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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 4/2/09 - Defending your right to defend yourself
1. VA-ALERT passes 11,000 subscribers!!
2. Reminder, abbreviation list for VA-ALERT available
3. Guns for Dogs?
4. Hollywood vigilante movie mocks Virginia gun law
5. LTEs respond to Roanoke reader who doesn't like your semi-autos
6. Firearm Ownership Keeps Getting Safer
7. Member reports gun-friendly restaurant in Richmond
8. Fox News blows the whistle on the Obama Administration's lies on guns entering Mexico
9. Loudon County CHP holder killed
10. Killing at Hampton Roads' Waterside Mall
11. CHP renewal info for the city of Richmond
12. LTE -- Gun show ad ban will cost the paper
13. Roanoke Times LTE: Anti Campus carry
14. Armed citizens as first responders
15. LTE in Wash Post: Congress must preempt DC on gun control
16. National parks gun ruling is judicial activism, not justice
17. Alaska Senate supports park users concealed weapons regulation
18. National Parks ruling being appealed
19. CCW shooting in Florida
20. WaPo editorial against abuse victims having guns
21. Administration wants to reinstate the assault weapons ban
22. Do anti-gun politicians need facts?
23. Attorney General Eric Holder makes poor case for AWB
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1. VA-ALERT passes 11,000 subscribers!!
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VA-ALERT's 11,000 subscribers is probably one of the biggest such statewide gun-rights email lists in the country, if not the biggest.
More people are recognizing the effectiveness of grassroots efforts to protect our freedom to protect ourselves, and we at VCDL are proud to be a leader in this fight. (Now, if we could just get the rest of the 175,000 Virginia permit holders to join us . . .)
Please tell your freedom-loving, law-abiding friends, neighbors, and coworkers about us, and ask them to join you in the ceaseless struggle for right. Remind them that liberty requires vigilance and the more of us marching in unison, the more power we have.
They can sign up for VCDL's FREE VA-ALERT at http://www.vcdl.org/va-alert.html
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2. Reminder, abbreviation list for VA-ALERT available
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In order to keep the VA-ALERT emails as concise as possible, abbreviations are often used for common terms. We realize that not everyone knows all the various abbreviations, so at the top of each alert there is a link to a web page that has each abbreviation and its meaning.
If you find that we have used an abbreviation not on the list, let me know and we will add it.
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3. Guns for Dogs?
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Anti-gunner Jim Sollo, who has indicated disdain for CHP holders in the past, continues that tradition by referring to us as "gunmen" in the LTE below.
The purpose of the LTE is to attack Senator Ken Cuccinelli for his support for the Second Amendment.
Jim Sollo has inadvertently given the Cuccinelli campaign a great quote for their campaign use:
"Cuccinelli has continually sought to increase the number of people carrying guns and tried to expand the locations where they could be legally carried. Jim Sollo, Fairfax Connection, March 27, 2009"
On a radio talk program several years ago, Jim Sollo said that there'd be shootouts over spilt water in restaurants if CHP holders were allowed to carry concealed in restaurants. Just one more example of his irrational fear mongering.
Sollo disingenuously refers to our efforts to carry concealed in restaurants that serve alcohol as us wanting to carry in bars:
http://tinyurl.com/ckqwos
Fairfax Connection
March 27, 2009
To the Editor:
This is in response to the recent letter noting that Sen. Ken Cuccinelli's (R-37) was the only Northern Virginia senator to vote against the proposed legislation that would require background checks for all gun buyers at gun shows.
