Not yet a VCDL member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join.html
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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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1. VCDL Membership Meeting in Annandale on Thursday, September 15th
2. VCDL picnic in Newport News THIS Saturday, September 10th!
3. VCDL "pot luck" picnic in SW Virginia
4. VCDL renewal season update!
5. Holster in Fairfax County Courthouse
6. Lynchburg "education pamphlet"
7. Bedford County gun range
8. A 2A-friendly credit union in NoVA
9. LTE: Tragedies instead of facts
10. Carry in emergencies
11. Libby Garvey attack piece
12. Pepper spray thwarts robbery in Albemarle County 13. Who needs a gun on campus?
14. More attention to Fast and Furious by the Virginian-Pilot?
15. Documents suggest official Fast & Furious cover-up
16. Editorial: Rendering the ATF toothless
17. Best ATF agent interview ever?
18. Revisiting the 2nd Amendment's right to bear arms
19. In Crittenton case, don't blame guns
20. Wild West Guns commercial
21. Police powers to seize weapons from citizens
22. VCDL members/gun owners fixing preemption statewide! YOU can help
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1. VCDL Membership Meeting in Annandale on Thursday, September 15th
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VCDL is having its monthly membership meeting at the Mason Government Center in Annandale on Thursday, September 15th.
We are going to have several candidates speak at the meeting and we will also be covering Martinsville and other preemption issues around the state and talking about political activism.
As with all VCDL membership meetings, this one is open to the public, so bring a friend or neighbor and don't be shy
The meeting will be called to order at 8 PM (fellowship starts at 7:30 PM). At 9:30 the meeting will end and we will head to a local restaurant for continued fellowship.
Directions to the meeting can be found on the VCDL web site:
http://www.vcdl.org/static/meetings.html
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2. VCDL picnic in Newport News THIS Saturday, September 10th!
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NEW: Congressman Wittman will be attending the picnic. This is a good chance to talk to him about issues near and dear to us.
The Virginia Citizen's Defense League will be hosting a picnic in the Riverview park in the city of Newport News. The picnic will be held THIS SATURDAY, September 10th from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM. All are invited, so let's fill up the pavilion!
**There is a list of items needed for the picnic.** If you have help, click on the link below to see the list:
http://tinyurl.com/43cf4fo
The address for the picnic is:
100 City Farm Road
Newport News, Virginia 23602
(757) 886-7912
nnparks.com
Thanks to EM and gun show coordinator, Ron Lilly, for setting up this picnic!
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3. VCDL "pot luck" picnic in SW Virginia
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VCDL will have a family "pot luck" picnic on Saturday, September 24, at the Settlers Museum of Southwest Virginia (www.settlersmuseum.com):
1322 Rocky Hollow Road
Atkins VA 24311
(about ten miles south-west of Wytheville, just off of I-81 at exit 54).
Lunch will start at about 11 AM -- with speakers and the VCDL meeting to follow. Early birds will start arriving about 10 AM to set up for the event -- all helpers appreciated. This event is expected to end before 3 PM at the latest.
A "POT LUCK" event means please bring FOOD to SHARE with others. VCDL will furnish soft drinks; plates & eating utensils; napkins and such. We do NOT plan on cooking anything except possibly hot dogs for the kids -- IF you want to cook items, please bring your grill since there are none at the shelter. There are limited electric outlets available.
Anyone having extra tables and chairs should bring them since there are only 8 bench type tables at the shelter. Horseshoes would be nice to have also!!!
Please note, this is a FAMILY event for all VCDL members, their families and any guests who want to come! As usual, VCDL does not dictate legal open or concealed carry -- or any carry at all at our events -- your choice.
VCDL has been wanting some type of events in this area for quite awhile -- many members and guests have been asking for such a meeting -- so please mark this date, bring your friends and attend. There is NO charge for parking or entry at the picnic. There IS a charge of $5.00 if you want to enter the Settlers Museum nearby.
We will need a RSVP for numbers of attendees so we will have enough supplies to cover the event.
