Not yet a Virginia Citizens Defense League member? Join VCDL at: http://www.vcdl.org/join
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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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VA-ALERT archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/727/=now
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** BREAKING NEWS: Goochland lowers CHP fees from $50 to $15 effective immediately! **
1. REMINDER: RRRC/VCDL Shoot, help needed
2. REMINDER: Preppers Festival, help needed
3. Governor vetoes gun bills, pleads for help from anti-liberty advocates
4. Veto override for gun bills failed along party lines, but not without a fight!
5. How much are the various localities charging for a CHP? We now know
6. VCDL has a new statewide gun show coordinator and a new Winchester gun show coordinator!
7. A black, Republican, gun owner is going to be on the $20 bill
8. A second look at the Senate votes on judges/school security officers
9. [NC] Man charged with murder after shooting assailant armed with a pipe
10. This VA gun group leads the fight against gun control in Richmond [VIDEO]
11. GMU TV interviews with member Joe Lothrop [VIDEO]
12. Special agent accused of showing gun at restaurant over bill
13. Ten Myths about guns
14. Eleven false or misleading claims from the the President's remarks this week [VIDEO]
15. American Legion questions White House gun restrictions
16. [PA] Criminal with stolen gun tries to kill cop and the mayor calls for more gun control
17. [NH] 4' 11" woman stops 200lb attacker with her pocket carry pistol
18. [NH] Grandmother shoots mugger, disses Obama
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1. REMINDER: RRRC/VCDL Shoot on May 14, help needed
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The Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club (RRRC) will again host the RRRC/VCDL Defensive Pistol Shoot on 14 May 2016 at RRRC. Sign in starts at 9 AM sharp! Shooter fee will be $25.00. Shooting will start shortly after the safety meeting, by about 10 AM. There will be 8 Stages, 150 rounds needed.
A FREE HOT DOG lunch--soft drinks and “fixin's”--will be served after the shooting is through, furnished by VCDL! Those wishing to bring salads; deserts and such will be greatly appreciated!
SPONSORS NEEDED! Sponsors assisting are welcome to set up a small table/tent or banners at this event ! Prizes will be drawn using the shooter’s registration number! Donations of prizes greatly appreciated!
VCDL will have a special drawing for an EXECUTIVE PISTOL: .223 or 5.56 caliber; package includes (5) 30 round magazines, Executive briefcase; and 1000 rounds of .223 AMMO ! Package valued at approximately $1,500.00! The pistol package is donated by BIG BOYZ GUNS; 4568 Blue Ridge Blvd (Highway 460), Blue Ridge, VA. Phone: 540-650-2520. Ammo is donated by VCDL! TICKET COST $5.00 each. Drawing will be held after the lunch is served.
Helpers are needed to assist in setting up the stages on FRIDAY, 13 MAY-(Time to be announced)-and again to assist in tear down after the shoot ends on Saturday. We will need assistants to help prepare the food on Saturday also.
This event is open to all RRRC members, VCDL members, family members, and any guests who wish to join us for this fun shoot!!
Contact al@vcdl for sponsor support or questions.
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2. REMINDER: Preppers Festival on May 14, help needed
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The third annual PREPPER FESTIVAL on Main Street, NEW CASTLE VA, will be held on MAY 14 from 9 AM to 5 PM. VCDL will again have a tent set up at this event! Come join VCDL at this fun festival! LOTS of vendors, live music, workshops, Prepper cook off, and prizes!
We will need at least four helpers for this interesting event!
Contact al@vcdl.org to help.
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3. Governor vetoes gun bills, pleads for help from anti-liberty advocates
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The Governor vetoed several gun bills and all the veto overrides failed along party lines in the House (only ONE more vote was needed for the overrides).
Vetoed was state-agency firearm preemption, storage of guns in private vehicles for state-agency employees while at work, clarification of the brandishing law, and arming of school security officers.
As always, however, gun owners’ rights were advanced this legislative session as all anti-gun bills failed, and the following VCDL supported initiatives become law on July 1st:
a. Only one ID will be required for purchase of firearms from an FFL dealer
b. Legal immigrants will now have the right to purchase so-called “assault weapons.”
c. Virginia will now recognize the CHPs from ALL states, increasing the number of states where Virginians can carry firearms.
The Governor, realizing his veto of the bill that would have allowed guns in state agencies again was not going to be popular, sent out the following email begging for support from the gun haters. My comments are in square brackets:
—
The gun lobby is out-of-control. [PVC: ROFL! The Governor wants to control everyone and everything, as do most gun haters. He, of course, is incensed because he can’t control VCDL.] They’re frothing at the mouth because Governor McAuliffe recently vetoed two bills that would have made it easier to bring guns into state office buildings.
The gun lobby doesn’t care about the right of all Virginians to feel safe and secure no matter what they’re doing or wherever they are. And that includes state employees who need to feel safe in their workplace. [PVC: All the Governor can offer is for people to FEEL safe and secure, but not to actually BE safe and secure. There had been no problems whatsoever before his state-agency gun ban.]
Can you sign our petition supporting Governor McAuliffe for putting the safety of Virginians first by not caving into (sic) the gun lobby?
The NRA gives Governor McAuliffe an ‘F’ for opposing their backroom lobbying efforts to end sensible gun control in Virginia. They hate having to go up against a governor who has the courage to say ‘No’ when it’s bad for the Commonwealth. [PVC: When has McAuliffe done that? He seems to like to say ’No’ to things that are GOOD for the Commonwealth.]
