----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. VCDL membership meeting in Roanoke on January 21
2. Reminder: Upcoming meetings in Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Charlottesville
3. What is "brandishing?"
4. Drawing: we have a winner!
5. Modifications to CHP information protection law
6. Update on Amherst Hunt Club issue
7. Senator eyes tougher penalties for celebratory gunfire
8. Moms Demand Action caught lying...again!
9. Feds consider new gun regs [VIDEO]
10. Keep your powder dry, boys
11. Ammo review: 7.62 x 39mm TULA 122gr FMJ [VIDEO]
12. Book: Were Fast and Furious guns used on U.S. soil?
13. To open carry or not, that is the question
14. Video game has players shoot children, teachers at Sandy Hook
15. MILLER: Every D.C. firearm owner to be fingerprinted to renew gun registry
16. [NY] Teens' 'knockout game' a growing danger with deadly results
17. [MI] 'Point'em out, knock'em out': Brutal game ends when victim fires
18. [AL] MPD: Family Dollar customer shoots robber
19. [CO] Gun control takes governor from unbeatable to unpopular
*************************************************
1. VCDL membership meeting in Roanoke on January 21
*************************************************
VCDL will have a supper meeting on Tuesday, JANUARY 21, at:
ODD FELLOWS LODGE
2615 ORANGE AVE NE (460 EAST)
ROANOKE VA 24012
PLEASE NOTE the NEW LOCATION for this meeting. The location is behind and above Commando Supply, just east of GUS NICKS
(go past the BP Station--next door to White Tire.)
Fellowship starts at 6:30 PM--food will be served at 7 PM.
FREE HOT DOGS and ALL THE FIXIN'S will be provided by VCDL Members Bill WASH & wife HEATHER!
We do ask local members bring some type of side dish or desert to go along with hot dogs.
Philip Van Cleave will discuss the Lobby Day event, which will have happened the day before.
This meeting is open to the public, so bring family and friends! There will be door prizes, too!
PLEASE RSVP with numbers attending to: al@vcdl.org so proper seating and food will be prepared!
*************************************************
2. Reminder: Upcoming meetings in Virginia Beach, Lynchburg, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville
*************************************************
(Richmond meeting to be announced soon.)
VIRGINIA BEACH - DECEMBER 30
VCDL has two new volunteers in the Virginia Beach area to arrange for VCDL to have regular, quarterly, membership meetings there - Peter J. Louie and Carl Bare II.
Peter has arranged for VCDL to have a membership meeting on Monday, December 30. It is going to be held at:
Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library
Auditorium
4100 Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Fellowship starts at 6:30 PM and the meeting will be called to order at 7 PM. The meeting will adjourn at 8:30 PM.
This meeting is open to the public, so please bring friends, family, and coworkers!
We are going to be discussing Lobby Day, as well as the gun legislation that is being introduced for the General Assembly session starting in early January.
--
FREDERICKSBURG - JANUARY 5
VCDL will have a membership meeting on Sunday, January 5, in the Fredericksburg area at:
The Scottish Horse Thief
110 North Main Street
Bowling Green, VA
The meeting will be called to order at 1 PM. We will be discussing Lobby Day (January 20th) and the gun bills that will be coming up during the session. We will also be discussing current events.
The meeting is open to the public, so bring friends, family, and coworkers!
Thanks to Philip Hamilton for making the reservations!
--
LYNCHBURG - JANUARY 7
VCDL will have a membership meeting in Lynchburg on Tuesday, January 7, at 7 PM. The meeting will be held at:
Lynchburg Public Library
2315 Memorial Avenue
Lynchburg, VA 24501
Like all VCDL membership meetings, this one is open to the public, so bring friends, family, and co-workers. We will be discussing Lobby Day and the legislation that is going to be considered in the General Assembly in 2014.
Thanks to member Kevin Novak for making the arrangements!
--
RIVANNA RIFLE AND PISTOL CLUB - JANUARY 9
I have been asked to talk at the regular membership meeting of the Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club (RRPC) in Charlottesville on Thursday, January 9. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM and I will talk about Lobby Day and about the future VCDL membership meetings to be held at their clubhouse at around 8 PM.
The meeting is open to the public and this would be a good chance for those of you who are not members of the RRPC to see their incredible facilities and to meet some of their members.
Directions to RRPC can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/cq4aa3e
*************************************************
3. What is "brandishing?"
*************************************************
Several people have asked me what the definition of "brandishing" is in Virginia law.
Brandishing is when someone displays a firearm in a manner specifically intended to induce the fear of being shot in another person. The key is INTENT.
Generally one has to be holding the firearm to brandish, but not always.
One can brandish by:
* Pointing a gun at another person (clearly intended as a threat)
* Drawing a gun, but not pointing it at the person as part of a threat
* Pulling back a cover garment to intentionally show the person is armed with a holstered firearm as part of a threat
* Touching a holstered gun as part of a threat
Simply wearing a holstered gun or handling a gun is NOT brandishing if it is NOT done with the intent of inducing fear in another. Handling a gun in public is generally not a good idea, however, unless at a shooting range or at a gun show.
A person can only brandish a gun legally in a situation where they would be justified in shooting the gun in self-defense. In that case the threat must be imminent and either lethal or extremely grave.