QUESTIONS may be directed to Al Steed Jr. at 540-890-0970 or by email to al@vcdl.org
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4. VCDL renewal season update!
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VCDL Membership Director Jackie Blundell emailed me this:
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Thanks to everyone (over 600 of you) who have already renewed for the 2011-2012 Membership year. The first batch of updated 2011-2012 card information went to the printer on August 25th. So if you renewed on-line by August 23rd or put a check in the mail no later than August 18, you should be receiving your new membership card and new "Prohibited Carry Card" (in manly hot pink this year [PVC: WHAT?! I was told it was fuchsia!] ) soon. The information for the paper renewal reminders also went to the printer on August 25th. So if you renewed on-line or via mail shortly on or after August 25th, you will probably still get a paper renewal. Sorry about that but the printer takes around a week to get our project done and in the mail.
Don't feel you have to wait to get your paper renewal reminder before renewing though. I'm continuing to process renewals as I get them.
Also, please remember that The Membership Processing Center (ie, the cart in my husband's home office) closes on December 13 and wont' reopen until after the first of the year. If you are planning to make an early in the year CMP purchase and need your membership up to date to get the discount, make sure you submit your renewal in time for it to be processed before things shut down for Christmas.
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5. Holster in Fairfax County Courthouse
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EM Tess Ailshire fixed a situation at the Fairfax County Courthouse where the guards were making people WITH EMPTY HOLSTERS taken the holsters back to their car!
Sheesh - government giving itself yet another black eye.
The issue was reported to VCDL by a member and Tess volunteered to handle it.
Tess's report to the Board:
I just got off the phone with Lt. Eli Rejeili of the Fairfax County Sheriff's Department. He informed me that the security personnel at the door are private contractors, not Sheriff's Department personnel, who are under Sheriff's Department supervision.
Based on my e-mail yesterday, Lt Rejeili attended the contractors' roll call this morning and discussed the issue. He spoke with all personnel there, and then with the supervisor. Apparently one or more of the contractors believed they had been directed to remove firearm paraphernalia, despite the fact they did not see a danger either.
Lt Rejeili clarified the rules to the contractors, and agreed with me that a firearm holster is no different than a cell-phone holster. He believes the issue is cleared up, and invited me to contact him directly if anyone else should have an issue with an empty holster at the Fairfax County courthouse.
Tess
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6. Lynchburg "education pamphlet"
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EM Ed Levine and member James Evans worked together to get Lynchburg PD to replace some anti-freedom literature they had at their headquarters. The pamphlet, titled "What Would You Do if the Police Stopped You?)" tells citizens to not carry weapons. That was rich coming from the police, who carry all kinds of weapons. Thanks to James for bringing this to our attention. And thanks to the Lynchburg PD Chief, Parks H. Snead, for fixing the problem very quickly and professionally. The Chief said he was shocked to see that old pamphlet and that he had fixed the problem wording years ago. There is no reason not to take the Chief on his word - I'm glad that the problem has been fixed.
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7. Bedford County gun range
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Joe Seiffert emailed me this:
From newsadvance.com: http://tinyurl.com/3vc3wgz
Forest neighbors fire off concerns about gun range By JUSTIN FAULCONER August 31, 2011
FOREST -- For nearly three decades Tim Hooper's shooting range adjacent to New London Academy in Bedford County did not draw a single complaint, he said.
Concerns from nearby property owners and family members of schoolchildren flooded him and his attorney for nearly two hours Wednesday during a neighborhood information meeting at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School.
The meeting, hosted by the county's Department of Community Development, drew about 75 people to the Forest school a few miles away from where Hooper's Red 6 Tactical Training Facility is located just off U.S. 460.
Hooper, who since 1983 has operated the range at 6010 Thomas Jefferson Road, is requesting that the county rezone 29 acres of his family's farmland to allow the range through a special-use permit. After receiving a complaint last year, the county told Hooper that the facility does not conform to county zoning that was adopted in 1998, which is why he is pursuing the zoning change.
