VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL Update 1/11/09 - compiled by member Benjamin Piper
1. Lobby Day: Bus trip to Richmond from Staunton
2. SW Virginia VCDL supper on January 26
3. Delegate Lingamfelter Aims to Repeal One Gun A Month
4. Abington, VA gun-carry ordinance change
5. VA-ALERT reader: The Bible and self-defense
6. LTE: No need for guns?
7. $1000 donation from the Norfolk County Rifle Range (NCRR)
8. Stab victim had a piece of paper to protect her
9. Who needs a gun in a church?
10. Player's gun case brings up Heller questions
11. Gun-Control Advocates Play Fast and Loose
12. EDITORIAL: The forgotten virtue of firearms
13. At least one dead in Missouri factory shooting
14. Las Vegas shoot-out: Gun control fails...again!
15. Virginia and New Mexico expected to repeal gun carry bans in alcohol-serving restaurants
16. Glacier National Park Starts the Year With a "Bang"
17. System Failed to Prevent Terror Attempt
18. Email: Brady Campaign pushing federal "gun-show loophole" bill
19. Small gun groups don't stand chance vs. U.S. government
20. Hmmmmm -- gun ownership goes up and crime goes down
**************************************************
1. Lobby Day: Bus trip to Richmond from Staunton
**************************************************
The Shenandoah Valley Tea Party Patriots are sponsoring a bus trip
from Staunton to Richmond for VCDL and Tea Party members on Jan. 18
for Lobby Day. If you want to use the bus, they need people to commit
ASAP.
Mike Piper emailed me this:
--
The Shenandoah Vallley Tea Party Patriots are contracting a bus from
Staunton to Richmond for Lobby Day on Jan. 18.
It will leave at 7:00 a.m. and arrive in Richmond by 9:00.
Cost will be $17.50 per seat.
VCDL members may contact Lyn Bing at icarvem@verizon.net to reserve a
seat.
If the bus is not filled it will be cancelled.
**************************************************
2. SW Virginia VCDL supper on January 26
**************************************************
SW Virginia VCDL will have a supper meeting on Tuesday, January 26 at:
CHIP & JOE'S Restaurant
8th & Tennessee Ave (one block off of College Ave)
Salem, VA
Social hour starts at 6 PM; buffet starts at 7 PM. Menu: Baked chicken
or Roast Beef, drinks and such. COST: $14.00 per person, not including
tip.
We have reservations from about 35 folks--we need RSVP IF you have not
already done so--NOW please.
The restaurant will be open ONLY for VCDL members and their guests.
This is a family event--a gun owners friendly event. A VCDL meeting
will follow the meal.
Speaker (s) to be announced later, but we do expect Philip Van Cleave
to be our main speaker [PVC: Please don't let that deter you from
attending this event
], weather and travel permitting.Other local political folks have been invited to say some brief remarks.
RSVP to:
AL STEED JR
al@vcdl.org
SUBJECT: VCDL Supper
or by phone:
540-890-0970 (local call from Roanoke area)
**************************************************
3. Delegate Lingamfelter Aims to Repeal One Gun A Month
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/ye7wzd5
http://www.insidenova.com
Lingamfelter wants to repeal Va's one-handgun-a-month rule
By Jonathan Hunley
Published: January 6, 2010
WOODBRIDGE, Va.--Discussion of changes to America's health care system
has included fears about the "rationing" of medicine, but it's another
rationing that Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter wants to address at the
state level: that of guns.
The Woodbridge Republican has submitted legislation to repeal
Virginia's one-handgun-a-month rule.
Lingamfelter, a retired Army colonel, said Virginians' Second
Amendment rights are restricted because they can legally purchase only
one handgun each month.
"We should not ration constitutional rights," he said Wednesday.
The law was passed during the Wilder administration, Lingamfelter
said, as an anti-crime measure.
But really, he said, it's just a political ploy.
"It has not reduced crime," Lingamfelter said. "It has reduced
commerce."
Here's his reasoning:
If you're already a felon, and you seek to buy another gun, you're not
going to buy one legally. You'll get caught by the background check.
And crimes have been committed by countless people who follow the
rules. Consider the suspect in last month's shooting at Northern
Virginia Community College in Woodbridge. He legally bought his rifle
at Dick's Sporting Goods.
"It's not the instrument, it's the behavior," Lingamfelter said,
noting that no one rations knives or cars, which can be weapons when
driven by drunks.
The lawmaker said he also expects his bill can pass this year with
Gov.-elect Robert F. McDonnell in office.
