VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/1/13

[Taggure]

VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/1/13
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Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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1. Volunteers needed for Louisa County Agricultural Fair Aug 2-3
2. National Night Out - good chance to teach others about VCDL
3. Support needed at meeting in Amherst on hunting clubs and shooting ranges!
4. VCDL President and EM to speak at at Tea Party meeting in Bristol
5. Public apology issued by Lorton's Workhouse Arts Center
6. Something to consider at the next General Assembly session
7. Who needs a gun on the campus of VCU?
8. Hampton Roads: Local homicides down through first half of 2013
9. Illinois becomes last state to allow 'concealed carry'
10. Chicago: From a handgun ban to a right to carry concealed handguns
11. Chicago: Woman beaten to death with metal flag pole, authorities say
12. Federal judge: Post Office violated man's rights by banning gun from parking lot
13. Permits soar to allow more concealed guns
14. Family allegedly forced from home by police files rare Third Amendment suit
15. GOP bill would block funding to schools that ban imaginary guns
16. Who's telling the truth on gun control?
17. Being in an armed society takes some getting used to
18. Gutsy (stupid?) NYC gal takes on an armed mugger
19. Suspects who return to scene of crime held at gunpoint by homeowner
20. Talk about a militarized police force
21. Democratic aide carting gun in federal building is let off with warning
22. Looking for a place to shoot? There's an app for that

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1. Volunteers needed for Louisa County Agricultural Fair Aug 2-3
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EM Brandy Polanowski is looking for members to help with the VCDL table at this year's agricultural fair in Louisa. The fair's times/dates are:

Friday, August 2 from 9am (assist setup) - 6pm
Saturday, August 3 from 9am - 6pm (assist breakdown)

The fair is located at the Firemen's Fairgrounds in Town of Louisa. Admission is $5. Please contact Brandy at brandy.polanowski@vcdl.org to volunteer to help or to get directions.


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2. National Night Out - good chance to teach others about VCDL
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National Night Out is this Tuesday, August 6. If you are going to a related event and would like to get some VCDL materials (Brochures, Carry Cards, and Guns SAVE Lives stickers. Please get with Bruce Jackson via email. Bruce@vcdl.org.

Due to the short turn around on this shipping will probably not be an option. Materials are stored at the VCDL Fulfillment Center in Stafford, but we may have some options to get you some materials even if you are not close to Stafford.

If you live in Stafford and want to help, email Bruce@vcdl.org.

To find out about National Night Out events and hours in your area try to Google 'Your area' and national Night Out. (Stafford National Night Out, Fairfax National Night out, etc.)


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3. Support needed at meeting in Amherst on hunting clubs and shooting ranges!
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This Tuesday, August 6, at 1 PM, the Amherst Board of Supervisors is going to meet to consider an ordinance on restricting new hunt clubs and shooting ranges in the County.

A retired Marine from northern Virginia leased several thousand acres of land with the intent of having the ability to hunt, sponsor scholarships for students and participate in the age old tradition of hunting which he has enjoyed and wants to extend to others. He has sold memberships in his club and also purchased a house within several hundred yards of the leased land that he will live in as a weekend retreat and will use for the members of the club to stay.

During a public hearing, the gentleman was asked if he had been given any indication that what he intended to do would be non-complaint with Amherst County Code and he said that in this conversations with the county government that he had not.

Adjoining landowners have testified that he is a good neighbor and they support what he is doing with the exception of one. That neighbor hired an attorney and the process to change the ordinance began. Here we go with one person whining, complaining, and wanting to change the laws for everyone because they don't like something.

Everything negative the neighbor fears could possibly happen with the hunt club is already covered by other laws.

We have got to stop this trend of one restriction after the other because of one person not liking something.

Amherst County Board of Supervisors member Claudia Tucker is leading the charge against changing the law and we need to support her position.

The changes would require County permission to create a new hunt club that consists of less than 50 acres or, if the hunt club is more than 50 acres, there cannot be any permanent structures within 1000 feet of said property. All shooting ranges that are for other than the occasional use by a property owner will also require special permission from the County!

The meeting is being held at:

School Board Meeting Room
153 Washington Street
Amherst , VA 24521

The web site says that meeting room is in the County Administration Building, NOT on K-12 school property.

Here are the email addresses to use to contact the Board of Supervisors members. Tell them you do not want Amherst County to pass the proposed hunting club and range restriction ordinance.

vfcampbell@countyofamherst.com, rmcurd@countyofamherst.com, dwkidd@countyofamherst.com, cdtucker@countyofamherst.com

David Pugh does not have an email address. To call and leave him a message, here is his number: 434-509-2038


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4. VCDL President and EM to speak at at Tea Party meeting in Bristol
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EM John Pierce have been invited to speak at the Southwest Virginia Tea Party (Bristol/Washington County) meeting on Thursday, August 8, at 7:00 PM. The meeting is open to the public, so come on out and say "hello!" It will also be a great opportunity to meet Tea Party members who are either current gun owners or who are interested in becoming one.

The meeting is at:

Courtyard Marriott
3169 Linden Drive (just off Interstate 81 Exit 7)
Bristol, VA


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5. Public apology issued by Lorton's Workhouse Arts Center
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Member Bob Pence emailed me this. VCDL EM Tess Ailshire got an apology for being asked to leave public property while lawfully carrying. It was a sincere apology and I think the issue is now settled:

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From Lorton Patch: http://tinyurl.com/n25svmy

By James Cullum
July 10, 2013

Lorton's Workhouse Arts Center has apologized for asking an armed woman to leave the property at its annual fireworks show Sat., July 6.

The popular annual event was attended by over 2,500 visitors on Saturday, but the experience of one attendee led to a complaint and apology playing out on the Mount Vernon's Tess Ailshire was at the event with her husband and son. She was also openly carrying a Bersa 9mm.

"I got up to get a sno cone and went back to sit down," Ailshire told Patch. "I noticed that there was staff walking around like they were looking for someone. I joked with my husband that they were looking for me."

Ailshire was asked to leave the property.

