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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. Kansas now honors Virginia CHPs
2. Is it appropriate to sell guns on July 4th?
3. Orange approves new gun store
4. ABC says it's reviewing arrest of UVa student who bought bottled water
5. Fallout from Obama admin's bloodiest scandal continues
6. Senator Manchin collects payday from Bloomberg for his support
7. Playing with the definition of armor piercing ammunition
8. CT Sen. Chris Murphy admits Newtown families were deceived
9. Survey finds most first time buyers are subject to background checks
10. Fantastic public spanking of New York legislators [VIDEO]
11. Journalists, politicians refuse to post lawn signs [VIDEO]
12. Yet another fake pro-gun group
13. More on fake pro-gun group
14. Arkansas becomes 5th state to approve constitutional carry
15. Chicago prepares for new concealed carry gun law
16. Family picnic turns to horror thanks to mob
17. Departing Rockland gunmaker calls N.Y. law a 'shock'
18. Authorities arrest suspect in Millburn video beating
19. El Dorado sheriff's fight with fed likely over residents carrying guns
20. Flood used as cover for firearm confiscation
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1. Kansas now honors Virginia CHPs
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Thanks to member Ashton C. Smith for letting me know that Kansas now honors Virginia CHPs. Sadly, we do not honor their permits, but VCDL plans to fix that next legislative session.
http://www.ag.ks.gov/public-safety/conc ... ecognition
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2. Is it appropriate to sell guns on July 4th?
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Executive Member Pat Webb emailed me this:
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I had an interesting experience in my gun store...we have a gun store located inside a country store, so we get some traffic that is not expecting to find guns for sale.
A customer who was waiting to watch our local parade asked the gun store sales staff if they thought it was appropriate to sell guns on the 4th of July...the answer, of course, was that there was no MORE appropriate day! After all, the right to keep and bear arms is directly responsible for the birth of our Republic!
Also, many people posed under the gun store sign for pictures. Our sign features the Gadsden snake and the words "Don't Tread On Me" plus states that we sell those "evil" machine guns and suppressors...oh, my!
[PVC: Heck - I think gun stores should GIVE guns away on July 4th!
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3. Orange approves new gun store
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Executive Member Sandy Ferris emailed me this:
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From fredericksburg.com: http://tinyurl.com/lhw97qw
Orange approves new gun store
by Dan McFarland, The Free Lance-Star
June 26, 2013
Orange County supervisors have given the go-ahead for a new gun shop.
Following a public hearing Tuesday at which no one spoke, members of the Board of Supervisors had only a few minor questions for Randolph Raines, who was requesting a special-use permit to operate a retail firearms store in his existing business building at 22365 Constitution Highway in Unionville.
Rock and Raines Construction Inc. has been operating from and storing equipment in the existing structure there on agriculturally zoned land based on a special-use permit issued in 1986.
A provision in the county zoning ordinance permits retail operations up to 4,000 square feet on agriculturally zoned properties.
Supervisor Jim White asked if any changes to the existing building would be required, and was told that the exterior of the building would not change, but that remodeling and handicapped-accessible restrooms and ramps might be added.
Supervisor Lee Frame noted that the existing building features several large overhead doors as well as a smaller office area.
He asked where in the building the gun shop would be located.
Raines explained that the shop would encompass at least part of the larger area.
Im not sure Im going to use all of it, he said, but it will be in the shop itself, not in the office.
Conditions attached to the permit included that there be no discharging of firearms, and that an existing free-standing sign adjacent to State Route 20 can be refaced once a sign permit has been obtained, but that no other signs are allowed.
County senior planner Josh Frederick noted that the planning commission voted unanimously to recommend approval of the application.
He said county staff gave the application a positive recommendation.
Without further discussion, the supervisors voted unanimously to approve the permit.
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4. ABC says it's reviewing arrest of UVa student who bought bottled water
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John Taylor emailed me this:
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From dailyprogress.com: http://tinyurl.com/ozzvxxl
ABC says it's reviewing arrest of UVa student who bought bottled water
by Liana Bayne
June 28, 2013
State Alcoholic Beverage Control officials said Friday that they're reviewing an incident in which agents arrested a University of Virginia student on felony charges after she attempted to flee officers who suspected a crate of bottled water to be a case of beer.
Prosecutors on Thursday dropped the charges against Elizabeth Daly, 20, saying no one was hurt and describing her as having panicked at the sight of plainclothes agents who approached her and two roommates at about 10:15 p.m. April 11 outside the Harris Teeter store in the Barracks Road Shopping Center.
Daly's SUV struck two agents, an ABC statement said Friday.
"This whole unfortunate incident could have been avoided had the occupants complied with law enforcement requests," the agency said.
The story generated a buzz across the Internet and in social media Friday.
ABC spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw said in the agency statement released Friday afternoon that agents were working the area that night, concentrating on underage possession enforcement. Shaw said a female agent saw "what appeared to be an underage person in possession of what appeared to be a case of beer."
"The agent identified herself as a police officer and was displaying her badge," the statement said.
"The agents were acting upon reasonable suspicion," the statement added.
As the drama unfolded, roughly a half-dozen agents responded, according to authorities. In a written statement Thursday, Daly described the badges as "unidentifiable." She said she and her friends were unsure of who the agents were.
"One of the men ... drew a gun," said Daly, who is from Henrico County. "Our panic heightened."
She stopped the SUV for an agent driving a vehicle with lights and sirens, and apologized when she realized the agents were law enforcement officers, according to prosecutors.