The Republican has said he wants to do away with the one-gun-a-month
rule, though Lingamfelter said he is not pursuing the legislation at
the behest of the new administration.
He's always been an "ardent supporter of the Constitution as the
Founders wrote it," he said, and he knew the bill wouldn't pass with
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a Democrat, in office.
"This is nothing new for me," Lingamfelter said.
The legislator introduced a similar bill last year that would have
applied only to active duty members of the Armed Forces or the
Virginia National Guard. It passed the House of Delegates, but was
turned back in the state Senate.
The idea was to allow these Virginians to buy more than one firearm at
a time for protection of their homes while they were deployed,
Lingamfelter said.
--------
http://tinyurl.com/y8hd8nk
http://www.examiner.com
Virginia Delegate files bill to repeal one handgun a month rationing
scheme
January 3, 11:08 AM
DC Gun Rights Examiner
Mike Stollenwerk
[SNIP]
Virginia State Delegate Scott Lingamfelter (R - Prince William &
Fauquier Counties), a retired US Army Colonel who sits on the
influential Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee, has
pre-filed House Bill 49 ahead of the 2010 Virginia General Assembly
session. HB 49 would repeal Virginia's one handgun a month purchase
rationing scheme. Only 3 other states ration handgun purchases:
California, Maryland, and New Jersey (South Carolina repealed their
gun rationing law several years ago).
**************************************************
4. Abington, VA gun-carry ordinance change
**************************************************
Gun carry to be allowed on Virginia Creeper Trail
Abingdon Town Attorney, Deborah Icenhour emailed this to a VCDL member:
--
Attached please find the copy of the requested ordinance which was
amended and adopted on Monday night. (Please note that the effective
date is always thirty (30) days following the date of adoption, per
the language regarding the Feb. 4 date on page 2.) [PVC - It doesn't
matter what the effective date of the new ordinance is, the Abingdon
prohibition on the carry or display of firearms was invalidated by
state law effective July 1, 2004. It's good that they are bringing
their ordinance into compliance with state law.] Also, I am reminded
that since the Town was in the process of amending same, the old
ordinance had not been enforced by our police department for quite
some time.
I appreciate your attention to this matter. Citizens who are truly
interested in fair and appropriate laws/ordinances for all of the
right reasons are a pleasure to work with and for.
---------
AN ORDINANCE TO REPEAL, AMEND AND REENACT
CHAPTER 54, PARKS AND RECREATION, ARTICLE III,
THE VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL, SS54-53(b)
OF THE CODE OF THE TOWN OF ABINGDON, VIRGINIA
TO AMEND THE PROHIBITION OF CARRYING FIREARMS
WHEREAS, Chapter 54, Article III, SS54-53(b) Of The Code Of The
Town Of Abingdon, Virginia addresses the issue of firearms on the
Virginia Creeper Trail in the Town of Abingdon, Virginia; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Abingdon, always subject to the Constitution
of the United States and its Bill of Rights, specifically the second
amendment, as well as the Constitution of Virginia, specifically
Article I - Section 13, and S 15.2-915 of the Code of Virginia 1950,
as amended, strives to maintain its Code of Ordinances consistent
therewith; and
WHEREAS, S15.2-915 of the Code of Virginia 1950, as amended, was
approved by the General Assembly of Virginia on March 30, 2009 and
reenacted effective July 1, 2009 to specifically address the validity
of provisions in ordinances regarding the control of firearms and the
applicability of same to authorities and local governmental agencies;
and
WHEREAS, the Town of Damascus, co-owner with the Town of Abingdon
of the aforementioned Virginia Creeper Trail, amended its Code of
Ordinances Section 50-182(b) in October 2009 to provide language
effecting like change; and
WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Town Council of the Town of
Abingdon, Virginia to repeal Chapter 54, Article III, SS54-53(b) Of
The Code Of The Town Of Abingdon, Virginia, which reads: "No firearms
shall be carried, exhibited or used upon such trail." (1985); and
WHEREAS, the foregoing Chapter 54, Article III and Section
54-53(b) of the Code of the Town of Abingdon, Virginia is hereby
repealed; and
WHEREAS, the desired amendment to Chapter 54, Article III,
SS54-53(b) Of The Code Of The Town Of Abingdon, Virginia shall provide
language consistent with the Town of Damascus and read as follows:
"No firearms shall be discharged upon such trail."; and
WHEREAS, a Public hearing was held before Town Council at its
January 4, 2010 meeting with no objections from the public; and
WHEREAS, a Second Reading of the proposed amendment is not
necessary as the amendment was passed on the first reading; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED that the Town Council of Abingdon,
Virginia does hereby approve the amendment to Chapter 54, Article III,
SS54-53(b) of The Code Of The Town Of Abingdon, Virginia, The Virginia
Creeper Trail, to read "No firearms shall be discharged upon such
trail" .