Governor McAuliffe has a clear-cut position on gun safety.
Whether requiring domestic abusers to give up any guns in their possession within 24 hours or authorizing state police to perform voluntary background checks at every gun show, ensuring the safety of all Virginians is what comes first for Governor McAuliffe.
Let’s send a message to the gun lobby by showing our support for Governor McAuliffe and his commitment to protecting state employees
Thanks for your support. I know Governor McAuliffe appreciates it.
—
Here is an article on some of the Governor’s vetoes:
http://www.guns.com/2016/04/08/virginia ... e-victims/
or
http://tinyurl.com/zl2rgbu
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4. Veto override for gun bills failed along party lines, but not without a fight!
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Here is a video of pro-gun Delegate Todd Gilbert passionately speaking on the Floor of the House during last week’s veto override session. He demolishes the opposition’s arguments opposing Delegate Mike Webert's state-agency preemption bill. Gilbert gets a standing-O from his fellow Republicans. You can see the Speaker jokingly motioning the Democrats to stand as well.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBA_9e_YaGg&sns=em
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5. How much are the various localities charging for a CHP? We now know
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Thanks to EM Bob Sadtler for contacting every single Circuit Court Clerk in the Commonwealth and making a list of the fees they charge for a CHP. Also thanks to EM Ed Levine for putting the data into a spreadsheet for everyone to view sorted either alphabetically be the name of the locality or by the fee charged.
We need to start working on getting the localities that are charging higher, unnecessary, fees to lower those fees. I will start the effort here in Chesterfield.
Localities that charge the least for a CHP ($15)?
Accomack, Alleghany, Amelia, Brunswick, Buchanan, Campbell, Carroll, Craig, Essex, Grayson, Greene, Goochland, Madison, Montgomery, Northampton, Orange, Patrick, Prince William, Radford, Russell, Sussex, Wythe
Localities that charge the most (gouge) for a CHP ($50)?
Albemarle, Alexandria, Appomattox, Arlington, Bristol, Buckingham, Buena Vista, Charles City, Charlotte, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights, Culpeper, Cumberland, Danville, Dinwiddie, Fairfax, Fauquier, Floyd, Fluvanna, Franklin, Fredericksburg, Gloucester, Greensville, Halifax, Henrico, Highland, Hopewell, Isle of Wight, King George, King William, King and Queen, Louisa, Lunenburg, Lynchburg, Martinsville, Mathews, Mecklenburg, Middlesex, Nelson, New Kent, Newport News, Norfolk, Northumberland, Page, Petersburg, Pittsylvania, Portsmouth, Prince Edward, Prince George, Rappahannock, Richmond City, Richmond County, Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Rockingham, Salem, Shenandoah, Smyth, Southampton, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Staunton, Suffolk, Surry, Tazewell, Virginia Beach, Warren, Washington, Waynesboro, Westmoreland, Winchester, Wise
Here is the link to the data so you can see where your locality ranks:
tiny.cc/vachpfees
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6. VCDL has a new statewide gun show coordinator and a new Winchester gun show coordinator!
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Milan Sturgis is now VCDL’s statewide gun show coordinator. Milan has a history of public service, as well as serving his country, and I look forward to working with him. The importance of a statewide gun show coordinator for VCDL cannot be understated. Milan is replacing Robert Herron, who was the previous statewide gun show coordinator and also had served as the gun show coordinator for Fredericksburg (Fredericksburg is now handled by member Tom Cook).
VCDL also has a new gun show coordinator for Winchester: member Mark Lintz. I’ve known Mark for quite a while now and look forward to working with him, too.
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7. A black, Republican, gun owner is going to be on the $20 bill
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I’m not so sure that the Obama Administration had all of Ms. Harriet Tubman’s credentials in mind when coming up with a substitute for the slave-owning Andrew Jackson, who also was, by the way, the founder of the Democrat Party.
Ms. Tubman was a black, Christian, Republican and an “in your face” gun owner, who wisely carried a gun while freeing slaves.
That said, and slave holding aside, Andrew Jackson did a lot for his country and needs to be remembered as such.
Here is a suggestion for the image of Ms. Tubman to use on the future $20 bill:
http://pajamasmed.hs.llnwd.net/e11/inst ... .47-PM.png
or
http://tinyurl.com/jaa75cu
—
An article on Ms. Tubman’s selection:
http://www.examiner.com/article/for-sec ... -20-choice
or
http://tinyurl.com/jmukctp
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8. A second look at the Senate votes on judges/school security officers
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A Republican Senator sent me an email stating that even though the Senate did not get a chance to vote to override the Governor’s veto on arming school security officers, as their counterparts did in the House, there was still a vote to put the bill on the Governor’s desk in the first place.
While that is true, for me the men are really separated from the boys during a veto override.
However, here are those in the Senate who voted for judges carrying in K-12 schools, but voted against armed school security guards (all Democrats):
Alexander, Barker, Dance, Deeds, Ebbin, Edwards, Favola, Howell, McEachin, Miller, Wexton
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9. [NC] Man charged with murder after shooting assailant armed with a pipe
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The same charge could well apply had this scenario played out here in Virginia.