Here is a story about someone who thought brandishing would help him get hired for a job. Didn't work for some reason:
http://hamptonroads.com/2013/12/police-armed-mcdonalds-applicant-gets-jail-not-job
*************************************************
4. Drawing: we have a winner!
*************************************************
The winner was drawn for a Glock 19 handgun at the VCDL supper meeting in Christiansburg earlier this week. The winner was Sandy Newman from Roanoke. Congratulations, Sandy!
Special thatnks to PAWN PLUS in Christiansburg for their support of VCDL with the donation of the Glock 19!
Be sure to thank Pawn Plus when visiting their store.
*************************************************
5. Modifications to CHP information protection law
*************************************************
The Circuit Court Clerks, under the newly passed law that protects CHP applicant information from dissemination, are tasked with going back for decades in order to redact such information. That is proving to be a daunting task and the Clerks are looking for a more reasonable cut-off date for the redactions. Consequently a bill has been introduced requiring that CHP information going back no more than six years be redacted (July 1, 2008 is the fixed cut-off date). The VCDL Board wants it to be at least ten years, setting the date to July 1, 2003.
Here is an article on the bill:
From the washingtontimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/ny555yc
Virginia conservative offers solution to bureaucratic nightmare regarding concealed weapons
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
A conservative Virginia lawmaker is proposing a solution to a potential bureaucratic nightmare created after lawmakers passed legislation this year to keep private the identities of people seeking concealed weapons permits.
Delegate L. Scott Lingamfelter has introduced a bill that would keep information from permits issued before July 1, 2008, open to the public — a response to court clerks who said the law would have resulted in the logistical nightmare of trying to find ways to physically remove information from old indexes and paper record books.
In more recent years, the information has been maintained electronically, making it easier to shield in compliance with the law.
Mr. Lingamfelter, Prince William Republican, said his bill addresses a "manpower issue" that will have no effect on the state's gun laws.
"If it hurt the Second Amendment, I wouldn't be carrying it," he said.
The original bill, sponsored in the state Senate by Mark D. Obenshain, sought to protect the personal information of domestic violence victims who applied for the permits. Once it passed the Senate, the legislation was amended to protect personal information from all permit holders.
Concern over the issue has been simmering since at least 2007, when The Roanoke Times published an online database of concealed carry permit holders in the state. The database was eventually taken down.
After an outcry from gun owners and gun rights groups, The Journal News of White Plains, N.Y., removed its own online map posted last year of concealed weapons permit holders that included specific names and addresses.
Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, a Republican, issued an advisory opinion in July saying that clerks must withhold from public disclosure names on all permit applications and orders, whether they are maintained electronically or in "order books." He said the clerk is required to comply with the law even though the legislature didn't appropriate funds for the task.
Michele McQuigg, clerk of the Prince William County Circuit Court, said the original bill would have created a near-impossible task for clerks across the state, who would be required to go back and remove information from documents dating back decades.
She said applying the law to the post-July 2008 applications was a more reasonable task.
"If you made it five years back, almost everybody could handle taking them out of the public view," she said. "It just involved too much work, and every court does everything different."
While still publicly available, the paper documents are decentralized and more difficult to compile comprehensively.
"Our records are out there, but it's probably going to be hard for people to find," Ms. McQuigg said.
The Republican Party of Virginia requested information on the permit holders earlier this year before the law took effect, but withdrew the request after clerks estimated the price tag for tracking down such records would have stretched into six figures.
The law will shield the electronic records, which should include all current permits while making them available to the clerk's office, members of law enforcement and other government officials entitled to access.
"The idea is to have the clerks go back at least 5 years and from there forward forever," Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said in an email. "Thus only old applications that are no longer valid would be available. VCDL is going to push for that to go back at least 10 years, instead of 5 or 6."
*************************************************
6. Update on Amherst Hunt Club issue
*************************************************
A proposed ordinance that would have adversely affected hunt clubs and shooting ranges in Amherst County was defeated last month, but I am hearing that it could reappear yet again in the future. We'll be watching for it.
Member Henry Dowgielewicz emailed me this report on the Board of Supervisor meeting:
--
The proposed ordinance was defeated when no one spoke for it; not even the original complainant nor their lawyer. In fact, the lawyer spoke against it. After it was shot down, Claudia Tucker made a motion to include hunt clubs as a permitted category of land use in agricultural areas. It carried. [PVC: apparently after it carried and just before adjourning, a technical issue was raised on the voting procedure for the ordinance and the vote was withdrawn until a future meeting.]
*************************************************
7. Senator eyes tougher penalties for celebratory gunfire
*************************************************
This bill has not yet hit, but we are watching for it.
Member Clay Rhoades emailed me this:
--
Of course, a penalty helps only if you know who the shooter is. Marsh never misses a chance to exploit a tragedy. [PVC: Amen to that.]
From nbc12.com: http://tinyurl.com/lo4lt4t
Senator eyes tougher penalties for celebratory gunfire
By Brent Solomon
November 19, 2013
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - There are new details into the search for whoever killed 7-year-old Brendon Mackey during celebratory gunfire on the Fourth of July.
Tuesday, police said they have tested several guns to see if there is any connection, and they are awaiting those results. Now, a Virginia lawmaker wants to step up penalties for people who shoot into the air.