Richard Livingston, his attorney, told the crowd Wednesday he hoped they could visit the site because it could change some perspectives. The range is administered only by licensed firearm instructors and is not accessible to anyone off the street to come shoot in a commercial-style venue, he said.
"This is not a recreational facility," Livingston said. "It is an instructional facility."
He said about 90 percent of the crowd probably didn't even know it was there until the recent issues with the county over zoning. The operation was not secret, he said, but rather "unobtrusive" to the area.
Hooper, who said he works part-time in the Lynchburg Sheriff's Office, has a military background and wanted to make the facility available for law enforcement training. The first professional course was taught there in 1983, he said, and shooting takes place underground and pointing away from the nearby school.
"We trained people from all over the world there," Hooper said.
Though many of the people who spoke Wednesday had technical questions about the operation and some were in full support of it, concerns were raised about the close proximity to the school, noise and potential impact on property values.
"It scares the children," said New London Academy Principal Tammy Parlier. "We hear it. We know you're shooting." [PVC: It's the sound of FREEDOM, Ms. Parlier. This is America, embrace freedom, don't run from it.]
Brad Whorley, who represents the area on the Bedford County School Board, was at the meeting. He said staff at the school have said they hear the shooting and asked Hooper what the benefit is to having the operation so close to a school and homes.
Hooper said there is hunting in the area and gunshots would also be heard at the school from that. He said no one at the school or nearby areas would be under any threat and users of the facility are supervised by professionals and cleared through criminal background checks.
The site would not operate like a gun club, he said. The purpose is to serve a need of providing tactical training to law enforcement, including local agencies that have to travel elsewhere to get such training.
Livingston said there was "no greater testimony" of a professional operation than the fact that the facility was there for nearly 30 years without drawing complaints until recently. Hooper was not aware there was a zoning violation, he said, because he thought it was a "grandfathered" use.
However, the county said state code does not allow it to be grandfathered in because the facility was expanded and there was a period when it ceased operating. The county investigated after receiving an anonymous complaint, said Mark Jordan, a planner.
Beverly Mann, a neighboring landowner, said she believed Hooper's "heart is in the right place," but still has concerns.
"If they're not shooting toward the school, they are shooting toward my house," said Mann, who has grandchildren at the school. "If the business is needed, take it to a remote area." [PVC: Ms. Mann acts like the range is in downtown Norfolk. We are talking Bedford here - how remote does it need to be? Perhaps Ms. Mann needs to move to a more remote area.]
Hooper said he would open the site for about an hour next Tuesday for anyone who wished to see what it is like. There were also images on hand prior to the meeting and an instructor answered questions.
The Bedford County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the rezoning at a date to be determined, likely in November, Jordan said. The final decision would rest with the county board of supervisors, which would also hold a hearing.
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8. A 2A-friendly credit union in NoVA
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Do note that the information below is NOT posted on the Apple FCU web site.
John Oliver emailed me this:
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Apple Federal Credit Union says:
Apple FCU recognizes the Code of Virginia and the Laws of Virginia as they pertain to concealed weapons and weapons carried open and in plain view. Additionally, Apple FCU also recognizes the Second Amendment and Federal Laws as well as local laws and ordinances.
That paragraph was their response to me in an email when I asked them about their policy.
In the Virginia Open Carry facebook group there's a post from someone else saying they had an in-person talk with them a while back that reflected the same info.
They deserve a shout-out. I'm very likely going to be moving my accounts to them away from Navy Federal CU [PVC: Navy FCU is definitely anti-gun]
http://www.applefcu.org/
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9. LTE: Tragedies instead of facts
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Roger Harris emailed me this:
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From roanoke.com: http://tinyurl.com/3cy9nfk
The Times is against our right to bear arms
Your Aug. 19 editorial "It's too early to assess gun data" denies the legitimacy of statistics that show that gun crimes in bars have decreased since people with concealed weapons permits were allowed to have them in bars as long as they weren't drinking. You claimed that not enough time has elapsed and that, perhaps, other unknown factors could have skewed the statistics.