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, that this Ordinance shall take effect on,
February 4, 2010.
CERTIFICATE
Pursuant to Section 2-100 of the Code of the Town of Abingdon, I
hereby certify that I have reviewed the foregoing proposed ordinance
to repeal, amend and reenact Chapter 54, parks and recreation, article
iii, the Virginia Creeper Trail, SS54-53(b) of the Code of the Town of
Abingdon, Virginia to amend the prohibition of carrying firearms, and
find it to be in correct form this ______ day of January, 2010.
_______________________________
Deborah Icenhour
Assistant Town Attorney for the Town of Abingdon, Virginia
This ordinance was adopted on January 4, 2010 to take effect on
February 4, 2010.
_____________________________
Edward B. Morgan, Mayor
Town of Abingdon
**************************************************
5. VA-ALERT reader: The Bible and self-defense
**************************************************
Michael Tan emailed me this:
--
Hi Philip!
I don't know if it is of general interest, but I created a site about
the
Bible and armed self-defense. Perhaps the subscribers would be
interested?
http://www.biblicalselfdefense.com/
Thanks for your consideration!
Michael
**************************************************
6. LTE: No need for guns?
**************************************************
Philip,
My letter was published recently in the the Richmond Free Press.
http://www.richmondfreepress.com/
Editor:
In your 17-19 December edition, Mr. Jeremy Lazarus had an article
headlined: Mayor: No need for guns. Permit me to comment.
Mayor Jones said that having armed persons attend a meeting was
"unsettling," and the citizens faced "no threat." I am sure that
persons exercising their rights often have unsettled some people.
Maybe Mayor Jones would explain which rights we should give up to
avoid unsettling others, and how many unsettled people it takes to
negate a right. Mayor Jones might have noticed that the gun owners did
not appear out of thin air, or disappear into it. That would imply
that they travelled to and from the meeting through the city that he
is quoted as describing as "afflicted by gun violence." Did the Mayor
consider that those citizens might be avoiding becoming victims of
that violence?
As for Mr. Lazarus' journalistic approach, in this and one other
article on this topic, Mr. Lazarus described how citizens wearing guns
was "unsettling, dismaying," and created "anxiety, worry," and
"uneasiness." He never got around to quizzing the persons who
expressed those feelings as to why law-abiding citizens participating
in legal activity made them feel that way. Maybe it was because those
citizens were, according to Mr. Lazarus, "glowering" and "brazenly
showing weapons." Rather subjective terms for a journalist, but maybe
Mr. Lazarus is especially perceptive, or maybe he was just being
brazen in inserting his own opinions into his "news" piece.
H. M. Padon
Great Falls, Virginia
**************************************************
7. $1000 donation from the Norfolk County Rifle Range (NCRR)
**************************************************
Pete Clark emailed me this. We tip our hats to NCRR (and Ron Reiner
for the motion) for making a significant contribution to the fight for
our gun rights:
--
For the third year in a row VCDL and Norfolk County Rifle Range (NCRR)
member Ron Reiner made a motion for the club to donate $1000 to VCDL.
And for the third year in a row it passed with no objections.
Checks in the mail!
Pete
**************************************************
8. Stab victim had a piece of paper to protect her
**************************************************
Matt Stromberg emailed me this.
--
People don't realize that they are on their own to protect themselves:
""She did everything that she was supposed to do. How do you prevent
him from doing this to her? You can't. He was determined and there
wasn't anything else to it," said Roldan-Gill."
How about get a gun...?
Matt
http://tinyurl.com/y87gxmg
http://www.insidenova.com
Stab victim had protective order
By URIAH A. KISER
Published: January 4, 2010
A Manassas area woman continued fighting for her life Monday after she
was stabbed New Year's Day, despite doing almost everything she
legally could do to protect herself.
The 33-year-old woman and her 10-year-old son were in their home in
the 9600 block of Lafayette Avenue near Manassas about 5:30 p.m.
Friday, when--police say--her ex-boyfriend kicked down the door.
The woman and child tried to get away, but the attacker searched the
house and found the woman, and then stabbed her in the upper torso,
police said.
Shortly after the attack, police obtained warrants charging 37-year-
old David Marcelis Frye with aggravated mali-cious wounding, burglary
with intent to commit assault, making threatening phone calls and
violating a protective order.
The victim got a protective order against Frye in February, police said.
