VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/4/09

[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 8/4/09 - Defending your right to defend yourself

1. Loudon County Votes to Obey State Law, but plays games with self-
defense wording
2. Salem Fair gun ban fixed
3. In gubernatorial race, it's about who's more pro-gun
4. In Virginia, a dance around gun reform
5. McDonnell shift on one-gun-a-month
6. More on guns and gubs
7. Rural Virginia Democrat Creigh Deeds is just as crafty as any city
slicker
8. Member report on first VA Gov debate
9. Responses to AAF Tank Museum policy
10. Online CCW training debate
11. Thune amendment: Great idea, wrong vehicle
12. A trigger lock for the gun lobby
13. Arm the Senate?
14. LTE rebuttal to 'Arm the Senate!'
15. Washington drops hammer on state gun plan
16. Sotomayer overlooks all 14 SCOTUS self-defense cases
17. RT OpEd: Guns and self-reliance
18. RTD: Patron with gun won--that time
19. Mother of slain man wants new waiting period law
20. Virginia sets new gun-law record
21. US: Four arrested in attack on elderly man
22. UK: Man arrested after confronting gang at home
23. Replica rifle has Brooklyn man at odds with cops
24. Don't trust your life to cheap ammo
25. God, guns, guts, and CNN's idiot reporters
26. Life and Death Clock
27. Glenn Beck carries a gun to the movies?
28. Wanted: VA-ALERT Editors

**************************************************
1. Loudon County Votes to Obey State Law, but plays games with self-
defense wording
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/lhke3q

loudountimes.com
County approves guns in parks
By Holly Hobbs

Adjusting to meet state rules on firearms, Loudoun's supervisors voted
7-2 to allow guns in county parks.

County regulations had limited the carrying of firearms in local
parks, while state rules allow them. Firing a gun in local parks is
still prohibited.

"We're doing a technical change to two county ordinances to bring us
in line with state code," said John Sandy, a county administrator. The
county began looking at changes to its gun laws this spring. At that
time, state lawmakers approved new laws that make it easier to file a
lawsuit against a locality for violating state firearm rules.

"I'd like to understand just what kind of protection we're offering
our citizens," Chairman Scott York (I-at large) said during an April
discussion. "I pick this up, and I think, 'Well that's great, fine and
dandy, but what happens when somebody pulls out a gun at Franklin Park
because we have just done this? What protection have we left
residents?'"

York and Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) opposed the changes
to the county gun rules.

Delgaudio had proposed an amendment that would allow firing a gun in
public parks if it was done in self defense.

Delgaudio's amendment drew mixed reviews from his fellow board members.

"Even if those words are meaningless," said Supervisor Lori Waters (R-
Broad Run) of the amendment, "at least they are there."

Delgaudio's amendment was voted down, with only Delgaudio, York and
Waters for it.

Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com

**************************************************
2. Salem Fair gun ban fixed
**************************************************

Police at the Salem Fair incorrectly forced a member to put his gun
back in his vehicle a few weeks ago.

I talked to Captain Jeff Dudley with the Salem Police and everything
has now been fixed. He admitted that his officer "erred" in what he
did and Dudley has sent an email to all his officers making sure they
understand about firearms preemption (15.2-915) on City property.

**************************************************
3. In gubernatorial race, it's about who's more pro-gun
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/l257t5

washingtonpost.com
In Gubernatorial Race, It's About Who's More Pro-Gun
Background Check Loophole Puts Fine Point on Policies
By Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 27, 2009

Walking the jam-packed aisles of Virginia's biggest gun show, Richard
Begay carried a .30-06 Sauer hunting rifle and a hand-lettered
cardboard sign on his back asking $1,199.

Unlike the federally licensed firearms dealers at tables nearby,
Begay, 72, an occasional seller, can peddle the slick-looking rifle
legally without a background check to any interested adult he meets at
the show in Chantilly. To him, it's his right. To others, it's a
potential disaster.

"I ask for their name and ID," said Begay, a bus monitor for the
Fairfax County public schools who visited the Nation's Gun Show at the
Dulles Expo Center this past weekend. "I hold on to it in case
something does happen so I can tell the police."

The question of how much to regulate the sale and possession of guns
has always been a dividing line in Virginia political contests. This
year's gubernatorial candidates -- former attorney general Robert F.
McDonnell (R) and state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds (D) -- both have
extensive pro-gun records. But the campaign is unfolding at a
turbulent and uncertain time in the nation's debate over guns. One
unresolved issue in Virginia, where 36 percent of households have a
firearm, is whether to close the so-called gun show loophole, which
permits freelance sellers like Begay.

The issue gained momentum after the April 2007 Virginia Tech shooting,
which left 33 dead, including the student gunman.

"Virginia is ground zero for this debate," said Alexander Howe, a
spokesman for Americans United for Safe Streets. Legislation to
require background checks for every transaction at a gun show is
pending in Congress as both sides strive for the advantage.

President Obama's election triggered a surge in sales among gun
buyers, who feared that he and a Democratic-led Congress would push
for new regulations. Instead, gun owners have cheered moves by
Congress to allow people to carry concealed weapons in national parks
and to link voting rights for the District to looser gun regulations.

In Congress last week, gun control advocates narrowly defeated a bid
to force states to honor concealed handgun permits issued by other
states. Two of the Democrats who supported the proposal were Sens.
Mark R. Warner and James Webb of Virginia.

Advocates on both sides of the gun rights debate are closely following
the Virginia race and the candidates' stands on gun shows for signs of
a shifting trend.

Gun control advocates say private sellers should perform the same
background check on prospective buyers that is required of federally
licensed firearms dealers. Since February 1994, when the Brady Act
began requiring licensed dealers to run such checks, more than 1.2
million purchases have been stopped because the buyer was ineligible
-- a point of pride among gun control advocates.

But gun owners counter that requiring background checks for all gun
show sales is the first step toward mandatory checks anytime a gun
changes hands -- whether a father wanted to pass on a .22-caliber
rifle to his son or a member of a shooting club wanted to trade
shotguns with a fellow member. They also say there is scant evidence
that criminals get their guns from gun shows, citing Justice
Department statistics that indicate only 0.7 percent of guns used in
crimes were purchased at gun shows.

Until recently, Deeds, as a lawmaker from rural Bath County, had been
a more staunch advocate of gun rights than McDonnell, whose career
began in Virginia Beach. One of Deeds's signature pieces of
legislation was a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing
Virginians the right to hunt and fish. Deeds also secured the National
Rifle Association's backing in the 2005 attorney general's race
against McDonnell, who won by 360 votes.

Former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat, pointedly
declined to endorse Deeds in that campaign because Deeds, as a
delegate, had refused to support legislation limiting handgun
purchases to no more than one per month -- a measure McDonnell backed.

But both candidates have gravitated closer to positions generally
embraced by their party's base.

McDonnell, for example, now says he supports a repeal of the one-a-
month law because computerized background checks and other advances
make it unnecessary. In an interview last week, McDonnell also said he
opposes further regulating gun shows because statistics show only a
tiny number of guns used in crimes were obtained at gun shows.

"I'd say it's a little bit of a misnomer to call it a loophole,"
McDonnell said. "It's really an attempt to regulate private sales."

But McDonnell touted his work with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) in
closing a loophole that allowed the Virginia Tech shooter to evade a
ban on transferring firearms to someone with serious mental illness.

"I'm very sympathetic to the victims at Virginia Tech," McDonnell
said. "The problem that occurred at Virginia Tech had nothing to do
with the gun show loophole."

Deeds, who owns several firearms and has hunted since he was a child,
said he understands the importance of the Second Amendment and has no
interest in working for broader gun controls except for the gun show
loophole.

"For me, everything changed on April 16, 2007," Deeds said in an
interview Sunday. "As a father, I felt just a need deep down in my
soul to respond to their grief somehow." [PVC: As always, gun
control has no basis in logic or reason and has no effect on crime.
Another classic example of gun control being pushed solely for
*emotional* reasons. I have no interest in being ruled by emotion.]

During the 2008 and 2009 General Assembly sessions, Deeds voted to
close the loophole, including a compromise that would have exempted
antique firearms. That soured his chances with Steve and Annette
Elliott, owners of C&E Gun Shows, which promoted the three-day gun
show at the Dulles Expo Center.

