into "garden tools" in a gun control push outside of the National Cathedral. Washington, D.C. police are supplying the guns, thereby furthering a disagreement between D.C. Fraternal Order of Police chairman Kris Baumann and Police Chief Cathy Lanier's office.
It was just weeks ago that Breitbart News reported how Chief Lanier ignored rules to get illegal guns for Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to use as props in her gun control press conference.
Now that Lanier's department is supplying firearms and firearm parts for another gun control stunt, Baumann is making his opinion known.
The Washington Times carried Baumann's response:
We are supposed to be the police and, as such, the laws must be applied
to everyone without bias. The minute we become politicized in how we
enforce the law, we become compromised and we lose public trust. This is
not rocket science, and yet there appears to be no learning curve on
this issue.
The NRA also responded to the DC Police Department's involvement in the October 20 gun control event by labeling the uneven application of gun control laws "an abuse of authority." The NRA added: "If [the Metropolitan Police Department] is to carve out exemptions to D.C.'s draconian gun control laws to avoid absurd and unjust consequences, hopeful it will do so on an equal opportunity basis."
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14. [MI] Two women shot, killed at Detroit senior center
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Who needs a gun in a senior center?
Member Bill Hine emailed me this:
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From FoxNews: http://tinyurl.com/l8ea465
Two women shot, killed at Detroit senior center
By MyFoxDetroit.com
October 21, 2013
Police say that a 65-year-old man is in custody after he allegedly shot and killed 2 women at a Detroit senior center where the three of them lived.
MyFoxDetroit.com reported that Mike Reda, a resident at the Pablo Davis Elder Living Center, was found shortly after he slipped out a side door of the center following the shooting.
A neighbor, Paul Frantangelo, told the station that he was sitting outside the complex when he saw Reda armed with an AK-47.
"He told me to get on the ground and start praying," Frantangelo said. "He let off a round and he shot my friend in the head. My ears were starting to ring."
The identifies of the women have not been released, but MyFoxDetroit reported that both knew Reda and lived at the center. The Associated Press reported that Reda blamed the two women for his breakup with his girlfriend and that the shooting occurred after an argument between the two.
Police spokeswoman Kelly Miner told The Associated Press the man shot the first woman, who was in her 50s, as she sat on a bench outside the apartment building. Miner said he then went inside and shot the second woman, who was in her 60s.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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15. [NV] Slain teacher hailed as 'fallen hero' after school shooting
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What are we going to stop expecting teachers to die totally helplessly defending the children in their classes? There is no excuse for these "defense-free zones."
Member David Custer emailed me this:
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What if the former marine had been carrying?
From NBCNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/lolshnu
Slain teacher hailed as 'fallen hero' after school shooting
By Erin McClam and Daniel Arkin
October 22, 2013
A mathematics teacher was hailed as a "hero" after being fatally shot while apparently trying to shield students from a 12-year-old boy who opened fire at a Nevada middle school on Monday.
The slain teacher was identified by his brother as Michael Landsberry, 45, a former Marine and a member of the Nevada Air National Guard who celebrated his wedding anniversary last Friday.
Authorities suggested that Landsberry tried to protect students, but stressed they were still investigating. Two boys were wounded before the shooter took his own life at Sparks Middle School, east of Reno. The Associated Press reported that the incident was witnessed by 20 or 30 children.
"We have a lot of heroes today, including our children ... and our fallen hero, an amazing teacher," Washoe County School District Superintendent Pedro Martinez said.
Tim Robinson, deputy chief of the Reno police, also described Landsberry as "a hero."
Kyle Nucum, a 13-year-old student at Sparks Middle School, told NBC News that the suspect "was pointing a gun at the teacher after the teacher told him to put it down" before the first shot went off.
In a separate interview, Nucum told the Reno Journal Gazette that he heard "a pop, like a loud pop, and everybody was screaming."
"The teacher fell and everybody ran away," Nucum told the newspaper. "We ran across the field to get somewhere safe, and while we were running we heard about four or five more gunshots."