Senator Henry Marsh attended the funeral of little Brendon Mackey. He says it was right then that he decided he wanted to take action.
"Celebratory gunfire is a universal problem," Marsh said.
Though four months have passed since someone shot and killed Brendon during Fourth of July festivities in Brandermill, a new effort to try to prevent this from happening again is just getting started.
"On holidays, people shoot up in the air regularly, and it's more chance of someone getting hurt, injured, or killed when those bullets come down," Senator Marsh added.
So he is preparing new legislation - increasing penalties for celebratory gunfire that injures or kills a person - even if the shooter is shooting from their private property.
"We're studying all ranges of punishments," he said.
Marsh says right now in Virginia, investigators must prove someone who hurt another person with celebratory gunfire intended to do so. What he's calling "Brendon's Law" would remove that requirement. He's expecting huge support from lawmakers, because he says this is an issue that extends beyond the politics.
"I think this is something that we should get Democrats and Republicans, because the bullet doesn't have any party affiliation. It could hurt anyone. This is a human problem," Marsh said.
A reward for information that leads to a conviction in Mack's death is now at nearly $4,000. Anyone with more information can contact Crime Solvers at 804-748-0660.
Senator Marsh plans to formally file this bill next week. The General Assembly will reconvene in January.
*************************************************
8. Moms Demand Action caught lying...again!
*************************************************
A follow up to an item covered in a previous Update.
Stephen Wenger emailed me this:
--
From hsgca.net: http://tinyurl.com/l79x3za
Moms Demand Action caught lying… Again!
By Ronald Burgundy
November 19, 2013
A few days ago, Moms Demand Action triumphantly announced that it has convinced a Staples, located in Arlington, VA, to enact a gun-free zone policy for its store.
This turned out to be a complete and utter lie. The numerous phone calls to the store to inquire about the event all came up as, no, it did not happen.
We made a phone call to the store and obtained a recording to confirm this.
Skip to 00:56 for the conversation with a store associate.
Caller: "I've been hearing reports about your store, the particular location, enacting a gun prohibition policy?"
Store: "Yeah, that was a misquote on Facebook. We never had a sign up… They put it in there, and we are trying to get it taken down… But we don't have that sign on the store… They put a bunch of information on Facebook that wasn't accurate."
Following the disastrous outcome of what happened at Starbucks (the not-so-ban "ban"), I guess the MDA needs all the propaganda help it can make up. [PVC: And the media continues to call what happened at Starbucks a "victory" for MDA, showing either ignorance, incompetence, or malevolence. Starbucks simply asked gun owners not to carry, but made it perfectly clear that gun owners would still be served with a smile even if they did carry. That's not a ban, but the press acts like it is.]
*************************************************
9. Feds consider new gun regs [VIDEO]
*************************************************
From thehill.com: http://tinyurl.com/mcv5g95
Feds consider new gun regs
By Julian Hattem
November 20, 2013
The Obama administration is working on new gun control regulations that would target stolen and missing weapons.
Police have a hard time tracking firearms that disappear from gun shops, which "just feeds the sort of already large and existing secondary market on guns," said Sam Hoover, a staff attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
It is unclear precisely what the draft regulations, drawn up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and under review at the White House's regulations office, would do.
The ATF would not comment on the draft rule, since it has not yet been released to the public, but a description provided by the White House asserts that it would target cases where guns go missing "in transit."
Currently, gun dealers with a federal license are required to tell federal agents after they discover a firearm has gone missing, but they aren't required to do routine checks.
"They can discover a gun missing today and have no idea when it went missing, which really makes that information useless to law enforcement," said Chelsea Parsons, associate director of crime and firearms policy at the Center for American Progress.
The White House office has 90 days to review the proposed rule before releasing it to the public and allowing them to comment.
The draft rule was sent to the White House five months after the ATF completed a report that found that more than 190,000 firearms were estimated to have been lost or stolen last year. The report was one of 23 executive actions President Obama announced in January to reduce gun violence in the wake of last year's shooting in Newtown, Conn.
That report helped to shine light on an often unseen corner of the gun market, supporters of stricter gun laws say.
"I think that in the area of guns and gun violence and gun commerce, we have had a complete lack of data and a lack of information," said Parsons.
She wants the ATF to be able to take stronger action to monitor and track guns that go missing.
Since 2004, an appropriations rider has prevented the ATF from requiring gun dealers to do periodic checks. Gun rights advocates say that the measure protects innocent victims of crimes from punishment by the government.
*************************************************
10. Keep your powder dry, boys
*************************************************
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
--
I do not remember hearing that it is improper to store .22 rimfire ammo on it's side. [PVC: Me neither. The learning never ends.]
From gunnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/lqzo97b
Keep Your Powder Dry, Boys
By Tom Hudson
November 14, 2013
Over the past year or so we have all seen ammo prices reach ludicrous levels. We've also seen store shelves bare and internet sites with "out-of-stock" listed all over their websites. So, it's obvious that many shooters have stockpiled ammo and have done this at great cost. With this in mind, it is important to protect this investment. Most of us have some sort of case for our guns to help protect them from dust and dirt as well as scratches from being bumped around. But what are we doing to make sure our ammo storage is correct? This article will discuss how to store and care for ammunition so that when you need it, it will work. A gun is not any good without ammo that works.