"Other agents did not join the incident until the subject refused to cooperate," ABC said. "Rather than comply with the officers' requests, the subject drove off, striking two officers."
Daly said she and her roommates were "terrified" after being approached while carrying a blue carton of LaCroix sparkling water along with cookie dough and ice cream purchased for a fundraiser.
Authorities charged Daly with two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer and one count of eluding police, all Class 6 felonies carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $2,500 in fines per offense.
She was not arrested for possessing bottled water, but for running from police and striking two of them with a vehicle, ABC's statement said.
A friend in the front seat of the SUV recently had heard stories from dozens of sexual assault survivors at an annual Take Back the Night vigil on UVa Grounds and was on edge, Daly's defense attorney, Francis McQ. Lawrence, said Thursday. The friend urged Daly to "go, go, go," court records state.
"They were not in anything close to a uniform," Daly said in her written account.
"I couldn't put my windows down unless I started my car, and when I started my car they began yelling to not move the car, not to start the car. They began trying to break the windows. My roommates and I were ... terrified," Daly stated.
The women dialed 911 while pulling out of the parking lot to report what was happening and to ask whether the agents were officers, Daly said. She said she was planning to drive to a police station.
Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman said Thursday that he'd never encountered a similar situation in 34 years of experience.
"It wouldn't be the right thing to do to prosecute this," he said.
The process, he said, ultimately yielded an appropriate resolution.
Daly wrote that the incident "is not just forgotten by [Thursday's] results."
"This has been an extremely trying experience and one that has called into question what I value most: my integrity, honor and character," she said. "Cookie dough and ice cream for a fundraiser should not put you through an extremely degrading night and afternoon in jail, appearing in court, posting bond, having to pay an attorney ... not allowed to leave the state, causing you endless nights of no sleep, [a]ffecting your school work and final exams, wondering if you would be dismissed from school, wondering how this would damage your reputation and ability to get a job, all while waiting on pins and needles to see what the Commonwealth is going to offer you."
Daly wrote that she never has consumed alcohol.
"We take all citizen complaints seriously," the ABC statement said, "and the matter is currently under review by the ABC Bureau of Law Enforcement."
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5. Fallout from Obama admin's bloodiest scandal continues
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Mark Colleluori emailed me this:
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From michellemalkin.com: http://tinyurl.com/o4e89ab
Fallout from Obama admins bloodiest scandal continues: Police chief in Mexico killed by gun traced to Fast & Furious
by Doug Powers
July 6, 2013
Heres the latest bit of news to come from the bloody gun running operation dreamed up by the people who want us to believe theyre qualified to be in charge of our nations firearm safety.
From the Los Angeles Times:
A high-powered rifle lost in the ATFs Fast and Furious controversy was used to kill a Mexican police chief in the state of Jalisco earlier this year, according to internal Department of Justice records, suggesting that weapons from the failed gun-tracking operation have now made it into the hands of violent drug cartels deep inside Mexico.
Luis Lucio Rosales Astorga, the police chief in the city of Hostotipaquillo, was shot to death Jan. 29 when gunmen intercepted his patrol car and opened fire. Also killed was one of his bodyguards. His wife and a second bodyguard were wounded.
[...]
A semi-automatic WASR rifle, the firearm that killed the chief, was traced back to the Lone Wolf Trading Company, a gun store in Glendale, Ariz. The notation on the Department of Justice trace records said the WASR was used in a HOMICIDE WILLFUL KILL PUB OFF GUN ATF code for Homicide, Willful Killing of a Public Official, Gun.
Probably the most glaring error in the story is that the guns were lost. Whoops! No, they were given away, and the administration knew who they were being handed to. Nice of some of the media to help cover for them, though. Forgetfulness is usually the preferred excuse when utter incompetence and/or criminality are the only other options.
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6. Senator Manchin collects payday from Bloomberg for his support
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The gift from West Virginia that keeps giving.
Mark Colleluori emailed me this:
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From gunssavelives.net: http://tinyurl.com/mvcwddl
Senator Manchin Collects Payday From Bloomberg For His Support of Gun Control Legislation
July 3, 2013
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, the mastermind behind the gun control legislation which failed in the Senate back in April is about to get his payday from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for supporting the mayors anti gun agenda.
According to Buzz Feed, the mayor will host a private fundraising event at his Manhattan home later this month. Tickets for the event are reportedly starting at $1,000.
One has to wonder how long ago these fundraising efforts were promised to Manchin from Bloomberg and if promises of fat campaign finance accounts were what led Manchin to become such a vocal voice for gun control.
Bloomberg has already shown he is willing to buy his way into the gun debate by purchasing tens of millions of dollars of TV and radio advertising targeting pro-gun senators. I guess its no surprise that he is also willing to use his influence to become a fundraiser for anti-gun politicians.
Manchin isnt even up for reelection until 2018, so that leaves plenty of time for Bloomberg to line the senators pockets over the next five years.
During that election well get to see if West Virginia residents support having one of their senators in the pocket of the New York City Mayors Office.
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7. Playing with the definition of armor piercing ammunition
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Another trojan horse bill. Looks benign on the outside, but no so on the inside. Imagine Eric Holder being able to decree exactly what bullets are considered amor piercing and which aren't.
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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Click on "THE TEXT IS NOW AVAILABLE" under the first paragraph of the start of the story for the bill.
From examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/k8w6bfk
The definition of armor piercing ammunition to better capture its capabilities
by Chris Woodards
July 4, 2013
[SNIP]
H.R. 2566: To modify the definition of armor piercing ammunition to better capture its capabilities.