In fact, throughout his political career, Sen. Cuccinelli has worked hard to get more guns onto Virginia streets. From his bill in 2003 (SB-771) to allow untrained gunmen from other states to carry concealed guns in Virginia, and his bill in 2004 (SB-579) to allow individuals to carry concealed guns into bars, to his bill this year (SB-1528) which would put an end to any "competency" test for the use of a gun before a concealed gun permit was issued, Cuccinelli has continually sought to increase the number of people carrying guns and tried to expand the locations where they could be legally carried. Under the terms of Cuccinelli's SB-1528, a concealed gun permit would be issued after completing an electronic application, with no personal contact needed between the applicant and the "certifier." Given the ease of getting a concealed weapons permit under Cuccinelli's bill, a friend of mine was planning to get a concealed weapons permit for his dog.
Jim Sollo
Fairfax
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4. Hollywood vigilante movie mocks Virginia gun law
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Good old agenda-driven Hollywood:
http://tinyurl.com/c9rb5e
Hampton Roads Pilot 26 Mar 2009
A reference to Virginia's much ballyhooed gun show loophole rule has popped up in an unusual place: a motion picture about an armed vigilante who metes out his own brand of justice.
The comment is part of the dialogue in Punisher: War Zone, a 2008 film based on the Marvel Comics character that was released on DVD last week.
While discussing weapons with his supplier, Linus "Microchip" Lieberman (actor Wayne Knight, perhaps best known for his portrayal of the Newman character on the popular 1990s sitcom Seinfeld), Punisher (played by British actor Ray Stevenson) asks about how the guns were acquired.
His supplier responds that it is gun show season in Virginia, and quips "no background check, no problem."
The so-called gun show loophole refers to a provision in state law requiring licensed dealers to perform criminal background checks on potential buyers before selling them a gun; that standard does not apply to sales between private individuals.
Attempts to change the law -- they intensified after the April 2007 shooting massacre at Virginia Tech -- to require background checks on individuals who purchase guns from dealers or private sellers at gun shows have repeatedly failed in the General Assembly.
Punisher is a long-running comic book series about Frank Castle, a former military operative who becomes an underground anti-hero after his family is murdered by criminals. The irony is that Punisher uses an array of firearms, presumably obtained illegally, to slaughter violent scofflaws.
Julian Walker
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5. LTEs respond to Roanoke reader who doesn't like your semi-autos
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There are two LTEs here responding to the letter writer last week who said we don't need semi-autos.
The world has changed for anti-gunners. Used to be they could spout their baloney and it would go unchallenged.
Now, if they put something out, we respond in numbers - and their message goes down in flames:
*****
I read Mr Nelson's opinion in your web-based op-ed section regarding sport weapons and military style weapons. He relies heavily in his argument upon tradition.
Mr. Nelson doesn't seem to remember real tradition. The history of long guns in the hands of citizens started with the blunderbuss, one of the first military powder-and-projectile weapons. Then changes were made in technology. At the time of the American revolution the military used muskets as did the citizenry, and continued through the period of the war of Northern Aggression. Then there were more technology changes. After that second war for independence the lever action rifle became the norm for most military and shortly after, for the citizen.
The First World War brought about two changes, one of which was adopted universally, the bolt action rifle. It wasn't until later that the semi-automatic rifle was adopted by citizens. The so-called assault-weapon is nothing more than a semi-automatic rifle in a different style. The things that set it apart from the polished-
furniture version are essentially two. It has many variations and can easily adopt different configurations due to its modular design. It is constructed of modern materials that make it more durable in hunting situations than the polished-furniture version.
Of course, WWI also brought about the fully automatic weapons and many citizens quickly adopted those; albeit mostly they were in the criminal element of society. Due to that they have been banned from ownership, except for collectors, to the general citizenry since the mid-1930's.
So, if Mr. Nelson really wants to be traditional he should use a club with which to hunt, because even the blunderbuss was originally a military weapon.
-- Henry Dowgielewicz
*****
In his Letter of March 12, Scott Nelson of Blacksburg reveals that while he may have been a "fisherman, hunter, hiker and paddler" for years, he is still woefully ignorant about any gun technology more modern than the 19th Century. He displays his ignorance by equating the banning of "assault weapons", with control of military hardware.