On the other hand, your next-to-last paragraph makes it clear your preferred proof to support your argument that the new law is unwise is to wait for a few "tragic individual incidents that occurred rarely, perhaps with decades between them." Very scientific. Obviously enough, in your minds, to deny all their right to protect themselves.
Let's face it; The Roanoke Times has always argued against Second Amendment rights, and it'll never accept any facts to the contrary.
ROGER HARRIS
ROANOKE
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10. Carry in emergencies
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A member asked me to explain the laws in Virginia when it comes to a declared state of emergency by the Governor. Right after Katrina devastated New Orleans and the police officers disarmed the hurricane's victims, leaving them on their own to try and survive unprotected, a bill was put in on VCDL's behalf and passed into law that states that our right to keep and bear arms in Virginia is not to be affected by a state of emergency.
However, there is a loophole - an emergency shelter can ban guns. It is time that we fix that problem and we will consider doing so in January when the General Assembly meets.
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11. Libby Garvey attack piece
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VCDL Vice President Jim Snyder emailed me this:
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Libby Garvey was running against Adam Ebbin and Rob Krupicka in the Democrat primary for the Senate district I am now in.
I never got mail from Rob Krupicka (although he finished 2nd) but I got a lot from both Garvey and Ebbin. Both were running against Ken Cuccinelli. (BTW, Ebbin won.)
I was throwing away the attached anti-Cuccinelli mailing from Garvey when I noticed the 2nd page of the mailing. "And on the 7th Day, Cuccinelli said, 'Let them bring guns.'"
ROTFLMAO!
Just had to pass it on.
[PVC: If I were Cuccinelli, I would put that quote on my web site under my position on the right to keep and bear arms.]
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12. Pepper spray thwarts robbery in Albemarle County
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Pepper spray beats having nothing, but it is trumped by a firearm every time.
From nbc29.com: http://tinyurl.com/432ob9u
Robbery Averted When Victim Used Pepper Spray, Suspects in Custody Aug 30, 2011
Six men are in custody after an attempted robbery in Albemarle County. It happened around 12:15 p.m. at Hardees on Pantops. The victim said a group of men approached him asking for money.
The victim used pepper spray and all the suspects took off running, some to the Free Bridge and some to a nearby gas station. No one was seriously hurt.
Release from Albemarle County Police Department:
At approximately 12:15 P.M. the Albemarle County Police responded to the Hardees located at 105 Newhouse Drive for a reported strong armed robbery. The victim reported that six assailants attempted to rob him. The victim sprayed one of the assailants with pepper spray causing all of them to flee.
The assailants ran towards Free Bridge and the Shell Station located at 1129 Richmond Road. With the assistance of the Charlottesville Police Department all six assailants were detained and are currently being interviewed at the Albemarle County Police Department.
The victim in this incident has been transported to the Martha Jefferson Hospital with minor injuries.
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From the Code of Virginia: http://tinyurl.com/3f96nvs
S 18.2-312. Illegal use of tear gas, phosgene and other gases.
If any person maliciously release or cause or procure to be released in any private home, place of business or place of public gathering any tear gas, mustard gas, phosgene gas or other noxious or nauseating gases or mixtures of chemicals designed to, and capable of, producing vile or injurious or nauseating odors or gases, and bodily injury results to any person from such gas or odor, the offending person shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony.
If such act be done unlawfully, but not maliciously, the offending person shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Nothing herein contained shall prevent the use of tear gas or other gases by police officers or other peace officers in the proper performance of their duties, or by any person or persons in the protection of person, life or property.
(Code 1950, S 18.1-70; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15.)
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13. Who needs a gun on campus?
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From wtkr.com: http://tinyurl.com/3kezhqh
Another ODU student robbed at gunpoint, robbers took victim's sneakers August 31, 2011
On the first day of classes for Old Dominion University, a student is robbed at gunpoint on 49th and Elkhorn.