Generally courts have ruled that someone with an impact weapon or an edged weapon is an imminent danger if they are within 21 feet of you. The assailant in this case was 50 feet away.
The argument would be that at 50 feet you should have had time to get away from the assailant and not have to shoot him.
Some are pushing to have the 21 feet extended to 35 feet, I’ve heard. Even that wouldn’t have changed the outcome in this case.
http://www.guns.com/2016/04/13/man-char ... e=facebook
or
http://tinyurl.com/hcd5w68
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10. This VA gun group leads the fight against gun control in Richmond [VIDEO]
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Here is a great story from January on VCDL, which discusses our leadership in restoring our reciprocity and preemption laws (successful) and eliminating the Governor’s state-agency gun ban (vetoed).
http://tinyurl.com/hprjfhd
or
http://www.wideopenspaces.com/virginia- ... -richmond/
This Virginia gun group leads the fight against gun control in Richmond
by Gabriella Hoffman
January 9, 2016
In wake of recent illegal executive orders coming out of Richmond, Virginia, the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) is leading the fight to hold the capital accountable.
If you are a gun advocate or enthusiast in the Commonwealth of Virginia, you may already be familiar with the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL). If not, be sure get acquainted with them.
VCDL was originally founded in October, 1994 as the Northern Virginia Citizens Defense League (NVCDL). Due to immense interest and growth in membership statewide, they became incorporated as VCDL in May, 1998. Here’s some more background information about the group:
VCDL is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing the fundamental human right of all Virginians to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 13 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Philip Van Cleave, president of VCDL, said the group will especially be ramping up their efforts on Richmond Lobby Day, which is scheduled to take place on January 18th, 2016. Their goals? To “push pro-gun legislation and get people to lobby” their representatives in the General Assembly, he said.
He also added that his group’s members will be “distributing legislative summary bills dealing with guns—both good and bad bills” on Lobby Day.
Ed Levine, a VCDL Executive member and founder of both Virginia and D.C. Carry, also echoed the urgency to protect Second Amendment rights in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Levine said, “The chance of you needing a firearm for self defense is ZERO percent…until it’s 100 percent!”
In addition to attending Lobby Day, VCDL regularly hosts meetings, social events, and gatherings throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Moreover, they attend gun shows throughout the state.
Preparation for Lobby Day couldn’t come at a better time. Right before Christmas, Attorney General Mark Herring (D-VA) announced the Commonwealth is cutting concealed handgun permit (CHP) reciprocity with 25 states because their laws are supposedly “weaker” than Virginia’s.
Last October, Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), who campaigned on gun control in 2013, issued an executive order banning most forms of carrying firearms in Virginia’s state houses.
In response to these moves, some Virginia lawmakers have called to remove Governor McAuliffe of his armed security guard since he is repulsed by guns.
Virginia gun owners are prepared to fight back against anti-gun politicians in Richmond this year. If you wish to join the VCDL, go to VCDL.org and for $25 per year, you can become a member.
Join them for their Lobby Day to tell lawmakers “no more gun control” by showing up at the Virginia General Assembly building at 8am on Martin Luther King Day, January 18.
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11. GMU TV interviews with member Joe Lothrop [VIDEO]
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Thanks to member Joe Lothrop for the link:
I attended the protest against Obama Thursday night at GMU and was fortunate enough to be interviewed by several of the local TV stations. At I had an opportunity to represent the our side of the issue.
http://tinyurl.com/j6uea2k
or
http://wjla.com/news/local/president-ob ... orthern-va
President Obama calls for gun rights at Town Hall Meeting in Northern Va.
By Roz Plater
January 8, 2016
Outside the Town Hall meeting being held on the Fairfax campus of George Mason University, protesters lined up on both sides of the gun control issue.
"Guns save lives, guns save lives" gun rights activists chanted.
"We need more background checks" chanted gun control activists.
Inside, in front of a CNN invitation-only audience, President Obama defended his call this week to curb gun violence using executive orders.
President Obama said, " we are not going to eliminate violence, but we can cut down on it." He also said America is always going to have crime, but just because "we can't stop every crime doesn't mean we shouldn't try".
But it is the President's decision to act on his own that seems to have galvanized gun rights advocates here.
NRA member Joe Lothrop said, "the whole idea of him going around the Congress again with an executive order I believe is unconstitutional."
Alex Shotwell, a George Mason University student said, "making a law like that and saying this is how it's going to be is disrespectful."
There was little meeting of the minds between the two groups of protesters. At times things got heated. But in the end, each group stood its ground.
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12. Special agent accused of showing gun at restaurant over bill
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<Sarcasm On> I thought permit holders were supposed to do stuff like this, and not police, when permit holders were allowed to carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol eight years ago? <Sarcasm Off> Gun-control groups, some police chiefs, some newspapers, and some law makers owe gun owners an apology for all the false accusations and baseless fear-mongering back then.
Thanks to member Mark Shinn for the link:
http://tinyurl.com/zt4lnlh
or
http://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2016/01/ ... over-bill/
Special agent accused of showing gun at restaurant over bill
By Associated Press
January 7, 2016
FORT BELVOIR, Va. (AP) — The Army confirms that a man accused of pulling a gun because he didn’t like a restaurant’s bill is a special agent.
Fairfax County police said in a news release that 45-year-old Curtiss Davis, of Stafford, was arrested Dec. 23 in the Fort Belvoir area.