The Elliotts said that requiring background checks for private sales
at gun shows would wreck their business and lead to further regulation.

"First they register them, then they make more laws and then they take
them away," said Annette Elliott, who got her start in the business
when she was 7 years old by collecting tickets at the door of gun
shows her father sponsored in the Roanoke area. She said that using
the Virginia Tech tragedy as an argument for further restrictions
makes no sense because the shooter did not obtain his weapons at a gun
show.

"I absolutely sympathize with all those families," Annette Elliott
said. "But I think they're trying to blame the gun for what this crazy
person did."

Lori Haas, 51, disagrees. Her daughter survived the massacre, and she
praised Deeds for his change of heart. Haas said none of the Virginia
Tech families wants to drive gun shows out of business or require a
father to obtain a background check on his son before handing down a
weapon, but they believe requiring background checks is common sense.

"The focus of the families of Virginia Tech, given the magnitude of
the tragedy, is the desire to make sure that that pain and suffering
and grief is not foisted on anyone else," Haas said. "We suspect that
the average seller at a gun show would be more than happy to ask the
potential buyer to take the two minutes necessary to do a background
check, knowing that that could save the life of their son or daughter,
their father or their mother, their grocer or their convenience store
clerk, their sheriff or their police officer or their fellow citizen."

**************************************************
4. In Virginia, a dance around gun reform
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/naz7pz

washingtonindependent.com
In Virginia, a Dance Around Gun Reform
By MIKE LILLIS 7/27/09 2:14 PM

As the battle over gun reform has raged on Capitol Hill this year,
it's become ever-more clear that this is more a regional issue than a
partisan one. Indeed, 20 Democrats voted last week in support of a
proposal forcing states to honor conceal-carry permits issued by other
states. And a House bill granting Washington, D.C., a voting
representative in Congress remains stalled because an amendment
scrapping most of D.C.'s strict gun control laws is attached -- an
amendment that chamber leaders know will pass because plenty of
moderate Democrats support it.

All of which makes the gun-control debate in Virginia's gubernatorial
race that much more interesting. In an eye-opening piece today, The
Washington Post describes the strange dance around the issue taking
place in the Old Dominion, where the leading candidates -- former
attorney general Robert F. McDonnell (R) and state Sen. R. Creigh
Deeds (D) -- have begun to buck their regional sensitivities in favor
of the party line.

Until recently, Deeds, as a lawmaker from rural Bath County, had been
a more staunch advocate of gun rights than McDonnell, whose career
began in Virginia Beach. One of Deeds's signature pieces of
legislation was a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing
Virginians the right to hunt and fish. Deeds also secured the National
Rifle Association's backing in the 2005 attorney general's race
against McDonnell, who won by 360 votes.

Former Virginia governor L. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat, pointedly
declined to endorse Deeds in that campaign because Deeds, as a
delegate, had refused to support legislation limiting handgun
purchases to no more than one per month -- a measure McDonnell backed.

Yet on the issue of the gun-show loophole -- which allows unlicensed
gun vendors to sell firearms without performing background checks on
the buyers -- it's Deeds who wants to close it and McDonnell who would
keep it open.

Deeds told The Post that his change of heart came the day of the
Virginia Tech shooting, in which a student killed 32 people with
handguns before taking his own life. "As a father, I felt just a need
deep down in my soul to respond to their grief somehow," Deeds told
the Post.

McDonnell, meanwhile, is also warming to his party's traditional
Second Amendment approach.

McDonnell ... now says he supports a repeal of the one-a-month law
because computerized background checks and other advances make it
unnecessary. In an interview last week, McDonnell also said he opposes
further regulating gun shows because statistics show only a tiny
number of guns used in crimes were obtained at gun shows.

"I'd say it's a little bit of a misnomer to call it a loophole,"
McDonnell said. "It's really an attempt to regulate private
sales." [PVC: McDonnell gets it, Deeds doesn't.]

McDonnell was also quick to point out that the Virginia Tech shooter
didn't buy his weapons at a gun show. Of course, he easily could have.
And if McDonnell gets his way, that will remain the case.

**************************************************
5. McDonnell shift on one-gun-a-month
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/n2vxwd

washingtonpost.com
McDonnell Shift on One-Gun-a-Month

Maybe Creigh Deeds' campaign should send a copy of this story by my
colleague Freddy Kunkle, filed this weekend from Virginia's biggest
gun show, to former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder.

Why?

Because in the story, Republican Bob McDonnell says his position on
Virginia's law limiting handgun purchases to one a month has changed.
He voted for it in the legislature; now he says it should be repealed.

That law was a signature achievement of Wilder's. That Deeds opposed
it--and McDonnell supported it--was one reason Wilder withheld his
endorsement from Deeds during the 2005 race for attorney general
between the two.

It's also one reason why Deeds picked up the surprising support of the
NRA in that campaign. But the NRA's nod is probably out of reach for
the Democrat this year, given that he's shifted on guns too. In
response to the Virginia Tech shootings, long-time gun rights advocate
Deeds now supports closing the so-called gun show loophole. Which
McDonnell opposes.

Is McDonnell moving on the issue to make amends with the NRA? In
Kunkle's story, McDonnell says he supports repealing the computerized
background checks have made it unnecessary.

McDonnell has been aggressively courting Wilder, whose is
unpredictable enough to be worth the Republican's time. And, in an
interview last week, Wilder said he'd like to hear from Deeds about a
variety of issues before making up his mind.

Still, he also indicated that one-gun-a-month remains an important
issue to him. [PVC: Wilder really needs to get over that hang up.
One-gun-a-month has been a waste of time.]

McDonnell's move may kill his already unlikely chances of getting
Wilder's nod. It's not clear how it will play with voters.

**************************************************
6. More on guns and gubs
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/n7u953

washingtonpost.com
More on Guns and Gubs

Just when you thought you knew everything about guns and gubernatorial
candidates Robert F. McDonnell (R) and state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D), we
offer, courtesy of both campaigns, a few more bullet points.

As part of Monday's story on guns and the gubernatorial campaign, we
asked the candidates where they stood on several gun related issues
besides the so-called gun show loophole.

Campaign answers are after the jump.

1. GUNS IN BARS: Should people who have permits to carry concealed
handguns be allowed to carry firearms in a restaurant that serves
alcohol?

Creigh Deeds: Yes, provided the gun owners do not consume alcohol
while carrying their weapons

Bob McDonnell: Yes, provided the gun owners do not consume alcohol
while carrying their weapons

2. GUNS ON CAMPUS: Should there be laws guaranteeing the right of
eligible gun owners to carry their weapons on the grounds of
universities and colleges, potentially overruling local decisions by
the institutions' governing bodies?

Creigh Deeds: No

Bob McDonnell: "The law should be reviewed to find ways to strengthen
the security of students and faculty." [PVC: Better than Deeds' flat
out "no" answer, but also is not a firm commitment either.]

3. ONE GUN-A-MONTH: Should Virginia repeal the 1993 law limiting
people to buying no more than one handgun a month?

Creigh Deeds: Yes

Bob McDonnell: Yes. "Since the passage of of the one-gun-amonth law in
the early 1990s, several key things have changed. First, the instant
background check process has been greatly improved. The scope of the
search is broader, and includes more criminal offenses from other
states as well as other disqualifications such as mental health
prohibition. In addition, the process has been speeded up
considerably. Second, laws prohibiting straw purchases have been
improved as well. Thus, the primary concerns that existed over 15
years ago have been diminished today due to positive legislative
changes, many of which Bob McDonnell has played an important role in
crafting and moving forward."

4. CARRYING GUNS ACROSS STATE LINES/Thune Amendment: Should Virginia
honor the concealed carry permits issued by other states?

Creigh Deeds: Yes, for states whose requirements for concealed carry
permits are similiar to Virginia's

Bob McDonnell: Yes

5. GUN SHOW LOOPHOLE: Should all private firearms transactions at gun
shows to be subject to a background check?

Creigh Deeds: Yes

Bob McDonnell: No

-Freddy Kunkle

**************************************************
7. Rural Virginia Democrat Creigh Deeds is just as crafty as any city
slicker
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/ml9ywx

nationalreview.com

Excerpt:

For Democrats who want their party to escape the "urban elitist"
label, Virginia gubernatorial candidate Robert Creigh Deeds is
ideal. ...