The robbery occurred just after midnight according to university officials.
Two men in a green Ford Explorer, one armed with a gun, pulled up to a student and demanded his sneakers. The student was not injured.
Students received alerts and emails about the robbery and were advised to exercise caution.
Other students were a bit shocked by the item that was taken from the victim, but they were not at all surprised that the robbery occurred.
One student who signed up for the campus alerts admitted that he receives the messages but deletes them because they've become so frequent that he is no longer affected.
Last semester, there were a number of crimes on or near campus including the murder of Christopher Cummings, which still remains unsolved.
After that, ODU added more security to the campus and those extra measures are still in effect.
"We're going to increase security on our campus, both patrols by the police as well as parking garages and staffing in our residents halls. We take this very seriously, and we are reacting quickly," says Ellen Neufeldt, Vice President of Student Enrollment and Engagement Services.
Officials are also advising students to take extra precautions such as using the campus' Safe Ride and Escort Services as well as walking in well-lit areas with other people.
Officials say that there were extra police on the campus when the robbery occurred. They say that the student robbed was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Campus authorities are planning to meet to discuss if they will add even more security to the heightened security that was put in place last semester.
ODU is also plans to have a crime prevention workshop with the city of Norfolk on Thursday, September 8th at Lamberts Point Recreation Center.
Police do not have any suspects in the crime.
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14. More attention to Fast and Furious by the Virginian-Pilot?
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A VA-ALERT reader emailed me this.
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Mr. Van Cleave,
I was just wondering what, if anything, you could suggest that might help bring more attention to the Gunwalker scandal. I've repeatedly forwarded links to various Virginian-Pilot personnel, but there really hasn't been anything approaching significant coverage, to the extent that a search for Gunwalker on their website yields no results at all. I realize they are a hostile organization, but in your experience is there anything a lone individual can do to somehow put more pressure on them? I've even tried embarrassing them on Twitter, and got no response at all. Thanks in advance. --Jay
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My response to Jay:
I can't think of anything. A few years ago one of their reporters purposely misquoted me. Unfortunately for the reporter I had a recording of the interview and I told the Virginia-Pilot that they needed to correct the record. I put the audio online so everyone could hear what I told the reporter and compare that to what she wrote. We had people calling and emailing the paper, but the paper stuck its head in the sand and didn't print a correction or even publicly acknowledge the intentional misrepresentation of my words.
They hated the restaurant ban repeal and were apparently willing to do anything to stop it.
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15. Documents suggest official Fast & Furious cover-up
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Dave Workman emailed me this:
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From the Gun Rights Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/3gfwsvm
[SNIP]
"Newly-revealed documents suggest there was a fast and furious cover-up by the Phoenix U.S. Attorney's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when guns recovered from the crime scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry's murder were quickly linked to the ATF's gun trafficking sting operation."
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16. Editorial: Rendering the ATF toothless
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Ah, that title! Be still my beating heart!
Unfortunately, the Big-Government Washington Post believes that is a bad thing.
Derek Watson emailed me this:
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From the Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/3r8mex9
Rendering the ATF toothless
By Editorial
August 31, 2011
ATTORNEY GENERAL Eric H. Holder Jr. announced Tuesday that Kenneth E. Melson, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), would step down from his post. Also announced was that U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke of Arizona would resign.
In Washington parlance, both men had become "distractions" because of their roles in the now-discredited "Operation Fast and Furious." The Phoenix-based effort was intended to slow the illegal flow of guns from U.S. border states to Mexico, but it went awry when agents lost track of roughly 2,000 guns. Some of these weapons were ultimately traced to crimes in Mexico; two such guns were found in December at the site where a U.S. Border Patrol agent was murdered.
So, under intense scrutiny from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), the Justice Department sacrificed the man nominally in charge of the ATF and the top prosecutor in the region. But does the Justice Department believe that the men did anything wrong? If so, it isn't saying; Fast and Furious wasn't mentioned in the official announcements. But if not, why didn't the department and the attorney general stand by them?
