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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. And it starts: anti-gun lobbyist on McAuliffe's transition team
2. Lobby Day/Rally coming on January 20th - we need to be there!
3. URGENT ACTION ITEM: Amherst County trying to restrict hunt clubs and ranges yet again!
4. Open Carry Day in New Castle a success! Photos & video
5. We need volunteers in Tidewater/South East Virginia area to set up VCDL meetings
6. Cautionary Tale - Shooting to scare
7. Facts about Virginia mom's warning shot in dispute
8. Member input regarding CHPs for the visually impaired
9. Who needs a gun at NOVA? Again!
10. Member Max Porter's column in support of Liberty in Va. election
11. Giffords, Kelly claim '16 more mass shootings' since Sandy Hook
12. Miller: D.C. businessman faces two years in jail for unregistered ammunition
13. California Court of Appeal holds Second Amendment doesn't protect semi-autos
14. [KS] Mother shoots intruder to protect sleeping daughters
15. Gun sales booming on Instagram
16. Who Will Protect You From The Police?
17. [CA] Ridgecrest shooting spree suspect wanted to attack a police station, but "they had too many guns"
18. [MI] Pizza delivery driver pulls gun, kills attacker
19. Gallup poll shows Americans' support for gun control has waned
20. California cops shoot dead 13-year-old boy armed with toy gun
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1. And it starts: anti-gun lobbyist on McAuliffe's transition team
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Breaking: The assault on your gun rights is being staged even as I write this.
Governor-elect Terry McAuliffe has picked a Virginia ANTI-GUN lobbyist to be on his 54 member transition team!
Battle lines are drawn, the other side is in motion, and VCDL needs a large and active membership and a powerful Lobby Day on January 20th!
Not a member? We need you! Go to:
http://vcdl.org/join
and get in the fight with us! You can bet our foes are playing for keeps and so are we. We need to be invincible and a big membership helps make that possible.
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2. Lobby Day/Rally coming on January 20th - we need to be there!
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On Monday, January 20th, at 8:30 AM we will meet at the General Assembly for Lobby Day! At 11 AM, we will break for a rally at the Bell Tower to listen to a variety of invited speakers.
Mark your calendars and get the day off from your boss. Our biggest Lobby Day had over 1,000 people. Let's crush that number!
Given the purchase of the Commonwealth by out-of-state gun bigots like Michael Bloomberg and Gabrielle Giffords, turnout has NEVER been more important!
We will once again need Team Leaders to take our message to legislators, face to face.
If you have lead a team before, we need you. If you have never lead a team, but want to step up your participation, volunteerism is what VCDL is all about.
Those who wish to lead a team should contact Bob Sadtler at LobbyDay@vcdl.org. Do not forget to give him the name of your Senator and Delegate so that he can assign you to them. It is important that they hear directly from a constituent.
It is VITAL that we drive home the message that our gun rights are not for sale to Bloomberg or anyone else. Lobby Day helps send that message. Let's make it resonate.
If you have Facebook, here is the Lobby Day Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/212177935538984/
Carpooling and other information will be posted on the Facebook page.
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3. URGENT ACTION ITEM: Amherst County trying to restrict hunt clubs and ranges yet again!
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We have to move FAST on this one!
The anti-hunt club/shooting range ordinance will be heard again in Amherst County on Tuesday, November 19th. The Amherst Republican Party circulated petitions opposing the action. The Chair of the Amherst Republican Party will speak to the issue at the meeting.
The meeting is being held at:
School Board Meeting Room
153 Washington Street
Amherst, VA 24521
The web site says that meeting room is in the County Administration Building, NOT on K-12 school property.
Here are the email addresses to use to contact the Board of Supervisors members. Tell them you do not want Amherst County to pass the proposed hunting club and range restriction ordinance.
vfcampbell@countyofamherst.com, rmcurd@countyofamherst.com, dwkidd@countyofamherst.com, cdtucker@countyofamherst.com
David Pugh does not have an email address. To call and leave him a message, here is his number: 434-509-2038
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4. Open Carry Day in New Castle a success! Photos & video
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Here are some photos I took, which are posted on the front page of the VCDL web site. Great pictures of many of the fairer sex open carrying! The cutest is the last photo of the little girl and her toy gun standing with her mother:
http://vcdl.org
Video from wdbj7.com: http://tinyurl.com/mpm4bsk
For those with Facebook, some photos here:
From Facebook.com: http://tinyurl.com/m2l9c3v
Video of my talk starts at the 38 minute mark:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3lWzIUij-k&feature=youtu.be
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5. We need volunteers in Tidewater/South East Virginia area to set up VCDL meetings
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VCDL is looking for volunteers in the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area and in the Newport News area to arrange locations for VCDL membership meetings during the year. We need one volunteer for each area. The volunteer will coordinate with me once a quarter to pick a date for a VCDL membership meeting in their area. The volunteer will find a suitable location (restaurant, local government building, library, etc.) and book the room for VCDL. If there is any charge for the room, VCDL will cover it.
It is not a time-consuming thing, but we need somebody to stay on top of getting it done.
If you would like to volunteer to do this, send me an email at President@vcdl.org and let me know. I'd like to get some meetings going in SE Virginia soon.
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6. Cautionary Tale - Shooting to scare
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EM Ed Levine emailed me this. The followup piece (item #7, below) was published a few days later. Together, the pair begin to show the potential for a negative outcome of what began as an apparent defensive use of a firearm.
I will say yet again, despite what Vice President Bidden recommends, DO NOT fire warning shots!