The St Lewis Gun Rights Examiner covered this subject rather well before the text became available.
The text is now available.
GovTrack.us gives this bill only a 7% chance of being reported by committee and only a 1% chance of passing. Ordinarlily, this column would agree, however, on the surface this bill appears to be rather benign. So much so, that the members of the House who are 2nd amendment supporters may not see the hidden dangers as this bill will allow the Attorney General to determine, through testing, what is Armor Piercing.
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8. CT Sen. Chris Murphy admits Newtown families were deceived
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Anti-gun Senator lying to someone? Say it ain't so!
From breitbart.com: http://tinyurl.com/lgnasmo
CT SEN. CHRIS MURPHY ADMITS NEWTOWN FAMILIES WERE DECEIVED
by Brian Cates
July 2, 2013
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy let a key detail slip out during an interview with the the New York Times' Maureen Dowd that appeared on April 13th.
In her column, Dowd recounts Murphy saying this:
Murphy said it was hard, flying down on Air Force One with the trepidatious Sandy Hook families, to explain that they would be lobbying to get a vote on a vote. "They thought they were coming down here to argue for a ban on high-capacity magazines and universal background checks, and we told them that they were coming to argue to avert a filibuster and allow us to debate," he daid. "And that was really heartbreaking and deflating for some of them. But they rose to the occasion, and it was wonderful to see them at the end of the trip feeling like they had made a difference."
Wonder how the Newton families ended up not being told the real reason they were being flown to Washington until they were actually on the plane.
I'm sure it was pretty heartbreaking and deflating for some of them to learn they'd been deceived and talked into making the trip under false pretenses by people like Senator Chris Murphy.
How breathtaking is it that the Democrats in their zeal for disarming American citizens will even lie to the people they want to use as props for their gun control agenda.
Senator Chris Murphy and every one else who was involved in deceiving these Newton families should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.
Hat tip to the gunssavelives.net blog for bringing this to my attention. At the time Murphy made this startling admission, it seems to have slipped under everyone's radar.
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9. Survey finds most first time buyers are subject to background checks
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Member Bill Hine emailed me this:
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From washingtontimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/m4bxgk7
Gun control survey finds most first-time buyers are subject to background checks
by David Sherfinski-The Washington Times
July 1, 2013
Almost all first-time gun purchases in 2012 were made at retailers or other venues where background checks are required, according to a study that suggests that most such sales are already subject to the strict checks that have become the centerpiece of the gun control debate.
About 7 percent of first-time buyers bought firearms at gun shows, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundations survey, while 7 percent purchased their firearms from family members or friends.
Those two types of sales have become the focus for gun control advocates, who say every firearms transaction should be put through a background check to make sure guns arent ending up in the hands of criminals or the mentally unstable.
The data, though comprising a small sample, could provide fodder for those who say the vast majority of gun owners are responsible, law-abiding citizens who try to follow legal and safety rules, and that stricter regulations are unnecessary.
Prior to purchasing a first gun, most have had some form of instruction, formal or informal, said Laura Kippen, the author of the study. After the purchase, approximately two-thirds of first-time gun buyers obtained some form of training for their gun.
Other analysts said that figures focusing on first-time buyers do not capture the gun-owning population as a whole, and less than half of the people who own military-style, semi-automatic rifles akin to the kinds used in mass shootings in recent years buy them from the retailers who are subject to background checks.
Probably the more experience you get with a gun, the more likely you are to engage in private transactions, said Gary Kleck, a criminology professor at Florida State University. If you survey only first-time buyers, it will overestimate the number that goes to a gun store. I would not generalize [to] everyone whos bought a gun.
Only federally licensed dealers are required to perform background checks. In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre in December, the Senate this year took up a bill that would have required background checks on all firearms sales conducted online and at gun shows. That proposal fell short.
The NSSF findings seem to contradict the claims of gun control advocates, including President Obama, who say as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are not run through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
That figure stems from a 1997 National Institute of Justice study that sampled 2,568 households; just 251 people answered the question in the broad survey about where they obtained their guns.
Proponents of enhanced background checks also say that 80 percent of guns used in crimes are conducted through private sales that dont require background checks.
The NSSF conducted its study to look at why first-time buyers made the purchases and their attitudes before and after buying the guns.
Still, the report had several limitations. All of the buyers it surveyed were at least 22 years old, even though federal law allows purchases by those as young as 18. The NSSF used a higher age threshold because state laws differ.
Other data suggest that first-time buyers dont represent the gun-owning population as a whole. The 2004 national firearms survey found that the average individual owner had 6.6 guns.
Further, a 2010 report from the NSSF found that 40 percent of people who bought modern sporting rifles, such as the popular AR-15, purchased them at independent retailers.
In the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy, Mr. Obama and other gun control advocates called for bans on military-style semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, but both of those proposals stalled early in the process. That left gun control advocates clinging to hope for enhanced background checks as the only significant gun restriction that might pass on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, and Sen. Patrick J. Toomey, Pennsylvania Republican, drafted compromise legislation that would have expanded the required checks to all sales online and at gun shows, while exempting such private transfers as gifts between family members or transactions between friends.
That measure failed in the Senate in April, and furious lobbying efforts have ensued on both sides of the issue.
Some senators have indicated that they want to take up a modified version by years end, but with an August recess and fall budget fight looming, its unclear whether another run at gun legislation will fit into the mix.
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10. Fantastic public spanking of New York legislators [VIDEO]
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Aaron Weiss gives the New York legislators a much-deserved black eye.