Police said the first shots were fired from a semiautomatic handgun at 7:16 a.m. (9:16 a.m. ET), just before classes got underway. First responders arrived at the scene in less than three minutes, police said.
The two wounded boys, who were originally transferred to a local hospital in critical condition, were later upgraded to stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, Sparks deputy police chief Tom Miller said at a Monday afternoon news conference.
Landsberry's brother, Reggie, told NBC News that the 8th-grade math teacher is survived by his wife, Sharon, and two of her children from a previous relationship.
Chanda Landsberry, Reggie's wife, told the Reno Gazette-Journal newspaper that she wasn't surprised by reports that Michael scrambled to save the students.
"To hear he was trying to protect those kids doesn't surprise me at all," she told the newspaper. "He could have ducked and hid, but he didn't. That's not who he is."
Landsberry had worked in the Washoe County School District since August 2001, according to his Facebook page.
Sparks Mayor Geno Martini said Landsberry served two tours in Afghanistan with the Nevada National Guard and was well known in the school community.
"He proudly served his country and was proudly defending the students at his school," he said.
Although authorities have not specified a motive for the attack, a student told the Reno Gazette-Journal that the suspected gunman said he had been teased.
"I heard him saying, 'Why you people making fun of me, why you laughing at me," student Michelle Hernandez told the newspaper.
Police said that the suspect had been "neutralized." He died after sustaining a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Washoe County School District spokeswoman Katie Holmes.
Chilling 911 call recordings obtained by NBC News reveal the utter chaos of the moments that followed the first shots.
"We have a teacher down, now a teacher and student down," an unidentified person can be heard saying.
One of the dispatchers can be heard saying that the suspect reportedly was "chasing people when he saw them."
A first responder can be heard making a possible identification of the shooter, "down from a headshot wound ... on the basketball court."
Authorities said it was too early to tell whether the gunman was targeting anyone or simply on a spree.
The two boys were being treated at Renown Regional Hospital, said Angela Rambo, a spokeswoman.
Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said that he was receiving regular updates and was "deeply saddened" to learn of the shooting.
In 2006, a boy using his father's .38-caliber pistol opened fire at another Reno-area middle school and wounded a boy and girl, both 14, the newspaper said. A gym teacher was honored later for ending the episode by telling the boy to drop the gun and bear-hugging him.
James Scott Newman, 14 at the time of that shooting, pleaded guilty to battery with a deadly weapon and got house arrest until he completed 200 hours of community service.
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16. [TN] Police officer fired after shooting and pepper spraying squirrel
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Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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You just can't make up a story like this!
From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/pgvmfmy
Police officer fired after shooting and pepper spraying squirrel
By Jon David Kahn
October 22,2013
MOUNTAIN CITY, TN (WBIR) - A Tennessee police officer has been fired after displaying heavy force in an attempt to rid a Dollar General Store of a squirrel. The incident occurred last Thursday in Mountain City, when according to police documents, now-former Officer Jody Putnam found himself at the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place at the wrong time. Documents state that Putnam happened to be inside the Dollar General Store at the same time employees noticed a squirrel. That's when Putnam sprang into action, discharging his firearm at the squirrel inside the store. Unsuccessful, he moved on to option 2: pepper spray.
"There was a lot of people that come out and just like me they came out and
they were coughing and a hacking," Carl Duffield told WJHL-TV. "It was
comical, but I'm sure they didn't feel that way - the customers that came out."
In Mountain City, whenever officers discharge their weapons, they are required to alert their supervisors and provide a written statement. Putnam refused to file a report and was subsequently fired by the town's Board of Mayor and Alderman.
No information was given as to the condition of the squirrel other than the fact that he was dead.
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17. [IN] Pastor pulls gun, stops robbery at Evansville business [VIDEO]
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Member David Custer emailed me this:
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Wonder what those at the National Cathedral event think of this.