Investigators said Frye is the father of the 10-year-old boy.
When police arrived at the victim's home Friday, they found the woman
outside on a sidewalk between her home and a neighbor's house, said
Prince William police spokeswoman Erika Hernandez.
It is not clear if the victim was going for help, but detectives do
know the attack happened in front of the cou-ple's child. A trail of
the woman's blood was found in the living room of the home, leading to
the door.
The victim was flown to a local hospital with life-threatening
injuries. Her son is with a family member, said Her-nandez.
A family spokesman did not return a request for comment about this
story.
During the same month the protective order was issued, Frye was also
charged with stealing a car in Prince William County. He is still due
in court Jan. 26 on charges of driving on a revoked license, according
to court records.
Frye also has convictions dating back to 1994 for dealing cocaine,
destruction of property, petit larceny and grand larceny, according to
court records.
Police say the New Year's Day case should not deter domestic violence
victims from seeking protective orders. Police can charge someone with
violating a protective order even if the person is gone when officers
arrive, said Prince William police Detective Elba L. Roldan-Gill.
She called Friday's case extremely unfortunate.
"She did everything that she was supposed to do. How do you prevent
him from doing this to her? You can't. He was determined and there
wasn't anything else to it," said Roldan-Gill.
Abused women can also seek safety at domestic violence shelters in
Prince William and other area jurisdic-tions.
ACTS Turning Points, an agency Prince William police often work with
in domestic abuse cases, helped nearly 5,000 people in 2009, according
to their annual report. ACTS operates two domestic violence shelters
in Prince William County.
Police say it is important for those in fear to get help, and get out
if necessary.
"The line that I use when I am trying to convince someone to seek help
from their abuser is 'I don't want to have to come out to your home
with a body bag,'" said Roldan-Gill.
**************************************************
9. Who needs a gun in a church?
**************************************************
Shots fired into D.C. church on New Year's Eve
Deborah Jane Anderson emailed me this:
--
Who needs a gun? Parishioners in a DC church attending a New Year's
Eve service, that's who.
It's just awful that they're not allowed to defend themselves thanks
to the draconian DC gun laws.
Thankfully, no one was injured.
Blessings,
Deborah Jane
http://tinyurl.com/yj8a44c
http://www.examiner.com
[SNIP]
Washington, D.C. --- D.C. police spent the early hours of New Year's
Day recovering bullet fragments from a small church in Southeast
Washington.
A police source said five or six shots from what appears to be a 9
m.m. gun were fired through the glass storefront and siding of the
church, the New Life Praise Temple, in the 3000 block of Naylor Road SE.
The church's bishop says one parishioner was struck by flying glass,
but he says he was not injured.
**************************************************
10. Player's gun case brings up Heller questions
**************************************************
Does Heller affect Gilbert Arenas's gun possession case?
I can't find the specific link - it is from this publication:
http://www.dailyreportonline.com/
Player's gun case brings up Heller questions
Fulton County Daily Report (Atlanta)
January 7, 2010
Byline: Tony Mauro
WITH A GRAND JURY apparently considering the Gilbert Arenas gun case as
soon as Tuesday, the Washington Wizards player and his lawyer Kenneth
Wainstein are likely sweating bullets, so to speak, over what comes
next. The
basketball star has acknowledged bringing four unloaded handguns from
his home
in Virginia to the team locker room in downtown Washington last month,
which under D.C. law could expose him to both felony and misdemeanor
charges.
*******
No matter what happens, though, the case already is raising some
interesting legal issues. For one thing, as Philip Van Cleave of the
Virginia
Citizens Defense League, an ardent gun rights advocate, put it today,
"Everything Gilbert Arenas did in D.C. would be hunky dory in
Virginia. On one side
of the bridge over the Potomac, he's a law abiding citizen, but step
into
in D.C. and you can be viewed as a dangerous criminal."
This discrepancy persists, Van Cleave said, in spite of the Supreme
Court's landmark 2008 ruling in D.C. v. Heller that declared a
constitutionally
protected individual right to bear arms. "It's amazing how little the
Heller
decision has changed things." Since Heller, D.C. gun laws have changed,
but mainly to the extent of allowing possession of locked, unloaded
firearms
within the home. Transporting firearms is still severely limited,
though
litigation with the city to change that persists. Interestingly
Wainstein,
the former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, now is a
partner at
O'Melveny & Myers, the firm that defended D.C.'s gun laws before the
Supreme
Court.