I've got a flash for you, Scott. Assault RIFLES are fully-automatic, and fall under the National Firearms Act of 1934. IF you can find someone who's willing to part with a pre-1986 piece, you'll pay many thousands of dollars, undergo a thorough probing by BATFE, and pay a $200 sales tax on top of it.
What Obama, et alia, want to ban (again) are so-called "assault WEAPONS". These are SEMI-automatic firearms that happen to look scary and military. In case you, as I suspect, don't understand anything more complex than a bolt, pump, or lever action, here's a clue: An assault RIFLE is a fully automatic machinegun. Hold down the trigger and it keeps shooting. An "assault WEAPON" is a semi-automatic rifle. Pull the trigger, it goes bang once. Period. Also, the notion that an "AW" can be readily converted to full-auto is totally bogus. Per BATFE, anything that's readily convertible to full-auto, is by law already a machinegun.
-- Dexter Guptill Centreville, VA
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6. Firearm Ownership Keeps Getting Safer
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We've known this for a long time with millions of self-defense uses of firearms -- often without firing a shot -- every year. We're pleased to see more solid evidence.
http://www.buckeyefirearms.org/node/6597
The United Sportsmen of Florida have compiled two fact sheets that provide a wealth of insight into the safety of gun ownership, hunting and shooting. Citing data sources including the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Safety Council, the Bureau of the Census, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and firearms industry reports, the 2009 Fact Sheet on Firearms Accidents proves that despite a doubling of our country's population since 1930, and a quintupling in the number of privately owned firearms, the annual number of accidental firearms deaths has decreased 75%. In fact, the fatal firearm accident rate has decreased 92% since the all-
time high recorded in 1904.
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7. Member reports gun-friendly restaurant in Richmond
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We appreciate those restaurant owners who understand their establishment is safer when *both* police and legally-armed citizens patronize their business. While we still have to open carry in these places (thanks to anti-freedom and anti-gun Governor Kaine's vetoes), an armed potential victim is a strong deterrent to crime.
Our member writes:
"VCDL members in the Richmond area might like to know that LuLu's is 'pro gun'.
The owner, Steve Jurina, told me he welcomes anyone who open-carries. LuLu's, located directly across from the Farmer's Market, has gotten fantastic reviews.
http://lu-lusrichmond.com/_wsn/page5.html"
Lindsay Trittipoe
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8. Fox News blows the whistle on the Obama Administration's lies on guns entering Mexico
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Only Fox News would actually investigate the facts when it comes to guns and the Administration's talking points:
http://tinyurl.com/cz5s3v
The Myth of 90 Percent: Only a Small Fraction of Guns in Mexico Come From U.S.
The percent traced to the U.S. is only about 17 percent of the total number of guns reaching Mexico.
By William La Jeunesse and Maxim Lott
FOXNews.com
Thursday, April 02, 2009
EXCLUSIVE: You've heard this shocking "fact" before -- on TV and radio, in newspapers, on the Internet and from the highest politicians in the land: 90 percent of the weapons used to commit crimes in Mexico come from the United States.
-- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it to reporters on a flight to Mexico City.
-- CBS newsman Bob Schieffer referred to it while interviewing President Obama.
-- California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said at a Senate hearing: "It is unacceptable to have 90 percent of the guns that are picked up in Mexico and used to shoot judges, police officers and mayors ... come from the United States."
-- William Hoover, assistant director for field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified in the House of Representatives that "there is more than enough evidence to indicate that over 90 percent of the firearms that have either been recovered in, or interdicted in transport to Mexico, originated from various sources within the United States."
There's just one problem with the 90 percent "statistic" and it's a big one:
It's just not true.
In fact, it's not even close. By all accounts, it's probably around 17 percent.
What's true, an ATF spokeswoman told FOXNews.com, in a clarification of the statistic used by her own agency's assistant director, "is that over 90 percent of the traced firearms originate from the U.S."