Member Bill Sly emailed me this:
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Wow very powerful and to the point.
From chicksontheright.com: http://tinyurl.com/m56bbcd
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11. Journalists, politicians refuse to post lawn signs [VIDEO]
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EM Dave Knight emailed me this:
From youtube.com: http://tinyurl.com/a2o2cxy
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12. Yet another fake pro-gun group
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Dave Workman emailed me this:
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From examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/mh7sm2e
New gun group just like an old gun group?
by Dave Workman
July 3, 2013
[SNIP]
The newly-formed American Rifle and Pistol Association (ARPA) will officially launch on July 4, but already skeptics are wondering if this organization is not just a new incarnation of the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), which turned out to be a front group for Democrats and soon vanished after the 2008 elections.
The Shall Not Be Questioned (former Snowflakes in Hell) blog already suggests that ARPA is the latest not-really-pro-gun group. Washington Whispers notes that the Texas-based group hopes to set itself apart by being more focused on members than the National Rifle Association. Thats hauntingly similar to how AHSA billed itself.
According to the ARPA website, None of the members of the leadership team are representatives, agents, or employees of the firearms manufacturing industry in any way; nor do they claim to be firearms experts of any kind; nor are they law enforcement personnel, politicians, or firearms industry lobbyists.
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13. More on fake pro-gun group
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From pagunblog.com: http://tinyurl.com/leqhwnb
The Latest Not-Really-Pro-Gun Group
by Bitter in How Not to Win
July 3, 2013
Tomorrow, a new group claiming to represent Americas gun owners will launch that claims to be for SANE gun ownership policies. Their goal is to be an alternative to NRA on everything, including safety and firearms education. Yet, they also proudly declare that none of them are experts on firearms handling. Thats not their only disconcerting claim.
R + P CEO Waylan Johnson, a petroleum magnate, tells Whispers he hopes the group will also set itself apart by being more focused on members than the NRA.
The NRA represents the firearms industry. Theres not a lot of membership input, Johnson says.
This was a quote, presumably said with a straight face, by a man declared as CEO by an organization that, according to their own Join page, doesnt appear to have a mechanism for the membership to vote on the leadership. Meanwhile, the supposedly firearms industry-run NRA sent out 1,718,786 ballots for NRA members to vote on the organizations leadership this year.
There are so many over-the-top claims that this group is making, its really laughable that any reporter gave their PR girl the time of day. For example, their number one priority for use of member dollars? Helping to Identify and Get Treatment for the Mentally Ill to prevent firearms abuse So are they a mental health organization with professionals on staff to identify mentally ill people? Everything Ive found about the leaders indicate that their backgrounds are in IT, energy, and other business ventures. How will these non-medical professionals designate appropriate treatment that will supposedly focus on preventing firearms abuse? They say the money will be spent on such treatment, so prospective members have a right to know about these programs they claim they fund.
This new American Rifle & Pistol Association says that their number two priority in using member dollars is to Promoting Programs Aimed at Getting Illegal Guns off the Streets, yet they tell us nothing about how they define an illegal gun or what those programs look like. Does that mean member dollars will be used to fund gun buybacks that often collect and destroy antiques and collectible firearms? Does it mean to support a registration system for all gun owners? There are all sorts of things such a broad message could mean.
The group wants you to know that they will give members Representation before Elected Officials on behalf of the Voice of the R+P Membership, presumably by the leadership team who have never made any donations of any kind to any officials as documented by OpenSecrets.org and the Texas Ethics Commission. In fact, the leaders want members to feel good about the fact that they have no background in lobbying and that they are NOT experts in the new field they will start lobbying in. Talk about convincing members that they are in the very best of hands
For a group that claims to want to make sure that gun owners are trained in SANE handling, they so far refuse to share any information about their supposed competency training and certification courses that will presumably be developed by their non-expert leaders who are not actually elected or accountable to members. Unlike NRA-ILAs library of resources on various issues that explain topics and give a general indication of their positions on the specifics of firearms policies, R+P provides no such information for prospective members. I guess their idea of member-centric is to keep prospective members in the dark about their actual planned lobbying efforts so that its all a big secret until you hand over the cash.
Im curious how long the 15 minutes will last for this new astroturf group. Im also curious as to how long they will continue the Horrible Capitalization Abuse on Their Website.
UPDATE: It turns out that the Enemies Of Proper Capitalization Use are also not such fans of gun ownership as they claim. (Thanks to reader Andrew for the tip.)
Here are the screenshots that show the Connecticut converted to Texan Chairman of American Rifle & Pistol Association who is an Obama supporter who is pushing Bloomberg/MAIGs gun control campaigns while helping to promote Moms Demand Action, a group trying to pressure companies to ban lawful concealed carry so gun owners cant carry in public anymore and convince gun retailers to stop selling the most popular guns in the country.
Mike Bloomberg isnt the only gun control supporting New Yorker that Peter Vogt promotes, as evidenced by his repeated sharing of a NY-based website run by people who believe that Senators supporting Second Amendment rights deserve the label of child killers.
Vogt is also a fan of New York lawmakers who are more interested in name-calling against gun owners than actually trying to have a conversation about concerns for Second Amendment rights.
These are the publicly shared views of American Rifle & Pistol Associations leader, and it certainly does not appear to reflect someone who is actually concerned with protecting the individual right to bear arms. These shared materials reflect an ally of groups that would take your guns without a trial, ban licensed concealed carry owners from even getting a cup of coffee at the most common coffee house around, and who thinks that gun owners with concerns about federal legislation are just little jackasses.