"I just want them to tell me that it's not going to happen again, because it's county-funded, and because of state preemptive laws they can not prevent firearms out there," she said.

High-profile public shootings in recent years has elevated the debate over gun access. Virginia law allows individuals to carry handguns in public.

John Mason, President and CEO of the Workhouse, issued this apology on the Lorton Patch Facebook page:

"On behalf of the Lorton Arts Foundation, Inc., I am using this method (as I do not have access to the "open carry" forum) to extend our apologies for having inappropriately stated that weapons are not permitted on the Workhouse Arts Center campus. Our policy is to be consistent with Commonwealth of Virginia law, which under the circumstances would not have prohibited you from carrying a weapon last Saturday evening. Would appreciate your sharing this note with "open carry" forum so all interested understand that I have acknowledged a mistake."

Northern Virginia was also in the national spotlight on gun carrying rules in March. Prince William County Police Officers carrying guns were refused service at a Buffalo Wild Wings in Manassas because of the chain's rule against weapons. The restaurant manager later apologized for the incident.


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6. Something to consider at the next General Assembly session
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Member Mark Hile sent me this:

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From Capitalism Institute: http://tinyurl.com/mgz8qnv

The 49th state to join the Union has become the second to successfully traverse the perilous waters of nullification. In a sweeping reform, the state of Alaska has deemed that rights of the citizenry guaranteed under the state and national constitutions will no longer be ignored or side-stepped by an over-zealous federal government.

Utilizing the Tenth Amendment - which protects the rights of states to do whatever the federal government can't do - Alaska has completely cut funding to a number of unconstitutional and illegal federal programs, including programs that violate the Second Amendment. This means enforcing those laws in Alaska is now essentially impossible.

Utilizing the Tenth Amendment, which articulates that states withhold any rights not exclusively mentioned in the constitution, Alaska has opted to effectively neutralize a number of arguably tyrannical federal mandates. House Bill 69 offers a number of protections to the citizens of Alaska within the realm of the second amendment. It also offers protection against the federal government's power to indefinitely detain citizens.

From the official description, emphasis mine:

"Prohibiting state and municipal agencies from using assets to implement or aid in the implementation of the requirements of certain federal statutes, regulations, rules, and orders that are applied to infringe on a person's right to bear arms or right to due process or that implement or aid in the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act of 2005; exempting certain firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition in this state from federal regulation;declaring certain federal statutes, regulations, rules, and orders unconstitutional under the Constitution of the United States and unenforceable in this state; requiring the attorney general to file any legal action to prevent implementation of a federal statute, regulation, rule, or order that violates the rights of a resident of the state; and providing for an effective date."

The new law nullifies indefinite detention, gun laws, and parts of the REAL ID Act. This is a huge win for the constitution.

It can be called sad that the residents of the state need to receive this extra note of protection against the federal government. Supposedly, the government was created to preserve certain ideals; ideals concretely written within the constitution and legal norms of the United States.

Unfortunately, recent events have been demonstrating that the government's ineptitude may be as damning as its ability to intentionally cast a blind eye. When the rights of the citizenry are ignored, deliberately or otherwise, it falls to the states to act as the last vanguards of guaranteed freedom.

How HB69 works is by refusing to appropriate any municipal, states, or federal funds that can go towards limiting one's second amendment rights or that can be used for indefinite detention. It also calls on the attorney general to keep a wary eye out for unconstitutional provisions and laws.

The law was passed by Alaskan Governor Sean Parnell and is arguably the most sweeping reform issued by the state to date.

From our friends at the Tenth Amendment Center:

The federal government depends on state resources to enforce its laws. By pulling the rug out from under the feds, and denying state and local assistance to federal agents, Alaska effectively nullified indefinite detention, along with unconstitutional federal firearms regulations. (You can read an in-depth analysis of the Second Amendment protections offered by HB69 HERE.)
Good job, Alaska. Time to get more states on board.


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7. Who needs a gun on the campus of VCU?
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EM Leonard Harris emailed me this:

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From VCU-Alerts: http://tinyurl.com/lezyk9t

7/9/2013

Crime Alert Notice:

In compliance with the provisions of the federal Jeanne Clery
Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus crime Statistics Act
of 1988 Virginia Commonwealth University is giving notice of a
robbery.

Reported Offense: On July 9, 2013 at approximately 8:53 p.m. a
robbery was reported to the Richmond Police Department as having
occurred in Monroe Park

Suspect description: Suspect (1)-Black male, 5∆4ˆ, 20-25 years of
age, short afro, small goatee, wearing a blue T-shirt, and blue jeans.
Suspect (2)-Black male, 5∆4ˆ, 30 years of age, wearing a red T-shirt,
and black or red shorts. Suspect (3) Black male, 6∆0ˆ, in his 20∆s,
wearing a yellow T-shirt.

Brief description of how the crime took place: The victim was walking
through Monroe Park when approached by the suspects who asked to use
his phone. The victim refused their request and was struck numerous
times by the suspects. The suspects took his backpack and cell phone,
fleeing towards the 600 block of W. Franklin Street. The three
suspects entered a silver sedan, possibly a Honda, and fled southbound
on Belvidere Street. No weapons were displayed in the incident.
Richmond Police is investigating this incident. Both Richmond and VCU
Police are increasing patrols in the area.

It can be assumed that conditions continue to exist that may pose a
threat to members and guests of the community.

If you find yourself in a similar situation do not resist.

In the event of an incident, the information you provide police
will help them identify the suspect(s). Focus on his or her physical
characteristics, i.e. clothing description, height and weight, and
last known direction of travel. Always report such incidents
immediately to the police.

Never try to apprehend the criminal yourself.

When out walking, trust your instincts about a person or situation
and choose safety over courtesy.

If you need help, look for an Emergency Reporting Telephone. You
automatically will be connected to University Police.

Be aware of your surroundings. Do not let a cell phone
conversation or listening to music distract you when crossing the
street or in another situation that calls for your full attention.

Avoid isolated areas and walking alone at night. Consider use of
Safe Ride (828-7233) during the hours of 5pm-8am.