But a large percentage of the guns recovered in Mexico do not get sent back to the U.S. for tracing, because it is obvious from their markings that they do not come from the U.S.
"Not every weapon seized in Mexico has a serial number on it that would make it traceable, and the U.S. effort to trace weapons really only extends to weapons that have been in the U.S. market," Matt Allen, special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), told FOX News.
A Look at the Numbers
In 2007-2008, according to ATF Special Agent William Newell, Mexico submitted 11,000 guns to the ATF for tracing. Close to 6,000 were successfully traced -- and of those, 90 percent -- 5,114 to be exact, according to testimony in Congress by William Hoover -- were found to have come from the U.S.
But in those same two years, according to the Mexican government, 29,000 guns were recovered at crime scenes.
In other words, 68 percent of the guns that were recovered were never submitted for tracing. And when you weed out the roughly 6,000 guns that could not be traced from the remaining 32 percent, it means 83 percent of the guns found at crime scenes in Mexico could not be traced to the U.S.
So, if not from the U.S., where do they come from? There are a variety of sources:
-- The Black Market. Mexico is a virtual arms bazaar, with fragmentation grenades from South Korea, AK-47s from China, and shoulder-fired rocket launchers from Spain, Israel and former Soviet bloc manufacturers.
-- Russian crime organizations. Interpol says Russian Mafia groups such as Poldolskaya and Moscow-based Solntsevskaya are actively trafficking drugs and arms in Mexico.
- South America. During the late 1990s, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) established a clandestine arms smuggling and drug trafficking partnership with the Tijuana cartel, according to the Federal Research Division report from the Library of Congress.
-- Asia. According to a 2006 Amnesty International Report, China has provided arms to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Chinese assault weapons and Korean explosives have been recovered in Mexico.
-- The Mexican Army. More than 150,000 soldiers deserted in the last six years, according to Mexican Congressman Robert Badillo. Many took their weapons with them, including the standard issue M-16 assault rifle made in Belgium.
-- Guatemala. U.S. intelligence agencies say traffickers move immigrants, stolen cars, guns and drugs, including most of America's cocaine, along the porous Mexican-Guatemalan border. On March 27, La Hora, a Guatemalan newspaper, reported that police seized 500 grenades and a load of AK-47s on the border. Police say the cache was transported by a Mexican drug cartel operating out of Ixcan, a border town.
'These Don't Come From El Paso'
Ed Head, a firearms instructor in Arizona who spent 24 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, recently displayed an array of weapons considered "assault rifles" that are similar to those recovered in Mexico, but are unavailable for sale in the U.S.
"These kinds of guns -- the auto versions of these guns -- they are not coming from El Paso," he said. "They are coming from other sources. They are brought in from Guatemala. They are brought in from places like China. They are being diverted from the military. But you don't get these guns from the U.S."
Some guns, he said, "are legitimately shipped to the government of Mexico, by Colt, for example, in the United States. They are approved by the U.S. government for use by the Mexican military service. The guns end up in Mexico that way -- the fully auto versions -- they are not smuggled in across the river."
Many of the fully automatic weapons that have been seized in Mexico cannot be found in the U.S., but they are not uncommon in the Third World.
The Mexican government said it has seized 2,239 grenades in the last two years -- but those grenades and the rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) are unavailable in U.S. gun shops. The ones used in an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey in October and a TV station in January were made in South Korea. Almost 70 similar grenades were seized in February in the bottom of a truck entering Mexico from Guatemala.
"Most of these weapons are being smuggled from Central American countries or by sea, eluding U.S. and Mexican monitors who are focused on the smuggling of semi-automatic and conventional weapons purchased from dealers in the U.S. border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California," according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Boatloads of Weapons
So why would the Mexican drug cartels, which last year grossed between $17 billion and $38 billion, bother buying single-shot rifles, and force thousands of unknown "straw" buyers in the U.S. through a government background check, when they can buy boatloads of fully automatic M-16s and assault rifles from China, Israel or South Africa?