*******
Alan Gura of Gura & Possessky in Washington and Virginia, who argued
and
won the Heller case in favor of gun rights, said Tuesday that in fact,
"things have changed quite a lot" in Washington because of Heller --
and more
change may come with litigation he and others are pursuing, on the
issue of
transporting arms, and registering nonresidents, both of which could
affect
cases like Arenas'. "What the Gilbert Arenas case shows is that you are
going to get different situations that test the law in different
ways, and
you don't know how they will come out." While not a criminal defense
lawyer,
Gura said it's his understanding that people like Arenas who are
"caught
unaware" transporting firearms don't often end up with heavy
penalties. "It's
an interesting case. I feel sorry for the guy," said Gura.
Dennis Henigan, legal and policy vice president for the Brady Center to
Prevent Gun Violence is less sympathetic. "It's time for professional
sports
to so some serious soulsearching about the frequency of carrying guns
by
athletes," Henigan said. Arenas' stated reason for moving the guns --
keeping them away from his young children at home -- was a "valid
instinct,"
Henigan said, but "if you are going to spend time in D.C. you need to
kow what
the law requires."
Even postHeller, Henigan said, the District of Columbia has some of
the
most restrictive gun laws in the country -- and appropriately so.
Henigan
points out that Justice Anonin Scalia's majority opinion in Heller
specifically said that restrictions such as those on carrying
concealed weapons are
still presumptively constitutional. "Even Heller does not stand for the
proposition that you can carry guns wherever you want."
Some of these issues -- including the disparity of gun regulations from
jurisdiction to jurisdiction -- will be aired again before the
Supreme Court
in March, when the justices consider whether the right declared in
Heller
pertains not just to the federal enclave of Washington but the
states. The
Arenas case is a highprofile reminder that the Heller decision was
far from
the final step in the process of discerning the meaning of the Second
Amendment.
**************************************************
11. Gun-Control Advocates Play Fast and Loose
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/yafrpcw
http://www.timesdispatch.com
A. Barton Hinkle column: "Gun-Control Advocates Play Fast and Loose"
[SNIP]
More than 900 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 killed
somebody in 2007. Should we be scared of young black guys?
Of course not. There are roughly 3 million black males in that age
group in the United States. It would be horribly unfair to toss around
the first statistic without mentioning the second; doing so would be
misleading, if not malicious.
Now consider this statistic: Concealed handgun permit holders have
killed 107 people since 2007. That news, from the Violence Policy
Center in Washington, D.C., sounds pretty bad -- until you put it in
context. How many Americans have been issued a permit to carry a
concealed weapon?
The Violence Policy Center doesn't say.
[PVC: The number is about 6 million.]
**************************************************
12. EDITORIAL: The forgotten virtue of firearms
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/y8ryxba
http://www.washingtontimes.com
January 5, 2010
EDITORIAL: The forgotten virtue of firearms
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
During Christmas week, a registered sex offender with a conviction for
attempted murder used a gun to take three hostages at a Wytheville,
Va., post office. Not too surprisingly, the national media gave the
crime extensive news coverage. Such sensationalism leaves a distorted
image about what happens with guns every day in the United States.
When guns work to stop crime, there's not nearly as much drama to
sensationalize and, as a result, that much less coverage.
In Oklahoma City the previous week, an armed citizen singlehandedly
stopped an attack that surely would have resulted in a multiple-victim
public shooting. The media gave the event scant attention. The scene
went down when a Marine, who was on leave and came home for the
holidays, started firing in an apartment parking lot. Before anyone
was harmed, another man aimed his permitted concealed handgun at the
attacker and ordered him to put down his weapon. The shooter dropped
his gun and ran into his father's apartment, barricading himself in.
Three-and-a-half hours later, the man surrendered to the police.
A Marine with a gun who wanted to cause harm would surely be able to
maim or kill a lot of people. Those dead bodies would have attracted
exhaustive coverage. Of course, corpses are newsworthy in our
sensational culture, but when an armed citizen stops an attack, the
heroism rates barely a blip on the national radar screen. In this
case, a search found just one television news story on the incident,
and it left out the identity of the man who saved the day. In our
confused times, murderers, it seems, are more interesting than heroes.
An important detail that is neglected in news coverage is that all the
multiple-victim public shootings in America - crimes in which more
than three people were killed - happened where legal concealed
handguns are banned. The Wytheville post office is such a gun-free
zone, not to mention that the felon who committed the crime was banned
from possessing a firearm anywhere. The Oklahoma City attack was
stopped because the man who stopped it could carry a concealed handgun.
