1. Arlington County Board of Supervisors is pounded by gun owners over proposed local gun-control!
There were supposed to be 54 speakers an tonight's Arlington County Board of Supervisors meeting. Of those, only 3 spoke in favor of Arlington considering a local gun-control ordinance!
And the pro-self-defense speakers did an absolutely phenomenal job! My hat is off to each of them. Their comments were measured, good spirited, and factual. The other side was, well, you know those guys - condescending, rude, self-important, and none explained how gun control would make the County safer, while our side explained clearly how the ordinance would have a negative affect.
Anti-self-defense Delegate Hope spoke first and just read a letter from his boss's organization (Bloomberg's Moms Demand Action) in support of all the gun-control measures proposed.
But after that, things changed dramatically, and I was laughing out loud as speaker, after speaker, after speaker were all opposed to gun control. They politely, but firmly, pounded the supervisors. Pound, pound, pound, pound, pound...
I have no doubt that whenever the supervisors heard the next speaker was going to be woman, or a minority, they where thinking, "FINALLY somebody to speak in favor of gun control! FINALLY!"
But, no, starting with the second speaker, a black woman who said the ordinance would be used disproportionally against minorities (and she was probably right), they had only two speakers that supported the ordinance. The women speakers on our side did a phenomenal job.
After all the speakers were finished, the Board of Supervisors were backed into a corner. They could hardly say that the speakers were even close to supporting any of their proposed ordinance. So they started squirming as they looked for excuses to move forward and get the ordinance on the agenda for September 12.
Supervisor Karantonis must have been dozing off the whole time, because he actually said, paraphrasing, "Well, I heard something new! No one complained about carrying guns in a County building or at a permitted event!"
Oh, yes, they did - every one of the speakers that were against the ordinance wanted it to not move forward at all, Mr. Karantonis!
A few speakers did say that exempting CHP holders would be a major improvement, but even they said they preferred the ordinance not go forward at all.
Two more telling things. - One of the supervisors said what I already suspected to be the case: there is a "plan" the NoVA localities have agreed on. They are all saying, "we need to have our gun laws consistent in NoVA, so we all need to pass what Alexandria did!" Of course, if they really wanted to be consistent, not only in NoVA, but across the state, they would not pass any local gun-control. But they don't care about being consistent, they just need an excuse to pass the most restrictive gun-control that they can.
- One of the supervisors said they should move forward with the ordinance so when it was publicly heard and voted on in September more people could be heard. Translation: "We need to get more gun-control supporters to speak in support!" Anyone who wanted to speak, could have spoken tonight. The message was there: gun-control is not popular, especially with cities burning.
I'll bet you can't guess what happened next! The supervisors voted to have an ordinance formally announced and then be heard and voted on in September (probably September 12). What an amazing disconnection from reality.
We need to have a major turnout to make sure our voices continue to be heard at that September meeting and to make it crystal clear that there is very little support and massive opposition to having local gun-control! An overwhelming turnout would make the Board look tone-deaf to everyone watching the meeting if they were to move forward with their ordinance in the face of massive resistance. They might still do so, but we refuse to roll over and let them do it without a fight. RESIST!
2. Amherst County becomes fourth locality to pass "No local gun-control" resolution!
And now for a County that you can be proud to live in: the Amherst County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass the "No local gun-control" resolution! They are the fourth locality to do so, with many more localities preparing to follow suit.
You can check on the status of your locality by clicking here.
Media coverage:
Amherst County supervisors pass resolution supporting gun rights
https://newsadvance.com/news/local/amherst-county-supervisors-pass-resolution-supporting-gun-rights/article_cdcc8c87-cabb-5452-bb2c-bbaabff049e3.html
3. Action Item: Charlottesville is going to vote on local gun-control possibly on August 3
On August 3, Charlottesville is planning on getting public input and then voting on a local gun-control ordinance, which is based on the Alexandria model. Hmmm - I guess THEY aren't interested in having regional gun-laws that match like their compadres in NoVA! Except for Albemarle County, the other localities near them are hopefully all going to pass the "No local gun-control" resolution, assuming gun owners push them to do so (hint, hint).
Action Item
To sign up to speak (do this ASAP, as they have a very limited number of speakers allowed), click here.
Here is a link to submit your comments to City Council about opposing local gun-control.
Media coverage:
Council advances firearm ban, signals support for expanded CRB power
https://dailyprogress.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/council-advances-firearm-ban-signals-support-for-expanded-crb-power/article_9b4ced48-5d25-5ab9-872b-747ce746d968.html
4. Action Item: Chesterfield County had resolution presented to them on Wednesday night
Many thanks to Patrick Murphy for presenting the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors with both an electronic and a physical copy of the "No local gun-control" ordinance. He asked them to pass it at the next Board of Supervisors meeting.
Action Item
To contact the Board of Supervisors in support of the "No local gun-control" resolution presented to the Board at their July 22 meeting, click here to get their contact information. We are going to need a lot of gun owners contacting them for the resolution to move forward. Let's roll!
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