Just like the concept of member-centric, I dont think that the leaders of American Rifle & Pistol Association actually understand the concept of being pro-Second Amendment.
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14. Arkansas becomes 5th state to approve constitutional carry
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The push for this in Virginia will continue next year in the General Assembly.
Krysta Sutterfield shared this on facebook:
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From minx.cc: http://tinyurl.com/mukvhdb
Arkansas Becomes 5th State To Approve Constitutional Carry
posted by JohnE.
Yesterday, Arkansas officially joined Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming and Vermont as a Constitutional Carry state.
Arkansas law will now consider people carrying guns the same way many state laws handle possession of any kind of hand tools, so-called tools of burglary. Normally, you can get away with carrying common hand tools anywhere you otherwise have a right to be. But if you are caught trying to use them in an attempt of breaking and entering or even trespassing, you can be charged with a crime based on obvious intent to use that tool in a crime. As long as you are not harming, or attempting to harm others with a weapon, then possession alone should not be a crime.
Meanwhile, a state judge in Mississippi has blocked the state's new open carry law from taking effect yesterday. Mississippi's Attorney General immediately asked the Mississippi Supreme Court to throw out the judge's order.
Interestingly, three of the five Constitutional Carry states have enacted their laws during Obama's reign of destruction.
There is a map that shows the changes among right to carry laws from 1986-2013 at this link.
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15. Chicago prepares for new concealed carry gun law
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You can count on Chicago to make the new law as painful to exercise.
From policeone.com: http://tinyurl.com/kgmdovz
Chicago prepares for new concealed carry gun law
As Gov. Pat Quinn mulls whether to sign off on eliminating the country's last concealed carry ban, the question in Chicago is whether it will matter
by Don Babwin, Associated Press
June 29, 2013
CHICAGO This city, where violent street gangs shoot it out dozens of times a week despite some of the nation's toughest restrictions on guns, now faces a new challenge: Well-meaning citizens with the legal right to hit the streets with loaded firearms, whenever they want.
As Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn mulls whether to sign off on eliminating the country's last concealed carry ban, the question in Chicago is whether it will matter in the crime-weary city. Will a place that long had some of the nation's tightest restrictions on handguns be more at risk? Or will it be safer with a law that can only add to the number of guns already on the street?
Neighborhood leaders, anti-crime activists and police officials worry about additional mayhem in Chicago. But other residents, including some who live in Chicago's more violent areas, believe more guns will allow them to defend themselves better.
"We just had a weekend where something like 48 people were shot, seven died," said Otis McDonald, 79, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court tossing out Chicago's strict gun ban three years ago. "Now law abiding citizens like myself ... can carry them when they want to and not carry them when they don't want to, and the people out there who will do us harm won't know when we got them and when we don't."
At City Hall, where Chicago's anti-gun campaign has centered for years, the reaction to concealed carry legislation has been relatively quiet. The reasons seem to boil down to this: The city can do little about stopping the law because a federal appeals court ordered Illinois to end its public possession ban by this summer.
"We would prefer to have the (gun) bans we've always enacted... (but) it's the best we could do based upon the mandate we have," said Alderman Patrick O'Connor.
The bill sitting on Quinn's desk is a hard-fought compromise between conservative downstate lawmakers who opposed most gun restrictions and anti-gun lawmakers from Chicago and other urban areas. The legislation requires state police to issue a concealed-carry permit to any gun owner with a state-issued Firearm Owners Identification card, and who passes a background check, pays a $150 fee and undergoes 16 hours of training.
It's not as stringent as concealed carry laws in California, New York and a handful of others states, which give law enforcement authorities more power to deny permits. But it's more restrictive than earlier proposals by gun rights advocates, including one that would have superseded all local gun restrictions. For example, it won't wipe out Chicago and Cook County's ban on assault weapons.
Most significantly for gun control advocates, the legislation does prohibit guns in places like schools, buses, trains, bars and government buildings.
"If you think about all the prohibited places there are ... I don't think you will see an overwhelming number of people actually (carrying weapons) because it becomes such a headache," said state Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago lawmaker and lead negotiator on the bill who represents President Barack Obama's former state senate district.
But other city officials aren't so assured. Superintendent Garry McCarthy calls a requirement that people go through only 16 hours of training before they are issued a concealed carry permit "woefully inadequate" because about the only thing people can learn in that time is how to "point and fire a weapon" and not when they can legally do so.
"Our officers receive six months of training in the police academy and then three months on the streets and at the end of the day we make mistakes frequently," he said.
Another concern by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is the provision in the bill that calls for law enforcement and prosecutors to object to a governor-appointed panel if they suspect applicants are dangerous. In Cook County, where there are 358,000 registered gun owners, Dart said he's worried gang members and others who shouldn't have guns will slip through the cracks and be granted permits.
Quinn, a Chicago Democrat, has been quiet on his intentions with the legislation, his office saying he's "reviewing the bill carefully." But what he decides may be moot, given that the Legislature passed it by wide enough margins to override any veto.
Once the law is in place, Dart said he expects a flood of applications for permits, something that happened in November 2011 in Wisconsin, where within hours of becoming the 49th state to have a concealed carry law, tens of thousands of people downloaded applications. By the end of 2012, the state had issued nearly 110,000 permits.