Often what's true and what makes good TV are two different things. But
either way, news standards don't give people any idea about the costs
and benefits of people owning guns. Police are extremely important in
stopping crimes, but police understand that they almost always arrive
on the scene after a crime has occurred. Heroic actions of citizens
who stop attacks deserve a lot more attention.
**************************************************
13. At least one dead in Missouri factory shooting
**************************************************
Employees being able to carry at work would mitigate this kind of
behavior:
http://tinyurl.com/ycscbdd
http://www.reuters.com
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - A gunman opened fire on Thursday at an
electrical products company where he worked on the assembly line,
killing at least one co-worker and wounding others, police said.
In a chaotic scene at ABB Power, a unit of Swiss-based ABB Ltd,
wounded workers hid in offices and on the rooftop awaiting rescue,
while the gunman remained on the loose. A nearby highway was closed,
as police feared the gunman had fled out a back entrance.
Timothy Hendron, 51, an assembly line worker at the plant that makes
electrical transformers, was identified as the gunman, company
officials told police.
Armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, he started firing in the
parking lot and then stormed the facility, local radio reported.
ABB Ltd is based in Switzerland with offices around the world.
**************************************************
14. Las Vegas shoot-out: Gun control fails...again!
**************************************************
Las Vegas federal courthouse where shooting took place was a "gun free
zone"
Dave Workman emailed me this:
--
http://tinyurl.com/ybtcv7v
http://www.examiner.com
[SNIP]
Las Vegas shooting another monumental gun control failure
Another felon proves gun laws do not deter criminals
**************************************************
15. Virginia and New Mexico expected to repeal gun carry bans in
alcohol-serving restaurants
**************************************************
All I can say is Lobby Day, Lobby Day, Lobby Day......
http://tinyurl.com/ybwod8y
http://www.examiner.com
January 5, 9:36 PM
DC Gun Rights Examiner
Mike Stollenwerk
[SNIP]
If bill sponsors and gun owners get their way in Virginia and New
Mexico
this year they will be able to carry concealed handguns inside alcohol
serving restaurants just like they already do in public shopping
malls, movie
theaters, and most other public places. . . . Should both bills pass,
there
will be only 7 states left still banning handgun carry in alcohol
serving
eateries.
**************************************************
16. Glacier National Park Starts the Year With a "Bang"
**************************************************
February 20, 2010 officially marks when visitors will be allowed to
bring guns into Glacier National Park.
http://tinyurl.com/yh5r64u
http://usparks.about.com
Glacier National Park Starts the Year With a "Bang"
Sunday January 3, 2010
February 20, 2010 officially marks when visitors will be allowed to
bring guns into Glacier National Park.
According to Glacier Park spokeswoman Amy Vanderbilt, "all firearms -
loaded, concealed and otherwise - can be carried, by anyone."However,
guns will not be allowed in federal facilities, like park
headquarters, visitor centers, and ranger stations. National parks and
wildlife refuges will have the same gun rules as the states in which
they are located.
The ruling to allow guns in parks and refuges has been a controversial
topic as many worry this will lead to increased danger to visitors and
wildlife. Vanderbilt stated that rangers in Glacier will "investigate
to the fullest any reports of firearm discharge in the park."
**************************************************
17. System Failed to Prevent Terror Attempt
**************************************************
Citizens are the last line of defense against terrorism
Larry Whitney emailed me this:
--
Philip,
I thought I'd send this link. It seems to spell out that the citizen
is the last line of defense.
Think 2nd Amendment...
Passenger response, which is credited with ending the attack, is
listed as the last line of defense on the TSA's 20-layer security
system. Ahead of that is intelligence, travel document checks,
canines, behavior detection and federal air marshals, among others,
none of which prevented Abdulmutallab from boarding the plane.
Cheers,
Larry Whitney
http://tinyurl.com/yeld6sj
http://www.foxnews.com
January 05, 2010
Officials: Protocol Followed, but System Failed to Prevent Terror
Attempt
With a full-fledged review under way, top agencies are making
immediate changes that suggest the system in place to flag suspected
terrorists is fundamentally flawed -- even though officials say they
followed procedure before a suspect armed with explosives boarded a
Detroit-bound flight.
The system worked as it should have -- which is why it failed.
That appears to be the answer emerging from top agencies like the
State Department in the aftermath of the failed Christmas Day airplane
bombing, as officials explain how suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
was able to clear security while armed with explosives and then board
a flight bound for Detroit.
Relevant departments like State, the National Counterterrorism Center
and the CIA all took action on warnings dating back months that they
received about the suspect. They compiled reports, they sent cables,
they posted the suspect's name on a 500,000-strong watch list and
occasionally reported back that they had done so.