More fundamentally, Deeds's perception of what's best for his district
shifted dramatically leftward when he started preparing to run for
governor. He knew that to win the Democratic primary, he would have to
appeal to voters in the significantly more liberal northern suburbs.

Now he says supporting the gay-marriage vote was "a mistake," he
opposes all limits on abortion, and he ***supports closing the "gun
show loophole" on firearms sales, citing the Virginia Tech shootings
-- even though the shooter in that tragedy did not purchase his
weapons at a gun show, so even if the proposed restriction had been in
effect, it would not have prevented the massacre***. It is unlikely
that the Creigh Deeds of 2005 would recognize the Creigh Deeds of
2009, much less vote for him.

The record suggests that few forces on earth are quite as relentless
as Creigh Deeds's ambition.

**************************************************
8. Member report on first VA Gov debate
**************************************************

VA-ALERT reader Doug Olivo reports on first governor's race debate:

I was by chance at the Homestead in Hot Springs, VA this weekend for a
relaxing vacation when I found out our candidates for governor were
having their first of 10 debates. I attended and here is what I would
report:

-- First off, despite Creigh Deeds growing up and having an office in
that Bates county the applause for Bob McDonnell was much greater,
which surprised a lot of folks.

-- Second, the debate was well organized with each candidate giving an
opening speech, then responding to questions scripted by the Virginia
Bar Association, which was hosting the event. Then, each candidate got
to ask the other candidate two questions, and finally questions that
were submitted from the audience and a closing speech. The majority of
questions as you can imagine involved job creation and the economy.
However, some discussed Washington's attempts to assume all power
within the country to which both candidates expressed the need for
state's rights; however, only Bob McDonnell referenced the 10th
Amendment and several times at that.

-- The one and only question about guns was framed in such a way as to
try to get them to denounce guns but to their credit they both
resisted the urge. To paraphrase the question they asked "Given
yesterday's conference here at the Homestead dealing with life after
the VA Tech shooting, what do you think is the role of guns in modern
society?" Both candidates expressed their grief over the lives that
were lost but after that their answers were surprisingly short. Creigh
Deeds said he supported closing the "gun show loophole" and increased
access to mental health records and nothing more. Bob McDonnel said he
did not support any efforts to close the so called "gunshow loophole"
because that had nothing to do with the VA shooting, he only supported
the mental health measures. Other than that they both said it was
proven that the second amendment was an individual right and an
important one.

I had a chance to go up and talk with each of them individually for a
few minutes afterwords, as the event was fairly small, so we had great
access to them both. I told them that as a Virginia voter I was very
concerned about my gun rights and they should continue to support
them, especially measures like repealing the conceal carry ban in
restaurants and keeping people like Mayor Bloomberg out of our
internal state affairs.

I let McDonnell know I was a fellow Army officer and so he made a good
bit of time to listen. In the future, I'll have to remember to give
the VCDL a plug -- I totally forgot!

Debate Rebroadcast:
http://www.virginiatalks.com/#debate

**************************************************
9. Responses to AAF Tank Museum policy
**************************************************

Here is a sampling of the messages received from the AAF Tank Museum
in response to comments on their "no guns" policy:

------

From: aaftank@gamewood.net
Subject: Re: anti-gun policy
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:30:40 -0400

I would advise you to read the Firearms laws for the Commonwealth of
Virginia especially Code of Virginia 18.2-308 (O.) which states "The
granting of a concealed handgun permit shall not thereby authorize the
possession of any handgun or other weapon on property or in places
where such possession is otherwise prohibited by law or is prohibited
by the owner of private property."

...end of line

Maybe if the Holocaust Museum had a no firearms policy this would not
have happen (sic) and yes the museum provides its own security [PVC:
WHAT??!!!?? The Holocaust Museum is in WASHINGTON, DC. Talk about a
"no guns" location! Sheeeeesh.]

------

From: Karen Gasser <aaftank@gamewood.net>
This museum is privately owned and funded - no state federal dollars are used. [....]

Somebody is lying. This link outlines federal assistance for AMERICAN
ARMOURED FOUNDATION, INC. in VA:

http://tinyurl.com/lf8xoh

**************************************************
10. Online CCW training debate
**************************************************

Michael Smith, a firearms instructor, writes to VCDL in defense of his
stance against online courses fulfilling the training requirement for
a CHP:

Mr. Van Cleave,

Thanks again for returning my call and allowing me to respond to the
newspaper article [Roanoke Times].

As per our conversation, I will briefly detail my concerns over online
training for the Va. Concealed Carry Permit.

1) The course is approx. 1 hour long and there is no way for students
to ask questions if they don't understand something that is being
discussed.

2) After completing the video, there is a 20 question test - how can
anyone verify who actually took the test? Also, it is my understanding
that if the student misses a question, they are given the correct
answers and allowed to retest. Once they "pass" the test, they can
fill in and print a certificate.

3) There is no actual live fire training involved. How can anyone (who
has never had any experience with a handgun) learn how to safely and
accurately shoot their self-defense firearm without a live fire
exercise.

4) Without live fire / range time, a student also does not have the
ability to learn how to clear a firearms malfunction - failure to
feed, stove pipe, failure to extract, etc.

5) What will a person do, especially in a real self-defense situation,
when his or her firearm malfunctions? Does the term "fight like you
train" come to mind. Will the person even know what to do?

6) What will happen if, someday, someone who took the on line training
uses their firearm in self defense and winds up shooting themselves or
an innocent bystander. Or, because of their lack of training, has a
malfunction with their firearm and they can't fix the problem?

Most people who will take the online training will get further
instruction, or will at least go to the range and learn how their
firearm works. However, there are many who will not.

My concerns are about more than my ability to provide for my family. I
am deeply concerned that individuals who are armed with a concealed
firearm are safe and that they know how to use it. That they will know
what to do if they ever need to defend themselves. [PVC: American's
have survived for over 200 years with little or no firearms training.]

I am not alone on this matter. There are other NRA instructors who are
just as concerned. I know of four in the Lynchburg / Bedford area that
feel the same way I do. None of which earn a living teaching a course
for concealed carry permits.

**************************************************
11. Thune amendment: Great idea, wrong vehicle
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/m9wtru

examiner.com
Thune amendment: Great idea, wrong vehicle
July 22, 1:31 PM . Mike Stollenwerk - DC Gun Rights Examiner

Today the so-called Thune amendment to require states to accept each
other's handgun carry permits failed 2 votes short of the Senate's 60
vote cloture requirement. Senator Thune's (R - South Dakota) bill was
a great idea in intent, but the mechanics were unconstitutional.

The Congress' power is limited to what is enumerated in Article I of
the United States Constitution. Congress does not have the same
general police power over citizen conduct as do the several states,
and federal statutes criminalizing conduct absent a federal power hook
are unconstitutional. See United States v. Lopez (striking down
federal ban on gun carry in and near K-12 schools).

The Thune Amendment sought to deny states their police powers by
commanding them to accept other state's gun carry permits. It goes
without saying that what Congress cannot criminalize, it neither can
decriminalize over the superior power of state sovereigns.

The right way to encourage inter-state acceptance of gun carry permits
is the way Congress encourages states to do most things - by requiring
state law conformity as a condition of federal subsidies. Under the
Congress' enumerated spending power, Congress does this all the time,
e.g., requiring states to enact "21 to drink laws" to receive highway
funds, requiring states to submit to the ATF lists of convictions and
adjudications disabling Americans from possessing firearms as a
condition of getting Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 subsidies, etc. (remember the NRA's NICS Improvement Act?).