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From WashingtonTimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/ohatqxq
Va. mom charged after firing gun into air to scare off daughter's attackers
By Meredith Somers
October 22, 2013
A Woodbridge woman was arrested after she shot a handgun into the air to scare off a group of boys who were attacking her daughter.
Lakisha Gaither, 35, said she fired a single round into the sky from her legally owned gun Saturday night after a boy punched her daughter in the face during a dispute near their home.
"I just wanted this group of guys to disperse," Ms. Gaither said. "I didn't know what they were going to do. I wanted him to stop hitting my child."
The shooting occurred at 9:20 p.m. in the 13600 block of Cridercrest Place. After confronting a teenage girl and her mother in the neighborhood over a prior disagreement, Ms. Gaither and her 15-year-old daughter, Brianna Stewart, began walking home. A group of about 10 boys approached them in the parking lot of their apartment complex. One boy began to swear and insult Ms. Gaither and her daughter, who stood up to the boy.
"The two were face to face," Ms. Gaither said. "He grabs her shirt, she goes to push him off her."
Ms. Gaither said she realized she'd be putting the both of them at risk if she jumped into the fray.
"I stopped and turned to walk to the middle of the parking lot. I made sure no one was around me," she said. "I unholstered my gun, pointed it straight in the air and fired just one shot to get him off my child."
Ms. Gaither said she didn't try to get away, and police eventually arrived.
"I didn't feel like I was wrong," she said. "I wanted to protect my child."
But officers arrested her and charged her with reckless use of a weapon.
Prince William County police spokesman Officer Jonathan L. Perok said Ms. Gaither "should have called police instead of taking matters into her own hands."
"You can't fire into the air," Officer Perok said. "Once something goes up, it comes down. There's the possibility of causing property damage, injuring someone or killing someone. In an apartment complex, the odds of that bullet coming down and striking something are very high."
No injuries or property damage were reported after the incident, but Officer Perok said police do not encourage confrontation and urge gun owners to use their weapons only in what they perceive to be life-threatening situations.
"The fact she stepped away from the crowd kind of shows she was not in an immediate danger type situation," he said. "She may have been trying to break up the fight, but that's not the proper course of action to take."
Ms. Gaither said she didn't immediately call police because she did not have her cellphone with her.
The misdemeanor charge is just one thing Ms. Gaither is dealing with in the aftermath of the weekend confrontation. As of Tuesday evening, Brianna was missing. The teen, who went to her grandmother's house after Ms. Gaither was arrested, disappeared Sunday.
Ms. Gaither has been frantically attempting to locate her daughter, even as she prepares for an Oct. 30 arraignment on the gun-related charge.
Daniel L. Hawes, a Virginia Legal Defense attorney who defends clients for their use of firearms in self-defense, said that while Ms. Gaither should not have fired into the air, she was not wrong in wanting to defend Brianna or herself.
"A person has the right to defend themselves. A person doesn't have to wait until they're actually harmed," he said. "Shooting into the air sort of changed things dramatically. She is creating a threat herself, to other people in area. She may not be guilty of a crime, but police were not wrong to charge her."
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7. Facts about Virginia mom's warning shot in dispute
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From WashingtonTimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/pjy75jo
Facts about Virginia mom's warning shot in dispute
By Meredith Somers
October 24, 2013
Lakisha Gaither shot a gun into the air to stop a fight involving her teenage daughter. That, no one disputes.
But just how dangerous the situation could have become, and whether the 35-year-old Woodbridge mother was justified in using the weapon, is where she and police now disagree.
The Washington Times reported Tuesday that Ms. Gaither was arrested and charged by Prince William County police with reckless use of a weapon, after she stood in the middle of her apartment complex parking lot and fired her handgun to scare away a teenage boy fighting her daughter.
But Prince William County police spokesman Officer Jonathan L. Perok said Thursday that after investigating the incident the reported "pummeling" of 15-year-old Brianna Stewart was neither one-sided nor was it a reason to fire a bullet into the air.
"It wasn't a continued assault as far as what was reported to us," Officer Perok said. "We didn't have enough justification to press charges for that. The more pressing matter is the firearm being shot. Once you shoot a weapon, you own the bullet that comes out of that weapon. If you shoot that bullet into the air, you have no control over where it goes. There's the risk of property damage, or hurting or killing someone. That defines reckless handling of a weapon."
But Ms. Gaither is sticking by her account.
"He kept coming for her. That's why I took action," she said Thursday in response to the police department's comments. "I saw him hit her. I wanted to go help her."
The incident occurred Saturday in the 1900 block of Gableridge Turn in Woodbridge. It was first reported by WRC-TV.
Ms. Gaither said that after confronting a teenage girl and her mother in the neighborhood over a prior disagreement, she and Brianna began walking home. A group of about 10 boys approached them in the parking lot of their apartment complex. One boy began to swear and insult Ms. Gaither and her daughter, who stood up to the boy.
Ms. Gaither said rather than risk putting the both of them in further danger, she stepped back from the fight, walked to the middle of the parking, unholstered her gun and shot a single bullet straight up into the air.
Police confirmed the scuffle between Ms. Gaither's daughter and another teenager but said Ms. Gaither's most recent version of Saturday night's events differs from the original report.
Officer Perok said the encounter only involved Ms. Gaither's daughter and the 15-year-old boy, who was not named because he is a minor.
Ms. Gaither's daughter was named for a related missing person report filed the day after the shooting incident. She was reunited with her mother Thursday afternoon.
According to police, Ms. Gaither and her daughter confronted the boy after learning he was involved in a series of rumors concerning Brianna.