There are many different ways and places to store ammunition. I have found that surplus military ammo cans work really well and are cheap and nearly indestructible. They are built to store ammunition and do it in an effective manner. There are also plastic versions of these can on the market called field boxes. These seem to work well and are also fairly cheap. You could also just use a plastic box with a lid. This is, by far, the least desirable option, since they are not really intended for this type of use. The most important aspect of storing ammunition is keeping it in a dry place. Corrosion is the worst thing that can happen to ammo. It makes the ammunition less reliable. No matter what option you pick for storage, it never hurts to throw in some desiccant packs (those little packets that come in everything but you never know what they are for). These little gems help keep moisture out.
Another ammo killer is the human touch. The oils in your hands can cause the casing to corrode. The more you handle the rounds, the more likely they are to corrode. This is more likely to occur on the ammo that you use in your concealed carry firearm. It's important to rotate the round that is in the chamber when carrying concealed. The reason for this is that, in general, you will unload your firearm daily and you will be touching this one particular round all the time. It also doesn't help the round to be constantly slammed into battery by the slide, because it actually sets the bullet a little deeper into the casing. While we are on the topic of concealed carry–if you carry a pistol, you need to rotate magazines. You do not want to use the same magazine all the time because it will ruin the spring. If the spring goes bad then you can have failure-to-feed issues. It is also a good idea to rotate your personal defense ammo regularly. I like to shoot mine once a month and replace it with a fresh box.
It's also best to keep factory ammunition in its original box and store the box in either the field box or ammo can–or if it is at home, store it in your safe. The reason to keep it in its original box is for warranty issues. Manufacturers warranty their product. If you get a bad batch, under-charged or even over-charged, and this damages your gun, they will generally replace or fix your gun. But, in order to have the warranty, you will need to have the box that the ammo came in.
Most ammunition is starting to reappear on the shelves now, except for .22LR. This seems to be the ammo of choice for hoarding. .22LR is ridiculously expensive now, so it is important to protect this investment. All of the above recommendations apply to .22 as well, and they require one more step. Have you ever shot a .22 and it did not go off, but you put in back in the gun, and it went off on the second shot? There is a specific reason for this. .22 are rimfire cartridges as you all know. This means that the casing does not have a primer like a centerfire cartridge does. It contains a primer compound that is spread out evenly around the base of the casing. If the round is stored on its side, then the primer compound will shift over time and settle to one side. This is why when you shoot a .22 and it doesn't go boom, you can then rotate the round 180 degrees and it will fire. So, always store your rimfire round with either the bullet facing up or down–never on its side. Mystery solved:–It is all in the ammo storage.
So, protect your investment, keep your ammo dry, and keep your muzzle out of the dirt!
*************************************************
11. Ammo review: 7.62 x 39mm TULA 122gr FMJ [VIDEO]
*************************************************
Wow - a 50 pound block of ballistic gel was lifted in the air by a 7.62x39 round - visible in slow motion video. Of course most hunting rifles (except .30-30 Win and less) put the 7.62x39 to shame...
Member Rusian Ketenchiev emailed me this:
--
From youtube.com: http://tinyurl.com/o726lj5
*************************************************
12. Book: Were Fast and Furious guns used on U.S. soil?
*************************************************
Can you just imagine the murder charges that would be piling up against a citizen if he did the exact same thing that the government did in Fast & Furious?
Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
--
From breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/lsejlef
BOOK: WERE FAST AND FURIOUS GUNS USED ON U.S. SOIL?
By Matthew Boyle
November 19, 2013
Ex-Secret Service agent Dan Bongino, who left the agency to run for U.S. Senate in Maryland, argues in a new book that Operation Fast and Furious weapons may have been used inside the United States on more occasions than just the December 2010 murder of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
In his upcoming book, Life Inside the Bubble: Why a Top-Ranked Secret Service Agent Walked Away From It All, an advance copy of which was provided to Breitbart News, Bongino asks: "Were Fast and Furious guns used on US soil, and why did the Department of Justice fail to take preventative measures?"
Bongino was a U.S. Secret Service agent beginning in the Clinton administration and continued through part of the Obama administration. He joined the president's protective detail for his last five years, three of which were for former President George W. Bush and two of which were for President Barack Obama. The cover of the book is a photograph of Bongino escorting President Obama while he is traveling.
Bongino laid out how the DOJ, specifically its Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), directed its agents in Phoenix to allow "straw purchasers"—people buying guns on behalf of known drug cartel-affiliated weapons smugglers from U.S. gun stores—to buy guns and then to allow them to be trafficked into Mexico, where the cartels used them. ATF agents, including Special Agent John Dodson, reluctantly complied with the orders from above, until December 2010 when Brian Terry was shot and killed by a drug cartel rip crew using two different AK-47 rifles that were previously walked into Mexico. Dodson, who is currently working on a tell-all book of his own despite DOJ efforts to hold up its publication, then blew the whistle on the operation and worked with congressional officials in the Senate Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
The congressional investigation led to subpoenas being served on ATF and Attorney General Eric Holder's DOJ -- subpoenas with which Holder failed to comply. This non-compliance prompted calls for Holder's resignation, and eventually two different contempt of Congress votes: a criminal contempt resolution and a civil contempt resolution. President Obama asserted executive privilege over the documents that Holder refused to provide to Congress pursuant to the subpoenas from Issa, prompting House Republicans to use the civil contempt resolution to pursue a lawsuit that remains ongoing against the DOJ. Just a few weeks ago, a federal judge threw out Holder's efforts to have the lawsuit dismissed.
