VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 1/23/10

[OakRidgeStars]

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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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VCDL Update 1/23/10

1. Virginia gun rights group to lobby Richmond on Martin Luther King day
2. How public should concealed weapons be?
3. McCloskey stereotypes Virginia gun owners again
4. NBA players and firearms
5. "Sacrifice your child" letter was satire
6. Gangs armed with machetes loot Port-Au-Prince
7. Examiner: Retired NYPD detective, female Alabama judge get "dose of reality"
8. NYPD disarms retired hero
9. Hinkle - U.S. trends: More guns, less crime
10. Texas: Students denied right to stage empty holster protest
11. TSA: Security fails to spot gun at Montana airport
12. Passenger carried shotgun shells on plane
13. New gun store opening January 30 in NoVA


**************************************************
1. Virginia gun rights group to lobby Richmond on Martin Luther King day
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/yacvvmb

http://www.examiner.com
By Mike Stollenwerk
January 14, 2010

SNIP

For years the Virginia Citizens Defense League (http://www.vcdl.org/)(VCDL
) has been rallying members to attend its annual Lobby Day at the
Virginia General Assembly on Martin Luther King Day. In one respect
this year is no different in that the League's Lobby Day is scheduled
to start at 9AM on Monday, January 18, 2010 (Martin Luther King day).

But in another respect 2010 is different - following impressive
victories by pro-gun candidates for the House of Delegates, Governor,
Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General, VCDL's 2010 VCDL Lobby Day
theme is "Transforming Gun Rights in Virginia." And the group is
expecting results. . . .


**************************************************
2. How public should concealed weapons be?
**************************************************

Once again, the anti-gun crowd cries "safety" to mask their true
agenda of fear and intimidation towards legally armed citizens.

http://tinyurl.com/yjfm8ab

http://www.wydaily.com
By Shadae Lee
January 14, 2010

RICHMOND - A bill to block public access to concealed handgun records
and applications has triggered a clash between the right to privacy
and the right to know.

Delegate R. Lee Ware, R-Powhatan, is sponsoring House Bill 79. It
"prohibits a clerk of court from providing public access to concealed
handgun permit applications and information regarding identifiable
permittees without the written consent of the applicant or permittee."

Under the legislation, "the applications and information would be
available to law-enforcement agencies, and the clerk of court would be
authorized to release aggregate information that does not identify
individual applicants or permittees."

The proposal by Ware, who represents Powhatan County and part of
Chesterfield County, follows years of discussion over how public
concealed weapons permits should be.

In 2007, The Roanoke Times posted on its Web site a searchable
database containing the names and addresses of more than 135,000
Virginians licensed to carry concealed weapons.

The database accompanied a column about Sunshine Week, a national
initiative to promote open government.

After hundreds of readers complained, The Roanoke Times apologized and
removed the database.

State officials then announced that they would no longer make
available a database of concealed weapons permits. Individual records
still are open for inspection, but only at the courthouse in the
locality that issued the permit.

Some of the people on the list published by the Roanoke newspaper were
members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group.

Philip Van Cleave, the league's president, said his group supports
Ware's bill.

"The release of the names caused people to move and lives to be put in
jeopardy," Cleave said. "There was no need for names to be released."

People often get concealed weapons permits if they feel they are in
danger - a woman being stalked, for example, or a business owner who
makes after-hours bank deposits. Moreover, permit holders say they
fear criminals will target them - breaking into their homes or
vehicles - to try to steal their weapons.

The Virginia Coalition for Open Government and the Virginia Press
Association oppose Ware's bill to keep concealed handgun records
completely secret from the public.
Open-records advocates say there are good reasons for keeping the
concealed weapons permits public: This helps ensure that dangerous
people aren't getting such permits.

Ginger Stanley, executive director of the press association, said she
supports the compromise that was reached two years ago to keep
concealed weapons permits open but not as an electronic database.

Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open
Government, said it's important for the public to be able to confirm
if certain individuals have a concealed handgun permit.

"As long as permits for concealed weapons are required in Virginia,
there should be some level of public access to them," she said.