Congressional members who are serious about encouraging inter-state
gun carry permit recognition should do things the right way via the
Congress' enumerated federal powers. First, Congress should knock off
the "do as I say and not as I do" stuff and legalize all state gun
carry permits in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virginia Islands, Guam, and other federal territories. Second,
Congress should attach a condition to receipt of Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 subsidies the requirement that any
recipient state must accept all other states' gun carry permits just
as they do their own permits

**************************************************
12. A trigger lock for the gun lobby
**************************************************

In order to push their anti-gun agenda, the Christian Science Monitor
ignores just how close we came to passing the national reciprocity
bill last week. Instead they make it sound like a strong defeat.
Nice try, but no cigar:

http://tinyurl.com/mssnn9

csmonitor.com
A trigger lock for the gun lobby

from the July 27, 2009 edition -
The Senate and state legislators have blocked efforts to extend
'conceal-and-carry.' That should stiffen their resolve.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board

After years of being pushed around by the pistol-packing gun lobby,
many lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state capitals are finally
pushing back. They have successfully blocked efforts by the National
Rifle Association to expand certain "conceal-and-carry" provisions.
Now they must go the extra step and actually advance reasonable
restrictions on firearms.

A string of defeats has disheartened gun-control advocates: in 2004,
Congress failed to reauthorize the 10-year assault-weapons ban; in
2008, the Supreme Court overturned a ban on handguns in Washington,
D.C.; in February, the Senate passed a measure that stripped D.C. gun
regulations, including registration; and in May, both houses of
Congress approved licensed gun owners bringing loaded firearms -
hidden or carried openly - into national parks (including urban ones).

Last week the Senate found the courage to say, "Freeze!" It defeated,
if narrowly, a bill that would have allowed people with permits to
carry a concealed gun across state lines. Every state except two
(Illinois and Wisconsin) allows gun owners to carry hidden weapons.
The NRA argued that self-protection shouldn't stop at a state border.

But state conceal-and-carry laws differ vastly. Some wisely require
background checks and training in gun-use and safety, and rule out
people convicted of certain misdemeanors, including simple assault -
but also extortion (Maryland) and stalking (Virginia).

Others grant conceal-and-carry permits to nonresidents (even in cases
where the person did not qualify for a permit at home), or require
nothing more than a background check. Alaska doesn't put any of these
restrictions on folks who want to tote and hide.

Thankfully, the Senate stopped this bullet that would have essentially
made the least restrictive state law the standard of the nation.

State legislators have also rediscovered their political bullet-proof
vests as the gun lobby has pushed aggressively to extend conceal-and-
carry to college campuses, taverns, and the workplace.

Since the mass fatal shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007, gun-rights
advocates have made an all-out effort to allow students to carry
hidden firearms - on the dubious theory that students would be better
protected from mass killers. But 22 states saw the folly of this idea
and defeated it, even in strong gun-rights states such as Louisiana,
South Carolina, and Oklahoma.

Interestingly, those injured in the Virginia Tech shooting and those
who lost loved ones have spoken most vigorously against guns on
campus. Police would have no way to distinguish good guys from bad in
a shooting spree, nor would students with guns necessarily be able to
react quickly or accurately enough in such a situation, they argued.

Neither is it very smart to mix armed students with alcohol, which
flows freely on many college campuses. The same logic applies to
conceal-and-carry in taverns. Why is it that even two states -
Tennessee and Arizona - approved this lethal cocktail of weapons and
drinking establishments?

Meanwhile, 22 states have also said "no" to the NRA's effort to extend
conceal-and-carry to the "workplace" - specifically, to a gun owner's
car in the company parking lot. Offices can be tense places where
emotions suddenly boil over - and thus no place for a readily
available gun. (Thirteen states, however, have approved such workplace
measures).

These victories show that some lawmakers have rediscovered reason when
it comes to gun control. Will they find the resolve, for instance, to
approve legislation in Congress that requires background checks even
at gun shows? Forty percent of guns are sold at these shows and the
vast majority of Americans approve the checks there. Yet the gun lobby
strenuously resists.

In its landmark 2008 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the right of
individuals to bear arms. But it left the door open to regulation. Gun-
control advocates don't seek to take away Second Amendment rights, as
is so often and tirelessly alleged by the gun-rights side. Rather,
what they want is restricting easy access to guns by criminals, the
responsible use of guns, and the heading off of a quick resort to
lethal firepower that makes the job of law enforcement so much harder.

**************************************************
13. Arm the Senate?
**************************************************

The columnist is being sarcastic and clearly he hasn't done much
research. Senators and Representatives in Congress CAN have a gun in
their offices now and some do.

Many legislators in the Virginia General Assembly carry guns and I
think that is a good thing:

http://tinyurl.com/m2eyuw

washingtonpost.com
Arm the Senate!
By E.J. Dionne Jr.
Monday, July 27, 2009

Isn't it time to dismantle the metal detectors, send the guards at the
doors away and allow Americans to exercise their Second Amendment
rights by being free to carry their firearms into the nation's Capitol?

I've been studying the deep thoughts of senators who regularly express
their undying loyalty to the National Rifle Association, and I have
decided that they should practice what they preach. They tell us that
the best defense against crime is an armed citizenry and that laws
restricting guns do nothing to stop violence.

If they believe that, why don't they live by it?

Why would freedom-loving lawmakers want to hide behind guards and
metal detectors? Shouldn't NRA members be outraged that Second
Amendment rights mean nothing in the very seat of our democracy?

Congress seems to think that gun restrictions are for wimps. It voted
this year to allow people to bring their weapons into national parks,
and pro-gun legislators have pushed for the right to carry in taverns,
colleges and workplaces. Shouldn't Congress set an example in its own
workplace?

So why not let Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) pack the weapon of his choice
on the Senate floor? Thune is the author of an amendment that would
have allowed gun owners who had valid permits to carry concealed
weapons into any state, even states with more restrictive gun laws.
The amendment got 58 votes last week, two short of the 60 it needed to
pass.

Judging by what Thune said in defense of his amendment, he'd clearly
feel safer if everyone in the Capitol could carry a gun.

"Law-abiding individuals have the right to self-defense, especially
because the Supreme Court has consistently found that police have no
constitutional obligation to protect individuals from other
individuals," he said. I guess that Thune doesn't think those guards
and the Capitol Police have any obligation to protect him.

He went on: "The benefits of conceal and carry extend to more than
just the individuals who actually carry the firearms. Since criminals
are unable to tell who is and who is not carrying a firearm just by
looking at a potential victim, they are less likely to commit a crime
when they fear they may come in direct contact with an individual who
is armed."

In other words, keeping guns out of the Capitol makes all our elected
officials far less safe. If just a few senators had weapons, the
criminals wouldn't know which ones were armed, and all senators would
be safer, right? Isn't that better than highly intrusive gun control
-- i.e., keeping people with guns out of the Capitol in the first place?

"Additionally," Thune said helpfully, "research shows that when
unrestricted conceal and carry laws are passed, not only does it
benefit those who are armed, but it also benefits others around them
such as children."

This is a fantastic opportunity. Arming all our legislators would make
it safer for children, so senators could feel much more secure
bringing their kids into the Capitol. This would promote family values
and might even reduce the number of highly publicized extramarital
affairs.

During the debate, Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) quoted a constituent who
told him: "When my family and I go out at night, it makes me feel
safer just knowing I am able to have my concealed weapon."

Why shouldn't Vitter feel equally safe in the Capitol? Why should he
have to go out on the streets to carry a gun?

The pro-gun folks love their studies. Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.)
offered this one: "A study for the Department of Justice found 40
percent of felons had not committed certain crimes because they feared
the potential victims would be armed."

That doesn't tell us much about the other 60 percent, but what the
heck? If it's good enough for Barrasso, let the good senator introduce
the amendment to allow concealed carry in the Capitol.

Barrasso already dislikes the District of Columbia's tough
restrictions on weapons. "The gun laws in the District outlaw law-
abiding citizens from self-defense," he complained. So go for it,
Senator! Make our nation's Capitol an island of firearms liberty in a
sea of oppression.

Don't think this column is offered lightly. I want these guys to put
up or shut up. If the NRA's servants in Congress don't take their
arguments seriously enough to apply them to their own lives, maybe the
rest of us should do more to stop them from imposing their nonsense on
our country.

**************************************************
14. LTE rebuttal to 'Arm the Senate!'
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/lwaa48

washingtonpost.com
A Right to Bear Arms in the Capitol?

In his July 27 op-ed, E.J. Dionne Jr. said that pro-gun senators are
hypocrites for not personally carrying the weapons they seek to allow
others to carry across the country. Could it be possible that one can
simultaneously believe in one's right to carry weapons without
personally carrying weapons? Is every pro-choice activist a hypocrite
until she has an abortion?