Army Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey says Davis, a special agent, worked for three years as a civilian criminal investigator, but is now suspended from law enforcement duties. That was first reported by WUSA-TV.
Police say Davis exposed himself to a restaurant employee, requested a sexual act and became upset about his bill. Authorities say Davis displayed a handgun and demanded employees lower the bill.
Davis has been charged with abduction, extortion, exposure and attempted forcible sodomy. It’s unclear whether he has an attorney to comment on the case.
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13. Ten Myths about guns
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Thanks to member Rick Evans for the link:
Would make a great handout to help educate the willful ignoramuses who populate the gun-control lobby!
Of course, that assumes any of them actually WANT to be educated ... might put a damper on their 'bliss'.
http://tinyurl.com/zwh9agv
or
http://dailysignal.com/2016/01/07/10-myths-about-guns/
10 Myths about guns
By Sen. Chuck Grassley
January 7, 2016
This week, President Barack Obama announced executive actions related to guns. Here are 10 common myths about firearms.
Myth No. 1: Firearm purchases at gun shows do not require a background check due to the “gun show loophole.”
Facts:
When the president and others refer to the “gun show loophole,” they imply that there are no background checks being done at gun shows. As a result, much of the public has been misinformed and are led to believe that individuals who purchase firearms at gun shows are not subject to a background check.
In reality, there is no “gun show loophole.” If an individual wants to purchase a firearm from a licensed firearms retailer, which typically makes up the majority of vendors at gun shows, the individual must fill out the requisite federal firearms paperwork and undergo a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background check.
The only firearms that are being purchased at gun shows without a background check are those being bought and sold between individuals, peer-to-peer, as opposed to buying a firearm from a gun dealer. These private sales are not at all different from selling a personal hunting rifle to the owner’s niece or nephew down the road. It is a private sale, and no background paperwork is required. The gun is private property, and the sale is made like a sale of the family’s good silver. The one difference is that the locus of a gun show is being used to make the private sale.
Under current law, an individual is permitted to occasionally sell part, or all, of his personal firearms collection. These private sellers, however, cannot be “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. “Engaged in the business” means they can’t repeatedly sell firearms with the principal objective of earning funds to support themselves. Some of the individuals who wish to sell a portion, or all, of their personal firearms collection do so at the show and might display their wares on a table. These “private table sales,” however, are private, peer-to-peer sales and, therefore, do not require a background check. The president cannot change criminal statutes governing requirements for which sellers must conduct background checks. His new actions don’t do so and don’t claim to do so.
In a peer-to-peer, private firearms transaction, it is already illegal to sell a firearm to another individual if the seller “knows or has reasonable cause to believe” that the buyer meets any of the prohibited categories for possession of a firearm (felon, fugitive, illegal alien, etc.).
Myth No. 2: Gun shows lack any law enforcement presence and are a free-for-all for felons and other prohibited individuals to obtain firearms.
Fact:
Local, state, and federal law enforcement are often present both in uniform and/or covertly in plain clothes to monitor and intervene in suspected unlawful firearms sales such as straw purchasing; purchases made by prohibited individuals, including non-residents; and the attempted sale of any illegal firearms.
Myth No. 3: Individuals who purchase firearms on the Internet are not subject to background checks.
Facts:
An individual cannot purchase a firearm directly from a firearms retailer over the Internet and have that firearm shipped to him directly. An individual can pay for the firearm over the Internet at websites and online sporting goods retailers. The firearm, however, must be picked up from a federal firearms licensee, such as a gun store. In many cases, this is the brick-and-mortar store associated with the website where the gun purchase was made. Once at the retail store, the Internet purchaser must then fill out the requisite forms, including ATF Form 4473, which initiates the NICS background check process. Thus, an Internet purchase of a firearm from a firearms retailer requires a background check.
Individuals from the same state are able to advertise and purchase firearms from one another and use the Internet to facilitate the transaction. It is unlawful, under current law, to sell or transfer a firearm to an individual who is out of state. Any Internet sale, even between individuals, that crosses state lines would have to utilize a federal firearms licensee, such as a gun store, and the purchaser would be required to fill out the requisite state and federal paperwork and would undergo a background check.
Myth No. 4: The president’s Jan. 5 executive action on gun control represents landmark change regarding gun control.
Facts:
With few exceptions, Obama’s executive action on firearms is nothing more than rhetoric regarding the status quo. Many senators have long argued for better and more robust enforcement of existing laws that prohibit criminals from owning guns.
It is the current law of the land that anyone engaged in the business of selling firearms must have a federal firearms license. The president’s action does not change current law, but merely restates existing court rulings on the meaning of “engaged in the business.”
Myth No. 5: The Obama administration has made firearms enforcement a priority.
Facts:
The Obama administration has used its limited criminal enforcement resources to focus on clemency for convicted and imprisoned felons, the investigation of police departments, and civil rights cases. The latter two categories represent important work, but the Department of Justice lost track of one of its core missions of enforcing criminal law: prosecuting violent criminals, including gun criminals.
The Obama administration is only now making firearms enforcement a priority. Clearly, enforcing the gun laws is a new initiative, or one of the president’s actions would not have been informing all of the 93 U.S. attorneys about it.
Proof of this lack of enforcement is revealed in the decline of weapons-related prosecutions during the Obama administration. As data obtained from the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, through a Freedom of Information Act request, reveal, firearms prosecutions are down approximately 25 percent under the Obama administration versus the last year of the Bush administration.