The ATF now receives its fifth acting director in as many years. But that's apparently not enough of an insult: B. Todd Jones, who has been tapped for the position, will remain U.S. attorney in Minnesota, splitting his time between there and Washington. Mr. Jones is well regarded in law enforcement circles, but the administration shows little respect for the ATF mission when it parks a part-timer at the helm.
The real scandal here is America's refusal to curb the flow of gun traffic from the United States to murderous cartels in Mexico. [PVC: Actually it is the government that is doing
the trafficking, so they can stop it any time they want!] That failure stems from National Rifle Association pressure on Congress to keep the ATF weak and from President Obama's reluctance to confront that political obstacle. Instead of dishonestly explained personnel moves offered in futile efforts at appeasement, the administration should push to have its director nominee, Andrew Traver, be confirmed -- or at least be given the courtesy of a hearing. And it should make the case that the bureau needs far more resources and stronger laws, including a firearms trafficking statute, to make a dent in the massive illegal gun trafficking along the southwestern border.
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17. Best ATF agent interview ever?
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A VA-ALERT reader emailed me this:
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This officer is what all law enforcement should strive to be. This is a 20 min interview where this ATF agent is blowing the whistle. I love the fact at the end, he is asked if there should be more gun laws and he says there are enough law on the book and that the ATF does not enforce them. Beyond that he says law enforcement should not be answering those questions as it is their job to enforce law not make them.
I would love to share this with the VCDL community.
It begins at the 13 Min mark but clicking on this link should put you to the correct point automatically.
From democracynow.org: http://tinyurl.com/3kfbrw7
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18. Revisiting the 2nd Amendment's right to bear arms
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The Second Amendment Foundation is also active in these suits.
EM Dave Hicks emailed me this:
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From the Los Angeles Times: http://tinyurl.com/3bjtqpz
Revisiting the 2nd Amendment's right to bear arms
So far the courts have limited guns mostly to the home. But the National Rifle Assn. is asking the Supreme Court to clarify that the right extends further.
By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau
August 27, 2011
Reporting from Washington-- The 2nd Amendment's "right to keep and bear arms" is proving to be a right to keep a gun at home, but so far not a right to bear a loaded firearm in public.
The Supreme Court breathed new life into the amendment when it struck down strict handgun bans in Washington and Chicago and spoke of the "inherent right of self-defense."
But to the dismay of gun rights advocates, judges in recent months have read those decisions narrowly and rejected claims from those who said they had a constitutional right to carry a loaded gun on their person or in their car. Instead, these judges from California to Maryland have said the "core right" to a gun is limited to the home.
Now, the National Rifle Assn. is asking the high court to take up the issue this fall and "correct the widespread misapprehension that the 2nd Amendment's scope does not extend beyond the home."
Stephen Halbrook, an NRA lawyer, said "some judges have buried their heads in the sand and have refused to go one step further" than saying there is a right to have a gun at home.
The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence hailed the trend and called the high court's rulings a "hollow victory" for gun enthusiasts. "The gun lobby has tried to expand [the 2nd Amendment] into a broad right to carry any type of gun anywhere. And they have been almost unanimously rejected by the courts," said Jonathan Lowy, director of legal action. He conceded, however, that "this battle is far from over."
The uncertainty began with the Supreme Court itself. In 2008, Justice Antonin Scalia said the history of the 2nd Amendment shows it "guarantees the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation." But other parts of his 5-4 opinion stressed there is no right to "carry any weapon in any manner," and that bans on "carrying concealed weapons were lawful" in the 19th century.
Since then, hundreds of lawsuits have been filed to challenge gun restrictions. In California, federal judges in San Diego and Yolo counties rejected suits from law-abiding gun owners who were denied "concealed carry" permits.
"The 2nd Amendment does not create a fundamental right to carry a concealed weapon in public," U.S. District Judge Morrison England ruled in May.