From WFIE (NBC, Evansville, IA), 14news.com: http://tinyurl.com/obc6gxv
Pastor pulls gun, stops robbery at Evansville business (video)
By Gabrielle Shirley
October 20, 2013
EVANSVILLE, IN (WFIE) - A man trying to rob a clerk at an Evansville Dollar General store got a little "divine intervention" he wasn't expecting.
Pastor Carl Sanders says he only wanted to buy a Gatorade when he stopped at the store, Friday night.
When he got inside he witnessed a man trying to rob a store clerk with what appeared to be a gun wrapped in plastic.
"He was coming at me saying, 'get on the ground,'" said Sanders. "But I couldn't see what he had... That's when I pulled my weapon and say, 'No, you get on the ground.'"
Sanders says he told the suspect to put his face on the ground and not to look at him.
"I just told him this is out of love," said Sanders.
He stood over the suspect until police arrived.
Many are calling him a hero, but Pastor Sanders says he was simply in the right place at the right time. He says he was doing what he had to do.
"He didn't deserve to be hurt," said Sanders. "I wanted him to know you can't do this."
Authorities took the man, named Jermaine Marshall into custody.
The weapon Marshall appeared to be holding turned out to be a plastic spoon. (2:21)
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18. Brooklyn: Black youths pummel white couple in bloody racial attack
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Nobody needs a gun in New York except Michael Bloomberg's five armed security guards. Yeah, right.
Member John Treaster emailed me this:
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From NYDailyNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/lrvwcmj
Brooklyn group of black youths blocks white couple's car, bloody victims in racial attack
By Thomas Tracy and Barry Paddock
October 20, 2013
The intersection at Avenue U and E. 58th St. near Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Brooklyn became the scene of a brutal attack by a group of black youths against a white couple driving through, authorities say.
A group of 10 black youths -- one of them a 12-year-old girl -- surrounded a white couple's car in Brooklyn, viciously beating the husband and yanking the wife to the pavement by her hair as they peppered the two with racial slurs, authorities said.
"Get those crackers!" some of them screamed, according to court papers. "Get that white whore!"
The confrontation erupted about 7 p.m. Monday, as the marauding group crossed Avenue U at E. 58th St. near Kings Plaza Shopping Center in Mill Basin.
Ronald Russo, 30, and his wife, Alanna, apparently had the green light and the husband honked at the group to get out of the way. The rowdy kids started kicking the car, according to the criminal complaint. Ronald Russo got out to check on potential damage to his vehicle.
And that's when all hell broke loose.
Ronald Russo was dragged to the ground. Then he was punched and kicked in the head. He felt more blows all over his body, investigators said. He suffered a fractured nose, a broken septum, a blood clot and abrasions to his shoulder. He was treated and released from Beth Israel Medical Center.
In the midst of the attack, there was a steady chorus of epithets. "White motherf-----!" screamed the attackers, who ranged in age from 12 to 18.
Alanna Russo, 30, was calling 911 when the 12-year-old girl pulled the woman's hair and threw her to the ground. The victim's head slammed into the concrete. She suffered a black eye, bleeding and difficulty breathing, prosecutors said, but she refused medical attention.
Her husband's iPhone was stolen during the melee, according to cops.
The kids scattered after the brazen attack. But two teens, Kashawn Kirton and Daehrell Finch, were arrested at a nearby Lowe's store parking lot minutes afterward.
Kashawn Kirton, 18, believes he was wrongly accused of a hate crime because he was wearing the same outfit as a teen that allegedly attacked a driver near Kings Plaza on Monday.
Also arrested, cops said, were the 12-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.
Kirton, 18, of East Flatbush, who has no prior arrests, faces gang assault, harassment and menacing charges, all as hate crimes. He was released on $50,000 bond.
In an interview at his home Saturday evening, Kirton told the Daily News he would never be part of such an attack, noting he has Caucasian cousins.
"I have relatives who are white. Cousins and stuff," said the freshman at St. Francis College. "My school is mainly white. More than half my friends are white. I wouldn't use words like that."