Ware's bill has been referred to the House Committee on Militia,
Police and Public Safety.

Last year, the Tennessee Legislature almost passed a law similar to
Ware's proposal, according to Frank Gibson of the Tennessee Coalition
for Open Government.

That came after a Tennessee newspaper published a database of
Tennessee's concealed weapons permits holders.

Gibson said he believes such records should stay open.

"The state [Tennessee] had given permits to convicted felons and had
failed to revoke permits following felony and domestic violence,"
Gibson said. "The only way for the public and press to know whether
the government is issuing permits to people who shouldn't have them is
for the information to remain open."


**************************************************
3. McCloskey stereotypes Virginia gun owners again
**************************************************

Dale Hawley emailed me this about a cartoon in the Newsleader:

--

McCloskey is at it again.

Every time I think that man has calmed down here we go with the
bigoted stereotypes again. [PVC: Boy, is that an understatement.]

Dale Hawley

http://tinyurl.com/yz79j9n


**************************************************
4. NBA players and firearms
**************************************************

Tyler Schwend emailed me this:

--

It's nice and refreshing when a news outlet doesn't just repeated
whatever story the AP hands them and actually does some reporting of
their own.

http://tinyurl.com/yf49waf

http://www.foxnews.com
By John R Lott, Jr & Roger Lott
January 11, 2010

High Robbery Rate Gives NBA Players Reason to Carry Arms

Some people ask why a man who stands 6-foot-4, weighs 215 pounds and
doesn't have an ounce of fat on him needs to carry a gun.

But Gilbert Arenas is not an anonymous physical specimen. He's a
player for the NBA's Washington Wizards. And statistics show that the
point guard's fame and recognition make him much more likely than the
average man on the street to become the victim of a violent crime.

Arenas, who has no previous criminal record, was indefinitely
suspended without pay Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern for
bringing unloaded guns into his team's locker room. Federal and local
authorities are looking into criminal charges, particularly possible
violations of the District of Columbia's strict gun laws.

In suspending Arenas, Stern said: "The possession of firearms by an
NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us."
While Stern was originally expected to wait for the outcome of the
investigations before acting, he reportedly felt compelled to suspend
Arenas immediately when the extent of Arenas' actions - and his
consequent behavior - became known.

On Tuesday, the day before he was suspended, Arenas pointed his index
fingers at an opposing player, purportedly mimicking guns, in a game
with the Philadelphia 76ers. Another contributing factor for the quick
suspension, some have suggested, was the tone of Arenas' public
apology for the gun incident on Twitter:

"I wanna say sorry if I pissed any body off by us havin fun...I'm
sorry for anything u need to blame (me) for right now," Arenas wrote
on a Twitter account that has since been deactivated.

For some observers, it is hard to comprehend why professional athletes
carry guns. The massive size and strength of NBA players would appear
to make them unlikely crime victims. But Gary Kleck, a criminology
Professor at Florida State University and co-author of "The Great
American Gun Debate," says that's hardly the case.

"Athletes in some respects constitute more attractive targets," Kleck
says. "They have a high public profile and are known to have wealth
and items that can easily be stolen, such as jewelry."

Statistics support Kleck's case. Five NBA players were robbed during
the four years from 2005 to 2008 - a rate of 280 per 100,000 people,
compared to 145 per 100,000 for the rest of the U.S. population. In
other words, the rate that NBA players are robbed was about twice the
rate for the rest of the country.

While "only" five robberies over four years might appear to be too
small a number for a fair comparative evaluation, Professor Lloyd
Cohen, who teaches statistics to lawyers at George Mason University
Law School, says: "This is an appropriate benchmark for determining
that the likelihood of an NBA player being a victim of robbery is
greater than [that] for the general population. This is not an
artificially selected sample. This is looking at all the reported
incidents in recent years."

The robberies of the NBA players also were comparatively brutal.
Possibly because of the players' physical size, those who rob them
generally commit their crimes in groups and appear to engage in more
planning. Indeed, all the robberies committed against NBA players from
2005 to 2008 involved at least two robbers, and they averaged 2.6
robbers. By contrast, a single robber commits the overwhelming
majority of other robberies.