For additional safety tips from the VCU Police, please see:
www.vcu.edu/police and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to share this information
with other members of the community.

Anyone with information pertaining to this crime can contact the VCU
Police Department at (804) 828-1234 or text VCUTIP to 274637
anonymously.


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8. Hampton Roads: Local homicides down through first half of 2013
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Member Josh Kellogg emailed me this:

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Absolutely no mention that we ended 2012 and started 2013 with record gun sales. [PVC: Par for the course with the media.]


From The Virginian-Pilot: http://tinyurl.com/m9873la

By Mike Connors
July 8, 2013

Halfway through the year, South Hampton Roads is on pace for a marked drop in homicides.

Including three deaths the last weekend in June, the region had 34 homicides through July 1. That compares with 81 in all of 2012, and annual averages of 77 from 2010 to 2012, according to the five city police departments.

Two of those cities are seeing significant drops.

Chesapeake has had one reported homicide in 2013 - what police consider the murder-for-hire of a mother of two in January. It had 12 in all of 2012 and an average of 11.7 per year from 2010 to 2012.

Portsmouth has had two homicides this year, after having 11 last year and averaging 12.7 from 2010 to 2012.

Norfolk, which had a fatal shooting June 30, and Virginia Beach, which had a fatal stabbing early that same morning, are on paces similar to recent years.

Norfolk has had 16 homicides this year, including a shooting by a police officer that is under review by the prosecutor's office. The city had 34 last year and averaged 32.3 from 2010 to 2012.

Virginia Beach has had 10 this year, compared with 21 last year and 16.7 per year from 2010 to 2012.

The lone city seeing an uptick is Suffolk. A fatal shooting June 29 brought the city's total for 2013 to five homicides. That compares with three for all of last year and 11 total from 2010 to 2012.

The overall drop would continue a trend, though. A 2011 Justice Department report showed the homicide rate in South Hampton Roads being half what it was in the early 1990s. Nationally, the number of homicides has fallen to fewer than 15,000 in recent years from nearly 25,000 in the early 1990s.

Chesapeake Police Chief Kelvin Wright attributed the overall dip in part to a crackdown on and subsequent drop-off in the illegal drug trade. He said his city's low number so far this year is due to better identifying of and paying more attention to troublesome areas, something he emphasized when he took over in 2008.

Portsmouth Police Chief Ed Hargis credited a few factors for his city's drop. For one, it has added about 35 officers since Hargis started in 2009. That has allowed for improved targeting of gangs.

"It's a signal the officers are out there being visible and doing the things they need to do," Hargis said.

Having fewer homicides has freed detectives in Chesapeake and Portsmouth to focus elsewhere. Both chiefs said they are making progress on cold cases.

Both also said they don't want to be heralded for a half-year of success.

"Homicides can change in a hurry," Wright said.


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9. Illinois becomes last state to allow 'concealed carry'
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We do not yet know if Virginia CHPs will be honored in Illinois. But it looks like you will at least be able to have a loaded handgun in the car with you. (Even with that I feel I must be dreaming all of this is actually happening in my birth state.)

Member Bill Hine emailed me this:

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From BBC: http://tinyurl.com/qacgg5r

July 9, 2013

Illinois has become the last state in the US to allow residents to carry concealed handguns, after lawmakers overrode the governor's veto.

Large majorities in the state House and Senate dismissed objections by Democratic Governor Pat Quinn.

The state had been under court order to adopt a concealed carry law.

The debate over gun rights in the US has raged since December, when a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at a school in Connecticut.

Gun rights proponents say the US constitution protects an individual's right to carry guns, while opponents of the concealed carry law feared it would allow virtually unregulated possession of handguns in the city of Chicago, which is grappling with a severe gun violence epidemic.

In December, a federal appeals court struck down Illinois' ban on carrying a concealed weapon as a violation of the US constitution's guarantee of the right to bear arms. The court gave the state six months to write a law legalising it.

Mr Quinn vigorously opposed a concealed carry law, but the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal.

In May, the state legislature passed a bill despite his objections. He vetoed the bill, suggesting restrictions on concealed weapons that would satisfy him.
'A historic day'

On Tuesday, legislators in the House and Senate easily mustered a two-thirds majority needed to override Mr Quinn's veto, barely beating the court deadline.

"Following a weekend of horrific violence in Chicago in which at least 70 people were shot and 12 killed, this was the wrong move for public safety in Illinois," Mr Quinn said in a statement after the vote.

He said legislators had "surrendered" to the National Rifle Association, a powerful gun rights lobby funded in part by weapons manufacturers.

He warned the new law would allow people to carry guns in pubs and bars, and allow people to carry virtual arsenals on their persons.

Gun rights proponents, meanwhile, celebrated.

"This is a historic, significant day for law-abiding gun owners,'' Representative Brandon Harris, a southern Illinois Democrat said, according to the Associated Press.

Referring to the clause in the US constitution that refers to gun ownership, he said, "They finally get to exercise their Second Amendment rights."


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10. Chicago: From a handgun ban to a right to carry concealed handguns
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Member James Durso emailed me this:

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From volokh.com: http://tinyurl.com/l5mpwlz

By Eugene Volokh
July 10, 2013

Illinois has just become a shall-issue state, which means that pretty much any law-abiding adult age 21 and above can get a license to carry a concealed handgun in public. To be sure, something will depend on how the law is implemented, and my understanding is that gun rights supporters see the law as narrower (and more burdensome) than they'd like. But let's not miss the forest for the trees: Illinois residents - like the residents of all but 8 states - are now able to effectively defend themselves in public using pretty the same kinds of weapons that the police, bodyguards, and the like use to defend themselves.

That is remarkable, especially in a state that until recently hosted one of the few handgun bans (in Chicago and its environs), which prohibited possessing handguns even in the home. The change of course was triggered by Second Amendment litigation, in McDonald v. City of Chicago, which struck down the handgun ban, and Moore v. Madigan, a Seventh Circuit decision that struck down Illinois' total carry ban. But it wasn't just litigation: Moore did not clearly hold that restrictive licensing schemes (such as those in California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, or Rhode Island) are unconstitutional, so the Illinois Legislature could have experimented with those. And of course Illinois could have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Moore decision.