Kirton said he was inside a Lowe's store when the beatdown happened outside and was arrested because he was wearing the same outfit as one of the assailants.
Finch, 17, of Gravesend, was charged with gang assault, assault, menacing and harassment but does not face hate-crime charges in Monday's attack. He has prior arrests for assault, theft of services and trespass, officials said, and is being held on Rikers Island in lieu of $75,000 bond.
Cops are looking for six more suspects.
A man who answered the door at the victims' Mill Basin home declined to comment on Saturday.
A neighbor said he's seen no racial tension in the area. But "it's different" near the Kings Plaza mall.
"It's not just a black and white thing. It's stupid teenagers thinking they can do whatever they want," the neighbor said.
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19. [NC] Armed bystander thwarts stun-gun robbery outside Concord bank
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Member Bill Watkins emailed me this:
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From IndependentTribune.com: http://tinyurl.com/m9pc66k
Armed bystander thwarts stun-gun robbery outside Concord bank
By Tim Reaves
October 9, 2013
CONCORD, N.C. -- A would-be stun-gun robber outside a Concord bank was in for a shock of his own Monday when a local business owner pulled a real gun on the suspect.
Gary Spencer, 36, of Spencer's Extreme Cleaning Services, said at about 9 a.m. Monday, he and his wife had just dropped their son off at school and headed to the Wells Fargo bank at 868 Church St. N, Concord, to deposit a check.
Spencer said his wife went into the bank to deposit the check while he waited in a parking spot.
After about a minute, Spencer said he saw what he thought was a skinny white man and a stocky black man "play wrestling, you know, like a couple coworkers will do."
He didn't pay much attention to the ruckus, but then he heard a "zapping sound," he said. He looked back and realized the two men were struggling with a red money bag.
The victim had withdrawn $5,000 from the bank while the suspect stood in line behind him, Spencer said, citing bank surveillance footage he had seen.
When the victim reached the parking lot, the suspect allegedly attacked the victim with a stun gun.
"It happened really fast," Spencer said, adding the suspect had a getaway car set up so he could take the money and run.
Spencer and his wife both have concealed carry permits, and he said when he realized what was happening, he reached into his wife's purse and pulled out her Kel-Tec .380 pistol.
"I grabbed the gun, and as I opened up the door of the truck, I started running across the parking lot," Spencer said. "As I was loading up the gun to put one into the chamber, I ran up to about ... 20 feet from where the struggle was going on."
He said the suspect was holding a stun device against the victim with one hand and restraining the victim with the other hand.
"He had him kind of binded up where he was being zapped," he said.
Spencer, still about 20 feet away from the suspect, drew his gun.
"And I said 'stop, I have a gun,'" Spencer said. The man turned around, saw Spencer and his gun, slammed the stun gun down on the ground and fled in a green Honda Civic, described as stolen in a Concord Police Department incident report.
No arrest has been made in the case, but Spencer said he and other witnesses got the license plate number of the Civic, and police are investigating.
"He didn't get the money, and I didn't have to shoot anybody," Spencer said, relieved. "The good citizens actually got to take one home yesterday. It felt good to help somebody out, you know, out there in the world."
The victim's injuries were described as "minor" in the incident report, but Spencer said he looked pretty rough after Monday's stun gun assault.
"That thing was tearing him up," he said. "I wouldn't never want to get touched by one of those things."
He said the victim was thankful the incident didn't escalate further.
The man got to keep his money, and "the suspect who came with the stun gun left with less than he came with," Spencer said.
He said he has never had an experience like that, but he would have rushed in even if he didn't have a gun.
But "a gun can change the whole thing around," he said. The suspect was a large man, and it would have been hard to bring him down with brute strength.
Spencer said his adrenaline was pumping, but the decision to act happened fast.
"Do you want to help somebody if they're in need of help, or are you going to turn your head ... and act like it's not going on?" he asked. "I don't see it as a hero thing. I just see it as me stepping up for somebody that needed a hand."