"A verbal altercation between the two of them and him escalated," Officer Perok said. "One of them threw the first punch and the other one retaliated. We don't know who threw the first punch."
Officer Perok said no noticeable injuries were reported. Ms. Gaither said Thursday her daughter had a black eye, and she would be filing assault charges on the boy.
"They have every right to," Officer Perok said.
The concern for police, however, is how Ms. Gaither handled the confrontation.
"We're not talking about her possession of the weapon. She lawfully possessed that weapon," he said. "That does not mean it can be fired wherever and whenever."
Ms. Gaither said she open carries her handgun "everywhere I go."
Police reported that she brought the handgun with her when she went with her daughter to confront the teenager.
"If anyone feels that they need a weapon in order to go and confront someone, obviously the odds of the situation escalating are high and police should be involved prior to any incident taking place," Officer Perok said.
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8. Member input regarding CHPs for the visually impaired
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Member Allen Lough responded to Item 13 from the Oct 23rd VA-ALERT, entitled "Should the Blind be Able to Obtain a Concealed Weapons Permit?":
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October 23, 2013
I think I am in a fairly unique position to judge the ability of a visually impaired person to shoot a handgun. My vision can be corrected to at or near 20/20, but without corrective lenses, I am legally blind. My vision is 20/300 uncorrected. Of course, this is a long way from being totally blind, but many people who are legally blind are able to see silhouettes, detect movement, and see some light. And, as you pointed out, all blind persons can use the sense of touch to determine the position of their attacker and use a handgun to protect themselves from an attack.
I practice shooting without corrective lenses sometimes because I know that I could easily lose my glasses or contacts, or be surprised out of a sleep by an intruder, and have to shoot with my natural (and very poor) uncorrected vision. I used to rely on point shooting out to about 7 yards, and that was OK. But for the last few years I have turned to Crimson Trace Lasergrips, and I can tell you with certainty that the red laser dot is quite visible and useful for someone who is severely vision impaired, even though the red dot appears to be about 5 inches in diameter and very blurry. It is very easy to hold it center of mass on a human sized target.
If my vision could not be corrected, and I was indeed legally blind, I would be absolutely outraged if someone tried to prevent me from obtaining a concealed carry permit due to my poor eyesight. Even without corrective lenses, I am quite capable of using a handgun effectively, and safely, to defend myself. So I know firsthand that others who are legally blind could do the same.
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9. Who needs a gun at NOVA? Again!
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Member William Tansill emailed me this lead about the attempted sexual assault of a student on the grounds of the Loudoun County campus of the Northern Virginia Community College. (NOVA) Acting Dean of Students Deborah Wyne sent an all-student broadcast email on behalf of the Campus Provost, Dr. Julie Leidig. A subsequent check of the Crime Alerts page of NOVA's website yielded the following two Crime Alerts. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is investigating a second similar incident which occurred shortly after the NOVA incident.
I like how they expect you to be alert and trust your instincts…maybe so that you can be fully aware that you are about to be murdered after being left helpless by school policies against carry. My instincts tell me to carry a gun - am I really allowed to follow them? Nope.
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From NVCC.edu: http://tinyurl.com/nlusc3f
The initial report and description of the suspect.
October 21, 2013:
Today, Oct. 21, at approximately 7:00 p.m., a female was sexually assaulted on the Loudoun Campus. The incident occurred on a pedestrian walkway near the north lot of the Loudoun Campus. NOVA Police are leading the investigation. Anyone with information should contact NOVA Police at 703-764-5000.
The victim reported no physical injuries.
The suspect is described as white/middle eastern male, 5'6 or 5'7, athletic build, with short dark curly hair wearing a dark colored t-shirt with striped shorts below the knees.
If you have safety concerns, police escorts are available at any time. Call (703) 764-5000 for a police escort.
As always, be aware of your surroundings. It's always better to walk in pairs and trust your instincts. Students, faculty and staff are asked to stay alert and report suspicious activity to NOVA Police.
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The second report providing more detail about the incident, the first report of the similar off-campus incident, and the composit sketch of the suspect.
October 24, 2014:
Northern Virginia Community College Police and Loudoun County Sheriff's Office are continuing to investigate the Oct. 21 incident on the Loudoun Campus and the second off-campus incident. New information about the suspect has been identified.
The first incident occurred on the Loudoun Campus on Oct. 21, at approximately 7 p.m. The victim reported that she was sexually assaulted on a pedestrian walkway near the north parking lot of the Loudoun Campus. She reported no physical injuries.
A second similar incident occurred off campus shortly after the reported campus incident. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office is leading the investigation of the second off campus incident.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office has learned of an additional witness who observed the possible suspect in the area on the same date and timeframe as the previous incidents.
A composite sketch has now been released of the suspect.
NOVA Police have increased police presence and awareness on all NOVA campuses, including the Loudoun Campus. In an effort to ensure the safety of all NOVA students, the police have provided a special edition of the Public Safety Newsletter. If you have safety concerns, police escorts are available at any time. Call NOVA Police at 703-764-5000.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation should call NOVA Police at 703-764-5000.
As always, be aware of your surroundings. It's always better to walk in pairs and trust your instincts. Students, faculty and staff are asked to stay alert and report suspicious activity to NOVA Police.
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10. Member Max Porter's column in support of Liberty in Va. election
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Member Max Porter emailed me this:
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When you submit a column or a LTE, you have no control over the title the newspaper may assign to it. I would have preferred it not been presented as overly partisan.
From TideWaterNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/ke9lge6
Democrats threaten second amendment rights
By Max B. Porter
October 26, 2013
The price for apathy will be very high this election because the gulf between the candidates couldn't be wider. If American freedom and liberty are to prevail, then the election of [Ken] Cuccinelli, [E.W.] Jackson, [Mark] Obenshain and [Al] Peschke must be ensured.
Our Declaration of Independence boldly declares that the people's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness emanates from God Almighty and not the State. Embedded within this truth is the individual's God-given right to proportional self-defense and indeed the responsibility to protect oneself. After all, the courts have ruled abundantly clear that the police have no legal obligation to guarantee the personal protection of anyone. Each of us is the responsible party for protecting ourselves, our loved ones and other innocents within our charge. Life in a truly free society can exist no other way. For this very reason, access by the law-abiding public to equal or superior weaponry, of the sort likely to be encountered when affronted by the lawless, must not be infringed.
But like his mentor, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is bankrolling his negative campaign, Terry McAuliffe is unapologetic about his intention to restrict the people's rights, freedoms and liberties. He has a plan to ban commonly owned, semi-automatic firearms and standard capacity magazines. He anticipates criminalizing private firearm transfers between friends and family members. And he is plotting to restrict the number of defensive weapons law-abiding Virginians may purchase. He obviously is working hard to maintain his well-deserved NRA "F" rating. And oh, how convenient to have a complicit mainstream media run interference on behalf of his dangerous agenda.
In August, McAuliffe told Breitbart News that it doesn't matter that crime is going down in Virginia while firearm sales are soaring at the same time. No, don't bother Terry with the facts! Even more telling, the former chairman of the National Democratic Party told Breitbart, "I'm a gun owner. I take two of my sons hunting and skeet shooting." Oh yes, he followed our illustrious vice-president's advice and just bought a $2,000 double-barrel shotgun this past January, so now he can call himself a gun-owner. How transparent! More proof he doesn't have a clue that The amendment has almost nothing to do with hunting and sport shooting. We must never forget: It's the Second Amendment that guarantees all the others.
Throughout history, the first step of would-be tyrants toward enslaving the people is to begin curbing their access to arms. Those who promote laws and policies, calling it control or even safety, that result in a reduction of liberty and freedom are taking the nation down the road of ever-increasing tyranny.
Benjamin Franklin wisely observed, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." And George Mason added, "To disarm the people is the most effectual way to enslave them." How prophetic!
The progressive, liberal movement has already wreaked havoc with the creation of "defense-free" zones throughout our nation, resulting in virtual killing fields for the murderous criminal to practice his trade, by preventing law-abiding citizens from legally defending themselves and others with personal weapons.
By the time a politician makes it to state-level office or higher, rest assured he can no longer plead ignorance as to the repercussions of the philosophical positions he supports in governance. He is pursuing the well thought-out implementation of policy positions that result from his belief system. Terry and his ticket mates share a frightening, common ideology.
Elections do matter and the clarion call back to our founding principles is clear. If there is to be a chance of remaining a truly free, just and self-reliant people, the extremist ticket of McAuliffe, [Ralph] Northam, [Mark] Herring and [Roslyn] Tyler must be thoroughly rejected by each of us. True patriots can do no less.
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11. Giffords, Kelly claim '16 more mass shootings' since Sandy Hook
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Another big lie from the antis.
Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/oam4p78
Giffords, Kelly claim '16 more mass shootings' since Sandy Hook
By Awr Hawkins
October 23, 2013
In their non-stop push for more gun control, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly have presented Congress with a letter referencing "16 more mass shootings" since the heinous crime at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012.
They do not list the supposed 16 mass shootings in their letter, which was published online by Politico, but they do mention the Tucson shooting from January 2011, the Aurora movie theater shooting from July 2012, and the Sikh Temple attack in August 2012. All three of these crimes occurred well before, not after, the shooting at Sandy Hook.
The only two shootings mentioned in the letter which took place after Sandy Hook were the September 2013 D.C. Navy Yard shooting and the October 21, 2013 shooting at Sparks Middle School, in Sparks, Nevada.
Of course, in the case of the D.C. Navy Yard, the shooter, Aaron Alexis, went through all legal means to get his shotgun, including a federal background check, thus demonstrating once more that background checks cannot stop criminal intent. Meanwhile, the Sparks shooting was not a mass shooting, but it was another example of how impotent gun control laws are when an individual too young to buy, possess, or transport a gun decides to steal, possess, and transport a gun.
Where is a list of the "16 more mass shootings" since Sandy Hook?
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12. Miller: D.C. businessman faces two years in jail for unregistered ammunition
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Looks like the DC police would rather harass a good guy than actually be out protecting the public against the really evil and dangerous criminals. Perhaps a different job would be more appropriate for officers who don't have the stomach to go after the hardcore bad guys and do this to decent people?
Member Chris Rakes emailed me this:
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From WashingtonTimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/lhcpl6u
D.C. businessman faces two years in jail for unregistered ammunition, brass casing
By Emily Miller
October 23, 2013
Mark Witaschek, a successful financial adviser with no criminal record, is facing two years in prison for possession of unregistered ammunition after D.C. police raided his house looking for guns. Mr. Witaschek has never had a firearm in the city, but he is being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The trial starts on Nov. 4.
The police banged on the front door of Mr. Witaschek's Georgetown home at 8:20 p.m. on July 7, 2012, to execute a search warrant for "firearms and ammunition ... gun cleaning equipment, holsters, bullet holders and ammunition receipts."