Alberto Islas, a security consultant who advises the Mexican government, says the drug cartels are using the Guatemalan border to move black market weapons. Some are left over from the Central American wars the United States helped fight; others, like the grenades and launchers, are South Korean, Israeli and Spanish. Some were legally supplied to the Mexican government; others were sold by corrupt military officers or officials.
The exaggeration of United States "responsibility" for the lawlessness in Mexico extends even beyond the "90-percent" falsehood -- and some Second Amendment activists believe it's designed to promote more restrictive gun-control laws in the U.S.
In a remarkable claim, Auturo Sarukhan, the Mexican ambassador to the U.S., said Mexico seizes 2,000 guns a day from the United States -- 730,000 a year. That's a far cry from the official statistic from the Mexican attorney general's office, which says Mexico seized 29,000 weapons in all of 2007 and 2008.
Chris Cox, spokesman for the National Rifle Association, blames the media and anti-gun politicians in the U.S. for misrepresenting where Mexican weapons come from.
"Reporter after politician after news anchor just disregards the truth on this," Cox said. "The numbers are intentionally used to weaken the Second Amendment."
"The predominant source of guns in Mexico is Central and South America. You also have Russian, Chinese and Israeli guns. It's estimated that over 100,000 soldiers deserted the army to work for the drug cartels, and that ignores all the police. How many of them took their weapons with them?"
But Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, called the "90 percent" issue a red herring and said that it should not detract from the effort to stop gun trafficking into Mexico.
"Let's do what we can with what we know," he said. "We know that one hell of a lot of firearms come from the United States because our gun market is wide open."
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9. Loudon County CHP holder killed
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Member Wayne Kulick wrote:
"This occurred about a mile from where I live in a typical "crime free zone" community. It's the same community that asked me to leave a pool party at our community center because I was open carrying. Who needs a gun jogging in an upscale suburban community right? Apparently this man and woman did. I did make a comment to our BoD over this and their choice to abrogate my rights at the pool party based on "citizen concern." I let them know in no uncertain terms if they believe our community is free from this type of crime, this should lay that naive belief to rest."
Member Bob Fischer wrote:
"Now this story becomes even sadder. The Army Special Operations Lt Col had a CHP, but left his gun at home.
Also, according to the Ch 5 local news, over 100 known gangs operate in Fairfax County, VA. And they have plenty of guns, none of which Obama will be able to take away while he tries to disarm honest people."
http://tinyurl.com/catca5
NBC Washington DC
By ANNE REYNOLDS Mar 26, 2009
Massive Turnout for Lansdowne Murder Meeting
Nearly 1,000 residents turned out, searching for answers in the killing that has shaken their community.
William and Cynthia Bennett were attacked as they exercised near their home in Loudoun County.
Almost a thousand concerned residents of Loudoun County's Lansdowne community packed a meeting with investigators Thursday night, in search of answers in a seemingly senseless killing in their quiet neighborhood.
Dozens of people wait to ask questions of Loudoun detectives, including what they should be looking for, if the killing was gang-
related, and if police believe it was a random attack.
Just blocks from the meeting, deputies found William Bennett's body in a grassy area next to Riverside Parkway early Sunday morning. His wife, Cynthia Bennett, was found injured nearby. She was airlifted to an area hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
"I think the 800 pound gorilla in the room is this gang issue," one neighborhood resident said at Thursday's meeting. "If you could share with us some indication on whether you think it is gang related or not."
The sheriff's department, however, was hesitant to comment on the specifics of the investigation. "There's a lot that we can't answer in this investigation because we don't want to compromise the investigation, and there's a lot we can't answer because quite frankly, we don't know yet," Major Larry Beardsley told the crowd.
The couple may have been attacked by three people seen driving suspiciously in the area in a white-panel van, investigators said. The Bennetts were wearing jogging outfits.