Police have not released an official description of the suspect, but Spencer said he was a black male, about 5 feet 7, in his mid-30s with a stocky build.
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20. Active-shooter incidents have tripled since 2009: Holder
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Member David Custer emailed me this:
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"It's become clear that new strategies and aggressive national response protocols must be employed to stop shooters in their tracks," Holder said.
I agree. Let the people carry for defense nationally.
From NBCNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/mftps2b
Active-shooter incidents have tripled since 2009: Holder
By Pete Williams
October 21, 2013
Attorney General Eric Holder says the number and the lethal nature of active-shooter incidents nationwide have soared over the past five years.
In remarks to the nation's police chiefs in Philadelphia on Monday, Holder said the United States saw an average of five active shooting incidents a year between 2000 and 2008.
"Alarmingly, since 2009, this annual average has tripled. We've seen at least 12 active shooter situations so far in 2013."
The Department of Homeland Security defines an active shooter as an individual actively engaging in killing or attempting to kill in a confined and populated area. Recent examples include the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December and the Navy Yard shooting in Washington, D.C., last month.
Over the past four years, Holder said, the number of people shot and killed in these incidents is up nearly 150 percent.
"It's become clear that new strategies and aggressive national response protocols must be employed to stop shooters in their tracks," Holder said.
Many police departments have abandoned the contain-and-wait strategy in favor of a more aggressive response that calls for the first officers on the scene to attempt to engage the shooter instead of waiting for the SWAT team to arrive.
"That's why all law enforcement officers must have the best equipment and most up-to-date training to confront these situations," Holder said. "We owe these officers nothing less."
Holder said the Justice Department, over the past decade, has helped train 50,000 front-line officers, more than 7,000 on-scene commanders, and over 3,000 local, state, and federal agency heads on how to respond to active shooters.
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21. After Westgate, Interpol Chief ponders 'armed citizenry'
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I almost fell out of my chair when I read this. Is some sanity returning to the world?
Member Paul Henick emailed me this:
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This is the Ron Noble who was UnderSecretary of the Treasury for law enforcement under Clinton, and at least nominally headed up Treasury's review of the Waco tragedy. Looks like a battlefield conversion to me!
Reading further I failed to see anything about the heads of the various police agencies that make up Interpol rising up in protest, calling him mentally deranged, or even a bit premature in his conclusion.
I'm going to hold those two little rays of sunshine close and enjoy the warm fuzzy feelings they give off.
From ABCNews.go.com: http://tinyurl.com/me9xrl7
Exclusive: After Westgate, Interpol Chief ponders 'armed citizenry'
By Josh Margolin
October 21, 2013
Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said today the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month's deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya - and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall where so-called "soft targets" are hit: either create secure perimeters around the locations or allow civilians to carry their own guns to protect themselves.
"Societies have to think about how they're going to approach the problem," Noble said. "One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you're going to have to pass through extraordinary security."
Noble's comments came only moments after the official opening of the 82nd annual gathering of the Interpol's governing body, the General Assembly. The session is being held in Cartagena, Colombia, and is being used to highlight strides over the last decade in Colombia's battle against the notorious drug cartels that used to be the real power in the country.
The secretary general, an American who previously headed up all law enforcement for the U.S. Treasury Department, told reporters during a brief news conference that the Westgate mall attack marks what has long been seen as "an evolution in terrorism." Instead of targets like the Pentagon and World Trade Center that now have far more security since 9/11, attackers are focusing on sites with little security that attract large numbers of people.
At least 67 were killed over a period of days at the Westgate mall, more than 60 of the dead were civilians. The Somalia-based al Qaeda-allied terror group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack as it was ongoing but investigators are still trying to determine exactly who planned the strike, where they are and what is next for them. U.S. authorities in Uganda, fearing another similar incident in Africa, issued a warning late last week.