"Based on what we know now, the State Department fully complied with
the requirements set forth in the interagency process as to what
should be done ... when information about a potential threat is
known," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday.
"We are not satisfied," Clinton added. "We are conducting an internal
review. We're looking to see whether those procedures need to be
changed, upgraded."
With a full-fledged review under way, several agencies have started
making changes that suggest the system in place -- which may have been
followed to the letter in some instances -- missed the spirit of
counterterrorism efforts.
President Obama, who is meeting with agency heads Tuesday afternoon,
said as much last week when he declared "systemic failure" allowed
Abdulmutallab to board the plane bound for Detroit from Nigeria by way
of Amsterdam. Other officials have since acknowledged that the system
probably needs some adjustment.
"Systemic failure means that individuals probably weren't at fault,
but that the systems that were put in place were not adequate to the
task," said David Gordon, former director of policy planning at the
State Department.
In the case of the State Department, spokesman Ian Kelly said last
week that after the suspect's father contacted the U.S. embassy in
Nigeria in November to warn about his son's extremist ties, the
warning was sent to the National Counterterrorism Center, which
reviewed the case and determined there was "insufficient" evidence to
withdraw Abdulmutallab's visa. Kelly said that while the State
Department has the authority to revoke a visa, it's not the
department's responsibility.
On the National Counterterrorism Center end, the unit also determined
it did not have enough information to elevate Abdulmutallab to a no-
fly list or another list that would require secondary screening at
U.S. and cooperating international airports.
As a result, airport officials in Amsterdam were not compelled to pull
the suspect out of line on those grounds in accordance with the
Transportation Security Administration's standards.
Jim Harper, a member of a Department of Homeland Security privacy
committee and scholar with the Cato Institute, said it seemed the
agencies "did their best" with the system and the information they had.
"I have no reason to doubt that they followed procedure," he said,
noting that the incident shows there is "room for improvement" in the
visa review process for a suspected terrorist.
Two days after the failed terror attempt, Department of Homeland
Security Secretary Janet Napolitano declared that "the system worked,"
though she later clarified she was referring to agency coordination
and response after the fact.
"I think the important thing to recognize here is that once this
incident occurred, everything happened that should have," she said on
ABC's "This Week." "We trained for this. We planned for this."
Passenger response, which is credited with ending the attack, is
listed as the last line of defense on the TSA's 20-layer security
system. Ahead of that is intelligence, travel document checks,
canines, behavior detection and federal air marshals, among others,
none of which prevented Abdulmutallab from boarding the plane.
Other agencies have been criticized for not properly sharing the
information they had. For instance, the CIA had prepared a report on
the suspect before the incident but did not distribute it because an
analyst was waiting for pictures, Fox News has learned.
"At the end of the day, the thing that's really going to make us safe
is doing our job and identifying these people long before they get to
the airport," said James Carafano, foreign policy studies director at
the Heritage Foundation.
Officials have made changes to the underlying system since Christmas
Day. Since the incident, the TSA has called on all passengers
traveling through and from 14 selected countries to go through
enhanced airport security measures, including pat-downs and full-body
scanners. Four of those countries -- Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria --
are on the State Department's list of sponsors of terrorism. Those
four do not have direct flights to the U.S.
Officials have also reviewed the more than half-million names on the
general terror watch database and reportedly shifted dozens over to
the no-fly list and "selectee" list requiring additional airport
screening.
Harper warned that it may not be prudent to expand the terror watch
list or no-fly list too drastically, since they would become unwieldy
and likely do nothing to improve detection
And at the State Department, Kelly said Monday that all embassies and
consulates have been directed to include information about a suspect's
visa status whenever they send out alerts.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.,
is urging the administration to change its visa policies, writing in a
letter to Obama last week that the 2008 standard is "too restrictive
and should be changed."
She said the federal government "should watchlist, and deny visas to,
anyone who is reasonably believed to be affiliated with, part of, or
acting on behalf of a terrorist organization."
Obama was meeting Tuesday with top officials including Napolitano,
Attorney General Eric Holder, CIA Director Leon Panetta, FBI Director
Robert Mueller and counterterrorism adviser John Brennan.
He planned to speak Tuesday afternoon about the reforms his
administration is making.
**************************************************
18. Email: Brady Campaign pushing federal "gun-show loophole" bill
**************************************************
Brady Campaign pushing for 100 co-sponsors of federal bill to repeal
the "gun show loophole"; VA Rep. Jim Moran signs on as a co-sponsor
The only Virginia Congressman to sign on to this anti-gun bill is Jim
Moran from the 8th Congressional district. A very shameful thing for
Moran to do:
--
Only a Few Days Left: Help Us Reach 100 Cosponsors to Close the Gun
Show Loophole.