Myth No. 6: Mental health has nothing to do with gun control.
Facts:
People with certain levels of mental illness are not permitted to own guns. Many of the recent mass killings were committed by mentally ill individuals. One of the keys to preventing further mass shootings and violence committed with firearms is addressing the issue of mental health.
Background checks to prevent the mentally ill from obtaining guns can work only if states provide mental health records to the NICS system. Too many states have failed to do so. Many of the worst offenders are states with the most stringent gun control laws. For multiple years now, many members of Congress have repeatedly called for and introduced legislation that would provide incentives for states to submit their mental health records for inclusion in the NICS database.
Myth No. 7: Obama’s executive action on gun control will thwart criminals’ ability to obtain firearms.
Facts:
The president’s executive action regarding firearms is focused primarily on individuals who attempt to purchase firearms through the background check process.
Criminals, however, obtain firearms in myriad illegal ways, including home invasion robbery; trading narcotics for firearms; burglary of homes, vehicles, and businesses; and straw purchasing.
My legislation, Senate Amendment 725, was specifically designed to combat the straw purchasing of firearms as well as firearms traffickers who transfer firearms to prohibited individuals and out-of-state residents.
Myth No. 8: There is a general consensus in America that greater gun control is needed to prevent mass shootings in the United States.
Facts:
Despite the president’s statement to the contrary, polls have shown that the majority of Americans do not believe that stricter gun control would reduce the number of mass shootings in the United States.
The American public does not believe that making it harder for law-abiding Americans to obtain guns makes America safer. In fact, polls have shown that a majority of Americans thinks the United States would be safer if there were more individuals licensed and trained to carry concealed weapons. A majority opposes re-imposition of the “assault weapons” ban.
Myth No. 9: The terrorist “no-fly” list is a proper mechanism to bar Americans from purchasing firearms. —Obama, Jan. 5
Fact:
The no-fly list is actually multiple lists, which are generated in secret and controlled by executive branch bureaucrats. The Second Amendment right to bear arms has been determined by the U.S. Supreme Court to be a fundamental right. This puts the right to bear arms in our most closely guarded rights, similar to the rights to free speech and freedom of religion. It is unconstitutional to deprive an American citizen of his Second Amendment right without notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Myth No. 10: Gun retailers need to step up and refuse to sell semi-automatic weapons. —Obama, Jan. 5
Fact:
There is nothing unlawful about a semi-automatic firearm. A semi-automatic firearm simply means that a round is discharged with each pull of the trigger. These include most shotguns used for waterfowl hunting and rifles commonly used for target shooting.
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14. Eleven false or misleading claims from the the President's remarks this week [VIDEO]
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Thanks to member Rick Evans for sharing this:
http://tinyurl.com/jtm44wn
or
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/01/ ... -week.html
Obama and guns: Eleven false or misleading claims from the president's remarks this week
By John R. Lott
January 7, 2016
With tears in his eyes, President Obama pulled out all the stops in pushing his new executive orders on gun control this week. A Washington Post headline exclaimed, "President Obama’s amazingly emotional speech on gun control.” But the president also tried to appeal to people’s minds with a barrage of factual claims.
Unfortunately, the president’s remarks had a large number of errors. Here are 11 of the false or misleading claims that the president made.
1. “But we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. It doesn’t happen in other advanced countries. It’s not even close.”
Last year, both France and the US had four mass public shootings. France suffered more casualties (murders and injuries) from mass public shootings in 2015 than the US has suffered during Obama’s entire presidency (532 to 396). And this occurred despite the US being five times more populous than France.
But it isn’t just the horrific year that France had last year. Far from being well below the frequency found in US, other European countries actually have a worse problem. From 2009 through December 2015, eleven European countries experienced mass public shootings at a greater frequency than did the US, after adjusting for population. These countries include Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, and the Czech Republic.
President Obama’s statement is clearly false.
2. Five years ago this week, a sitting member of Congress and 18 others were shot at, at a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. It wasn’t the first time I had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. Fort Hood. Binghamton. Aurora. Oak Creek. Newtown. The Navy Yard. Santa Barbara. Charleston. San Bernardino. . . . with common-sense gun safety measures we can reduce gun violence a whole lot more. . . . Number one, anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions.”
Obama claims that expanding background checks to include any private transfers of guns will reduce mass public shootings. But he offers no evidence. Not one mass public shooting during Obama’s administration would have prevented by these checks.
Often overlooked is that the three most recent massacres occurred in states – California, Colorado, and Oregon – which already have such laws in place.
The same is true of mass public shootings that have occurred in France, Belgium, Norway, Germany and other European countries.
Examining all the mass public shootings in the US from 2000 through 2015, shows that states that adopted additional background checks on private transfers saw a statistically significant increase in rates of killings (80% higher) and injuries (101%) from mass public shootings.
3.“I believe in the Second Amendment. It’s there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to bear arms.”
Here’s another quote: “I don’t believe people should be able to own guns.” That’s what Obama said to me when we were colleagues at the University of Chicago in 1996. Obama has also publicly supported a nationwide “ban [on] the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns” as well as a “ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.” Even as late as the 2008 Presidential primaries, Obama supported Washington, D.C.’s handgun ban.