In Bongino's book, he wonders why the media never questioned whether Fast and Furious weapons were used on US soil.
"A media frenzy ensued when it was uncovered that Fast and Furious weapons were used in the slayings of Mexican citizens," Bongino wrote. "However few in the media bothered to ask if Fast and Furious guns were used on US soil. It continues to baffle me why this question has eluded so many investigative journalists. With over a hundred high-powered weapons recovered from crime scenes in Mexico, based on my analysis of the data in this case, that must be the tip of the iceberg."
Bongino then compiles a series of facts that allude to the likelihood Fast and Furious guns were used in crimes inside the United States.
First, he points to how on Jan. 13, 2010, ATF agents in Dallas, Texas, "seized forty weapons in El Paso, Texas, that were traced back to a straw purchaser who was the subject of Group VII's Fast and Furious investigation."
"ATF agents suspect that these weapons were being used by Mexican cartel operatives to help gain control of a prolific drug trafficking corridor," Bongino writes.
Bongino then cites an "analysis of publicly available trace data from the ATF" which he says "points to a suspicious pattern of weapon recoveries at crimes scenes."
"Prior to the initiation of the Fast and Furious investigation in 2009, it was relatively uncommon to recover a weapon from a crime scene in New York that had originally been purchased in Arizona," Bongino writes. "Yet in 2010, after the case began, Arizona rose into the top fifteen sources for weapons recovered at New York crime scenes and remained so through 2011."
Similarly, Bongino points to weapons recovered at Texas crime scenes. "The number of firearms recovered from crime scenes in Texas, and sourced to Arizona, numbered 56 in 2009, making it the eleventh largest source of recoveries by state," Bongino writes. "Yet in 2010, Arizona-sourced recoveries more than doubled to 128, moving Arizona up to the third largest source state for recoveries."
California saw a similar increase from Arizona-sourced weapons. "Firearms recovered from crime scenes in California, and sourced to Arizona, numbered between 832 and 846 from 2008 to 2010, yet jumped to 955 in 2011," he writes.
Bongino cites a congressional report as even more evidence of the likelihood of Fast and Furious weapons having been used in crimes inside the U.S. "According to a Joint Staff Report produced for Congress and released on July 26, 2011, ATF Group VII supervisor David Voth sent an e-mail to William Newell, who was then special agent in charge of the Phoenix office, at 7:22 p.m., on Thursday, December 16, 2010, incredibly stating that 350 weapons were recovered within the United States that could be sources to the Fast and Furious investigation," Bongino writes.
Bongino argues that the above data makes it such that it is "not difficult to conclude that these weapons were not only found but used on American soil, despite the lack of media coverage on the topic."
"Federal restrictions prevent trace-data specifics, such as the federal firearm licensee who sold the firearm, from being publicly released, but it is my unfortunate conclusion that the connection will eventually be made," Bongino wrote. "One of these weapons is going to be tied to a crime on United States soil. It is only a matter of time. This dangerous consequence of the Department of Justice's failure to vigorously and promptly act on the illegal trafficking of high-powered firearms has shocked some, but sadly it does not surprise me."
*************************************************
13. To open carry or not, that is the question
*************************************************
Member Gary Donaldson emailed me this:
--
From dailycaller.com: http://tinyurl.com/owcqdy8
To open carry or not, that is the question
By Jorge Amselle
November 18, 2013
Many people, me included, appreciate and support laws that allow for the open carrying of all types of loaded firearms in public. I may open carry on my way to check my mail or on my way to the shooting range just because it is more comfortable. In Virginia I don't have to be fearful that if I am carrying concealed and someone happens to notice my gun anyways that I will be in trouble since I am carrying legally either way. There is also a lot of discussion on the tactics of open versus concealed carry which I won't get into here.
That said, some folks have decided to open carry not out of convenience but simply to make a point. They believe that gun owners need to inure the public to the sight of guns and for a legitimate reason. People believe that anyone other than a police officer with a gun is a bad guy and whenever they see someone with a gun or what they think is a gun all hell breaks loose. In Boston a shopping mall was evacuated and the SWAT team and a police helicopter were called in all for a man carrying an umbrella.
Funny right? It wasn't so funny for Erik Scott who was shot dead by Las Vegas Police officers as he was exiting a COSTCO because store security called 911 reporting that he was carrying a gun. Yes he was, legally and with a permit. YouTube is full of recorded confrontations of individuals with police who are stopped and harassed for legal open carry. The fact is that the vast majority of civilians carrying guns concealed or otherwise are the good guys.
Gun owners have a vested interest in communicating that message to the general public so they don't call the police in a panic every time they happen to see someone minding their own business and who happens to be carrying a firearm. For many gun owners this is a life and death situation as police must respond to these calls unaware as to the circumstances or the armed suspect's intent. I can't blame police as that would put me on edge as well but over reactions can and do occur and sometimes lawful citizens are detained, harassed, arrested or killed as a result.