The NBA players and their families are also much more likely to be
assaulted and tied up. While only 40 percent of typical robberies
involve guns, all the attacks against the NBA players involved guns.
Two of the players were shot at, with one being seriously wounded.

Shelden Williams, the 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward for the Atlanta
Hawks, had his car stolen from him by two men at gunpoint shortly
before a game in December 2007. Williams' longtime friend and former
college teammate, Luol Deng, told the Chicago Tribune at that time:
"It's not like Shelden is a guy who went and looked for trouble. They
were after him for some reason."
Four of the five robberies occurred in wealthy, very low crime areas,
and three occurred in homes in wealthy residential neighborhoods. One
of the robberies occurred in an area with an armed robbery rate of
fewer than 4 per 100,000 people; another occurred in a small city with
a robbery rate of about 110 per 100,000 people.

The higher victimization rate is not limited to NBA players. National
Football League players face a measurably higher risk of being
murdered. From 2005 through 2008, the murder rate for NFL players was
about six times that of the general U.S. population. Possibly the most
memorable death involved the Redskins' Sean Taylor, who was killed by
an intruder in his home.

Fortunately, no NBA player was murdered during that time, but there
have been plenty of threats of violence. Indiana Pacers' guard Jamaal
Tinsley was shot at three times during a 14-month period from late
2006 through December 2007; the last attack left the team's equipment
manager wounded. The equipment manager and Tinsley were reportedly
just sitting in Tinsley's car talking when the last attacked occurred.

Eddy Curry, the 6-foot-11, 285-pound forward for the New York Knicks,
was subdued and bound with duct tape, along with his wife and an
employee, when his mansion was robbed in July 2007. That same weekend,
the 6-foot-9, 245-pound Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker was robbed
while he was with a relative at his townhouse in Chicago. When Los
Angeles Clippers star Cuttino Mobley was robbed in 2005, he said he
felt so "violated" by the incident that he didn't live in the house
for at least the next two years.

Chicago Bulls forward Joe Smith, 6-foot-10 and 225 pounds, told the
Chicago Tribune that the threat of violence has changed his life. "It
can be a repairman, a cable guy, it can be anybody. And all they have
to do is just relay the message to the wrong person on where you
live," Smith said.
This glut of violent crimes has led many NBA players to decide to
carry firearms. New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris told reporters this
week he believes as many as 75 percent of the league's players own guns.

The risks of being a crime victim, Kleck says, "provide more
motivation for athletes to carry a gun for protection."

Professional athletes provide a range of opinions on how to protect
themselves from crime. "My gun definitely makes me feel a little
safer," said Houston Texans Cornerback Dunta Robinson, who was the
victim of an armed robbery in September 2007. On the other hand,
former Utah Jazz star Karl Malone told Sports Illustrated that players
should just learn not be out late at night at parties:

"Three a.m.? My goodness gracious, what were you doing out at 3
o'clock in the morning? Who were you with? Where were you at?" Malone
said.

Over the years, some NBA stars, including Shaquille O'Neal and Charles
Barkley, have carried concealed handguns. But it isn't just NBA
players who feel the need for protection. From talk show hosts (Don
Imus, Howard Stern, and Sean Hannity) to actors (Bill Cosby, Cybill
Shepherd, Tom Selleck, Robert De Niro) to numerous politicians, many
in the public eye have said they feel the need to protect themselves.
Others, including Rosie O'Donnell, rely on armed bodyguards.

What is clear is that the fear that professional sports figures have
over crime is not unique to them.

John R. Lott, Jr. is a FOXNews.com contributor. He is an economist and
author of "Freedomnomics." Roger Lott is an intern at the Washington
Times.


**************************************************
5. "Sacrifice your child" letter was satire
**************************************************

Doug Welty emailed me with about "LTE: Guns, teachers and self-
defense", Item #4, VCDL Update 1/6/10. Good find, Doug!