Rather, as with the immense success of the shall-issue movement more broadly over the last 30 years, a big part of the success was political. The notion that people should be free to be their own and their families' bodyguards, even if they aren't rich or important enough to get police escorts or hired bodyguards, has been remarkably successful politically, throughout the U.S., including in many deep blue states.

This is a remarkable political story. In the same era that the top mainstream media stories about gun laws have been about gun control, the most practically significant movement on gun law has been this movement of (limited) gun decontrol. I just hope that some day soon the movement will come even to my own California; to be sure, that might seem politically implausible, but I would have thought many people would have said the same about Illinois a year or two ago.


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11. Chicago: Woman beaten to death with metal flag pole, authorities say
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Anything can be a weapon and can be used against you at any time.

Member Bill Hine sent me this:

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From Chicago Tribune: http://tinyurl.com/mkwobpa

By Carlos Sadovi
July 9, 2013

A homicide investigation has been opened after a woman was beaten to death with a metal flag pole in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side over the weekend, officials said.

The woman was identified by police and the Cook County medical examiner's office as Patricia Martin, 40, of the 10000 block of South Princeton Avenue.

An autopsy conducted Monday indicated that blunt abdominal trauma contributed to Martin's death, police said.

According to police, Martin reported two separate attacks Saturday at her home involving the same man. She was pronounced dead at Roseland Hospital shortly after midnight, according to the medical examiner.

According to police reports, Martin had allowed a man to stay at her home Friday night and when she asked him to leave the next day, he became violent and punched her in the head. He took her keys and fled. The woman refused medical treatment but made a report.

Later, police received another call from Martin, who said she had been battered. She said she had walked out of her home when the same man threw an 8-foot-long metal flag pole and hit her in the chest. The man picked up the pole and threw it through the front window, shattering it, according to a police report. The man then fled the area, police said in the report.

Witnesses told police they saw the man hit Martin and break the window. According to a witness, the man said she owed him $200. Martin filed a second police report.


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12. Federal judge: Post Office violated man's rights by banning gun from parking lot
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This ruling does not apply in this part of the country, but EM and attorney, Dan Hawes, made this comment:

"I thought this issue had already been settled. The building is "federal facilities" because people employed by the United States regularly work there, and a federal statute prohibits firearms in "federal facilities". There was a prior case in which an employee was tried and convicted for having a firearm in his car in a parking lot that was fenced in and only for use by employees, hence no public access, and the USPS has the right to control working conditions and terms of employment. But the USPS has no authority to restrict firearms in public parking lots."

EM Ed Levine sent me this:

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From denverpost.com: http://tinyurl.com/my53m2p

By Tom McGhee
July 11, 2013

A federal judge has ruled that a U.S. Postal Service regulation barring firearms in its parking lots violates the Second Amendment in a case brought by an Avon man and a national gun rights group.

But Senior U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch said the Postal Service has a right to bar Tab Bonidy, who filed the lawsuit, from carrying his gun into the Post Office building itself.

Bonidy brought the suit along with the National Association for Gun Rights in U.S. District Court in Denver. The case was handled by Mountain States Legal Foundation. Bonidy has a concealed carry permit and routinely carries a firearm.

In July 2010, Bonidy's lawyer sent a written inquiry asking if he would be prosecuted under the USPS regulation if he carried his gun into the Post Office or stored it in his vehicle in the public parking lot when picking up his mail, according to Matsch's ruling.

Mary Ann Gibbons, USPS general counsel, responded that "regulations governing conduct on postal property prevent (Bonidy) from carrying firearms, openly or concealed, onto any real property under the charge and control of the Postal Service," Matsch wrote.

Matsch said there is a collective interest in public safety that trumps individual liberty in certain circumstances.

There are good reasons for barring weapons within the postal building itself, Matsch said. "An individual openly carrying a firearm may excite passions, or excited passions may lead to the use of the firearm. Someone could also attempt to take the firearm from its lawful carrier and use it for criminal purpose."

But there are no similar reasons to forbid Bonidy from securing his gun in a vehicle in the parking lot before entering the building, Matsch said.

In fact, he said, the ban is a violation of Bonidy's Second Amendment rights.

""The public interest in safety and Mr. Bonidy's liberty can be accommodated by modifying the regulation to permit Mr. Bonidy to "have ready access to essential postal services" provided by the Avon Post Office while also exercising his right to self-defense."


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13. Permits soar to allow more concealed guns
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Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:

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From The Wall Street Journal: http://tinyurl.com/l4qm59p

By Jack Nicas & Ashby Jones
July 4, 2013

A growing number of Americans are getting permission to carry firearms in public˘and under their clothes˘a development that has sparked concern among some law-enforcement authorities.

Applications for "concealed-carry" permits are soaring in many states, some of which recently eased permit requirements. The numbers are driven in part by concern that renewed gun-control efforts soon could constrain access to weapons, along with heightened interest in self-defense in the wake of mass killings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo.

Since July 1 of last year, Florida has granted more than 173,000 new concealed-carry permits, up 17% from the year before and twice as many as five years ago, for a total of about 1.09 million permits in the state.

Ohio, meanwhile, is on pace to nearly double last year's total of 65,000 new permits, which would be nearly three times as many as in 2007. And Oklahoma, Tennessee, Wyoming and Nebraska all have nearly matched or surpassed last year's totals with half of 2013 still to go.

A dozen states surveyed for this article, including Texas, Utah and Wisconsin, issued 537,000 permits last year, an 18% increase compared with a year prior and more than double the number issued in 2007. Early figures for 2013 show many states are on pace for their biggest year ever.

About eight million Americans had concealed-carry permits as of last year, the Government Accountability Office said in what it called a conservative estimate.