Investigators still do not know the motive for the attack or whether it was gang-related or random. They also don't know if the attack took place were the couple was found or if the bodies were moved to that location.
"If this does turn out to be strictly random, that's probably our worst nightmare and for people who live in this community," Loudoun County Sheriff Stephen Simpson said.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office got a call at around 5 a.m. Sunday. When deputies arrived, they found William Bennett's body. He had suffered severe head trauma.
Cynthia Bennett wasn't discovered until the sun started to rise. She was in a grassy area across the street, over a fence.
"We found the blood on the fence and then we found the female laying over the fence as though she may have been injured and crawled over the fence and was out of sight of the suspects," Simpson said.
Neighbor Tammy Goddard never saw William Bennett go outside during daylight hours except to run to the mailbox in his shorts to pick up his mail, she said. The Bennetts had their groceries delivered once a week and their laundry picked up and delivered daily, Goddard said. He only went out at night.
"I just thought he liked to keep to himself," Goddard said. "He was very reclusive. We had difficulty getting him to say hello."
Investigators vow not to give up until the case is solved.
"We've got a day shift and night shift that are working on this basically 24 hours a day since Sunday morning, and quite frankly we're not going to stop until we get to the end of it," Beardsley said.
Investigators ask anyone who might have seen or heard anything unusual in the area Sunday morning to call the sheriff's office at 703-777-0475. Those who wish to remain anonymous can call Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919.
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10. Killing at Hampton Roads' Waterside Mall
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Someone is killed at Waterside and Danlandi Moore had no reason to open carry there according to the Norfolk City Council?
As you recall, Danladi was arrested for open carry at Waterside and the Court sided with Danladi against the city's illegal restriction because Waterside is public property funded by your tax dollars.
http://tinyurl.com/c9goqf
By Patrick Wilson
The Virginian-Pilot
March 23, 2009
NORFOLK Police are seeking a man this morning on warrants charging him with the killing of another man in the Waterside parking garage Sunday morning, the second homicide in the downtown area in three days.
Police on Sunday night identified the suspect as Reginald E. Royals Jr., 24, of the 6300 block of Ardsley Square in Virginia Beach.
Police identified the man killed as Juan Carlos Ovalle-Peralta, 26, of Fairview Street in Chesapeake. A second man was injured.
"My initial thought this morning was... 'Are we not living in a safe environment?' " said Kevin R. Murphy, the president of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League and a downtown resident on Sunday. "At the end of the day, I'm really impressed with the work of the Norfolk police."
Royals was charged with murder, malicious wounding and two counts of use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony, Amos said. Police did not release his photo because they were still showing it in lineups and did not want anyone to see the picture in media coverage Sunday.
About 2 a.m., Norfolk police were called to the fourth floor of the garage across Waterside Drive from the entertainment complex. Officers found the two victims, one already dead, said Officer Chris Amos, a police spokesman. The second was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment.
Police said a minor car crash occurred inside the garage, which resulted in a confrontation between the two victims and three people in another vehicle, all of whom were later arrested. The fight escalated when shots were fired.
The three were trying to leave the garage when officers arrived, police said. Police charged only Royals.
Police did not release the name of the injured victim.
Brian Carter, 24, of Suffolk died Thursday after he was shot downtown during an apparent robbery at about 12:30 a.m. He was shot in a parked car in the 100 block of Bank St.
One of the robbery suspects, Marlon D. Sanders, 19, was then shot and killed by a Norfolk police bike patrol officer on Plume Street after he fired a gun at the officer, police said. The officer was near the robbery and heard the gunshots, police said.
Another suspect in the shooting of Carter, Brighton E. Alderman, 18, was arrested and charged with murder and related charges.
Murphy said he's glad the Norfolk police put officers inside some downtown parking garages on Friday and Saturday nights.
He also said the Waterside shooting reaffirms the downtown council's desire to get surveillance cameras in parking garages.