--

I do believe the "sacrifice your child" letter writer is just a dry and
clever satirist. See

http://tinyurl.com/yanle72

and

http://is.gd/5FOoY

Hats off to him.

Regards,
Doug Welty
Arlington


**************************************************
6. Gangs armed with machetes loot Port-Au-Prince
**************************************************

Phil Sammon emailed me this. During times of civil unrest or
disaster, many unarmed citizens die at the hands of criminals.
Getting hacked to death by a gang member with a machete doesn't sound
like fun:

--

http://tinyurl.com/ybqgjsh

wcbstv.com
By Kelly Cobiella
January 15, 2010

SNIP

Central Business District Resembles Hell On Earth As Bodies Pile Up
And Armed Men Battle Over Food, Supplies

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CBS)
The earthquake aftermath has brought out the best and worst of the
people of Haiti.

Much like the days after Hurricane Katrina, looting has become a
problem very quickly.

The looting appears to be isolated to Port-au-Prince's old commercial
center. It's an area that under normal circumstances would be filled
with many shops, markets and a few homes. But on Wednesday it was a
completely different scene.

It looked like a war zone.

Some of the buildings were on fire. Smoke was everywhere and there
were bodies in the streets, many just quake victims lying where they
were when the magnitude 7.0 blast hit.

What made the situation that much more tense was sightings of gangs of
young men with machetes. On Wednesday they were seen getting into
stores and taking all the supplies they could carry. The armed men
were seen marching up and down the streets with machetes raised and
the competition among the gangs turned quite fierce.

Fights between gangs were seen on the streets. Machetes were flailing
and it was impossible to predict what would happen next.

There was no sign of police or any kind of law and order...

--

The story continues after that, but you get the gist of it. ALL the
more reason to have the means to safeguard as well as provide for your
family.

Phil


**************************************************
7. Examiner: Retired NYPD detective, female Alabama judge get "dose of
reality"

**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/ya2otco

http://www.examiner.com
By Dave Workman
January 11, 2010

SNIP

A retired "hero" cop and a sitting Alabama judge are new additions to
a growing list of people to whom gun owners might bid a "Welcome to
the party" greeting.


**************************************************
8. NYPD disarms retired hero
**************************************************

Stephen P Wenger emailed me this. When it comes to guns, New York
City is even begrudging when it comes to ex-cops carrying guns. How
we do it in Virginia is much better. Everyone, including ex-police
and everyday citizens, can defend themselves with a gun without
begging permission to do so:

--

http://tinyurl.com/y9glos3

http://www.nydailynews.com
By John Marzulli
January 10, 2010

Hero detective who risked life to battle Mafia told to give up his gun
by NYPD

An NYPD detective who risked his life to infiltrate the Mafia has been
stripped of the right to carry a firearm because of a line-of-duty
injury, the Daily News has learned.

Rick Cowan, a retired first-grade detective, posed as a recycling
company exec named Danny Benedetto in the early 1990s to expose mob
influence in the carting industry.

His work secretly recording mobsters and corrupt businessmen earned
him one of the NYPD's top medals - honorable mention.
But now, with the NYPD refusing to let him carry a weapon for
protection, he feels betrayed by the job he loved.
"The nature of the Mafia is these people are very vengeful," said
Cowan, 52, who retired in December 2008 after 25 years on the force.

After suffering serious injuries in an on-duty car accident, Cowan had
a shunt put in his head - a device that carries a small risk of
complications if he suffers a blow to the head. Department officials
are concerned that if Cowan lost consciousness, he would be unable to
safeguard his firearm and consigned him to its "no carry" list.

Cowan's lawyer said the NYPD medical division appears more concerned
with liability issues than the safety of the detective and his family.

"He's being deprived of a firearm for no logical reason," said his
lawyer, Jeffrey Goldberg of Lake Success. "He did a great job for New
York City, and this is no way to treat a hero." Cowan sued in
Manhattan Supreme Court to get off the "no carry" list but a judge
recently rejected his appeal.

He's hoping he can persuade the NYPD to at least remove the label so
he can apply to carry a firearm in other jurisdictions.


