VA-ALERT: URGENT ACTION ITEMS

[OakRidgeStars]

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We have two urgent action items on gun bills being heard TODAY, Wednesday, February 15th, in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee in the afternoon.

The first item is to OPPOSE the two House Castle Doctrine bills, HB 14 and HB 48. It is VCDL's opinion that these bills could cause more harm than good by inadvertently destroying some of Virginia's excellent common law protections. For that reason VCDL is shifting from NEUTRAL to STRONGLY OPPOSE, as we must stop these bills from moving forward NOW.

This is NOT something that VCDL is doing lightly. We have had internal debates ad nauseum between our lawyers over these bills. But after the dust settled we have decided that we cannot risk letting the current Castle Doctrine bills pass into law.

VCDL proposes instead to vet a more comprehensive bill over the summer for introduction next year. Way too much is at stake to goof up the excellent protections we already enjoy as Virginia citizens. In the end we might also determine from the vetting that it is best to leave Virginia's common law alone.

To send a message to your Senator to oppose HB 14 and HB 48, click here (WE MUST ACT **NOW**):

http://tinyurl.com/758xgea


The second item is for our Senators to SUPPORT HB 22 (requires localities to try selling firearms before destroying them), HB 25 (protects CHP information from being given out by Circuit Court Clerks), HB 26 (provides a civil fine of $25 instead of a criminal charge for not having a CHP with you when carrying concealed), HB 375 (allows employees of localities to store guns in their vehicles while at work), and HB 754 (removes the fingerprinting option for CHP applicants).

To send a message to your Senator to support the above bills, click here:

http://tinyurl.com/8xptzyb

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The One Handgun a Month repeal has now passed both the House and Senate and is now on it's way to the Governor's desk for signing! We expect the Governor to sign the bill into law as he has publicly pledged to do.

CAUTION: THE ONE HANDGUN A MONTH REPEAL WILL NOT BECOME LAW UNTIL JULY 1!

Let's roll!


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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/]

[mk4]

done!

[jmelvin]

Thanks for the posting OakRidgeStars. I saw the VCDL action item and acted immediately. When I was up at the capitol for Lobby Day I spoke every chance I got to the senators, delegates or their legislative aids about how dangerous these bills were in their current state and they didn't get any better.

Ladies and gentlemen we already enjoy great protections in Virginia when we use arms to protect ourself, but they are not within statutes, but are within the English Common Law and court case law. If we are not careful about getting our new statutes just right, these "castle doctrine" bills could make things significantly worse for those of us in the Commonwealth who would dare defend ourselves.

[dragonzfury050]

I have contacted my Senator, Thomas A. Garrett, as well to voice concern about HB 14 and HB 48. He is on the Committee for Courts of Justice, where these bills have been referred.

I have asked what his course of action will be, but so far the only response has been from his Legislative Aid saying:

"Thank you for sharing with us your opinion on this issue. Sen. Garrett believes very strongly in protecting everyone's 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms. He has patroned and co-patroned legislation that does just that.Thank you and please call or email us anytime during this session.

I have responded asking again what his action will be.

[mk4]

i know the main focus is on hb14 and hb48 being heard in the senate coj committee today, but i hope we don't lose sight of sb4 (with sb64 incorporated), which was reported out of the house coj committee today. PVC feels it'll be defeated on the floor. i sure hope he's right...

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?121+sum+SB4

SB 4 Castle doctrine; self-defense and defense of others.
Castle doctrine; self-defense and defense of others. Codifies a version of the "castle doctrine," allowing the use of physical force, including deadly force, by a person in his dwelling against an intruder in the dwelling who has committed an overt act against him or another person in the dwelling, without civil liability. SB 64 was incorporated into this bill.

02/15/12 House: Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (14-Y 4-N)
YEAS--Albo, Kilgore, Bell, Robert B., Cline, Iaquinto, Gilbert, Miller, Loupassi, Villanueva, Habeeb, Farrell, Minchew, Morris, Johnson--14.
NAYS--Watts, Toscano, Herring, McClellan--4.
ABSTENTIONS--0.
NOT VOTING--0.

[dragonzfury050]

Got a response back this morning. HB14 was dropped, but HB48 was amended to conform with SB4.

I was also told:

Sen. Garrett is very supportive of the concept behind the Castle Doctrine, but like you, he wants to make sure the wording is correct to accomplish the goal.