Dear xxx,
We are close to our goal of 100 cosponsors on H.R. 2324 by January 18,
Martin Luther King Day. We have just 26 cosponsors to go in less than
two weeks! But we need your immediate help.
Your U.S. Representative has not yet cosponsored H.R. 2324 to close
the gun show loophole. Please contact your Representative today to
cosponsor this life-saving legislation. Even if you have previously
emailed your Representative to cosponsor, please do so again.
Our lead sponsors on the bill, U.S. Representatives Mike Castle (R-DE)
and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), are counting on you to help us reach this
first important goal of 100 cosponsors.
In most states, anyone can walk into a gun show and buy guns -- like
AK-47s -- from unlicensed sellers without a Brady criminal background
check. That makes no sense. H.R. 2324 would require Brady criminal
background checks on all gun show sales.
Rep. Wittman needs to hear from you today. And you can help even more
-- click here to forward this e-mail to your friends.
Everyone's help is needed to make our communities safer. Our national
policy should be: "No background check, no gun, no excuses."
Thank you for your ongoing support!
Sincerely,
Brian Malte, State Legislation and Politics Director
Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
P.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) has also introduced legislation
in the Senate to close the gun show loophole.
**************************************************
19. Small gun groups don't stand chance vs. U.S. government
**************************************************
Notice the downright nastiness of this self proclaimed firearm owner
and Second Amendment advocate. With friends like this, who needs
enemies?:
http://tinyurl.com/yzs2jk2
http://www.alamogordonews.com
Small gun groups don't stand chance vs. U.S. government
Alamogordo Daily News
Michael Glover, Alamogordo
01/02/2010
You've got to hand it to these wingnut, right-wing fringe lunatics.
They are a
tenacious bunch and they really have the passive-aggressive tantrum
act down
to an art, don't they?
After thoroughly embarrassing themselves last year with their self-
appointed
moniker of simple "tea baggers" before researching the various nuances
of the
term, now they simply want to have a "tea party" in the park without, of
course, the cups, saucers, scones, crumpets and extended pinkies S or
even
tea, for that matter.
This time, they want to "exercise" their Second Amendment "rights" by
packing
and displaying firearms. As a firearm owner and Second Amendment
advocate, I
have to say these people may just serve as a good example of why many
in this
country would like to see the Second Amendment repealed.
Our Constitution guarantees us the right to keep and bear arms. I own
many
firearms and am content with my right to own them. Still, there is a big
difference between owning and using them at will for recreation or
showing up
on a street corner (or a movie theater) for a radical, politically-
charged
protest a gun strapped to your hip.
This is not the Wild West anymore. There is really no reason to open-
carry in
public like these freaks will do. I interpret "open-carry" to mean
that any
time I travel in my vehicle with any weapon, I need to have them on
the seat,
in plain sight, to any law enforcement official I may encounter so
that they
can be confident I don't have any hidden "surprises" for them. I don't
interpret this as some kind of "right" to stroll through Walgreens
with a
Mac-10 hanging from my shoulder. These people do more damage than good
to our
Second Amendment rights.
Besides that, they don't even know what they are protesting in the first
place! The Obama administration has given no indication that it
intends to
touch the Second Amendment. The NRA has a long history of whipping
conservatives into this same frenzy every time a Democratic president
takes
office. Again and again, these reactionaries fall for it.
It may be a lot of fun to show off your guns in the park while making
a lot of
noise and posing an implied threat of overthrowing your own
government. If
push ever came to shove, though, I'm afraid this "cowboy" mentality just
wouldn't hold up long with U.S. soldiers and snipers shooting back.
**************************************************
20. Hmmmmm -- gun ownership goes up and crime goes down
**************************************************
FBI crime stats paint favorable picture for gun ownership. Anybody
have some extra strength aspirin they can send to the Brady Campaign?
http://tinyurl.com/yeptn86
http://www.fbi.gov
[SNIP]
Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies
throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 4.4 percent in the number
of violent crimes brought to their attention for the first six months of
2009 when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2008. The
violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated
assault. The number of property crimes in the United States from
January to June of 2009 decreased 6.1 percent when compared with data from the
same time period in 2008. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and
motor vehicle theft. Arson is also a property crime, but data for arson are
not included in property crime totals. Figures for 2009 indicate that arson
decreased 8.2 percent when compared to 2008 figures from the same time
period.
***************************************************************************
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/]