In response to this some gun rights activist have begun open carrying as a form of protest, sometimes on their own and sometimes in groups. The idea is that if your neighbors or people in your community start seeing you carrying a gun on a routine basis they will become accustomed to it. In Texas they don't allow open carrying of handguns, just rifles and shotguns. A group calling itself Open Carry Texas would like to see the law changed and recently held a counter protest to a meeting of Mom's Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
The problem is that OCT didn't bring placards or signs stating their position, they brought guns. This was a legal protest and they certainly got a lot of attention, but just because it's legal doesn't mean it's a good idea. As reported in Slate and National Review this type of confrontational In-Your-Face protest doesn't tend to produce much in the way of reasoned argument or changing of opinion. The only result of this protest was to leave the gun control proponents frightened and more committed than ever.
I don't question anyone's commitment to gun rights but I do question the tactics used. Confrontational protests of any type seldom yield positive results and more often than not result in a backlash. It wasn't the image of Occupy Wall Street protesters ruining public places that resulted big bank regulations, nor was it the image of obscene homosexual street theatre that changed the public's mind on gay marriage. Dirty drugged out hippies burning their draft cards also did not turn the public against the Vietnam War, and it wasn't the tactics of the Black Panthers that brought about Civil Rights for African Americans.
In California open carry of loaded guns used to be legal, until Black Panthers started marching around with loaded guns back in the 1960s and that law was changed quick. Then only the carrying of unloaded guns was allowed which gun rights activists immediately took advantage of and began doing so as a confrontational form of protest and filming their encounters with police. The result was not an expansion of gun rights but rather legislation banning open unloaded carry. Not what I would consider a success.
Again, I support open carry but slow and steady wins the race. Gun owners need to present a determined front but trying to force people who are afraid of guns to accept them by showing up to a protest armed is not ever going to work.
*************************************************
14. Video game has players shoot children, teachers at Sandy Hook
*************************************************
How low can the antis sink? Extremely low. For them the ends justifies the means, always.
Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
--
From breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/lwqp2ec
PRO-GUN CONTROL VIDEO GAME HAS PLAYERS SHOOT CHILDREN, TEACHERS AT SANDY HOOK
By AWR Hawkins
November 19, 2013
A pro-gun control video game posted at various online sites has players shoot children and teachers, then asks them to contact Congress and demand more gun control.
According to National Review Online, the game is called The Slaying of Sandy Hook.
Game play requires the players to act the role of Adam Lanza. "Text boxes prompt [players] to pick up a Glock pistol, move into the bedroom of Lanza's mother, Nancy, and shoot her four times." After that, players are instructed to "pick up an AR-15, ammunition, and Nancy Lanza's car keys."
The game then focuses on Sandy Hook Elementary, and players are given "an 11 minute timeline to kick in classroom and bathroom doors and slaughter [the] students and teachers" they find there. At the end of the 11 minutes, players are informed of the number of students and teachers who were able to survive by hiding and playing dead, or who were only wounded.
The game has a "gun control mode" where players are encouraged to try to carry out the heinous crime with a Japanese sword instead of a firearm. The game's credits then ask "players to contact lawmakers and urge them to pass gun control measures."
The game also links to the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), so players can keep up with gun control legislation proposals.
*************************************************
15. MILLER: Every D.C. firearm owner to be fingerprinted to renew gun registry
*************************************************
From washingtontimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/n2pmoum
MILLER: Every D.C. firearm owner to be fingerprinted to renew gun registry
By Emily Miller-The Washington Times
November 20, 2013
The 1,800 or so criminals who have killed, robbed or assaulted innocent people with guns in the District of Columbia so far this year were hauled into the police station to be fingerprinted, photographed and to undergo a criminal-background check.
Now, legal gun owners who have committed no crime are getting the exact same treatment. That is neither constitutional, nor fair.
The latest gun-control scheme that starts on Jan. 1 will force every legal firearm owner in the nation's capital to go in person to police headquarters to renew their registration certificates.
The Metropolitan Police Department filed proposed rules last week to enact this absurd law, and citizens have until Dec. 15 to comment on the regulations.
To avoid becoming a felon, anyone with a gun registered before 2011 will have to go to police headquarters to be fingerprinted, photographed, provide proof of address, pay a fee and confirm they may still legally possess the firearm. The Firearms Registration Section will then create a new registration certificate — now in the form of an ID card — for each gun.
This operation could end up making the rollout of Obamacare look smooth and easy.
The police propose scheduling everyone in three-month windows based on your birthday. The eight windows start on Jan. 1 and go through 2015. They intend to set up an online system to make an appointment. The department is trying to set up a system to accept credit cards for the $13-per-gun fee, but that has not been finalized.
George Lyon, who was a plaintiff in the original Heller case, pointed out that it will cost him $104 to re-register his eight guns. "I don't see that they need a re-registration system at all," the Washington lawyer told me "But if they do, this whole thing ought really to be done online, automated and without adding more fees."
The renewal process was supposed to be done online and by mail and start in 2012, but the police did not retain any of the fingerprints or photos taken until March 2013.
Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier testified before the D.C. Council's Judiciary Committee in January 2012 against keeping the three-year limit on certificates because her department did not have the resources, and so it "may cost more than the potential benefit."