"That's the cutting-edge issue: whether the 2nd Amendment applies outside the home," said Chuck Michel, an NRA lawyer in Long Beach who has appealed the question to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
State judges in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York have also ruled recently that there is no constitutional right to carry a loaded gun for self-defense. And in Virginia, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal conviction of a man who fell asleep in his car near Washington's Reagan National Airport with a loaded gun.
Despite setbacks in court, gun owners are winning on the political front. Now, 40 states grant concealed-carry permits to qualified gun owners. California, Maryland and Illinois are among the handful of states with large urban populations that deny most or all permits, except to those who show they face a specific danger.
Judges have been wary of second-guessing these restrictions. If the right to bear arms is to apply "outside the home environment, we think it is prudent to await direction from the [Supreme] Court itself," U.S. Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson, a prominent conservative on the 4th Circuit bench, wrote in March. "This is serious business. We do not wish to be even minutely responsible for some unspeakably tragic act of mayhem because in the peace of our judicial chambers we miscalculated as to 2nd Amendment rights."
The Supreme Court has two appeal petitions before it. In one, Charles Williams, a Maryland resident, is appealing his one-year jail term for carrying a legally registered gun in a backpack. The other involves Sean Masciandaro, the Virginia man who was convicted and fined for "carrying a loaded weapon in a motor vehicle" on national parkland.
Obama administration lawyers are expected to urge the court to steer clear of the issue. However, if the justices vote to hear it, the administration would have to argue that the right to bear arms does not extend to concealed weapons.
"We think if there is a 2nd Amendment right outside the home, it surely applies to law-abiding citizens carrying handguns for self-defense while traveling on public highways," said Antigone Peyton, a Virginia lawyer who represents Masciandaro. She said her client travels to put on exhibits of reptiles and sometimes sleeps in his car to save money.
In her petition to the high court, she said her client, "like millions of law-abiding gun owners, should be told the scope of his right to keep and bear arms in case of confrontation."
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19. In Crittenton case, don't blame guns
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Bob Young emailed me this:
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From msn.foxsports.com: http://tinyurl.com/3pz5zmo
In Crittenton case, don't blame guns
By Jen Floyd Engel
Aug 29, 2011
Gun, NBA, mother and murder never add up to good news, and so it is in the case of former Washington Wizards player Javaris Crittenton. He has been charged in the drive-by shooting murder of a mother of four. According to reports, the woman was not the intended target.
Police contend he was aiming for revenge. His jewelry had been stolen, and he had to show how hard he was and put a cap in the dude, or whatever the lingo is nowadays.
It was not long ago that the NBA figured to have dodged a bullet with Crittenton. His locker room standoff with Gilbert Arenas, after Arenas had displayed all manner of weaponry in front of his locker with a sign that said "pick one," wound up with both players suspended but tragedy avoided.
In that skirmish, which erupted over a card game, Crittenton reportedly threatened to shoot Arenas in his bad knee.
That incident, during the 2009-10 season, is too idiotic to contemplate, too beyond my daily life to comprehend and barely worthy of consideration except that the idiocy has escalated -- a woman is dead. All of which might have been avoided if the NBA had focused on the real problem.
Instead, The Association focused on the guns.
The mistake we made then was making it about the guns. Even NBA commish David Stern, whose response in hindsight saved the league an ugly embarrassment at best and a body bag in one of his locker rooms at worst, said, "The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us."
See how we do that? The guns become the problem, allowing us to ignore the real issue. The NBA's problem was not guns in the locker rooms; it was the idiots.
Full disclosure: I am a strong supporter of the NRA. Not because I own a gun. I do not. Mine is a belief in the Second Amendment and the total unwillingness to give back any rights enumerated to me by the Constitution simply because nobody is willing to discuss the real issues.
Having lived in Texas for almost 15 years, I know people with guns, people who use their guns to shoot deer and ducks and quail and doves. You know how you can tell real gun lovers? They rarely show you their guns -- and never in anger or to prove a point. People who really love guns respect them, respect their danger.
Someone will probably say I do not understand how Crittenton grew up, the lifestyle or the need to go back hard at those who challenge your name. I do not.
