Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Very interesting and long night at the Richmond City Council meeting
tonight. We had over twenty members present. The Dark Side had five.

I had signed up to speak at the meeting three weeks ago by contacting
the City Clerk, who dutifully took down my name and said I was good to
go for November 23rd. She also asked what I was going to be talking
about.

But, tonight when City Council finally got to public comment, they
called 6 names only, 3 of which were anti-gunners who praised the
Mayor for joining up with Bloomberg's anti-gun coalition.

MY NAME WAS NEVER CALLED and they moved on to other business quickly.

I got up and walked to the front of the room and proceeded over to a
police officer who was stationed near a door and explained the
situation, but he didn't really know how I could get City Council a
message about having skipped me. (I was told that while I was walking
along the front of the room looking for the correct person to talk to,
the City Council President, Kathy Graziano, and Vice-President, Ellen
Robertson, were watching me and smirking. I think they figured that I
was "shut out" of speaking.)

Next thing I knew, Council was calling for public input on another
matter and I stepped up to the microphone and explained that they had
not called me, I had signed up, and I was there to address them.

The President looked like she had just bit hard into a fresh lemon.
Clearly she absolutely did not want me to speak, but spat out that I
could have my 3 minutes after their current business was over. I
said, "OK" and sat down.

Member Joe Lignon, who had tried to sign up to speak earlier that day
and was told that only eight were allowed and all slots were filled,
went to the mike after me to complain that only 6 had spoken and not 8
as he had been told. He tried to ask why he couldn't be given a slot.

The President in a very hostile way said that Joe was out of order and
demanded that he sit down. Joe gave up and sat down.

(BTW, my thanks to Joe who was set to fill in for me if I didn't get
back from Mack Elliott's visitation in time to speak.)

Finally I got my chance to speak toward the very end of the meeting.
(In fact they made me wait through several extra agenda items before
recognizing me.)

Besides speaking about Bloomberg, I also spoke on City Council's
legislative agenda, of which there were copies at the meeting. I said
that I objected to City Council wishing to restrict the otherwise
lawful carry of guns into government buildings and recreation
facilities and their wishing to close the non-existent "gun show
loophole."

City Councilman Martin Jewell called me back to the microphone to ask
me why I hadn't gone into detail about what Bloomberg was doing that
wasn't aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. I
explained that I only had 3 minutes and there wasn't time. But since
he asked, I explained a little about Bloomberg.

Afterwards twelve of us went to eat and as luck would have it, about
fifteen minutes after we arrived, in walks Councilman Jewell! We all
saw this as an opportunity to get him to understand exactly what
Bloomberg is really up to.

He engaged us in conversation and we had a polite back and forth with
him for about 10 minutes. There was quite a bit he didn't know about
Bloomberg and Bloomberg's disgraceful history here in Virginia. I
think we got his curiosity up.

Unfortunately, the antis underhanded tactic of not letting me speak
when I was supposed to meant that many had left the meeting, including
the press, by the time I finally got my chance.

But, you know what they say about he who laughs last... Let's see
what happens when the rubber meets the road in the General Assembly in
January.

Remember: VCDL Lobby Day is on Martin Luther King's birthday -
Monday, January 18th. Mark your calendars and be a part in making
2010 a truly great year for gun owners.



***************************************************************************
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/]

A follow-up from Philip....

--

VA-ALERT: Richmond: He who laughs last...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Last night I was almost railroaded out of being able to speak at the
Richmond City Council meeting by the antis, but today my voice,
speaking for all of you, will be heard loud and clear on Richmond's
powerhouse radio station, WRVA (AM 1140).

Doc Thompson has graciously invited me to be on his show today
starting at 4:05 PM.

Doc has a "take no prisoners" attitude when it comes to protecting all
of our rights, including the First and Second Amendments, and I'm
looking forward to being on his show and addressing a huge audience
about the Mayor's membership in MAIG and the City Council's attempt to
silence me.

You can hear the show online:

http://www.wrva.com/pages/streaming.html

BTW, I forgot to add this tidbit in last night's alert about City
Council: I went into the hallway to look for somebody to answer a
question I had about speaking against the Council's legislative agenda
when that issue came up and also speaking during public comment. I
spotted a City Council employee who was engaged in speaking to one of
the antis. When they saw me, they started talking in tiny whispers
and looking uneasy. They then ducked in the employee's office behind
locked doors.

I had been standing at a respectful distance when they were talking,
as I had no interest in eavesdropping on them, but I had wanted to
talk to that employee about my question. My distance apparently
didn't seem to allay their fears of being overheard.

I guess when they ducked in the room the way they did, I should have
been ready for some mischief. A little while later my name had
disappeared mysteriously from the speaker's list...

You know, given the exact reverse situation, I would never have denied
THEM their right to speak, even if I had an "in" with City Council.
But then again I am not afraid of logic and reason.


***************************************************************************
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/]