**************************************************
9. Hinkle - U.S. trends: More guns, less crime
**************************************************

Overall the Richmond Times-Dispatch has come a long way on speaking
out in favor of our right to keep and bear arms (Paul Michael Williams
excepted).

James D Durso emailed me this:

--

http://tinyurl.com/y8jsdqn

www2.timesdispatch.com
By A. Barton Hinkle
January 15, 2010

Barack Obama proved the gun nuts wrong.

In the months following the presidential election, sales of firearms
and ammunition in the U.S. soared. The first 10 months of 2008 had
seen an uneven but overall rise of gun and ammo sales, but they spiked
in early November over widespread fears that Obama was a "gun grabber."

The headlines told the tale: "Gun Sales Soar Amid Fears of Barack
Obama Weapons Ban"; "Gun Sales Up Since Election"; "Gun Sales
Skyrocket Amid Obama Concerns"; "Obama Driving Surge in Gun Sales,
Firearms Groups Say." By April of last year sales were so brisk gun
shops were having trouble keeping ammunition in stock.

Obama's campaign had tried to reassure gun owners that the senator was
a friend of the Second Amendment. The effort was undercut by Obama's
remarks about rural voters who bitterly "cling to guns or religion"
when they're not, you know, handling snakes and dating their cousins.
Obama also had raised suspicions by repeatedly insisting he supported
"common sense" restrictions on gun ownership. That's usually a dead
giveaway. You never hear politicians say they believe in the First
Amendment but favor "common sense" restrictions on free speech and
religious worship.

So gun owners naturally were a trifle nervous. Yet the administration
has been true to its campaign promises. Jackbooted federal thugs are
not conducting house-to-house searches to confiscate firearms. They're
not even taking down names. Obama's election has turned out to be the
best thing to happen to the gun industry since Bill Clinton won in 1992.

At the same time, the nation has seen a sharp drop in violent crime.
Which means the gun nuts are proving liberals wrong, too.

After all, it has been an article of faith among gun-control advocates
that guns cause crime. That catechism was repeated relentlessly after
the 2008 Heller ruling, in which the Supreme Court struck down the
District of Columbia's ban on gun ownership: "Introducing more
handguns into the District will mean more handgun violence," D.C.
Mayor Adrian Fenty lamented.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin agreed: "There is no question that this
decision from the Supreme Court makes it harder for all mayors to keep
their city safe," she told NPR. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley called the
ruling "very frightening." The New York Times fumed the court had "all
but ensured that even more Americans will die senselessly." The
Chicago Tribune issued an equally nuanced and measured response:
"Repeal the Second Amendment," it begged.

Yet despite a remarkable uptick in gun sales, during the first six
months of 2009 violent crime fell 4.4 percent, property crime fell 6.6
percent, homicides fell 10 percent, and car thefts fell 19 percent.

As Heather Mac Donald of the Manhattan Institute recently pointed out,
the falling crime rate was particularly precipitous in big cities such
as Los Angeles, where homicides fell 17 percent in 2009, and New York,
where they fell 19 percent.

If guns caused crime, then we should have expected precisely the
opposite to happen -- particularly given the related liberal belief,
which Mac Donald dissects, that hard economic times drive people to
desperate acts. Among others, she quotes a New York Times editorial in
late 2008 fretting that "the economic crisis has clearly created the
conditions for more crime and more gangs among hopeless, jobless young
men in the inner cities." If liberal orthodoxy held true, then the
combination of hard times and more guns should have made the past year
a record-setting period for bloodshed. It didn't.

There is no disputing the fact that guns make killing easier. The D.C.
snipers, to cite just one example, would have had a harder time
assassinating innocent people if they had been forced to use a bow and
arrow.

But the recent trends in the U.S. -- more guns, less crime -- should
dispel the lazy assumption that there is a direct correlation between
firearms ownership and mayhem.

In retrospect, it was probably silly for gun nuts to rush out and buy
more guns before Obama outlawed them. But it wasn't half so silly as
the assumption among gun-control advocates that anybody who buys a
weapon will suddenly suffer an irresistible impulse to commit murder.