Mr. Witaschek's 14-year-old daughter let inside some 30 armed officers in full tactical gear.
D.C. law requires residents to register every firearm with the police, and only registered gun owners can possess ammunition, which includes spent shells and casings. The maximum penalty for violating these laws is a $1,000 fine and a year in jail.
Police based their search on a charge made by Mr. Witaschek's estranged wife, who had earlier convinced a court clerk to issue a temporary restraining order against her husband for threatening her with a gun, although a judge later found the charge to be without merit.
After entering the house, the police immediately went upstairs, pointed guns at the heads of Mr. Witaschek and his girlfriend, Bonnie Harris, and demanded they surrender, facedown and be handcuffed.
In recalling what followed, Mr. Witaschek became visibly emotional in describing how the police treated him, Ms. Harris and the four children in the house.
His 16-year-old son was in the shower when the police arrived. "They used a battering ram to bash down the bathroom door and pull him out of the shower, naked," said his father. "The police put all the children together in a room, while we were handcuffed upstairs. I could hear them crying, not knowing what was happening."
Police spokesman Gwendolyn Crump would not provide further information on the events in this case.
The police shut down the streets for blocks and spent more than two hours going over every inch of his house. "They tossed the place," said Mr. Witaschek. He provided photos that he took of his home after the raid to document the damage, which he estimated at $10,000.
The police found no guns in the house, but did write on the warrant that four items were discovered: "One live round of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition," which was an inoperable shell that misfired during a hunt years earlier. Mr. Witaschek had kept it as a souvenir. "One handgun holster" was found, which is perfectly legal.
"One expended round of .270 caliber ammunition," which was a spent brass casing. The police uncovered "one box of Knight bullets for reloading." These are actually not for reloading, but are used in antique-replica, single-shot, muzzle-loading rifles.
This was the second police search of his home. Exactly one month earlier, Mr. Witaschek allowed members of the "Gun Recovery Unit" access to search without a warrant because he thought he had nothing to hide.
After about an hour and a half, the police found one box of Winchester .40 caliber ammunition, one gun-cleaning kit (fully legal) and a Civil War-era Colt antique revolver that Mr. Witaschek kept on his office desk. The police seized the Colt even though antique firearms are legal and do not have to be registered.
Mr. Witaschek is a gun owner and an avid hunter. However, he stores his firearms at the home of his sister, Sylvia Witaschek, in suburban Arlington, Va.
Two weeks after the June raid, D.C. police investigators went to his sister's house - unaccompanied by Virginia police and without a warrant - and asked to "view" the firearms, according to a police report. She refused. The next day, the D.C. police returned to her house with the Arlington County police and served her with a criminal subpoena.
The Office of Attorney General of the District of Columbia Irvin Nathan signed an affidavit on Aug. 21, 2012, in support of a warrant to arrest Mr. Witaschek. A spokesman for Mr. Nathan would not comment on a pending case.
Mr. Witaschek went to the police station on Aug. 24 at 5:30 a.m. to turn himself in, but was not transferred to central booking until 11:30 a.m., at which time he was told it was too late to be arraigned that day. He spent the night in jail and was released the next day at 10 a.m.
Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier reserves such harsh tactics for ordinary citizens. When NBC News anchor David Gregory violated the gun-registration law last year by wielding an illegal 30-round magazine on live television, he was not arrested.
Mr. Nathan also gave Mr. Gregory a pass, writing that prosecuting him "would not promote public safety."
Mr. Nathan, who is unelected, showed no such leniency to Mr. Witaschek. In September 2012, the attorney general offered Mr. Witaschek a deal to plead guilty to one charge of unlawful possession of ammunition with a penalty of a year of probation, a $500 fine and a contribution to a victims' fund.
Mr. Witaschek turned down the offer. "It's the principle," he told me.
To increase the pressure a year later, Mr. Nathan tacked on an additional charge in August of illegal ammunition from the first, warrantless search. Mr. Witaschek chose to accept the risk of prison time by going to trial instead of pleading guilty.
The firearms laws in places such as the District of Columbia, Chicago, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey do nothing to reduce violence, but merely infringe on the Second Amendment rights of the law-abiding.
However, if these laws are going to be enforced, the police and government must treat everyone equally.
The charges against Mr. Witaschek should be dropped.
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13. California Court of Appeal holds Second Amendment doesn't protect semi-autos
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More stupidity and/or anti-liberty agenda from the 9th Circuit Court in California. They claim that rifles like ARs and AKs are "unusual" weapons. Yep, and Toyota is an "unusual" automobile. I'm surprised people even bother to rise when the 9th Circuit judges go into a courtroom. They certainly don't deserve any individual respect.
Member Paul Henick emailed me this:
From CalgunsFoundation.org: http://tinyurl.com/kn852rf
California Court of Appeal holds Second Amendment doesn't protect semi-autos
By The Calguns Foundation
October 21, 2013
On Monday, October 21, 2013, California's 4th District (Division 1) Court of Appeal held that the Second Amendment does not apply to semi-automatic firearms like "AK" platform rifles. Visit link to read the full decision.
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14. [KS] Mother shoots intruder to protect sleeping daughters
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Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/q5fdwy8
Mother shoots intruder to protect sleeping daughters
By Awr Hawkins
October 21, 2013
At midnight on October 21, a mother in Wichita, Kansas shot an intruder who had entered her house while her two daughters, a two-year-old and an eight-year old, were sleeping.
According to KAKE.com, the 28-year-old mother heard her doorbell ring twice and "grabbed her handgun and went to investigate."