"I suppose it's the same reason people are reporting gun sales are up and ammunition sales are up," said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, referring to concern among gun owners about the recent push for gun control. "It's nothing unique in Ohio.‡It seems to be a consistent trend across the board."

States across the U.S. have loosened restrictions amid a spate of mass shootings in public spaces, making it easier to get concealed-carry permits and allowing concealed weapons in more places, including schools, churches and bars.

Some leaders in law enforcement call the increasing requests for concealed-carry permits unwelcome, citing safety concerns. Thomas Dart, sheriff of Illinois's Cook County, which encompasses Chicago, said that although the effect on crime is disputed, more people carrying guns "makes our job more difficult."

"Without the gun, it's a fistfight. With the gun, it's a shooting," he said.

Craig Steckler, president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, said he could remember only "one instance in which someone effectively defended himself" with a firearm during his 21 years as police chief in Fremont, Calif. Otherwise, "it's a whole lot of cases of guns being used not in ways they're designed: kids shooting themselves, gun-cleaning accidents, crimes of passion, that sort of thing."

Research is split on whether more armed citizens deter or exacerbate gun violence. Economist John Lott, a conservative commentator and author of "More Guns, Less Crime," said data show concealed-carry laws reduce violent crime.

But the National Research Council, part of the congressionally chartered National Academies, has disputed links between concealed-carry laws and drops in crime. And the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit group that advocates for gun control, said that since 2007, concealed-carry permit holders have fatally shot about 500 people, that 128 of them have been convicted of manslaughter or homicide, and 36 have committed murder-suicides.

In 2008 and 2010 rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court found that the Second Amendment to the Constitution grants broad license to keep and bear arms in the home. But the court left unclear whether and to what degree the right to carry a weapon extends outside the home, leaving states largely free to set up their own rules.

In 2002, seven states banned concealed-carry, according to the GAO. By later this year, every state will allow it.

Ten states require applicants to show "good cause" to get a permit. But 39 states˘10 more than in 2002˘grant permits to anyone who meets a few basic requirements, such as a clean criminal record and proof of residency.

Residents of Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming and Vermont don't need permits to carry a concealed weapon. In 2002, that was the case only in Vermont.

The surge in applications in recent months is linked at least in part to the Newtown tragedy, which rekindled a national gun-control debate at state and federal levels. Many permit holders say they feel safer carrying a gun, or knowing they could bring one into a potentially dangerous situation.

"Everyone has the right to be responsible for his or her own personal safety," said Bob McGinty, a small-business owner in Golden Valley, Minn., who obtained a concealed-carry permit earlier this year, after Minnesota made them cheaper and easier to get.

While Connecticut, Colorado, California, New York, Delaware and Maryland have tightened gun restrictions this year, at least 20 states have loosened laws on concealed-carry, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which tracks and advocates for gun-control laws. States have streamlined the permit process, made concealed-carry records confidential or lifted bans on carrying concealed firearms in many public places.

Texas stopped requiring concealed-carry permit holders to undergo training to renew their licenses, West Virginia stopped requiring background checks for permit renewals, and Louisiana introduced lifetime permits.

Andrew Arulanandam, a spokesman for the National Rifle Association, said: "Crime can happen anywhere, and it's reasonable for people to have an effective means of defending themselves and their loved ones."


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14. Family allegedly forced from home by police files rare Third Amendment suit
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Our police are looking more and more like the military. That bodes very badly for America. Another unbelievable example, this from Nevada:

From Fox News: http://tinyurl.com/mylpnwk

By Joseph Weber
July 8, 2013

A Nevada family is using a rare legal argument in a lawsuit claiming police tried to commandeer their homes for a surveillance operation and then arrested the homeowners for resisting -- invoking the Third Amendment, which bars soldiers from being "quartered" in a residence without permission.

The Mitchell family, in a lawsuit filed July 1, detailed the incident from July 10, 2011. According to the complaint, it all began when the Henderson city police called Anthony Mitchell that morning to say they needed his house to gain "tactical advantage" in a domestic violence investigation in the neighborhood.
The situation turned ugly when Mitchell refused repeated requests to leave and police smashed through the door, the 18-page complaint states.

Mitchell alleges the police, upon entering his home, forced him to the floor at gunpoint, then shot him and his "cowering" dog with a few rounds of pepper-spray pellets. Police then allegedly handcuffed and arrested Mitchell in connection with "obstructing a police officer" before occupying his home.

It didn't end at Anthony Mitchell's house in suburban Las Vegas, the complaint continues. That same day, the officers also took over the home of Mitchell's parents, Linda and Michael Mitchell, who live in the same neighborhood and are named as plaintiffs.

The police department declined Monday to comment on the case when reached by FoxNews.com, leaving the matter to the court should the case go to trial.
However, the more compelling questions appear to focus on whether the Third Amendment strategy can work, considering the courts would have to consider the police officers as soldiers.

The amendment states: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

"I'm confident the Mitchells have a good case," said Frank Cofer, a partner in the firm Cofer, Geller & Durham LLC representing the plaintiffs.

Cofer told FoxNews.com that what struck him about the case was the officers' use of military-style tactics.

"And after entering the houses, they drank water, ate food, enjoyed the air conditioning," he said. "That struck me as quartering."

The suit alleges that, at the parents' house, police lured Michael Mitchell from his home to a nearby "command center" by saying they needed him to get the neighbor involved in the domestic violence case to surrender. When officers began to backpedal, Mitchell eventually attempted to leave, which resulted in him being handcuffed and eventually charged with obstructing an officer.

Police then returned to Mitchells' house where they allegedly yanked wife Linda from the premises after she refused to let them in without a warrant.

She was not arrested, and police have dropped all charges against the family.

However, the Mitchells are still suing for an undisclosed sum, saying their rights as citizens were violated under the Third Amendment -- as well as the Fourth and 14th Amendments -- and that the incident resulted in physical injury, malicious destruction of property and "extreme emotional distress."

Anthony and Michael also had to pay a bond to secure their release, the suit alleges.

John Yoo, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley's law school, wasn't so sure about the family's argument. He said the Mitchells may have claims under other federal and state laws "but their chances are very, very low on the Third Amendment."