Perhaps there's a lesson here: Just because you buy a gun doesn't mean
you're nuts.

My thoughts do not aim for your assent -- just place them alongside
your own reflections for a while.


**************************************************
10. Texas: Students denied right to stage empty holster protest
**************************************************

A college in Texas nixed an empty holster protest because the
chancellor thought that people couldn't resist filling those holsters
with guns!

And this is HIGHER education, unbelievable.

Perhaps we should ban envelopes because someone might not be able to
resist putting something libelous in one.

Fortunately, a judge used common sense when he restrained the school
from banning such events.

Thanks to Dick Letaw for the link:

http://tinyurl.com/yapqvsl

http://www.star-telegram.com
By Bill Hanna
January 14, 2010

TCC officials feared someone would bring gun during empty-holster
protest

FORT WORTH - When Tarrant County College denied a student the right to
stage an empty holster protest in April 2008 at the South Campus,
officials feared someone would use the event to bring a weapon on
campus.

"There was certainly the expectation that someone was going to show up
with a gun in a holster," TCC interim Chancellor Erma Johnson Hadley
said under cross examination during a trial in federal court Thursday.

School officials had the concern even though they had no evidence that
anyone would, and U.S. District Court Judge Terry Means told her -
when she couldn't provide any proof of why she thought someone planned
to do so - that free speech cannot be limited on the basis of an
"undifferentiated fear."
"I can't see any tangible basis for this fear," Means said.

Hadley's testimony came in the third and final day of a trial
concerning TCC's free-speech restrictions and how administrators
changed the student handbook after the lawsuit was filed and whether
those changes were made properly.

The American Civil Liberties Union is asking that some sections of the
handbook about protest policies be found unconstitutional and is
seeking a permanent injunction against TCC prohibiting it from
enforcing those policies.

TCC denied empty-holster protests in April 2008 and April 2009,
stating that they believed it could cause a disturbance on campus put
students and the faculty at risk.

TCC again denied a request to wear the holsters in November, but
students Clayton Smith and John Schwertz Jr. then filed suit with the
assistance of the ACLU.

Means issued a temporary restraining order allowing the protests to be
held in public areas last November. The protests on the Northeast
Campus in Hurst and South Campus in Fort Worth went off without
incident.

The empty-holster protests began nationally after the 2007 Virginia
Tech shooting.

TCC officials also learned of graffiti in a campus bathroom
threatening a shooting, and a teacher also reported hearing a student
talking of re-enacting a Virginia Tech-style shooting in April 2008.

TCC rewrote some sections of its handbook and some of its policies,
doing away with designated free-speech zones and statements that it
would now allow protests to take place on campus without advance
permission.

Smith, who is attending the University of Texas at Arlington this
spring, still plans to take part in empty-holster protests this April.
TCC rules place tighter restrictions on campus visitors than students.

ACLU attorney David Broiles contends that the college is limiting the
free expression of visitors to the campus, calling it unconstitutional.

Both sides have until Jan. 28 to submit written closing arguments.
They were told to focus on Smith's status as a student and the
restrictions TCC can impose on nonstudents to its campuses.

The temporary restraining order, which permits empty-holster protests
and allows Smith to participate, will remain in place until a final
ruling is made.


**************************************************
11. TSA: Security fails to spot gun at Montana airport
**************************************************

Thanks for all that security, but in the end I'd rather be able to
protect myself. See my other comments in the next item (#12).

http://tinyurl.com/yesdwac

http://www.msnbc.com
January 14, 2010

BOZEMAN, Mont. - Officials say security screeners at a Bozeman-area
airport failed to spot a gun in a passenger's luggage last month, but
the man turned himself in when he realized his error.

Transportation Security Administration spokesman Dwayne Baird said in
a written statement Wednesday that the unidentified man became aware
that he had the firearm in his carry-on luggage as he was boarding
Dec. 13 at Gallatin Field.

The gun was confiscated and the passenger was allowed to continue on
the flight.