4. “Contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents have suggested, this has not been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation.”
It would be nice to take President Obama’s word for this, but Americans have seen this scenario play out before and at least realize this fear isn’t completely misplaced. California, New York, and Chicago have all used registration lists to identify who owns guns that are no longer legal.
Since 2004, the FBI has been required to destroy NICS records of gun sales and transfers within 24 hours of receipt. However, federally licensed dealers are required to maintain records of background checks that have been done on customers. Congress currently forbids federal collection of this information into a central database, but there’s no guarantee that this won’t change. With records on all private transfers and sales, the government could potentially figure out who legally owns a gun. Five years down the line, a future President Hillary Clinton could push to require that federally licensed dealers make copies of their records and turn them into the federal government. This would be the start of a national registration list.
5. “The problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. A violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the Internet with no background check, no questions asked. A recent study found that about one in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records — one out of 30 had a criminal record. We’re talking about individuals convicted of serious crimes — aggravated assault, domestic violence, robbery, illegal gun possession. People with lengthy criminal histories buying deadly weapons all too easily.”
This “internet loophole” is fictitious. If you try to buy a firearm over the Internet from a licensed firearms dealer, you have to go through a background check, period. They’ll ship the gun to your nearest licensed dealer. There’s no loophole there.
If you buy on the Internet from a private seller in another state, they can’t just mail the gun to your doorstep. The Gun Control Act of 1968 strictly regulates direct mailing of firearms across state lines, the only exception being for antiques. Within state rules never provide different regulations for private gun sales on the Internet. There is no Internet “loophole.”
Obama’s 1-in-30 claim misstates what occurred. Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown organization set up an internet site pretending to sell guns, but no guns were sold. Criminal background checks were done on the people’s names for those who visited the site and people who might have criminal backgrounds were identified, but there were all kinds of false positives. I might not have a criminal record, but there are other people with similar names who do have criminal records.
6.“Congress actually voted to make it harder for public health experts to conduct research into gun violence; made it harder to collect data and facts and develop strategies to reduce gun violence.”
This claim stems from another study funded by Michael Bloomberg. In 1996, Congress passed a budget amendment that banned the CDC from using Federal funds to lobby for gun control. Bloomberg claimed that firearms research in medical journals fell by 60 percent between 1996 and 2010. But what Bloomberg measured was firearms research relative to all other research. In fact, total research on firearms increased over that time. Firearm studies soared from 69 in 1996 to 121 in 2013. Other medical journal research simply increased even much faster.
7. "After Connecticut passed a law requiring background checks and gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by 40 percent. Forty percent.”
There are 18 states with background checks on the private transfers of guns. The Bloomberg funded study picked the state that most serves their agenda here. But a great deal of manipulation was still required. To get the 40% figure, 1995 to 2005 is conveniently selected as the time period.Adding one more year to the data completely undermines Obama’s claims. Connecticut’s firearm homicide rate only fell by 16% between 1995 and 2006. It fell by 12.5% between 1995 and 2010. Meanwhile, the US and the rest of the Northeast experienced much greater drops. From 1995 to 2006, the firearm homicide rates for the US and the rest of the Northeast fell by 27% and 22%, respectively. From 1995 to 2010, these drops were even more pronounced – 39% and 31%. Therefore, when one looks at these longer time periods, one actually observes a relative increase in Connecticut’s firearm homicide rate.
8. "since Missouri repealed a law requiring comprehensive background checks and purchase permits, gun deaths have increased to almost 50 percent higher than the national average.”
This is yet another Bloomberg funded study. Again, another it picked out one state out of many that have these laws. After the law was changed, Missouri’s murder rates did in fact rise by 17 percent relative to the rest of the US. However, murder rates were already on a sharp, upward trend, having increased by 32 percent in the five years prior to the change. The murder rate increase thus actually slowed down after the background checks on private transfers were ended.
Also, there was no relative fall in Missouri’s murder rate after the state adopted comprehensive background checks in 1981.
9. "there are actions within my legal authority that we can take to help reduce gun violence and save more lives.”
Despite Obama’s claims, the law is actually quite clear on those who have to get a federal firearms license and it poses real problems for his plans: “a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.” Yet, Obama’s rules will cover people who sell as few as one gun. How one reconciles that with the language of the statute is a mystery. For many individuals, even a couple of dozen gun sales are unlikely to be an individual’s primary occupation.
10. -- “We know we can’t stop every act of violence, every act of evil in the world. But maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one act of violence. Some of you may recall at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in China took a knife and tried to kill — with a knife — a bunch of children in China, but most of them survived because he didn’t have access to a powerful weapon.”
Guns are more effective weapons, but that also means that they are more effective tools for self-defense. In any case, it is fortunately as President Obama says that “most of [the victims] survived” in the attack that he chose to mention, but, over the years, there have been lots of very deadly knife attacks in China.
11.“Just as with more research, we’ve reduced traffic fatalities enormously over the last 30 years. . . . Today, many gun injuries and deaths are the result of legal guns that were stolen or misused or discharged accidentally. . . . We need to develop new technologies that make guns safer. . . . we’re going to work with the private sector to update firearms technology. . . . a product that now kills almost as many Americans as car accidents. . . .”