She found a man standing in the middle of her living room who asked her, "How are you doing?"
She ordered the man out of her house and he began pawing at his pocket as if he might be digging out a gun so she shot him.
The intruder fled the scene but later showed up at a local hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to his shoulder. Police came to the hospital and arrested and jailed the 19-year-old man "on three counts of aggravated burglary."
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15. Gun sales booming on Instagram
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Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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From FoxNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/o2pugy2
Gun sales booming on Instagram
By Jeane MacIntosh
October 23, 2013
The gun market is booming on Instagram.
The popular photo-posting app - bought last year by Facebook for $1 billion - has become the go-to place for folks looking to buy and sell firearms on the Internet, boasting a web of private owners and professional dealers with shotguns, handguns and assault rifles for sale on the open market, according to a report by The Daily Beast.
Instagram is not an e-commerce site, and has no stated policy barring firearm sales.
Users of the app can readily find "a chrome-plated antique Colt, a custom MK12-inspired AR-15. tricked out with `all best of the best parts possible,` and an HK416D .22LR rifle'' by combing search words and hashtags, like #rifle, #ar15 or #forsalegun, the report noted.
"LWRC 10' SBR FOR SALE!!! Come get it!" reads one recently-posted Instagram ad. "Includes AAC suppressor tip, ergo grip, 3 magpul pmags, 2 40 round mags, bungee sling and about 500 rounds of 5.56. Message me if interested."
Potential deals are openly discussed in the Instagram comments section.
"Great setup," a presumably interested user responds.
"Asking $3,000 for everything," the seller writes back. "I'm really trying to get a package deal. Don't need want to part it all out."
Transactions then move from the public comments arena to private conversations via email and phone.
And the deals aren't illegal.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has no authority on gun sales between private parties, and different states have different rules when it comes to buying firearms.
"There is no federal law prohibiting sales of firearms over the internet," a Dept. of Justice spokeswoman told The Daily Beast.
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16. Who Will Protect You From The Police?
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VCDL Board member Dennis O'Connor emailed me this:
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From NJToday.net: http://tinyurl.com/l6apc2o
[OPINION] Who Will Protect You From The Police? The Rise of Government-Sanctioned Home Invasions
By John Whitehead
October 21, 2013
"Democracy means that if the doorbell rings in the early hours, it is likely to be the milkman."-Winston Churchill
It's 3 a.m. You've been asleep for hours when suddenly you hear a loud "Crash! Bang! Boom!" Based on the yelling, shouting and mayhem, it sounds as if someone-or several someones-are breaking through your front door. With your heart racing and your stomach churning, all you can think about is keeping your family safe from the intruders who have invaded your home. You have mere seconds before the intruders make their way to your bedroom. Desperate to protect your loved ones, you scramble to lay hold of something-anything-that you might use in self-defense. It might be a flashlight, your son's baseball bat, or that still unloaded gun you thought you'd never need. In a matter of seconds, the intruders are at your bedroom door. You brace for the confrontation, a shaky grip on your weapon. In the moments before you go down for the count, shot multiple times by the strangers who have invaded your home, you get a good look at your accosters. It's the police.
Before I go any further, let me start by saying this: the problem is not that all police are bad. The problem, as I point out in my book A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, is that increasing numbers of police officers are badly trained, illiterate when it comes to the Constitution, especially the Fourth Amendment, and, in some cases, willfully ignorant about the fact that they are supposed to be peacekeepers working for us, the taxpayer.
Unfortunately, with every passing week, we are hearing more and more horror stories in which homeowners are injured or killed simply because they mistook a SWAT team raid by police for a home invasion by criminals. Never mind that the unsuspecting homeowner, woken from sleep by the sounds of a violent entry, has no way of distinguishing between a home invasion by a criminal as opposed to a government agent. Too often, the destruction of life and property wrought by the police is no less horrifying than that carried out by criminal invaders.
Consider, for example, the sad scenario that played out when a SWAT team kicked open the door of ex-Marine Jose Guerena's home during a drug raid and opened fire. Thinking his home was being invaded by criminals, Guerena told his wife and child to hide in a closet, grabbed a gun and waited in the hallway to confront the intruders. He never fired his weapon. In fact, the safety was still on his gun when he was killed. The SWAT officers, however, not as restrained, fired 70 rounds of ammunition at Guerena-23 of those bullets made contact. Guerena had had no prior criminal record, and the police found nothing illegal in his home.
Seven-year-old Aiyana Jones was sleeping on her living room sofa, which was positioned under a window, when suddenly, the silence of the night was shattered by a flash grenade thrown through the living room window, followed by the sounds of police bursting into the apartment and a gun going off. Rushing into the room, Aiyana's father, Charles, found himself tackled by police and forced to lie on the floor, his face in a pool of his daughter's blood. It would be hours before Charles would be informed that his daughter was dead. The 34-year-old suspect the police had been looking for would later be found elsewhere in the apartment building.
Then there was the time police used a battering ram to break into the home of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnson, mistakenly believing her house to be a drug den. Fearing that burglars were entering her home, which was situated in a dangerous neighborhood, Johnson fired a warning shot when the door burst open. Police unleashed a hail of gunfire, hitting Johnson with six bullets. Johnson died.
Eighty-year-old Eugene Mallory suffered a similar fate when deputies with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, claiming to have smelled chemicals related to the manufacture of methamphetamine, raided the multi-unit property in which Mallory lived. Thinking that his home was being invaded by burglars, Mallory allegedly raised a gun at the intruders, who shot him six times. Mallory died. "The lesson here," observed the spokesman for the sheriff's department, "is don't pull a gun on a deputy."