Citing a recent call for al Qaeda "brothers to strike soft targets, to do it in small groups," Noble said law enforcement is now facing a daunting task.
"How do you protect soft targets? That's really the challenge. You can't have armed police forces everywhere," he told reporters. "It's Interpol's view that one way you protect soft targets is you make it more difficult for terrorist to move internationally. So what we're trying to do is to establish a way for countries Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said today the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month's deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya - and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.
In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall where so-called "soft targets" are hit: either create secure perimeters around the locations or allow civilians to carry their own guns to protect themselves.
"Societies have to think about how they're going to approach the problem," Noble said. "One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you're going to have to pass through extraordinary security."
Noble's comments came only moments after the official opening of the 82nd annual gathering of the Interpol's governing body, the General Assembly. The session is being held in Cartagena, Colombia, and is being used to highlight strides over the last decade in Colombia's battle against the notorious drug cartels that used to be the real power in the country.
The secretary general, an American who previously headed up all law enforcement for the U.S. Treasury Department, told reporters during a brief news conference that the Westgate mall attack marks what has long been seen as "an evolution in terrorism." Instead of targets like the Pentagon and World Trade Center that now have far more security since 9/11, attackers are focusing on sites with little security that attract large numbers of people.
At least 67 were killed over a period of days at the Westgate mall, more than 60 of the dead were civilians. The Somalia-based al Qaeda-allied terror group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack as it was ongoing but investigators are still trying to determine exactly who planned the strike, where they are and what is next for them. U.S. authorities in Uganda, fearing another similar incident in Africa, issued a warning late last week.
Citing a recent call for al Qaeda "brothers to strike soft targets, to do it in small groups," Noble said law enforcement is now facing a daunting task.
"How do you protect soft targets? That's really the challenge. You can't have armed police forces everywhere," he told reporters. "It's Interpol's view that one way you protect soft targets is you make it more difficult for terrorist to move internationally. So what we're trying to do is to establish a way for countries ... to screen passports, which are a terrorist's best friend, try to limit terrorists moving from country to country. And also, that we're able to share more info about suspected terrorists."
In the interview with ABC News, Noble was more blunt and directed his comments to his home country.
"Ask yourself: If that was Denver, Col., if that was Texas, would those guys have been able to spend hours, days, shooting people randomly?" Noble said, referring to states with pro-gun traditions. "What I'm saying is it makes police around the world question their views on gun control. It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, 'Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?' This is something that has to be discussed."
"For me it's a profound question," he continued. "People are quick to say 'gun control, people shouldn't be armed,' etc., etc. I think they have to ask themselves: 'Where would you have wanted to be? In a city where there was gun control and no citizens armed if you're in a Westgate mall, or in a place like Denver or Texas?'"
Prior to the Westgate attack, the gun control debate has been ignited time and time again in the U.S. in the aftermath of a series of mass shootings, including one in a movie theater in Aurora, Col., a suburb of Denver. to screen passports, which are a terrorist's best friend, try to limit terrorists moving from country to country. And also, that we're able to share more info about suspected terrorists."
In the interview with ABC News, Noble was more blunt and directed his comments to his home country.
"Ask yourself: If that was Denver, Col., if that was Texas, would those guys have been able to spend hours, days, shooting people randomly?" Noble said, referring to states with pro-gun traditions. "What I'm saying is it makes police around the world question their views on gun control. It makes citizens question their views on gun control. You have to ask yourself, 'Is an armed citizenry more necessary now than it was in the past with an evolving threat of terrorism?' This is something that has to be discussed."
"For me it's a profound question," he continued. "People are quick to say 'gun control, people shouldn't be armed,' etc., etc. I think they have to ask themselves: 'Where would you have wanted to be? In a city where there was gun control and no citizens armed if you're in a Westgate mall, or in a place like Denver or Texas?'"
Prior to the Westgate attack, the gun control debate has been ignited time and time again in the U.S. in the aftermath of a series of mass shootings, including one in a movie theater in Aurora, Col., a suburb of Denver.
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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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