The claim that government safety regulations has made cars safer – either in reducing accidents or suicides -- and could similarly be used to make guns safer is wrong. Between 2000 and 2013, without any of the regulations that Obama claims are necessary, the drop in accidental firearm deaths fell almost twice as much as the drop in accidental motor vehicle deaths. While firearm suicides rose by 28 percent over that period, suicides using motor vehicles rose by 47 percent.
The real problem with Mr. Obama’s policies is that they will actually cost lives. Possibly President Obama has seen too many James Bond movies, but requiring the technology that limit who can use a gun is extremely expensive and is hardly fool proof.
The one gun on the market right now works with a watch like wrist ban that sends out a short-range radio signal that needs to be near the gun for it to fire costs $1,800. Police won’t use the guns because radio-jamming devices can effectively disarm the police. The high cost will prevent poor people from having the option to defend themselves.
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15. American Legion questions White House gun restrictions
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http://tinyurl.com/zp9enby
or
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/vete ... /78370968/
American Legion questions White House gun restrictions
By Patricia Kime
January 6, 2016
The nation’s largest veterans organization expressed concern to President Obama that his executive actions on gun control may keep former troops from seeking mental health treatment.
The American Legion issued a statement Wednesday urging Obama to protect the right to gun ownership for “law-abiding veterans,” and said the organization fears an "over-fix" that would bar any veteran from owning a weapon.
“The American Legion strongly believes that treatment for PTSD or depression by itself, which a number of wartime veterans experience, should not be the sole factor in denying a veteran the right to purchase a firearm,” said American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett.
Among the gun control measures announced by the White House on Monday by executive order are efforts to increase access to mental health treatment and improve the background check system for gun purchases.
Specific mental health care initiatives include:
-Investing $500 million to improve access to mental health care nationwide.
-Allowing the Social Security Administration to start notifying the background check system about beneficiaries who are barred by law from possessing a firearm for mental health reasons.
-Removing barriers that prevent states from “reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons.”
Current law bars individuals from buying or possessing a gun if their mental health condition presents a danger to themselves or others or if they are unable to manage their own affairs.
Under the new orders, the Social Security Administration will report to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, NICS, the names of 75,000 people with documented mental health conditions who are unable to manage their benefits themselves or who have been found by a state or federal court to be legally incompetent.
The Health and Human Services Department also lifted restrictions that prohibited health providers from reporting information to NICS, allowing them to provide demographic and “other necessary information” to the system about individuals who are prohibited by law from possessing a gun.
Barnett said the Legion is apprehensive about some of these new requirements.
“Barring some additional circumstances that would indicate that a veteran represents a dangerous threat, veterans should not have to forfeit their Second Amendment rights,” Barnett said. "Veterans have fought to protect the constitutional rights of all Americans. The American Legion believes that the rights of these heroes deserve protection.”
More than 2.7 million service members are veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A 2008 Rand Corp. report estimated that roughly 20 percent of these combat veterans have, or have had, PTSD or combat-related depression.
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16. [PA] Criminal with stolen gun tries to kill cop and the mayor calls for more gun control
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As always, no logic applies to gun-control. The gun used in the murder was stolen from the POLICE.
Thanks to member Brian Sheaffer for the link:
http://tinyurl.com/h6zud89
or
https://reason.com/blog/2016/01/08/gunm ... est-philly
Gunman Tries to Kill Cop in West Philly 'in the Name of Islam,' Mayor Calls for More Federal Gun Control
by Ed Krayewski
January 8, 2016
Last night, Edward Archer tried to kill a police officer in West Philadelphia by firing 13 rounds into his car, striking him three times in the arm in what police call an "attempted assassination."
"This guy tried to execute a police officer," said Philadelphia's new police commissioner, Richard Ross. "The police officer had no idea he was coming. It's amazing he's alive."
The suspect was apprehended and reportedly made a full confession. The Washington Post reports:
Ross said during a later news conference that the suspect confessed to the shooting and said he did it "in the name of Islam."
Police also said that the attacker told authorities he pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, the militant group that has declared a caliphate in parts of Iraq and Syria.
The gun used in the shooting was a stolen police firearm, Ross said.
Police have not mentioned a specific motive and won't yet say if they're investigating the incident as terrorism.
Among the newly-inaugurated mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney's first comments about the attack were that "there are just too many guns on the streets and I think our national government needs to do something about that," as reported in a Christian Science Monitor piece about using the shooting as part of the "national conversation" about guns.
The district attorney, Seth Williams, also appeared to use the attack to push his agenda on guns. "This shows us the need for smarter laws when it relates to guns on the street," Williams said. "My office is going to do all that we can to ensure the defendant is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
It's unclear whether Williams will explore how the police firearm was stolen in the first place and whether anyone at the police department responsible for not getting guns stolen might face some kind of responsibility, criminal or otherwise.
President Obama's unilateral gun control measures, which are mostly aimed at law-abiding civilian buyers and sellers, do include efforts to "explore potential ways" to limit accidental discharge and "unauthorized use" of firearms owned by federal agencies, which collectively make up the country's largest firearms purchaser.
Supporters of gun control measures often hedge that it's impossible to "predict" whether any specific measure would prevent a specific crime being used to push more gun control, but that, as Attorney General Loretta Lynch said, if paperwork and patience saved even one life it would be worth it.
Controlling the guns in the local Philadelphia government's possession won't be helped by anything the national government can do, despite Kenney's pleas. Kenney doesn't have to wait for the feds to impose more paperwork on controls on police guns, and could start by getting a grasp on how many, exactly, are missing at any given time, as well as how they are used off- and on-duty.