In Fort Worth, Texas, two rookie police officers sent to investigate a possible burglary circled 72-year-old Jerry Waller's house with flashlights shining. Waller, concerned that his home was being cased, went to his garage, armed with a gun for self-defense. The two officers snuck up on Waller, who raised his gun on the intruders. When Waller failed to obey orders to lower his gun, the officers shot and killed him. It turned out the officers had gone to the wrong address. They blamed the shooting death on "poor lighting."
During a raid in Ogden, Utah, police dressed in black and carrying assault rifles charged into a darkened home. Upon entering the hallway and encountering a man holding a shiny object that one officer thought was a sword, police opened fire. Three shots later, 45-year-old Todd Blair fell to the floor dead. In his hands was a shiny golf club.
In Sarasota, Florida, a mixture of federal and local police converged on the apartment complex where Louise Goldsberry lived after receiving a tip that a child rape suspect was in the complex. Unaware of police activity outside, Louise was washing dishes in her kitchen when a man wearing what appeared to be a hunting vest pointed a rifle at her through her window. Fearing that she was about to be attacked, Louise retrieved her revolver from her bedroom. Meanwhile, the man began pounding on Louise's front door, saying, "We're the f@#$ing police; open the f@#$ing door." Identifying himself as a police officer, the rifle-wielding man then opened the door, pointed a gun at Goldsberry and her boyfriend, who was also present, and yelled, "Drop the f@#$ing gun or I'll f@#$ing shoot you." Ironically, the officer later justified his behavior on the grounds that he didn't like having a gun pointed at him and because "I have to go home at night."
These incidents underscore a dangerous mindset in which civilians (often unarmed and defenseless) not only have less rights than militarized police, but also one in which the safety of civilians is treated as a lower priority than the safety of their police counterparts (who are armed to the hilt with an array of lethal and nonlethal weapons), the privacy of civilians is negligible in the face of the government's various missions, and the homes of civilians are no longer the refuge from government intrusion that they once were.
It wasn't always this way, however. There was a time in America when a man's home really was a sanctuary where he and his family could be safe and secure from the threat of invasion by government agents, who were held at bay by the dictates of the Fourth Amendment, which protects American citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Fourth Amendment, in turn, was added to the U.S. Constitution by colonists still smarting from the abuses they had been forced to endure while under British rule, among these home invasions by the military under the guise of writs of assistance. These writs were nothing less than open-ended royal documents which British soldiers used as a justification for barging into the homes of colonists and rifling through their belongings. James Otis, a renowned colonial attorney, "condemned writs of assistance because they were perpetual, universal (addressed to every officer and subject in the realm), and allowed anyone to conduct a search in violation of the essential principle of English liberty that a peaceable man's house is his castle." As Otis noted:
"Now, one of the most essential branches of English liberty is the freedom of one's house. A man's house is his castle; and whilst he is quiet, he is as well guarded as a prince in his castle. This writ, if it should be declared legal, would totally annihilate this privilege. Custom-house officers may enter our houses when they please; we are commanded to permit their entry. Their menial servants may enter, may break locks, bars, and everything in their way; and whether they break through malice or revenge, no man, no court can inquire. Bare suspicion without oath is sufficient."
To our detriment, we have now come full circle, returning to a time before the American Revolution when government agents-with the blessing of the courts-could force their way into a citizen's home, with seemingly little concern for lives lost and property damaged in the process.
Actually, we may be worse off today than our colonial ancestors when one considers the extent to which courts have sanctioned the use of no-knock raids by police SWAT teams (occurring at a rate of 70,000 to 80,000 a year and growing); the arsenal of lethal weapons available to local police agencies; the ease with which courts now dispense search warrants based often on little more than a suspicion of wrongdoing; and the inability of police to distinguish between reasonable suspicion and the higher standard of probable cause, the latter of which is required by the Constitution before any government official can search an individual or his property.
Indeed, if Winston Churchill is correct that "democracy means that if the doorbell rings in the early hours, it is likely to be the milkman," then it's safe to say that we no longer live in a democracy. Certainly not in a day and age when the Fourth Amendment, which was intended to protect us against the police state, especially home invasions by government agents, has been reduced to little more than words on paper.
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17. [CA] Ridgecrest shooting spree suspect wanted to attack a police station, but "they had too many guns"
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Member Rollin Reisinger emailed me this:
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The deranged shooter vowed to wreak havoc, but not in a police station, as "they had too many guns."
The shooter then went on to wreak havoc elsewhere.
Law-abiding citizens should remember the shooter's self-declared preference for disarmed victims in mind before patronizing any business which has declared itself a "gun-free zone."
From LATimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/nn9652x
Ridgecrest shooting spree suspect threatened to 'wreak havoc'
By Kate Mather, Ruben Vives and Richard Winton
October 25, 2013
A man who went on a shooting spree near Ridgecrest after killing a woman and wounding a man warned police he was going to "wreak havoc" on the Central California community, authorities said.
Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said the man -- who was shot and killed after a nearly hourlong chase -- called a Ridgecrest police officer's cellphone early Friday and said he wanted to come to the police station and "kill all the officers but they had too many guns."
The man said he had a package for police and then warned he was "going to wreak havoc," Youngblood said.
The call came as Ridgecrest police were at a home in the 500 block of West Atkins Avenue investigating a shooting that left one woman dead and a man with "multiple gunshot wounds," Youngblood said. That incident was reported about 5:15 a.m.