Yoo, a visiting scholar for the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute and former Justice Department official, told FoxNews.com the most difficult challenge for them is that there were no "soldiers" in their house, before the court gets into the question of whether "quartering" occurred.

"Local police on law enforcement missions are not soldiers," he said. But "Nevada should compensate the Mitchells' for the temporary use of their home and for any damages caused in the operation."

Among those named in the suit are the city of Henderson, the city police department, the police chief, five officers and the North Las Vegas Police Department.

The suit also alleges both police departments "developed and maintained policies and/or customs exhibiting deliberate indifference to the constitutional rights of United States citizens, which caused the violations of the plaintiffs' rights."


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15. GOP bill would block funding to schools that ban imaginary guns
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We need a law in Virginia that stipulates that things like pencils or fingers are not "weapons" or "guns."

Member Bill Albritton emailed me this:

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Some sanity forced into the schools?


From Fox News: http://tinyurl.com/lzfp6xr

July 11, 2013

A Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would block funding to schools that prohibit children from playing with imaginary guns.

Rep. Steve Stockman, R-Texas, says the Student Protection Act aims to stop the enforcement of policies that "punish innocent children" by cutting funds to schools that abuse "zero tolerance" weapons policies.

"Something must be done to restore sanity to the schoolroom," Stockman said Tuesday in a statement. "The Student Protection Act would end the practice of using federal taxpayer dollars to subsidize schools that enforce these policies that abuse and harm young children."

In March, second-grader Josh Welch was suspended from a Maryland elementary school after unknowingly biting a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun.

"I just kept on biting it and biting it and tore off the top of it, and it kind of looked like a gun," Welch told a local Fox affiliate at the time.

In May, also in Maryland, a 5-year-old boy who brought an orange-tipped cap gun onto his Calvert County school bus was suspended for 10 days, according to his family and a lawyer. The child was grilled for more than two hours by a school principal and wet himself, according to his family.

Stockman cited the two gun-related punishments, as well as the suspension and arrest of a 14-year-old boy in Kentucky who wore an NRA T-shirt to school that said, 'Protect your right.'

The bill states that "zero tolerance" weapons policies "are being used to outlaw harmless expressions of childhood play" and "are being used to teach children to be afraid of inanimate objects that are shaped like guns."

Schools would face cuts in federal funding if they punish students for specific activities, including carrying toy guns, using a finger or hand to simulate a gun and wearing a T-shirt that supports Second Amendment rights.

"Schools should be places where children learn. Punishing children for playing 'cops and robbers' or taking a bite out of a Pop-Tart that makes it somewhat resemble a gun is not healthy for children," Stockman said.


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16. Who's telling the truth on gun control?
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Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:

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From gvnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/m56s7a2

By Ray Trombino
July 6, 2013

Rahm Emanuel's statement, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," has been the liberal strategy for the last six months.

Gabby Giffords, Michael Bloomberg and a host of left-wing Democrats have been using the tragedy at Newtown, Conn., to push their anti-gun agenda. They saturate the media with lies, and much of the mainstream media just follows along without a single fact-check. Liberals claim that gun violence is a national problem. However, it is really a Democratic problem.

The five cities with the highest gun murder rates are: Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Newark and Philadelphia.

What do these cities have in common? First, they have some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, and second, they have been run by the Democratic Party machine for decades. They also all voted overwhelmingly for President Obama.

For example, that gun control keeps guns out of the hands of criminals. The statistics refute that.

Chicago, the murder capital of the country, has no gun shops, no gun ranges, a ban on "assault" weapons, a ban on high-capacity magazines and the strictest handgun laws in the country. Massachusetts, in 1998, passed the nation's strictest gun control law at the time. That year there were 65 firearm murders in the state. In 2001, there were 122 firearm murders, an increase of 87 percent, while the national murder rate declined.

Instead of new laws, we should enforce existing ones. In 2011, there were 433 murders in Chicago; in 2012, it had jumped to 513. Yet in 2011, there were only 63 federal gun prosecutions in Chicago.

Mayor Bloomberg's New York City has a similar dismal rate of prosecutions. Why use federal law? Because 10 U.S.C. Sec 924(j) provides for the death penalty, or life imprisonment, for committing a murder while possessing a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or drug trafficking. Other parts of the Code provide for 10 years for possession of a firearm or ammunition by a felon, fugitive or drug user; 10 years for possession of a stolen firearm; 10 years for interstate commerce in firearms with the intent to commit a felony; 15 years mandatory for a "prohibited person" who has three prior convictions for drug offenses or violent felonies, and that is just a small part of the total law. Had the federal, state and city governments worked together, many of those murders might have been prevented because the criminal would have been behind bars.

It is also a felony for a felon, fugitive or drug user to attempt to purchase a firearm. Many try and are turned away by the National Instant Criminal Background Check (NICS), yet these criminals are never pursued nor prosecuted. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a request to the Justice Department to explain why, out of over 76,000 instances where NICS denied the purchase of a firearm, only a few dozen buyers were prosecuted.

Then there is the lie that civilized countries do not allow their citizens to own firearms. I am sure that it would come as a surprise to Canada, Israel, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Finland and others to hear that they are not civilized.

Another lie is that limiting the capacity of a magazine to 10 rounds will reduce gun deaths. Seung-Hui Cho used a .22 caliber pistol with multiple 10-round magazines (not an assault rifle) as one of the two weapons he used in the Virginia Tech massacre.

Then there is the subject of universal background checks. A recent Department of Justice draft memo stated that the only enforcement method for universal background checks is a universal gun registry. The administration says it does not support the finding, but that makes it no less alarming. Great Britain and Australia went down this road, and when the next crisis occurred, the registry was used to confiscate the majority of weapons in those countries.

With all the data and court decisions supporting civilian ownership of firearms, the left continues its assault on the Second Amendment. The same people who can manufacture rights from the "penumbras and emanations of other Constitutional protections" (Justice William O. Douglas), cannot see the Founding Fathers' intent in the words "the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." History teaches that the first step to a dictatorship is disarming the people. Remember, "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." (George Santayana).