Mr. Dionne acknowledged studies showing the benefits of conceal-and-
carry laws, yet he offered only sarcastic responses. "The pro-gun
folks love their studies," he writes. I suppose he's never used a
methodologically sound study to support one of his opinions.
Certainly, these studies must be without merit, or Mr. Dionne would
take their findings more seriously.

Mr. Dionne's op-ed may provide some rallying point for gun control
advocates interested in ridiculing gun rights advocates.
Unfortunately, for anyone not already in complete agreement with him,
his column offered little besides the reassurance that he has avoided
thoughtfully engaging this topic. Whenever Mr. Dionne would like to
actually contribute to the public discussion, I would surely welcome
him.

JACK McANDREWS
Baltimore

**************************************************
15. Washington drops hammer on state gun plan
**************************************************

The BATFE is overstepping yet again. This is only going to get worse
for the BATFE and will eventually blow up in their face as more and
more states tell the feds to buzz off when it comes to the feds trying
to regulate commerce **within** a state:

http://tinyurl.com/lur86p

worldnetdaily.com
Friday, July 24, 2009
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
WorldNetDaily Exclusive

Washington drops hammer on state gun plan
'As you may know, federal law ... supersedes the act'
Posted: July 21, 2009
9:14 pm Eastern
By Bob Unruh

Federal gun regulators have written to gun dealers around Tennessee,
dropping the hammer on a new state law that exempts weapons made, sold
and used inside the state from interstate regulations.

The letter, dated just days ago, was distributed to holders of Federal
Firearms Licenses.

In it, Carson W. Carroll, the assistant director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told dealers the Tennessee
Firearms Freedom Act, adopted this year, "purports to exempt personal
firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition manufactured in the
state, and which remain in the state, from most federal firearms laws
and regulations."

The exemption is not right, the federal agency letter contends.

"As you may know, federal law requires a license to engage in the
business of manufacturing firearms or ammunition, or to deal in
firearms, even if the firearms or ammunition remain with the same
state," the letter said. "All firearms manufactured by a licensee must
be properly marked. Additionally, each licensee must record the type,
model, caliber or gauge, and serial number of each firearm
manufactured or otherwise acquired, and the date such manufacture or
other acquisition was made.

"These, as well as other federal requirements and prohibitions, apply
whether or not the firearms or ammunition have crossed state lines,"
the letter said.

Get "Shooting Back: The Right and Duty of Self-Defense" and learn why
you have a responsibility to be armed.

The law was adopted by the state Legislature this year. It provides
that "federal laws and regulations do not apply to personal firearms,
firearm accessories, or ammunition that is manufactured in Tennessee
and remains in Tennessee." It also carries exemptions for certain
types of weapons and ammunition and the requirement that all firearms
made or sold in the state have "Made in Tennessee" on them.

Tennessee is not the first state to move in this direction. WND
reported earlier that Utah was considering such a plan, and the state
of Montana earlier adopted its own gun exemption procedure.

Montana statehouse

Montana's bill provides that guns, ammo, accessories, silencers and
other products made, sold and used in the state would not require any
federal documentation, registration, serial numbers, records check or
waiting period.

The pushback from the states comes at a time when the federal
administration is replete with anti-gun activists in influential
positions, including an attorney general, Eric Holder, who supported a
complete handgun ban in the District of Columbia before it was tossed
by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Obama administration has even pushed for a treaty that would
require sportsmen who reload their ammunition to obtain a federal
license.

The Montana plan cites the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
that "guarantees to the states and their people all powers not granted
to the federal government elsewhere in the Constitution and reserves
to the state and people of Montana certain powers as they were
understood at the time that Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889."

"The guaranty of those powers is a matter of contract between the
state and people of Montana and the United States as of the time that
the compact with the United States was agreed upon and adopted by
Montana and the United States in 1889," the Montana plan states.

"The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under
the 9th and 10th amendments to the United States Constitution,
particularly if not expressly pre-empted by federal law. Congress has
not expressly pre-empted state regulation of intrastate commerce
pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms,
firearms accessories, and ammunition," it says.

Further, state lawmakers cite the Second Amendment right of the people
to "keep and bear arms as that right was understood at the time that
Montana was admitted to statehood in 1889."

The Tennessee plan includes many of the same arguments.

The Tennessee Gun Owners website includes this comment: "And the
battle begins. I don't believe this was unexpected. According to the
10th Amendment, the state has authority. Tennessee is applying its
constitutional rights. The feds are saying, no, the Constitution
doesn't count. Calling all lawyers!"

In Montana, a Democrat governor signed the gun exemption law; in
Tennessee, a Democrat governor allowed the gun exemptions to become
law without his signature.

At Resistnet.com, there was a discussion among hundreds of members who
have stated their willingness to bring a lawsuit against the federal
government over the issue.

"The sovereign state of Tennessee should stand her ground. If people
would stand up to the bully (Big Brother) we might take back some of
the rights that have been stolen from us. It will not be comfortable.
It will not be easy. But, it can be done, if we want it bad enough,"
said one participant.

One other was a little less eloquent, but his message came through.

"This is a crock! This is a free state and it's time to tell the
thieves in Washington to butt out."

The weapons definitions are part of a general move on the part of
states - Alaska being the most recent - to simply declare their
sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.

About three dozen states have begun working on such plans.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin signed House Joint Resolution just days ago.
It "claims sovereignty for the state under the Tenth Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States over all powers not otherwise
enumerated and granted to the federal government by the Constitution
of the United States."

The joint resolution does not carry the force of law, but supporters
say it is a significant move toward getting their message out to other
lawmakers, the media and grassroots movements.

While seven states - Tennessee, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota,
Oklahoma, Alaska and Louisiana - have had both houses of their
legislatures pass similar decrees, Palin signed Alaska's Tenth
Amendment declaration and Tennessee's governor signed that state's
Tenth Amendment declaration of sovereignty.

**************************************************
16. Sotomayer overlooks all 14 SCOTUS self-defense cases
**************************************************

VA-ALERT reader Paul Henick writes:

2 points:

1) The nominee has no grasp of the law except as she wishes it to be.

2) These are good cases to be aware of, if for nothing better than
improving your mind by reading them and trying to follow the reasoning
presented. Keeps the brain cells sharp.

http://tinyurl.com/mpw5cl

pagenine.typepad.com
Sotomayer Overlooks All 14 Supreme Court Self-Defense Cases

High Court has examined every aspect of self defense
Entire nation falsely believes the issue has never come up
by Alan Korwin, Co-Author

Supreme Court Gun Cases

Exerpt:

In Congressional testimony, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayer
claimed she couldn't think of a self-defense case having come before
the Supreme Court, adding, "I could be wrong, but I can't think of
one." Independent research shows that fourteen separate Supreme Court
cases, from 1895 to 1985, addressed every basic aspect of personal
self defense. All of them held that self defense is a valid,
justifiable and long-standing tenet of American law.

The Bloomfield Press book "Supreme Court Gun Cases" (Kopel, Halbrook,
Korwin), released in 2003 and in the Supreme Court's library, covers
the 92 High Court gun cases in existence at that time. Four additional
gun cases (plus the original 92) are included in the followup, "The
Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed," released in 2008. The fourteen
cases that directly address self defense are summarized below in Q&A
format. Full summaries of the cases are found in "The Heller Case"
book, http://www.gunlaws.com/hc.htm, and the cases themselves can be
linked to from the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company's website, http://www.gunlaws.com
, using the National Directory button.

The brief index below is a convenient research and navigation tool,
and a way to set the record straight on what the Court has already
done. Read the entire case for a thorough understanding of each one.

**************************************************
17. RT OpEd: Guns and self-reliance
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/nb4kxb

roanoke.com
Guns and self-reliance
By H.M. Padon | Padon, of Great Falls, is a veteran of the U.S. Army
and a retired federal employee who has been a gun owner since
receiving a rifle from an uncle when he was 10

G.V. Gibbs wrote an opinion piece that you published on June 25 under
the headline "Paranoid Nation." I find it disturbing that a professor,
distinguished or otherwise, would express opinions about a subject on
which he is so ignorant of the facts.