During 2012, the first full year the law was in effect, Milwaukee's total for homicides and rapes remained virtually the same as the year before. As for robbery, the kind of crime that concealed carry supporters say would be reduced if more regular citizens had weapons, Milwaukee saw a 17.2 percent drop between 2011 and 2012. But police say so far this year the number of robberies has climbed by 19 percent.
Whether the law will have similar effects in Chicago is a matter of contention. Rev. Michael Pfleger, a Catholic priest and activist on the city's South Side, doesn't believe criminals will hesitate out of some concern their victims might be armed.
"You are going to see a lot more gun fights and you are going to see people using guns as their first line of defense when they are confronted. To think guns are suddenly going to be the answer to violence in the city or the state, it's absurd," Pfleger said.
But Richard Pearson, Illinois State Rifle Association executive director, predicts Chicago's crime rate will fall. He argues that both sides in the gun debate will be watching closely what transpires.
"What goes on in Chicago is a very big deal because of their history of resisting firearm use," Pearson said.
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16. Family picnic turns to horror thanks to mob
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Gil Sanderson emailed me this:
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No Problem, we just need to start carrying high capacity magazines loaded with 'Homeland Security' hollow points to handle several racists at once....
From sodahead.com: http://tinyurl.com/mleqh2a
Family picnic turns to horror thanks to black mob
by millermedia
July 02, 2013
As pundits pondered whether calling George Zimmerman a white a** cracker was a racial epithet, black mob violence in other parts of the country proceeded apace last week, almost unnoticed.
In Niagara Falls, a black mob of 20 attacked a mother and her family on a picnic. They hurled racial slurs and told them they did not like their Puerto Rican (expletive) music.
The Niagara Gazette described what happened next as a fight, although many would call it an assault:
Her son was punched and kicked by several people and fell to the ground. When her son picked himself up, the woman said a man from the group pulled out a pistol and pointed it in her sons face. She said someone in the group was yelling, Shoot him shoot him.
The woman said the man with the gun, later identified as Dionte D. Dolson, began working the pistols slide as if the pistol misfired or didnt work properly.
The woman said she ran to her son as she was in fear for his life and Dolson pistol whipped her twice in the head, causing two knots to her head.
Two people were arrested.
Just a few hours earlier a few hundred miles away in Pittsburgh, a mob of black people savagely beat a white teenager, then stole his shoes. All on video. All the while screaming World Star. World Star, apparently a reference to popular hip hop website that often features videos of black-mob violence.
District Judge Jim Motznik promised the local CBS affiliate that this kind of violence was over in his town. He guaranteed it. Which is of course the same promise other Pittsburgh authorities made when a mob of black people attacked a Pittsburgh teacher last year. That happened two times, actually, with both incidents caught on video. As well as other episodes of black mob violence involving football players at Pitt. And a good old fashioned race riot at a Pittsburgh high school. On video.
A few days before and 2,500 miles away, a black mob attacked a white woman in a busy plaza in downtown Seattle. As a dozens of people looked on, doing nothing, at least three black women repeatedly punched and kicked an unidentified woman in the face. Knocking her down, sending her to the hospital streaming blood from her forehead. While their compatriot caught the action on tape.
Its unbelievably violent and shocking. We need to find the attackers, they need to be arrested, said a police spokeswoman to KIRO TV news.
A curiously similar incident was also captured on video last year in Seattle. A mob of black people beat a hapless bus rider waiting for her ride, this time in front of curiously detached security guards.
In Chicago, this episode of black mob violence even has some local police shaking their heads. In the upscale Lakeview neighborhood, a black mob surrounded and beat two men who had pursued and captured the men who stole their iPhones.
While they waited for police, at one point, between 15 and 20 people surrounded one victim as the two alleged attackers continued to beat him, said the DNA Info news site. A witness on his way home from a party stumbled upon the scene.
He was knocked out, completely, said the 36-year-old witness. He was on the ground, right by the alley. One guy hit him in the face, and another guy kicked him. It looked like he was going to die or something.
Two men were charged with assault and mob action. Black mob violence is an increasingly common feature of life in that part of town, say members of the Chicago police department. As is its denial at the highest levels of local government and media.
Back in Philadelphia on Tuesday, a mob of black people followed a man onto a bus, beat him, kicked him and stomped on, then ran off. All on video.
In Milwaukee, a local TV reporter started off her segment on a recent case of black mob violence by saying most of the people I talked to in the neighborhood say they hadnt seen a huge fight. Recently.
It might be a bit of a secret to people outside of Milwaukee, but inside that city, locals know it as a place of frequent and intense racial violence. Many of the attacks are on video and documented in White Girl Bleed a Lot: The return of racial violence and how the media ignore it.
By Milwaukee standards, this massive fight video was tame: Dozens of black people, fighting, creating chaos. No one died.
Just a few nights after that, three black women attacked a white female saxophone player at a public place in Milwaukee because they objected to her playing Minnie the Moocher.
They said because she was white, they did not want her to play it, reported the local Fox affiliate.
Meanwhile, police departments all over the country are getting ready for one of their busiest days of the year for racial violence: The Fourth of July. Last year, more than a dozen cities experienced widespread black mob violence, most after the fireworks were over.
One such place getting ready for the summer is the formerly bucolic Muskegon, Mich. Last Tuesday, according to the Michigan Live website:
Muskegon Police officers had to use a fogger to disperse a large fight at Fifth Street and Southern Avenue around 9 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, after a couple of males inside the high school gym had been fighting and were kicked out.
Officers have had to break up fights around the facility every night since the program started.