Roughly two hours later, a Kern County sheriff's deputy spotted the man's vehicle leaving the city, Youngblood said. The deputy attempted to pull the vehicle over, but the man refused and a pursuit began, the sheriff said.
As the man drove south on Highway 395, he opened fire on officers and oncoming traffic, and forced several vehicles off the roadway, Youngblood said. At a press conference, the sheriff said the man fired a shotgun and handgun at other cars an estimated 10 to 12 times, though no injuries were immediately reported.
At one point, the vehicle pulled over and the trunk opened, Youngblood said. Officers saw two people -- a man and a woman -- in the trunk, the sheriff said, which "changed the entire dynamic" of the pursuit.
Several miles later -- roughly eight miles north of Highway 58 -- the man pulled over again and began firing through the backseat of the vehicle into the trunk, Youngblood said. Seven officers -- sheriff's deputies, Ridgecrest police and California Highway Patrol -- opened fire, the sheriff said, and the man was shot and killed.
The people inside the trunk had gunshot wounds, though it was not clear when they sustained the injuries, sheriff's spokesman Ray Pruitt said. Both were airlifted to an area hospital.
The suspect's name has not been released by authorities, but Youngblood said Ridgecrest police "knew the suspect" and he knew them.
The relationship between the suspect and the victims was not immediately clear, but the sheriff said there was a "relationship amongst the players."
Investigators had closed Highway 395 south of Ridgecrest and the roadway would remain closed "most of the day" as authorities process "several different crime scenes," Youngblood said.
Youngblood said such an incident was "very unusual for the city of Ridgecrest," which he said was a town "known for no drugs, no gangs and graffiti." Ridgecrest, population of a little more than 27,000, sits in the northeast corner of Kern County and is its third-largest city.
"This type of thing is very alarming," Youngblood said.
Mayor Dan Clark said he was thankful law enforcement officers were able to stop the man. Clark said the police chief told him the suspect "had been neutralized," but said it was still unclear "how many victims there are or the extent of the injuries."
Clark was teaching at Mesquite Continuation High School on Friday morning when the city's schools were all placed on lockdown about 7:30, he said.
"Everyone is very shook up and concerned in Ridgecrest," he said. "This is a small town and things like this just don't happen here."
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18. [MI] Pizza delivery driver pulls gun, kills attacker
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Another bad guy bites the dust.
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/lpfhju5
Pizza delivery driver pulls gun, kills attacker
By Awr Hawkins
October 24, 2013
A pizza delivery driver who was attacked outside a customer's home in Redford, Michigan pulled a gun and shot and killed the would-be robber intent on taking his money.
According to ABC 15, the pizza delivery driver was confronted by a 20-year old "armed robber" named Tajuan Boyd. Police say the "driver opened fire as he was being robbed" and a neighbor who heard the gunshots says he looked out his window to see a "frantic pizza delivery driver [with] a man face down" on the driveway in front of him.
Witnesses also "say they saw a possible accomplice speeding away."
Boyd was transported to a Michigan hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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19. Gallup poll shows Americans' support for gun control has waned
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Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From Houston Chronicle, Chron.com: http://tinyurl.com/kkfxfp5
Gallup poll shows Americans' support for gun control has waned
By John-Henry Perera
October 25, 2013
American support for tighter gun control laws has diminished since the 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., a new Gallup poll shows.
In 2012, support for stricter gun control laws was at 58 percent. Now, it has dropped to 49 percent. The poll shows a slight increase among Americans to keep the laws as they are now (37 percent) and those who desire less stringent gun control (13 percent).
In contrast, a record-high majority of Americans continue to broadly oppose banning handguns. Only 25 percent of Americans support a ban while 74 percent do not, an increase from 2010.
Among specific demographics, Gallup noted Democrats largely favor stricter gun control laws versus conservatives and Republicans. Among Republicans, 23 percent believe gun laws should be more strict while 16 percent favor a ban on possession of handguns.
Correction: Previous story had majority of Americans wanted to oppose handguns when it was, in fact, the opposite.
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20. California cops shoot dead 13-year-old boy armed with toy gun
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Member Kev Kinderen emailed me this:
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Zero tolerance taken to horrifying extremes.
From NYDailyNews.com: http://tinyurl.com/qjeqksv
California cops shoot dead 13-year-old boy armed with toy gun
By Michael Walsh
October 23, 2013
Californian police officers fatally shot a teen boy Tuesday afternoon because was armed with what looked like an assault rifle - but it was a toy gun.
Andy Lopez, 13, was struck with several rounds from the sheriff's deputies' handguns and fell onto the replica in southwest Santa Rosa, authorities said.
He was declared dead at the scene.
"Why did they kill him? Why?" the teen's tearful mother, Sujey Annel Cruz Cazarez, said to The Press Democrat after returning from identifying the body.
"I told him what I tell him every day," his father, Rodrigo Lopez, said. "Behave yourself."
The toy gun resembled an AK-47. Plastic replicas of the gun can be purchased for just $34.99, while metal and wood replicas can go for more than $200, the California newspaper said.
Sheriff's officials said it was unclear whether the replica could fire BBs or some other projectile.
The two deputies who opened fire called for backup when they first spotted Lopez walking around with his friend's toy weapon. Then they repeatedly ordered Lopez to drop the gun, and he failed to comply, according to authorities.
After killing Lopez, the deputies handcuffed the boy, found a plastic gun in his waistband and cordoned off the scene for hours.
Both officers, neither of whom was identified, are on administrative leave, said Sheriff's Lt. Steve Brown.
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Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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