Ray Trombino and his wife, Carole, moved to Green Valley in 2005. A retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Trombino is a civil engineer with experience in environmental, transportation and community planning.


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17. Being in an armed society takes some getting used to
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EM Patricia Webb sent me this:

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This is quote from a conversation taking place on an email list that Tess Ailshire and I belong to. It was about an apparent false claim that Israel is disarming it's civilian population. One of the list members made the following statement. I thought it worth sharing. He has given permission to distribute the quote so long as he remains anonymous.

I thought this might be appropriate to use in a future VA-ALERT.

Pat Webb

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Being in an armed society takes some getting used to.

There are all kinds of things that are deadly that we hardly notice.

When I take the subway, in NYC, I always marvel that the "3rd rail" is instant death but there it is, sitting out there unprotected.

Likewise, there's the platform where people crowd the edge and anyone could just give you a little shove. Shoves are otherwise pretty common on the streets of NYC and, every so often, someone does get pushed or jumps from the platform. But... for the most part, they don't. In fact, murders by pushing off the platform are less than
suicide by train in Flagstaff.

All those high-buildings in NYC too. I wonder why more people don't jump or get pushed?

Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge this last trip. There's a pedestrian walk right in the middle that's become VERY popular and congested. But everyone seems to do ok.

If someone put a "3rd rail" in the middle of Flagstaff, there'd be an uproar. "How about the children?" Yet, NYC children take the subway all day and they don't fry or get pushed off (or jump off) the platform.

Ever find yourself going down the Interstate at 80+mph and wonder what would happen if you suddenly turned the wheel, HARD, in either direction. You realize that such a turn would flip the car and/or put you in on-coming traffic. I've had that thought. How come people don't do it?

The fact is that guns are simply another potentially deadly instrument that humans use and control safely... the vast majority of the time. The idea that people will use guns dangerously, simply because they have them is absurd. This was the argument when Florida was considering the nation's first "shall issue" CCW law.

About 3 years ago, Arizona dropped the permit requirement for CCW. Again, it was predicted that all kinds of insane people (not to mention untrained klutzes) would be carrying: homicides and accidents would soar.

Well... not a bit. Not even a blip. And... the populace has gotten quite used to the fact that ANY person (criminal or law-abiding) might be carrying and seems to no longer pay much attention.

It's interesting to think about the Wild West. There was not nearly as much gunplay there as the movies depict although almost everyone was armed. The OK Corral battle in Tombstone was one of the worse violent instances. Tombstone banned open-carry although CCW was either permitted or not-enforced. This was a slap at the cow-hands and ranchers who wore their guns open. The violence at the OK Corral was technically the Marshall enforcing these gun-laws against the Clantons (cowboys) who refused. Interestingly, the Sheriff sided with the Clantons and maintained that open-carry WAS permitted.

It's hard to imagine, the explanation that the town just wanted to stop violence by drunken cowboys, by taking away their guns. If they really wanted to stop drunken violence, they could have closed 90% of the saloons that lined the main street, side by side. Tombstone is there today and it's pretty obvious that the town was conceived and built to get those cowboys drunk and keep them drunk until their money ran out. That was the cause of the disorder.

There were other towns, relatively nearby, such as Bisbee, Benson, Douglas, Wilcox, Sierra Vista and even Tucson and these towns don't have the violent reputation that Tombstone has. But those towns were not devoted, almost 100% to drinking, gambling and whoring.

Believe me... people didn't leave their guns at home or in their saddle-bags when they went to these towns.

I have a gun in each of my cars. I am no more likely to use it randomly and without purpose as I am to pull over on the Freeway and change a good tire. Yes, I have a spare-tire but unless I actually need it....


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18. Gutsy (stupid?) NYC gal takes on an armed mugger
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Member Deborah Jane Anderson sent me this:

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This is quite a story from the NY Daily News.

I've gotta hand it to Anna Graham and her friends, who were the victims in this lower Manhattan armed robbery, but who essentially turned the tide on the two perps.

Anna lives in NYC, where she can't defend herself with a firearm. So, when she first encounters the two perps, one of whom was holding a gun to her head and later to her chest, she hits them where it really counts -- but with WORDS -- telling the armed perp that he didn't have the "b***s" to shoot her. Truth is, he didn't, but let's move on to the rest of the story.

It's already quite apparent that Anna has a lot of chutzpah, but so do her two lady friends. One gal actually jumped on one the perps, and the other calls 911. Ultimately, the perps ended up running away.

Talk about the two perps picking on the wrong targetst, huh?

Well, it's a good thing these tactics worked for Anna and her friends that night, because that's all they had to work with, but I surely wouldn't want to have to trust in mere words or to have to take down armed robbers myself.

Blessings,

Deborah Jane Anderson


From NY Daily News: http://tinyurl.com/kfts488

By Mark Morales , Joe Kemp & Daniel Beekman
July 11, 2013

She stared him down, saw the fear in his eyes and called his bluff. The daring wife of a world-renowned sculptor brazenly told an armed bandit he didn't have the b---s to shoot her as the mugger pointed a gun at her chest, she told the Daily News Wednesday.

Anna Graham said she was standing in her pajamas in front of her home on Grand St. in SoHo, smoking a cigarette and watching a car for two friends who were about to leave for the Hamptons, when a pair of thugs confronted her around 1 a.m. on July 3.

One whipped out a black handgun and pointed it at Graham as his cohort began rummaging through the unlocked car, cops said. "He asked me for my wallet and I said, 'Are you kidding me?' " the feisty 54-year-old recounted. "I was in my pajamas, for Christ's sake!

"That's when the gun went against my forehead," Graham, the wife of Russian-born artist Ernst Neizvestny, told The News. "He said, 'I'll shoot you, b---h!' I said, 'No, you won't.' "

The gunman's cold-hearted accomplice apparently didn't like her lip and ordered him to fire.

But Graham, who was literally staring down the barrel of the gun, proved tougher than the toughs.