"For two-plus years we've been trying to get the city to put surveillance cameras in the garages," he said.
Safety there, he said, is growing more important because many downtown residents park their vehicles overnight in parking garages.
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11. CHP renewal info for the city of Richmond
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We thank Vic Calaman for this useful information. He wrote:
"For renewal of CHP in City of Richmond, go to the Courts building at 400 N. 9th Street, Room 102. The phone number is 646-6553.
I was told it takes 4-6 weeks for processing. This info will be handy for members who ask how the process works in the city.
It took me 5 phone calls to get to the right place."
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12. LTE -- Gun show ad ban will cost the paper
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The Roanoke Times is in financial trouble, but their anti-gun fervor is overriding their business sense. I guess this is Darwinism at the newspaper level:
http://tinyurl.com/dztd4h
[third item]
I recently received my postcard informing me about the upcoming Roanoke Valley gun show. I was disturbed to find that The Roanoke Times refused to allow this group to advertise in your paper. I would expect such tactics from the liberal papers in such places as New York and Washington, but not in a relatively rural area such as the Roanoke and New River valleys.
Although I am not a daily subscriber, I have bought your paper on a regular basis for approximately the last 30 years from newsstands in my area. I will discontinue this practice and search elsewhere for my daily news. I can only imagine the backlash you all would receive if you denied certain liberal organizations the privilege of advertising in your paper.
I will forward this e-mail to the businesses that I patronize and who advertise in your paper.
DAVID TURPIN
FLOYD COUNTY
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13. Roanoke Times LTE: Anti Campus carry
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Talk about a confused anti-gunner. If we follow his advice at the end of his LTE ("Guns do not belong on campus. Listen to the people who have been in situations whether it would have saved the life of their loved one if he or she had had a gun."), we would come to the opposite conclusion.
http://tinyurl.com/d69y9o
[second item]
Guns don't belong on campuses
I am concerned over the article about whether students, professors and people should be able to carry handguns on campus ("Tech graduate sees danger in handgun bills," Feb. 26). Lawmakers should study this very seriously. Would it really protect the campus?
I think having more security on campus would put the guns in the hands of the law. A student having a gun would be able to use it against a professor or fellow student.
The shooter will end up in court and jail for using the gun unwisely. Not only does this person have to go to court and lose his rights for shooting the gun, if he kills or maims someone for life, he will have medical bills, court costs and the loss of his education.
Guns do not belong on campus. Listen to the people who have been in situations whether it would have saved the life of their loved one if he or she had had a gun.
LOIS DEZELICH
BEDFORD
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14. Armed citizens as first responders
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Member Mike Bartone sent me this note. To echo Mike's note, some of us have had training to go overseas in high-threat areas, and they emphasize with great repetition how one should first avoid trouble, evade if unavoidable, but if neither of those work, how critical the first minutes are and keeping one's wits while MOVING, ACTING, DOING SOMETHING.
Mike wrote:
"I've been associated with Sterling Volunteer Rescue Squad for 23 years and have been actively shooting for about the same. A first-
responder myself, I relate to this perspective."
http://tinyurl.com/dfhqcn
Daniel White
Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner
Armed citizens as first responders
[full article at link; excerpt below]
In the field of medicine, the Golden Hour refers to the period of time immediately following a traumatic injury and the idea that the ultimate outcome of the injury is determined by the treatment the patient receives during that time, which can range from a few minutes to a few hours. It is often the first responders, preferably paramedics, who have the greatest impact on a victim's survival.
The clearest illustration of this principle can be seen when considering the scenario of a heart attack. If a person suffers a heart attack in a hospital, help is moments away. Treatment begins immediately, and a person stands the best chance of survival. However, if a person is hiking in a remote area and help takes three hours to make it to the scene, that person has a greatly reduced chance of a positive outcome.