Nor do I understand how these little incidents -- which to me feel like nothing, or so minuscule -- escalate into such violence with everybody brandishing their weapons of choice. Even less so when the participants are flying around on jets to play games and being paid millions (and many, many millions in Arenas' case).
I do this not to compare Arenas and Crittenton. I know neither personally. But Arenas, by all accounts, took a joke too far and had no idea whom he was dealing with. Meanwhile, Crittenton, if the charges are true, sounds very much like these little assassins destroying so many neighborhoods.
That this stuff happens in both worlds -- life and the NBA -- suggests a larger conversation is needed about what protecting your name really means. And how great would it be if NBA players led it? Because protecting your name, no matter your race, gender or socioeconomic status, is about doing only things that would make your momma proud, about raising the kids who inherit that name, about being an example, not a statistic.
I know I do not understand the mindset. And do not think I am not keenly aware of the dangers of my lily-white butt lecturing on the need for conversation about something I might never be able to understand.
Watching "The Wire" did not make me an expert on the plight of some inner-city neighborhoods. The safer thing would be to write about how the NBA dodged a bullet or, better yet, about how the Detroit Lions are going to be good this year. (And I believe they will be.)
Nobody will call you a racist for that, and I probably would have left this alone if a mother hadn't been killed, possibly by an ex-NBA player with a gun. And the only word we seem capable of debating is the inanimate one.
So we pretend the problem is the gun and have the same tired arguments about restricting the right to bear arms, ignoring that guns do not kill people, idiots do. What we really need to do is open a dialogue about the idiocy of this culture of protecting one's name.
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20. Wild West Guns commercial
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Pretty effective ad. Hopefully it is waking up those who are asleep when it comes to self-defense.
From YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/3hphaet
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21. Police powers to seize weapons from citizens
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Attorney and VCDL EM Mike Stollenwerk wrote this in response to an apparent policy of the Lynchburg Police to seize a person's gun during a traffic stop and then run it for stolen (permit holders included):
--
Seizure of a firearm from a citizen by police generally requires a two prong justification under Terry:
1. Person is seized pursuant to reasonable suspicion of crime afoot.
and
2. Officer has reasonable belief that person is not just armed, but also is "presently dangerous."
A custom or practice where all armed citizen's guns are seized in traffic stops violates Terry, and thus the Fourth Amendment.
Police officer non-consensual touching and handling of personal property merely to look at serial numbers violates the Fourth Amendment. Arizona v. Hix. See summary at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_v._Hicks
Police misconduct in touching personal property in violation of the Fourth Amendment results in suppression of evidence; Lynchburg's open ended gun seizure policy would allow criminals to escape prosecution under Hix, while law abiding citizens' privacy remain violated and their routine traffic stops to become prolonged beyond that which is reasonably necessary to issue the summons for the traffic offense.
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22. VCDL members/gun owners fixing preemption statewide! YOU can help
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Ryan Bruch decided to pour over Municode looking for Virginia localities that have preempted gun laws on their books dealing with air guns and parks. It was quite an effort. He published a spreadsheet with all the pertinent information.
VCDL is helping coordinate gun owners in contacting the various localities to have their offending ordinances either fixed or removed from the books.
If you are interested in handling one of the localities that is in violation, first makes sure that column D for that locality is not colored. If it is, then someone else is already working on that locality.
If it is not colored, let me know that you are taking on the task of working with the locality to remove or fix the offending ordinance(s). Also keep me apprised of any responses so I know the status of that locality (contacted, acknowledged, fixed problem, refuses to fix problem). That information is also kept in the spreadsheet so all can see a locality's status at a glance.
If a locality refuses to fix the problem, VCDL will then look at stepping in to get compliance.
Most localities are fixing the problem when notified and doing so in a polite and professional manner. Your mileage might vary, however. Either way, please treat them courteously and assume they will fix the problem without a fight.
Here is the spreadsheet of localities:
http://tinyurl.com/4yygqp2
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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