City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson refused to let it drop, but passed a law to give D.C. police a two-year extension.
In an interview late Wednesday, Mr. Mendelson said that, "The reason for renewals is to make sure people don't become disqualified to own a firearm."
I pointed out that the police could easily run gun owners' names and social security numbers through the FBI's background-check system at any point. "I don't want a name based system because it's not as good for identification as fingerprints."
The registration-renewal requirement is already being challenged in court. Heller v. District of Columbia — commonly known as "Heller II" — takes on the entire registration law that was enacted in 2009 after the Supreme Court overturned the District's 30-year-old handgun ban in the original Heller decision.
Dick Heller, the lead plaintiff, asked me of the requirement, "What's the point? Will that make the bad guys come down and register? Nope, just the law-abiding."
Heller II is pending in federal district court with each side filing motions for summary judgment this month and next.
"Re-registration is onerous and completely unnecessary and is a trap for the unwary," said Stephen P. Halbrook, the lead attorney for Heller II. "Fail to re-register for whatever reason, and you're committing a crime — possession of an unregistered firearm. This is plain harassment for exercise of a constitutional right."
The whole convoluted mess will not do a single thing to make the city safer.
A police spokesman estimates there are approximately 30,000 firearms registered to private citizens in D.C. This number is remarkably low for a city of 600,000 because most law-abiding people won't go through the 11 steps necessary to register.
And, as Mr. Heller pointed out, the criminals aren't showing up at police headquarters to offer up their fingerprints or take a written test before buying guns.
Gun registration is a clear violation of the Founding Fathers' intent that the Second Amendment would prevent government tyranny. Once the government knows about every single gun owned by each citizen, then an armed populace is no longer a deterrent.
*************************************************
16. [NY] Teens' 'knockout game' a growing danger with deadly results
*************************************************
Another reason I carry a gun.
Member Bill Watkins emailed me this:
--
IFrom foxnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/pwfuoas
Teens' 'Knockout Game' a growing danger with deadly results
By FoxNews.com with AP contributions
November 17, 2013
A recent string of attacks tied to a dangerous game called "Knockout" -- where unsuspecting residents are targeted and sucker-punched – is being investigated as possible hate crimes.
New York police are looking into the growing trend, WPIX reports, after attacks in predominately Jewish neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
The most recent attack was caught on video last week in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, where a group of ten men spotted a man walking alone, punched him and kept moving, according to the station.
But New York is not the only place to see the "Knockout Game" being played out.
In Washington, D.C., Tamera Jackson, 27, told WJLA that a group of teens on bicycles came up behind her last week as she walked home and one of them punched her in the back of the head before the group sped away, laughing.
According to Fox 31 Denver, similar attacks have occurred in St. Louis and Pittsburgh, where a teacher was knocked out by a 15-year-old as he walked home from school last month. The attack was caught on a security camera video, and the teen was charged with assault.
And in New Jersey, CBS 2 reports, video footage shows Ralph Santiago, 46, randomly targeted for knockout by a group of teens. Santiago was later found dead with his neck broken and head lodged between iron fence posts, according to NJ.com.
Video shows Santiago walking during daytime in an alley, and just as he's about to pass a pack of teenagers, one launches the fatal, knockout blow.
And what's the point?
"For the fun of it," one teen said in the video.
In September, a 13-year-old boy was sentenced to 18 months of confinement for the beating death of a 51-year-old man in upstate New York.
The teen had pleaded guilty to assault and attempted assault, admitting that he started the fatal beating by attempting to knock the man out with a single punch.
The teen said he and his friends were playing a street game called "knockout." His punch apparently had little to no effect, but the follow-up from a 16-year-old boy caused bleeding in the victim's brain, and he died in late May.
The 16-year-old co-defendant was found guilty last month in Onondaga County Family Court of second-degree manslaughter and received the same sentence.
*************************************************
17. 'Point'em out, knock'em out': Brutal game ends when victim fires
*************************************************
EM Matt Gottshalk shared this on VCDL's facebook page:
--
And that is exactly how these knockout "games" should end.
From mlive.com: http://tinyurl.com/kzsyrcu
'Point 'em out, knock 'em out': Brutal game ends when assault victim fires his concealed handgun
By John Barnes
August 26, 2013
UPDATE: Teen jailed for attack in which concealed gun holder shot him
The game was called "point 'em out, knock 'em out," and it was as random as it was brutal.
The object: Target an innocent victim for no other reason than they are there, then sucker punch him or her.
But on this day in Lansing, there would be no punch. The teen-age attacker had a stun gun. He did not know his would-be victim was carrying a legally concealed pistol.
The teen lost the game.
Last month, more than 400,000 adults could lawfully carry hidden handguns in Michigan. That's one in 17 men and women 21 or older, more than since records have been kept.
An MLive Media Group investigation found that crime numbers continue to drop across Michigan, even as police ranks decline. Some see the seemingly contradictory trends as proof the proliferation of concealed weapons is deterring lawbreakers.
Marvell Weaver faces up to two years behind bars after attacking a random victim with a stun gun.
Evidence is largely anecdotal – such as the Lansing case. The victim chose not to be interviewed until the case is resolved. He also fears a possible break-in from those who know he has a gun.
But 70 pages of police records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shed light into the reasons some people carry, and what can happen.