I can't speak about other states, but, contrary to Gibbs' assertions,
and even with the increased protections against fraud and identity
theft that have been put in effect post 9/11, one can get a driver's
license in Virginia in many fewer than 45 days (the maximum waiting
time for a concealed-handgun permit), without undergoing a police
background investigation (which is a requirement for a CHP) and
without documenting any training at all. Maybe Gibbs' research skills
have deteriorated.

While Gibbs refers to "guns-in-bars" legislation, the commonwealth has
not one legal, public bar. By law, alcohol for on-premises consumption
is served only in restaurants or in private clubs.

What Gibbs seems not to recognize is that guns are carried into
alcohol-serving establishments every day. Some are carried openly and
legally; some are carried concealed and illegally. Forty states allow
concealed weapons in establishments that serve alcohol (and so does
the commonwealth for some privileged officials.)

Maybe Gibbs can practice his research skills by searching the records
of those 40 states for some (or even one) instance of a CHP holder
instigating a gun fight in an establishment that serves alcohol.

Oh, what the heck, locate some instances of CHP holders instigating
gun violence anywhere in the 48 states that either issue them or
require no permit at all.

Gibbs seems not to see the irony in his question, "What has happened
to us as a reliant nation in the last half century that nearly 190,000
citizens in the great state of Virginia, for example, feel unsafe to
the extent they have acquired permits to carry a concealed weapon?"

I would say that 190,000 Virginians have taken a great step toward
being self-reliant, depending not on the state to protect them and
their families, but being willing to take that responsibility
themselves.

A nation of paranoids? Even paranoids can have enemies.

**************************************************
18. RTD: Patron with gun won--that time
**************************************************

Anti-gun Paul Williams, throwing logic and reason to the wind, tries
to downplay citizens defending themselves. Very shameful.

Thanks to Roy Scherer for the link:

timesdispatch.com
Patron with gun won--that time
By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS

Published: July 21, 2009

July 19, 2009: Man who fatally wounded robber recounts tense shootout

Colin Goddard can relate to the experience of the frightened patrons
who ducked behind counters or fled Golden Food Market during a robbery-
turned-shootout.

Goddard was wounded April 16, 2007, when Seung-Hui Cho burst into a
Virginia Tech classroom and opened fire. Now 23 and a Tech graduate,
God dard works as an intern at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun
Violence in Washington.

When told how a gun-toting customer had felled a man who'd shot the
owner of Golden Food Market, Goddard hardly sounded like an anti-gun
reactionary.

"You can't deny what happened, you know," he said. "The guy was able
to successfully defend himself. Our movement is not against
responsible gun owners exercising that right when their lives are in
danger."

"That worked out in that situation," said Goddard, whose family lives
in Richmond. "There are other situations where that doesn't work out.
And that situation could have worked out in a million different
ways." [PVC: So what should we do, Colin? Not bother defending
ourselves because it *might* not work out and just submit to death at
the hands of a psychopath?]

Recalling that fatal day at Tech, he doubts that a classmate with a
firearm could have produced a similar outcome. Things simply happened
too fast to respond, he said. "I didn't realize what was going on
until I had been shot." [PVC: That doesn't mean others would have
been so unaware of their surroundings.]

The hero of the Golden Food Market incident does not want his identity
released. But if he were known, he'd surely be a darling of the
National Rifle Association and held up as an example of how a weapon
in the right hands can deter crime and save innocent lives.

Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring must wince at such
a thought. He hopes what happened on Jefferson Davis Highway on July
11 does not inspire a trend. [PVC: What, you'd rather have lots of
dead bodies of innocent citizens than to have people protect
themselves?]

"No. No. It's not the answer," Herring said. "And as fortunate and
heroic as the actions were, ultimately we were just plain lucky. Most
citizens are not trained to shoot. And you can't judge the
rightfulness of the conduct by the outcome." [PVC: Again, sounds
like he's saying we are too stupid to be allowed to protect ourselves.]

And, as Herring pointed out, the first time someone in a similar
situation misses the bad guy and nails a bystander, "then we will be
at our wits' end on how to respond to that. And it will surely happen
as long as we continue to fire guns in public." [PVC: The more
Herring says, the more I'm convinced he's the wrong guy for the job.
He sounds like an elitist who thinks knows what's best for the
"little" people like you and me.]

The customer was within the law by using lethal force as a last resort
in coming to the aid of someone facing possible death, Herring said.
But clearly, in Herring's view, he should be viewed as an exception
rather than an example.

Police, with all their training, don't always respond successfully to
those situations. Civilians should not make a habit of trying.

Becca Knox, director of research for the Brady Campaign, says there
are fewer than 200 justifiable gun homicides each year out of a total
of more than 10,000 gun homicides.

"There's absolutely no evidence that if you make [a gun] easier to
carry, gun violence goes down," Knox said.

What happened at Golden Food Market was a singular event carried out
by an apparently remarkable individual. But anyone viewing this as a
sort of template in the war on crime is tragically mistaken.

A society in which citizens see themselves as the last line of defense
already has lost the battle. [PVC: What is that supposed to mean?
Citizens can't even be the *last* line of defense if the government is
a no-show? Excuse me while I go throw up.]

**************************************************
19. Mother of slain man wants new waiting period law
**************************************************

Thanks to Dave Briggman for the link:

http://tinyurl.com/nc6rtk

dnronline.com
Remembering Dustin Stanley
Posted 2009-07-25
Mother Of Slain Man Wants New Gun Laws
By Pete DeLea

MOUNT JACKSON - One year ago today, Vickie Stanley's life changed
forever.

On that day, she received a phone call from Donna Hockman, who said
she was breaking off the often-turbulent relationship she had with
Stanley's son, Dustin.

Hockman told Stanley she wanted to find Dustin to arrange for him to
pick up some of his belongings from her Lacey Spring home.

Stanley couldn't have been more pleased to hear the news. But what she
didn't know at the time, was that Hockman was simply trying to create
an alibi.

Hockman had just pumped five slugs into Dustin's back as he tried to
run for his life.

On July 25, 2008, police say, Hockman, 35, killed Dustin Stanley, 23,
at her 1553 Grassland Lane home using a gun she purchased the day
before. She was later convicted and sent to prison to serve a life
sentence.

"How could someone be that heartless?" Stanley asked. "I went to work
happy that day."

But she hasn't been happy since.

"I cry myself to sleep every night," Stanley said.

Too Many Red Flags

Although the pain that began a year ago hasn't subsided, Stanley said
she's determined to fight for stricter gun laws.

Common sense, she said, should have prevented the sale of the murder
weapon to Hockman, but it clearly wasn't enough.

On July 24, 2008, prosecutors say, Hockman was determined to get a gun
that day. First, she went to a Harrisonburg pawnshop, which refused to
sell to her.

Hockman was using an old driver's license identifying her as Donna
Reedy, a name she hadn't used in years. When she went to sign her name
for the background check, she signed it as Donna Hockman, prompting a
store clerk to void the transaction.

No other store would have known about the incident because the
background check was never started.

After leaving the pawnshop, Hockman went home to pick up a checkbook
for a closed account - one that identified her as Donna Reedy.

She then went to Rockingham Cooperative in Harrisonburg.

According to testimony that came out during her trial, Hockman told
the clerk she needed a gun for protection from an abusive boyfriend.
She also said she wanted hollow-point bullets so they wouldn't go
through a body.

Hockman proceeded to purchase a .380-caliber handgun with her old name
and a bad starter check, which the store couldn't verify.

Stanley doesn't understand why a store selling expensive merchandise
doesn't have a check reader.

"I work at [a convenience store] and you can't buy $10 worth of stuff
without getting it approved," she said.

Stanley also wants to see a three-day waiting period to buy handguns
enacted in Virginia.

"[Dustin] could have found out she had a gun or she could have changed
her mind," she said. "If they refused that sale that day, my son might
still be alive." [PVC: I'm sorry for Ms. Stanley's loss. But she
doesn't understand that if Hockman wanted Dustin dead, being turned
down on the gun purchase wouldn't have stopped her. Guns are not the
only way to commit murder by any means.]

Remembering Dustin

But because of the ease Hockman had in getting a gun, Stanley says,
her son is dead. Now, it's hard for her to go to her mother's Mount
Jackson home, where Dustin was living until his murder.