Police were dispatched to the high school on a call of a fight outside the facility around 8 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. Patrol officers intervened in a potential large fight between a group outside the school, many of them from the Muskegon Heights area.
When the group left the high school area and headed back toward Muskegon Heights, patrol officers located the group armed with clubs and concrete that police believe would have been used in some sort of altercation if they hadnt intervened.
Muskegon Heights is 75 percent black and the per capita income is $11,000. Commenters to local news sites say the people involved in mob violence are black.
For the rest of the summer, cops are putting miscreants on notice: They are using pepper spray and other mob control devices to root out the bad apples.
In Baltimore, police are promising a dramatic increase in law enforcement through the Fourth of July because of a spree of deadly violence. Some of it connected to black-mob violence, including one incident last week involving 100 black people fighting and creating chaos.
Police called it a community altercation, but did not mention race.
Three people were shot. According to the Baltimore Sun, which often runs editorials criticizing any public official if he or she notices the members of the mob are all black, Police officials vowed to deploy up to three times the number of officers typically on the streets over the weekend, with the citys patrol forces being joined by officers from the Maryland State Police, the Maryland Transportation Authority and the Baltimore City Sheriffs Office.
Black mob violence is a regular feature of life at the upscale Inner Harbor during Fourth of July celebrations over the last ten years.
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17. Departing Rockland gunmaker calls N.Y. law a 'shock'
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One my favorite gun manufacturers is leaving New York out of disgust.
Bill Albritton emailed me this:
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Ah, poor NY. More gun manufacturers are leaving.
Now, if the ALL manufacturers will stops selling to all law enforcement in NY! [PVC: Amen!]
From lohud.com: http://tinyurl.com/kl739vl
Departing Rockland gunmaker calls N.Y. law a 'shock'
by Alex Taylor
July 3, 2013
PEARL RIVER A Pearl River pistol maker decamping Rockland praised neighboring Pennsylvania for its gun-friendly policies Wednesday.
Kahr Firearms Group is moving its headquarters to rural Blooming Grove, Pa., while opening a new manufacturing facility on 620 acres that eventually will employ about 80.
Frank Harris, Kahrs vice president of sales and marketing, said the company had considered expanding near Port Jervis in Orange County, but pulled out at the last minute because of New Yorks SAFE Act. The tough new gun law was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo less than a month after the deadly school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that claimed 26 lives.
It was just passed so quickly, Harris said, speaking by phone. It was quite a shock to us. It seemed like a very emotional response to a very serious issue our country faces. We thought, OK, maybe we should look for somewhere else.
Though the new rules do not directly affect Kahr Arms, Harris said, they have created uncertainty about the future of New Yorks gun manufacturing industry. Pennsylvania also has lower taxes and fewer regulations.
There are a lot of gun owners in Pennsylvania, he said. A gun company is something they really like to have. They are not going to put up roadblocks and administrative obstacles because they dont want us there.
Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee, D-Suffern, who voted for the SAFE Act, pushed back on the notion that the legislation was bad for business.
It respects the rights of law-abiding citizens and does not stop them from selling or purchasing guns, she said in a statement.
Cuomo on Tuesday expressed doubts on whether Kahr left the state because of the SAFE Act. Kahrs decision comes as lawmakers in Texas and South Carolina are aggressively attempting to lure gunmakers and suppliers away from the Northeast.
Kahr Arms employs about 10 people at Pearl Rivers Blue Hill Plaza, according to the company, and nearly 200 at its manufacturing plants in Worcester, Mass., and Minnesota. Harris said it will relocate in 2014.
Kahr was founded in 1994 by Kook Jin Justin Moon, son of the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the Korean evangelist and businessman. The company is not affiliated with the Unification Church.
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18. Authorities arrest suspect in Millburn video beating
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Suspect has twelve felony convictions. That kind of thing is why crime is so high in many places - a failed justice system.
From nj.com: http://tinyurl.com/q424pvk
Authorities arrest suspect in Millburn video beating
by Julia Terruso, The Star-Ledger
June 28, 2013
MILLBURN The man wanted in connection with the recent home invasion and savage beating of a Millburn mother who was captured on a nanny cam and broadcast nationwide was arrested Friday in Manhattan, authorities said.
Shawn Custis, 42, was apprehended by the FBI and detectives from the Essex County Prosecutors Office in the lobby of an apartment building on 10th Avenue less than an hour after authorities released his name and issued a warrant for his arrest, acting Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray said.
Murray said investigators received "the biggest break" after several Newark residents who had seen the video said they recognized Custis, a career criminal who was most recently released from prison in December.
The 10:30 a.m. attack last Friday sent shock waves through the normally quiet suburban community, and prompted calls for tougher criminal penalties for home invasions.
"It was a horrific and brutal crime and detectives and the FBI did a really good job cooperating together to bring this individual to justice," said Anthony Ambrose, chief of detectives for the prosecutors office.
Custis has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, due to the severity of the beating, as well as robbery, burglary and endangering the welfare of a child and was being transferred to the Essex County jail in Newark, Ambrose said. Superior Court Judge Thomas Moore set bail at $750,000.
Custis faces 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted on the attempted murder charge and three to five years for the burglary charge.
The attack was captured on a hidden camera inside the womans Cypress Street home. A man is seen bursting into the home, then brutally assaulting the woman, punching her repeatedly, kicking her and pulling her by the hair as her 3-year-old daughter sits frozen on the living room couch, clutching a blanket. Another child, an 18-month-old boy, was asleep upstairs. Neither child was hurt.