Despite fears of a "war on cops" fueled by a desire to thwart reforms and a fatal shooting of two NYPD cops at the end of 2014, 2015 went down as one of the safest years for police in the U.S. on record. There was no crime wave either. There were, however, a string of police shootings that drew varying levels of national attention, and continue to propel a discussion on police reforms.
Of note, too, that despite Archer's proclamations that he pledged allegiance to ISIS, few people, if any, are jumping to call this an act of terror simply because of the invocation of Islam. The argument that that is what often happens in America has been one of the specious arguments advocated by some on the left to call the armed activists in Oregon "terrorists."
In this instance, it was liberal leaders themselves in Philadelphia who jumped to kickstart their civil liberties-violating political agenda off a crime that drew national attention, just as liberals would accuse supporters of a tougher war on terror of doing if (or when?) they used the attempted murder of this cop to demand more civil liberties-violating measures of their own. Welcome to 2016.
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17. [NH] 4' 11" woman stops 200lb attacker with her pocket carry pistol
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Thanks to member Bill Albritton for the link:
Amazing what a little piece of steel can do!
http://tinyurl.com/zoswb5f
or
http://concealednation.org/2016/01/4-11 ... rry-pistol
4' 11" woman stops 200lb attacker with her pocket carry pistol
By Brandon
January 5, 2016
A 65-year-old woman half her attacker’s size is crediting her firearm for saving her the other night during a frightening ordeal that occurred just feet away from her apartment.
The woman, who is 4-foot-11 and 105 pounds, said she had stopped at Mobil on the Run, 1050 S. Willow St., at about 11:30 p.m., after leaving work. She told police she was on South Willow Street at a stoplight when she noticed a dark colored sedan behind her. She said it caused her heightened concern when it followed her into her apartment complex parking lot, so she parked as close to her building as possible.
She said the following vehicle parked close to hers and as she got out of her vehicle and headed for the building, she heard a car door close and a person walking quickly behind her.
She turned to see a white male coming up behind her, running past her and then situating himself directly in her path. The woman said that he then reached out to grab her, and that’s when she pulled her firearm from her pocket and fired a shot, striking the man in the chest.
Police say the woman has her concealed carry permit.
The man, Robert Bontaites, 23, was taken to the hospital by an accomplice who was waiting in the vehicle. When his description was heard over the radio, an officer at the hospital recognized Bontaites and arrested him.
This is yet another fine example of an armed citizen taking control over their personal safety. Had this woman not been carrying her firearm, who knows what would have happened to her in the end.
Here’s to the armed citizen.
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18. [NH] Grandmother shoots mugger, disses Obama
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Thanks to member Monica Sanders for sharing this:
http://tinyurl.com/jlh9key
or
http://bearingarms.com/child-60s-grandm ... ses-obama/
“Child of the 60s” Grandmother Shoots Mugger, Disses Obama
by Bob Owens
January 7, 2016
Michael Bontaites is a thug with a history of using violence to get his way.
He tried to use it again when he decided to follow a 65-year-old Manchester, New Hampshire grandmother home and mug her. He chose a woman who refused to be a victim.
A 65-year-old grandmother said she didn’t have time to think when she pulled out her .32-caliber handgun and shot a man who tried to mug her outside her south Manchester apartment building late Monday night.
The woman, who recounted the incident to news media Tuesday, said she had a funny feeling once a dark-colored car started following her car as she pulled away from the Mobil on the Run and headed home to 640 South Porter St., a three-story, garden-style apartment building.
She had just gotten off work as a poker dealer. It was about 11:30 p.m. As she made her way to the building, she said a man exited the car, ran ahead of her and blocked her path.
“As soon as he went to grab me with his left hand, I pulled (the gun) out and shot him. I didn’t even think about it. I thought my safety was in danger,” said the woman, who asked that her name or image not be publicized.
“I’m not happy about what happened. I wish I didn’t have to do it, but my safety was my first priority.”
Bontaites was arrested at a nearby hospital as he sought treatment for a gunshot wound to the utter chest, and remains hosptalized.
The grandmother’s decisive action earned her effusive praise from Mayor Ted Gatsas and Police Chief Nick Willard. Willard wanted to ensure that she felt safe after having to turn in her gun as evidence until the case concludes, and she replied that a friend had already loaned her another gun.
This transfer of the loaner gun from one friend to another would be illegal under the gun control laws being pushed by Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety.
The self-defense shooting occurred hours before President Obama’s spiteful, tear-stained 40-minute rant outlining his planned executive orders against the Second Amendment rights of Americans, and this woman was clearly not impressed.
The incident took place about 12 hours before President Obama addressed the nation about his crackdown on gun purchases.
“Honestly, I do not have a problem with background checks. Anything else he’s trying to do, forget it. He’ll never take our guns away,” said the woman. Police said she had the proper license to carry a concealed weapon.
The woman wore jeans with a small peace symbol sewed just above her right knee. She wore a fleece hat with hearts on it and two crosses around her neck.
“I’m a child of the 60s,” she said.
President Obama will once again appear on television this evening to speak about his gun control schemes in front of a tightly-controlled, hand-picked audience that will not challenge executive orders that range from patently dishonest to unconstitutional.
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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/]