The last time she saw him, he was standing on the outside steps,
admiring the windows he recently painted.

"I just feel sick knowing that was the last place I saw him," Stanley
said.

While Stanley has had trouble dealing with her loss, Dustin's
grandmother, Gracie Stout, also is feeling the pain.

Just days before the killing, Stout made Dustin one of his favorite
meals: Southern-fried pork chops, cabbage, corn bread and fried
potatoes.

Stout said she hasn't cooked that meal since, nor has she had the
courage to go to his grave in Edinburg.

"My husband is buried right beside him, but I can't go to the grave,"
she said.

In addition to his mother and grandmother, Dustin left behind four
children: Alec, 7, Brayden, 6, and twin girls, Maison and McKenzie, 2.

Stanley said her son's children meant everything to him.

"He might have been a little behind on his child support, but he loved
those kids and they knew it," she said.

Stanley found some said satisfaction knowing that the jury cleared her
son's name after Hockman accused him of domestic violence.

On Jan. 30, a Rockingham County jury found Hockman, who claimed self-
defense, guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced her to life in
prison.

Stanley said she hopes Hockman's stay in prison is a mental torture.

"Donna wasn't crazy. She was evil, mean and jealous," Stanley said. "I
hope she's thinking about Dustin. I hope it haunts her every day."

**************************************************
20. Virginia sets new gun-law record
**************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2009
Complete contact info at end

VIRGINIA SETS NEW GUN-LAW RECORD
Study Shows Highest Count in History

A new study being released by Bloomfield Press reveals that Virginia
has surpassed its own record for gun laws on the books, with 193
statutes totalling 47,321 words of gun law.

The large body of law is included in the just-released 7th edition of
"The Virginia Gun Owner's Guide," the plain-English guide the firm has
been publishing since 1995. Bloomfield Press, which operates
gunlaws.com, is the largest publisher and distributor of gun-law books
in the country. Copies of the guide for media review are available on
request.

"For more than a decade, a year hasn't gone by when Virginia did not
increase its gun laws," according to Alan Korwin, the book's co-
author. "Many of these limit the rights of citizens, but others
protect rights for Virginians, and of course some are aimed directly
at criminals."

The crime problems Virginia faces are similar to other states, he
says. "We have the laws, but criminals simply ignore them and law
enforcement cannot keep up. Passing more laws just hasn't helped the
enforcement vacuum or the root causes and public policies that push
people to the dark side." The bulk of criminal "gun deaths" are
actually war deaths, he says, in the war on some drugs.

Everything remotely criminal about gun use is already outlawed, often
more than once, Korwin notes, but words on paper only matter after a
crime and then only when perpetrators are caught, which is
unfortunately rare.

Laws that protect citizens' gun rights have led to numerous documented
cases of self defense and crime deterrence. This is especially true
for the discreet-carry laws that have swept the nation. These have
helped put the average person on the street on an equal footing with
armed thugs who roam freely, act irresponsibly and who can no longer
victimize the public with impunity.

The FBI does not track justifiable homicides, grand jury "no-bills"
and defensive gun uses -- none of which are crimes. But 13 scholarly
studies have put the figures for defensive gun use between 700,000 and
2.5 million incidents per year, depending on definitions, time frame
and sampling size.

"It's popular to say there are 20,000 gun laws on the books, but this
is misleading," Korwin says. "One law, like the federal Brady law,
covers scores of different situations and events. Does that put you
under one rule or dozens?" Virginia now has 193 numbered laws, but
with more than 47,000 words, it's obvious there are more than 193
things covered by the Commonwealth's gun laws. Bloomfield Press has
assessed this complex issue at http://www.gunlaws.com/faq.htm#howmany.

Alan Korwin
Bloomfield Press
"We publish the gun laws."
4848 E. Cactus, #505-440
Scottsdale, AZ 85254
602-996-4020 Phone
602-494-0679 Fax
1-800-707-4020 Orders
http://www.gunlaws.com
alan@gunlaws.com
Call, write, fax or click for free full-color catalog
(This is our address and info as of Jan. 1, 2007)

Alan Korwin is a 20-year member of the Society of Professional
Journalists and author of 11 books, so far. His next book, about free
speech and all the things you can no longer say, is entitled "Bomb
Jokes at Airports" and is expected soon.

**************************************************
21. US: Four arrested in attack on elderly man
**************************************************

Who needs to have a gun within reach in their own home?

http://tinyurl.com/n9pc3h

Four Arrested in Alleged Scam, Attack Targeting Elderly Man posted 5:34 pm Tue July 21, 2009 - STAFFORD, Va. from NewsChannel 8 - http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0709/642381.html

Authorities say an 89-year-old man survived an alleged scam and
assault after police say four Stafford County men tried to take his
money.

All four men are reportedly under arrest Tuesday night and police are
wondering if there could be more victims.

The neighbors know what happened -- especially those who have lived
near Hope Road for a long time. Their elderly friend fought off men
who tried to take his money.

"One was talking to him while the other ones were in his house doing
what they need to do.... whatever they were after money or whatever
they could get a hold of," said Bennie Lester, a neighbor.

Stafford County deputies say the men faced the barrel of the man's gun
after they allegedly forced their way into his home and began to
attack him.

"He ended up on the floor. He was able to get the gun from underneath
the mattress and then he brandished the firearm, pointed it at them
and at that point they began to taunt him," said Major David Decatur
of the Stafford County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say the victim was approached last week by the men who
traveled in a red pickup truck. They reportedly said they'd been there
before to reseal his asphalt driveway and offered to do it again at a
discount rate of $2,000 if he paid in cash.

The victim did and when his family found out and believed he'd been
scammed, they filed a report at the sheriff's office. The next day,
deputies say they received a 911 call for help from the man who said
the men had returned and were ransacking his house.

That's when, authorities say, the homeowner pulled a gun on them. The
alleged scam artists left but deputies caught up with them a few miles
away and arrested all four.

"It is scary -- now we'll watch out for more closely," said Mary
Lester, a neighbor.

Shirley Gibson says her driveway was resealed last month but she was
careful who did the work. "We haven't had anybody stop and try to take
our [money]," she said.

**************************************************
22. UK: Man arrested after confronting gang at home
**************************************************

Only in Britain would they arrest the victim and charge him with
attempted murder because, while scuffling with a gang of thugs who
invaded his home, he stabbed a criminal with a letter opener! (I'll
bet they ban "assault" letter openers next.)

Britain's crime rate is now the highest in Europe, higher than
America, and on it's way to beating South Africa. Yep - that gun
control really works!

http://tinyurl.com/mm3lkt

telegraph.co.uk
Man held after confronting gang at home

A businessman was held on suspicion of attempted murder after
confronting a gang of youths who allegedly threatened to kill his wife
and attacked his stepson outside their home.

Ben Leach and David Barrett
Published: 10:35PM BST 25 Jul 2009

Colin Philpott was roused from bed and, still barefoot, challenged the
group as his stepson, Alex, was battered in the front garden of the
family's #500,000 property.

In the scuffle which followed, one of the youths, named locally as
Josh Hasler, was stabbed a number of times and collapsed in the
street. Police were called, leading to the arrest of Mr Philpott and
five of the youths, aged 16 and 17.

The incident took place in an estate in Crowthorne, Berks, which
residents said had been plagued by problems with drunken, rowdy
teenagers from outside the area who congregate at a nearby park.

Mr Philpott's wife, Susanne, said she confronted the gang on Friday
night after her husband's van was damaged.

"It was all so very surreal and scary. You never expect this kind of
violence to happen in your neighbourhood, let alone on your doorstep,"
said Mrs Philpott, a training consultant.

"When the police arrived and arrested Colin, I was gobsmacked. It was
heartbreaking to see him handcuffed and carted off like a common
criminal - he is a hardworking, honest family man.

"Any action taken by my husband was as a result of a desire to protect
his family and loved ones, and to defend his property."

Mrs Philpott said her neighbourhood had recently experienced problems
with drunken behaviour involving youths.

She said she and her son left their home after they heard a bang. She
added: "We saw two young guys outside our house. When we saw a big
dent in my husband's van, Alex asked them if they had done it. They
denied it and disappeared off around the corner.