The incident occurred nearly two weeks before the alleged Christmas
Day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner reawakened widespread concern
over airline safety.

Still, Gallatin Field Board Chairman Dick Roehm says he's disappointed
at the lapse and the airport is looking into turning to a private
company to handle security at the airport.


**************************************************
12. Passenger carried shotgun shells on plane
**************************************************

If the government had a firm policy of just confiscating weapons
inadvertently brought onto airplanes, and not prosecuting those who
bring such accidental breaches to TSA's attention, that would be a
very smart thing.

In the case below and item #11, above, TSA let the two people continue
on. But in other cases, they have arrested the person, which means I
wouldn't tell them (Fifth Amendment), but would get out of the airport
as soon as I made such a discovery.

http://tinyurl.com/yczt3up

http://www.todaystmj4.com
The Associated Press
January 11, 2010

Shotgun Shells Brought on Plane at Mitchell

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A passenger inadvertently carried shotgun shells
onto a Dallas-bound Midwest Airlines plane at Milwaukee's airport on
Monday before he realized his mistake and alerted flight attendants,
authorities said.

The man, who was not identified, did not mean any harm, saying he had
forgotten that the ammunition was in his carryon bags when he boarded
the flight, Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jim
Fotenos said.

TSA agents turned the ammunition over to local police and sent the man
back for another security search. They then allowed him to reboard and
the plane left for Dallas later Monday.

"The passenger was interviewed and rescreened with negative findings,"
Fotenos said in a statement. "The passenger stated that he
inadvertently brought the prohibited items onboard the plane and self-
disclosed them when he realized they were in his possession."

Fotenos said the TSA is reviewing how the passenger got the ammunition
through pre-boarding security searches. He declined to identify the
man or comment further. TSA policy prohibits passengers from having
firearms or ammunition in their carryon luggage.

Oak Creek, Wis. based-Midwest Airlines declined to comment.

The incident comes less than a week after a grand jury indicted Umar
Farouk Abdulmutallab with trying to use chemical explosives stashed in
his underwear to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane as it landed in
Detroit on Christmas Day. Since then, the TSA and airlines have
boosted security in airports in the U.S. and around the world.

Another passenger on Monday's Midwest Airlines flight 1669, Doug Bell,
50, of Hales Corners, Wis., said the plane was pushing back from the
gate around 8 a.m. when the pilot came on the intercom and said there
was a security problem and the plane had to return to the gate. The
pilot said a passenger had notified a flight attendant he was a gun
dealer and had shells in his bag, Bell said.

"There was a murmur on the plane," Bell said. "The whole plane was
wondering what was going on. It isn't everyday the pilot tells you
somebody got on the plane and brought shells with him. ... I couldn't
believe it."

The man got off the plane and a TSA agent searched the luggage
compartment above his seat, Bell said. The man then got back on board,
and the plane took off after about an hour's delay, he said.

Bells said he was shocked TSA agents didn't search the entire plane
because the man could have dropped off something in another seat as he
walked back to his during boarding.

"Thankfully the man was an honorable man," Bell told The Associated
Press in a telephone interview after the plane landed. (But) what if
he wasn't so honorable? I'm telling you, security isn't working."

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department patrols General Mitchell
International. Department spokeswoman Kim Brooks didn't immediately
return a message. Airport spokeswoman Pat Rowe referred questions to
Fotenos.


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13. New gun store opening January 30 in NoVA
**************************************************

TJ Parmele emailed me this:

--

Philip,

I also wanted to let you know, that my store: NOVA Armament, LLC will
be officially opening on 30 Jan 2010. Ed Levine has already sent a
VCDL kit to the store, which we are displaying prominently near our
cash register.

We'd love for VCDL members to stop by. Our website is: http://www.novaarmament.com

Directions can be found there, and we are open for transfers now:
$25.00 for handgun or long gun, $10.00 for each additional firearm on
the same form. We are also offering a "Frequent FFL transfer" card,
after 5 transfers, your 6th is free.

Thanks!

TJ Parmele




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