The intruder goes upstairs three times, returning each time to continue beating the woman. He eventually throws her down the basement stairs before leaving through the front door.
There is an eerie silence during part of the video when the woman stops screaming. She later told police she tried not to scream so she wouldn't upset her daughter.
The woman, whose name has not been released, agreed to release the video so the man could be caught before he attacked anyone else, police said. It has been broadcast on the internet and by news outlets across the country.
The woman is recovering from a number of non-life-threatening injuries a concussion, chipped teeth, an injured lip, facial swelling and leg injuries. She did not suffer from any broken bones, authorities have said.
Custis, whose last known address was on Irvine Turner Boulevard in Newark, has 12 felony convictions dating back to the early 1990s. He was most recently jailed in connection with a string of burglaries across New Jersey in March 2011 and served 10 months at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Cumberland County, according to court records. He was released in December.
In July 2006, Custis escaped from a state Department of Corrections halfway house and was later arrested for burglarizing more than 20 homes in Hamilton and Trenton, according to court documents.
In the wake of last Fridays attack, residents in Millburn distributed fliers throughout the victims neighborhood and organized a community watch.
At the same time, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Union) introduced legislation in Trenton that would upgrade a home invasion from a third-degree crime to a second-degree crime. Second-degree crimes call for a five- to-10-year prison term, fines of up to $150,000, and stipulations that an inmate must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, Bramnicks office said. The bill also calls for prisoners convicted under the law to be ineligible for early release.
Luz Alvarado, a mother of two and a neighbor of the Millburn victim, said she has been gripped by fear since last Fridays attack, so much so that shes been avoiding a nearby park. News of an arrest brought Alvarado some relief last night.
"Hopefully, this doesnt happen again, and hopefully there arent any other people like him," she said.
Millburn police Chief Gregory Weber said he was confident authorities have arrested the right person.
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19. El Dorado sheriff's fight with fed likely over residents carrying guns
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Got to love sheriffs.
Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:
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From sacramento.cbslocal.com: http://tinyurl.com/mpl7nom
El Dorado Sheriffs Fight With Feds Likely Over Residents Carrying Guns
by Laura Cole
June 27, 2013
PLACERVILLE (CBS13) The fight that has the El Dorado County sheriff planning to revoke a federal agencys enforcement power in his county is apparently over residents rights to carry guns.
Cory Ward is an avid outdoorsman who frequents the El Dorado National forest. But hes concerned this paradise could turn into a police state.
I have felt intimidated, he said.
Hes got a long list of complaints against federal officers who patrol the forest.
They want to know what youre doing here, where youre going, do you have any firearms on board.
It appears this exploding confrontation between Sheriff John DAgostini and the U.S. Forest service may come down to guns, and the right to carry them, and whether U.S. citizens are allowed to bring them onto federal land.
The sheriffs department says theyve received more than 50 complaints from people just out enjoying the woods when they were stopped by an overly aggressive forest service officer.
Some of these experiences have been posted on Internet chat rooms with people demanding the sheriff get involved.
And last week, he pulled the federal officers powers to enforce state laws in his jurisdiction, effective July 22.
A U.S. Forest Service spokesman said the agency met with the sheriff Wednesday to try and work out their differences.
It hasnt happened anywhere else in this state, said John Heil. We hope that the relationship will continue and we will look for ways to improve.
But as for Cory, he just wants to enjoy the forest without fearing the feds.
This is your land, this is my land, this is everybodys land, he said, And we dont want to come here anymore.
The forest service said it will affect the seven forest service officers who patrol the area, though theyll still be able to enforce federal laws and restrictions.
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20. Flood used as cover for firearm confiscation
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Member Dean Jacobson emailed me this:
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So if the mounties have the area barricaded, why enter private homes to search for guns? This could not happen here; could it?
From policaloutcast.com: http://tinyurl.com/kjakq89
Flood Used as Cover for Firearm Confiscation
by Tad Cronn
June 29, 2013
Residents of the High River area of Alberta, Canada, who had already been evacuated from their homes for more than a week were further angered Thursday when it was announced that the Mounted Police were seizing firearms from evacuated homes.
The Mounties claimed they had urgent need to enter each of the homes, and they further said that they only seized guns that were stored unsafely in plain sight.
"We just want to make sure that all of those things are in a spot that we control, simply because of what they are," said Sgt. Brian Topham. People have a significant amount of money invested in firearms so we put them in a place that we control and that theyre safe."
Officials say the guns will be returned once the evacuation order is lifted -- provided residents can provide proof of ownership.
The whole situation seems a little convenient.
You have to wonder what "urgent need" would require officials to forcibly enter evacuated homes and search for firearms. You might also wonder why the authorities didn't simply patrol flooded areas and guard against looters if they were worried about residents' property.
Then there's the likelihood that not every resident will be likely to have proof of ownership of guns taken from their homes. People inherit firearms, and sometimes they just don't keep records.
"Now what theyre doing is looking for firearms and ammunition. How do they have the right to do that? What does that have to do with the disaster? This is martial law. What has happened to our country?" business owner Brenda Lackey asked the Globe and Mail.
The evacuees are already angry at what they view as an incompetent government that has not allowed them to return to their homes and deal with flood damage. Late this week, some had threatened to break through barricades keeping them from their property.
At one such barricaded road, a police official tried to convince residents the evacuation was for their own good. One member of the crowd shouted, "Are we children? We're adults!"
That's a liberal government for you. It has to control everything because it views the public as children, especially when it comes to issues like gun control.
In the liberal state, it's you who can't be trusted.
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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/]
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