"They returned 15 minutes later - with three others - and were all
visibly drunk.

"When they started shouting outside the house, we came out again and
this time I took a digital camera with me and told them that if they
vandalised anything else, I'd take pictures as evidence.

"It was then that one particularly drunk and rowdy teenager threatened
me. He said that if I took a picture, he would kill me and burn down
my house.

"I was terrified by his words and when Alex tried to calm him down,
the other four got worked up and the gang attacked him.

"He ended up on the ground with all five of those yobs on him, kicking
him in the head and stomach.

"I was so frightened for him that I screamed for Colin, who until this
point had been in bed. He came running out - still barefoot and half
asleep - and saw the mess that Alex was in.

"In the blink of an eye, the lads attacked Colin and I saw one stumble
into the road as Colin screamed for me to call the police and
ambulance service."

Mrs Philpott's 25-year-old son was treated in hospital for a broken
nose and concussion.

The 16-year-old boy who was stabbed five times in the chest was said
to be in a stable condition at Royal Berkshire Hospital.

It was believed a letter opener may have been involved in the
incident. Police arrested Mr Philpott, 57, who runs an escalator
cleaning company, on suspicion of attempted murder. He was held in
custody.

Mrs Philpott, 51, said the tree-lined road where the family lives had
been blighted by unruly teenagers attacking cars and pulling up plants
and flowers from gardens for several months.

Earlier this week, Mr Philpott's Jaguar S-type car was smeared with
hair gel while it was parked in the driveway.

Stephen Webb, a neighbour, said: "They do get a lot of drinking and
trouble down that end of the road." Yesterday, police installed a
panic alarm at the Philpotts' five-bedroom home in case they were
targeted again.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said that three 17-year-old and
two 16-year-old boys had been arrested on suspicion of assault and
criminal damage and were in custody.

Police added last night that Mr Philpott had been released on bail.

**************************************************
23. Replica rifle has Brooklyn man at odds with cops
**************************************************

It's fun watching Mr. Littlejohn thumb his nose at New York and its
Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, over Littlejohn's perfectly legal, non-
registered, antique rifle:

http://tinyurl.com/ku5ajy

nydailynews.com
Up in arms over gun: Replica rifle has Brooklyn man at odds with cops BY JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN DAILY NEWS WRITER

Wednesday, July 29th 2009, 4:00 AM

Like America's first soldiers at the Battle of Brooklyn, Michael
Littlejohn is fighting for his right to bear arms.

The Revolutionary War buff charges the Bloomberg administration with
tyranny for trying to seize his handmade flintlock rifle - a dead
ringer for the weapon once used against the redcoats.

"This is the last legal gun that you can have without registration in
New York," Littlejohn said. "And yet Mayor Bloomberg is driven crazy
by my flintlock gun - the one that won the American Revolution."

Littlejohn fired the first shot when he hired a Tennessee blacksmith
to recreate the vintage rifle. It arrived at his Sheepshead Bay,
Brooklyn, apartment in June - followed quickly by city cops.

Police claim it's illegal for Littlejohn to keep the flintlock without
a gun license.

Littlejohn, 50, cites the earliest American patriots as his
inspiration while refusing to surrender his firearm or apply for a
license.

The social worker is also clinging to a little-known exemption in the
city's strict gun laws.

The loophole allows license-free ownership of "antique firearms" -
defined as rifles that require the bullet and gunpowder to be loaded
separately.

Littlejohn's rifle appears to fit the bill.

Loading the weapon, he explains, is a multistep process that takes
several pokes with a ramrod and up to a minute to complete.

To fire, the rifle relies on a sharpened piece of flint that produces
a spark when the trigger is pulled. That point is moot, Littlejohn
says: He doesn't own gunpowder or bullets.

That's not enough to make the NYPD retreat.

The cops visited Littlejohn's apartment and sat down this month with
the Tennessee blacksmith who forged the rifle.

The lead detective on the case told Littlejohn's lawyer that he had
orders "from higher-ups" to pursue the case, according to an e-mail
the lawyer sent to Littlejohn.

Littlejohn's interest in the Revolutionary War dates to his childhood.
He grew up playing tag outside the upstate Newburgh house used in
1782-83 as Gen. George Washington's headquarters.

As an adult, he joined in Colonial American reenactments in Virginia
and Georgia.

The NYPD learned about Littlejohn's $825 rifle when he left a receipt
inside a Staples copy center, prompting a call to the cops.

Cops aren't threatening to arrest Littlejohn - yet. Lawyer Joyce
David, who represented Littlejohn until it became too expensive, says
her ex-client could wind up with a summons.

A police source says the war could end peacefully if Littlejohn
applied for a permit with the NYPD handgun license division.

Littlejohn would rather fight. The Brooklynite says he's willing to
sue for his rifle rights.

**************************************************
24. Don't trust your life to cheap ammo
**************************************************

Advice from VA-ALERT reader Craig Faunce:

In addition to not buying cheap guns, I would also suggest not buying
cheap ammo... Yeah, I know that quality hollow points are running
pretty high these days (I think I'm paying about $30 now for 25
rounds), but I think my life's worth it.

I'd also stress to people not to buy too much gun. Sure, a .357 snubby
might sound great, but it's not going to do much good if you can't
line up that second shot in time to have it count.

**************************************************
25. God, guns, guts, and CNN's idiot reporters
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/m8bvb6

sglogan.blogspot.com
7.19.2009
God, Guns, Guts, and CNN's Idiot Reporters

Greetings, Instapundit readers!

"You don't have a problem with God, do ya?"

This is a question posed to CNN reporter Carol Costello during a
recent interview with Mark Muller, a Missouri car dealer whose company
is offering an unusual incentive: a free AK-47 with the purchase of a
vehicle.

Thanks to Muller, we now know Costello doesn't have a problem with
God. (She answered in the negative). We also know she's, for lack of a
more dignified term--not because I can't think of one but because she
doesn't deserve it--just plain dumb.

In CNN's true journalistic fashion, she throws in a requisite number
of liberal jabs after screwing up her guest's name and before
attempting to engage him in a theological battle of wits, asking
"Would Jesus carry a gun?" Muller responds to her jabs and ludicrous
questioning with the kind of down-home common sense that make me proud
to be a Southerner. "No. They didn't have guns back then, but I do
believe He'd carry a sword if he needed it. But He was so powerful he
didn't need any weapon."

Frankly, I'm surprised that CNN even aired the clip. I'm sure they
expected "country bumpkin" Muller to come out with the short end of
the stick against "city slicker" Costello. What the producers didn't
realize was that the stick was lodged so far up Ms. Costello's hind
end that Muller wouldn't have had a shot at it ... not even with an
AK-47.

But don't take my word for it. Watch for yourselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukVAJ0Qf4G8

**************************************************
26. Life and Death Clock
**************************************************

Thanks to a Maryland Shall Issue email for the link:

http://tinyurl.com/78h58

**************************************************
27. Glenn Beck carries a gun to the movies?
**************************************************

http://tinyurl.com/nt839d (Facebook Video)

**************************************************
28. Wanted: VA-ALERT Editors
**************************************************

As they saying goes, "When it rains, it pours."

VCDL has two volunteers who compile and edit the basic VA-ALERT
materials for me, Philip Levy and Paul Kent. This saves me several
hours of time, freeing me up to do other things for the group.

Unfortunately, both have other commitments that have come up and they
wish to resign.

So VCDL needs a couple of volunteers to pick up the ball and carry on.

Here's what Philip and Paul currently do:

* I email Philip and Paul the articles that I want in the next VCDL
Update as I see them during the week

* Philip and Paul take turns each week compiling those stories into an
update

* At the end of the week whoever is doing the compilation emails me
the Update

* I then annotate and distribute the Update to all of you.

Philip developed some software to make the compilation easier and is
willing to provide it to the new editors.

If you are interested in become one of the two VA-ALERT editors, or if
you are willing to do it every week as a sole editor, reply to this
Update and let me know.

I would like to thank Philip and Paul for all the time they have
donated to help me with the Updates and for the great job they have
done over the years!

While Philip and Paul have generously volunteered to keep doing the
Updates until I have found replacements, I would like to begin the
transition as soon as possible so they can be cut loose.

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