The 17-year-old in gym shorts approached his target. The 28-year-old Lansing man was waiting for his daughter at her school-bus stop at REO Road and Ballard Street.
It was May 29, and a nice day. Temperatures would reach 79 degrees. It was partly cloudy, fairly gusty.
The teen had two friends nearby - dropped off by a third friend in a van after they scouted their target. They knew what Marvell Weaver was going to do. They had discussed it.
Weaver approached his victim from behind, a black KL-800 Type Stun Gun in his pocket. It is capable of generating 1.8 million volts.
He passed him and turned back, pressed the stun gun into the victim's side. Again and again, and … nothing. It had fired earlier when testing it, he would later tell police.
"The button was like stuck down … or something. I don't know what caused it not to work," according to a transcript of Weaver's statement.
The intended victim moved quickly, pulling his stainless steel .40-caliber Smith and Wesson. It had a full 10-round magazine, and was worth about $900 police estimated.
He shot Weaver in his buttocks as the teen turned to flee.
"It happened so fast I wasn't sure. I just know something was shoved into my side. I wasn't sure if it was a knife, if it was anything," he told police.
"'I'm sorry, please don't kill me, I don't know why I did that, I'm high you know, I just wanna go home,'" the teen told the man who had just shot him.
The man called 911. He told the dispatcher the teen was "currently wounded" and that he was a concealed pistol holder.
"Did you shoot him?" the dispatcher asks, sounding incredulous.
This is a recording of the 911 call. The audio breaks off as the man deals with events, but his father also calls police.
A witness told police the man stayed by the teen and appeared supportive and non-threatening.
The teen was hospitalized with a non-life threatening injury. At first, Weaver said he merely removed the stun gun from his pocket to look at it and the man shot him. He later confessed to the attack, records show.
Police asked for an attempted robbery warrant. The prosecutor authorized a lesser charge, illegal possession of a stun gun, a maximum two-year felony. A plea-bargain conference was scheduled for last Wednesday, but postponed until Sept. 4. The teen is free on bond.
Ingham County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lisa McCormick said there was no evidence to prove Weaver intended to rob the victim. She also said an aggravated assault charge would not stick because it requires the victim to be seriously injured.
The felony stun-gun charge is more serious than simple assault, a 90-day misdemeanor, McCormick added.
On a potential plea deal for Weaver, she would only offer, "There's been some discussion with the defense attorney, but nothing has been finalized."
Whatever the outcome, the teen has written a letter apologizing to his victim.
"I don't blame you for what you did. You were only trying to protect yourself. I only wish I could go back to change it to were (sic) I never did it."
"Im very sorry," he closes at the letter's end.
The hand-scrawled note is written on one-page of lined binder paper. The printed apology is at least five times larger than the rest of the words.
*************************************************
18. [AL] MPD: Family Dollar customer shoots robber
*************************************************
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
--
From local15tv.com: http://tinyurl.com/mbnakew
MPD: Family Dollar Customer Shoots Robber
UPDATE 10:30AM: Mobile Police say a customer at a Family Dollar that was being robbed shot the suspect multiple times.
Police say the suspect got into the store while employees were unloading a truck. The suspect grabbed one of the employees, forced him to the front of the store and demanded money from the register.
While holding the employee at gunpoint, police say a customer fired his weapon and hit the suspect suspect multiple times. A second male subject was seen running from the store.
The injured suspect was taken to the hospital.
Upon release, he will be charged with robbery first degree.
PREVIOUS STORY MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) Mobile Police are investigating after reports of a Family Dollar robbery and shooting Tuesday.
It happened just after 5:30 p.m. at the Family Dollar located on Stanton Road.
Officials tell Local 15 News the suspect was shot during the robbery and taken to the hospital.
The extent of his injuries are not known.
If you have any information about this crime, contact Mobile Police.
*************************************************
19. [CO] Gun control takes governor from unbeatable to unpopular
*************************************************
Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:
--
Heads-up Governors! Incoming!
From breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/m5wrx68
GUN CONTROL TAKES CO GOVERNOR FROM UNBEATABLE TO UNPOPULAR
By AWR Hawkins
November 19, 2013
By signing draconian gun control into law in March, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D) went from being politically unbeatable in 2014 to politically unpopular.
According to Politico, a recent Quinnipiac shows that 49 percent of Coloradans do not believe Hickenlooper deserves another term. Only 42 percent say he does.
This has lessened the advantage he once held over his GOP opponents. Now he only leads former state Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp by four points. Former U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo is within five points of Hickenlooper and state senator Greg Brophy is within six.
Fifty-five percent of voters who took part in the Quinnipiac poll say they oppose the new gun control laws, while 40 percent support them.
Politico made clear the loss of momentum that resulted from gun control was compounded by the successful recalls of state senators John Morse (D-Colo. Springs) and Angela Giron (D-Pueblo) in September.
-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
***************************************************************************
IMPORTANT: It is our intention to honor all "remove" requests promptly.
To unsubscribe from this list, or change the email address where you
receive messages, please go to:
https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=15843530&id_secret=15843530-842dc303 [https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=15843530&id_secret=15843530-842dc303]
Modify Your Subscription: https://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=15843530&id_secret=15843530-842dc303
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
No comments:
Post a Comment