"He lowered it to my chest. The other one was right next to him saying, 'Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!' "

It was then that she hit the perps with a verbal uppercut.

"I said, 'It's not easy to shoot someone. You have to have b---s to do that. And you have none.' "

Her words hit the gunman like a kick to the groin. "I was looking into his eyes all along," Graham said.

"For a second there, I saw fear - for just a split second. I went against all the rules, everything he knew about life."

Graham's life was hanging in the balance until one of her friends, who had been using the bathroom in Graham's pad, suddenly charged out of the four-story building and pounced on the unarmed crook, Graham said.

The unarmed suspect kicked Graham's pal, sending her flying.

Moments later, Graham said, her other friend came out and was already calling 911.

The dastardly duo stepped up to the woman on the phone and tried to rob her.
But when she didn't have anything to hand over, the suspects fled, cops said. They managed to grab an iPad mini, a Samsung Galaxy cell phone and about $600 in cash from the car, police sources said. They remain at large.
None of the women were hurt.

Minutes after the robbers fled, Graham's hands were still shaking, and days removed from the frightening encounter, she remains stunned by her own bold stand, she said.

"I was standing basically outside of myself," Graham explained. "I don't know why I did what I did."

Investigators suspect a woman standing down the block may have been working as a lookout during the robbery, police sources said.

Detectives visited the SoHo scene Wednesday to check whether security cameras captured the perps on video.

"They didn't look like your professional guys at all," observed Graham, who described her gun-toting attacker as "tall and handsome."

"No one would come to SoHo where there are high-end cameras and high-end stores and try to do this. What are you going to rob? Artwork? We're spoiled in SoHo. Nothing ever happens. We walk our dogs at 3 a.m. I just didn't expect anything like that."

But a police source said investigators believe the crime may be linked to three other gunpoint robberies on Graham's block this year.

Graham - whose husband is a former Red Army soldier who became internationally known during the 1950s and 1960s for his anti-war sculptures - said her armed mugger should be kissing her feet.

"He should be very grateful to me that he didn't shoot, because once he does that it changes his life 100%," she said.


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19. Suspects who return to scene of crime held at gunpoint by homeowner
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Criminals returning to the scene of a previous crime happens more than one might be willing to believe.

Member Walter Jackson emailed me this:

--

From blog.al.com: http://tinyurl.com/lzepeos

By Kelly Kazek
July 9, 2013

CROSSVILLE, Alabama - A Crossville homeowner held three people at gunpoint Monday after he caught them breaking into his camper the day after his home was burglarized, DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said.

The three suspects were charged with burglarizing the camper and the house on County Road 24, the sheriff said.

Brittany Necole Seay, 24, and Kenneth Seay, 40, both of the same address in Guntersville, and Christopher Allen Kuykendall, 33, of Albertville, were each charged with third-degree burglary.

Harris said the homeowner was cleaning up the mess from a break-in on Sunday when he heard people talking outside.

"When he went to the door he found three offenders trying to break into his camper beside the house," the sheriff said. The victim called the Sheriff's Office and held the suspects at gunpoint until Crossville Police officers and DeKalb County deputies arrived.

"We always hope that the homeowner has the opportunity to call the Sheriff's Office or 911 first," Harris said. "You have the rights by law to protect your family and your property. This homeowner did this and we were able to make the arrest. We are just glad that no one was injured in this situation."

Once officers arrived and placed the suspects in custody, the victim noticed some belongings from the prior burglary in the suspects' car. All the stolen items were returned to the owner.


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20. Talk about a militarized police force
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Member James Dinger sent me this in response to VCDL Update 7/6/13, item #4 "Hampton police to buy AR-15s for officers":

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Talk about a militarized police force. The Founding Fathers made sure that the Constitution strictly prohibited standing armies in times of peace. To keep things in line, all law abiding citizens in Hampton should purchase AR-15's.

Jim Dinger


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21. Democratic aide carting gun in federal building is let off with warning
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More hypocrisy from the other side.

From The Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/k8wgg3h

By Cheryl K. Chumley
July 10, 2013

An aide to Democratic Rep. John Conyers one of the loudest voices on Capitol Hill for additional federal gun control laws caught a lucky break just recently.

Betty Petrenz, who works as office manager for Mr. Conyers, brought a gun inside her purse into a federal building in Detroit, The Daily Caller reported.

But officers let her off with a warning no ticket, no fine, no jail time. Typically, carting a weapon into a federal building is against the law.

Sometimes, even nibbling a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun can bring stiff penalties. Just ask one conservative blogger, who reminded of the unfortunate fate of an 8-year-old boy who received a school suspension for his Pop-Tart artwork.

"Children are literally suspended from school for bringing gun-shaped pop tarts to school, yet this Democratic clerk gets off scott-free," the blogger wrote at the conservative news site Rare.

Mr. Conyers has a low political tolerance for Second Amendment violations. The National Rifle Association rates him an "F" for gun rights, labeling him one of the toughest advocates for Second Amendment crackdowns in Congress, The Daily Caller reported.


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22. Looking for a place to shoot? There's an app for that
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From NSSF: http://tinyurl.com/lwvntlj

July 11, 2013

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Looking for a place to shoot? There's a new-and-improved app for that.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation© (NSSF©) has released an all-new Where To Shoot mobile app -- available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices -- that locates shooting ranges near you.

Available for free in the Apple App Store and Google Play, Where To Shoot puts North America's most comprehensive directory of shooting ranges in the palm of your hand. It also includes video tips for shooters, news and firearm safety information.

Users can search by current location or zip code and find specifics about each range, including shooting activities offered, accessibility and contact information. The app also makes it easy to get directions to the range.

The app is modeled after NSSF's popular WhereToShoot.org website and is updated frequently with range information in every U.S. state and Canadian province. New tips for hunters and shooters are also added regularly.

Download the app through the links below or by simply visiting www.wheretoshoot.org on your iOS or Android device.

iPhone and iPad:
http://tinyurl.com/m4p2r3t

Android:
http://tinyurl.com/l5xobro





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