VCDL statement on Lobby Day 2021, January 18

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VCDL statement on Lobby Day 2021, January 18

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Some have wondered if Lobby Day would be canceled or changed due to the events at the U.S. Capitol back on January 6. The answer is no. Lobby Day is on track for next Monday, January 18. Lobby Day in 2021 is like all our other previous Lobby Days - we are peacefully lobbying to protect our rights, we are not protesting anything. There are times and places for protests, but Lobby Day is not one of them.

We cannot cancel our events every time the rumor mill starts talking about possible problems caused by provocateurs. If we did, we would have no more events and no voice in the fight to protect the right to keep and bear arms. Gun grabbers would make sure there would always be some "threat" to shut down our events.

Right on queue there are reports that all 50 states could have armed protesters over the election, with some potentially creating violence at their capitols. Luckily for us, we aren't protesting, the Capitol is closed anyway, and we are just driving through.

I'm sure you remember all the threats that were supposedly going to happen at last year's Lobby Day. We were told by various sources that Antifa, white supremacists, the government, and anarchists, were all planning to disrupt the event with violence. We were told by various pundits that we were being put into a cage to be slaughtered, like buffalos herded to a cliff. The Governor declared a state of emergency, banned guns on Capitol Square, caged in the Capitol Square and required screening of all individuals entering the cage, brought in loads of police from across the state, and even had a "no fly zone" over Richmond. Many called for VCDL to cancel that Lobby Day due to the potential for violence.

We didn't cancel. Gun owners showed up in huge numbers - over 50,000 attended. Lobby Day went off without a hitch, with so many telling me that was one of the best events they had ever been to. The patriotism and camaraderie that day was wonderful and the magnitude of the event shook up the General Assembly and helped VCDL kill most of the gun-control bills, including bans on semi-automatic rifles. The gun-control bills that passed were greatly watered down.

Could something potentially happen? Sure. That's always true. But liberty and freedom are worth the risk. There should be plenty of police to deal with anyone committing an act of violence.

Here are some key points about Lobby Day 2021:

VCDL is peacefully lobbying the General Assembly to protect our gun rights. We are not protesting anything that day
Vehicles should be clearly marked in support of our gun rights. Awards going tobest decked-out vehicles
VCDL has a hotline to the Virginia State Police, Richmond Police, and Capitol Police, should we need tocontact each other, just like in the past. VCDL has a great working relationship with law enforcement andwe expect they will be every bit as professional this year as they were last year
VCDL will have a command center to help coordinate the caravans, live streamspeakers and information to your smart phones, and provide electronic mapsshowing the current location of the caravans so that you can merge in as theypass your location
FRS, GMRS, and HAM radio frequencies will be announced for communicationbetween vehicles in the caravans. HAMs will be helping us to automatically trackthe sub-caravans, too. (HUGEresponse from HAMs when the call went out forhelp with Lobby Day!)
If you have a dash cam, leave it on to document the trip
Be a citizen journalist. When Lobby Day is over send us your best photos and/orvideos. We will use some of them to create an electronic photo-album on LobbyDay 2021
While we encourage everyone to stay in the caravan, if you decide to walk aroundRichmond: 1) don't block sidewalks or streets and 2) be aware that some of thestreets surrounding the Capitol may be gun-free zones if an event is happening atthe Capitol. In that case, there will be signs and if the police notice you have afirearm, they will advise you to move outside the event perimeter. Just comply andthings will go smoothly.
Green Top has run out of flags and other items and they were stocked, andrestocked, heavily! They will be restocked again later today, thanks to Tom Gee,who is driving the items down from Fredericksburg to Ashland. Green Top will nowhave magnets and stickers, as well as more signs and flags. Be sure to get yourLobby Day items for your vehicle soon - there are stores across the state that aredistributing them. Locations and information ishere.
New VCDL ad: https://youtu.be/HvzFTsMs2O4