Think, then, to a situation where a lunatic goes on a shooting spree in a shopping mall. Average police response time to a high priority call within city limits can range from 5-10 minutes. Add additional time to access the building, assess the situation, locate and neutralize the shooter, and you're looking at a minimum of 20 minutes. A shooter can get off several hundred rounds in that time and a lot of deaths can occur before the police can stop the attack. The scenario changes drastically if an armed citizen is already on the scene and can appropriately respond.
I was unable to find a link to the story, but I recall that shortly before concealed carry passed in Ohio that there was an incident where a young girl was shot by a stalker as she was crossing the street on her way to school. According to onlookers, she remained alive for several minutes while the gunman paced back and forth, uncertain of what to do. As the police drew closer, he shot her again and killed her. Had an armed citizen been present and able to respond, her life would likely have been spared.
For most police, the most frustrating thing about their jobs is that they cannot be everywhere to protect everyone. The sad truth is that they are often relegated to the role of armed historians, taking statements or reports after the crime has taken place. Sometimes they do intervene and stop an active shooter, but often after there has already been multiple fatalities and injuries. There just isn't enough manpower.
With more than 140,000 concealed handgun licenses issued in Ohio, there is at least a chance that there will be a First Responder on the scene who will be in a position to stop the crime and save lives. Like the paramedic program, there was initially a lot of opposition to concealed carry in Ohio. Now that it has become more accepted and the numbers are growing, hopefully we can look forward to a time when CHL holders are seen as an essential piece of the puzzle for ensuring public safety during those crucial initial minutes following a violent criminal attack.
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15. LTE in Wash Post: Congress must preempt DC on gun control
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VCDL EM Mike Stollenwerk shines some light on DC's foolishness.
http://tinyurl.com/ca5oj8
Washington Post
Handguns in the District
Friday, March 27, 2009; Page A16
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray's statement that the District "met the requirements of the Supreme Court decision" in District of Columbia v. Heller [letters, March 25] was only half right. While it is true that shortly after Heller the council repealed most prohibitions on registering guns, it reversed itself in December and banned the registration of many models of guns common in America, including guns like the one that the court ordered the District to register for Mr. Heller.
As a result, D.C. police are denying residents the right to register guns that are lawful to possess in every state, often on the basis of silly criteria such as a gun's color ["Handgun's Color Leads to Lawsuit," Metro, March 10]. And that's why Congress must preempt the District on gun control.
MIKE STOLLENWERK
Alexandria
The writer is co-founder of OpenCarry.org
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16. National parks gun ruling is judicial activism, not justice
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http://tinyurl.com/cy285a
National parks gun ruling is judicial activism, not justice
March 21, 2009
Courtesy Oleg Volk, A Human Right
I'll leave it to others to present statistical arguments refuting U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly's insane ruling that an environmental impact study has any relevance to real-world consequences if existing state laws regarding concealed carry are applied in national parks. The crux of her extremist position?
The lynchpin of Defendants' response is that the Final Rule has no environmental impacts--and that Defendants were not required to perform any environmental analysis--because the Final Rule only authorizes persons to possess concealed, loaded, and operable firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges, and does not authorize persons to discharge, brandish, or otherwise use the concealed, loaded, and operable firearms.
Let us forgo legalese weasel-wording, because this is, by the kindest interpretation, chicanery. We need to apply a bit of common sense here.
All one needs do is look at the outstandingly nonviolent record peaceable gun owners have already established. I'm not a believer in permits to exercise a right, but I cede it demonstrable that permit holders are exceptionally law-abiding. There is simply no reason to believe the track record experienced in 48 states to date will radically change once national park boundary lines have been crossed--
especially with the again demonstrable record peaceable gun owners have established in national forests, where the federal ban has not applied.
But the ignorance and the lies that exploit it are shameful. Ask yourself--what kind of person would rely on these to disarm you?
The ruling to allow guns does not authorize hunting. Poaching is already illegal.
The ruling to allow guns does not authorize target shooting. There will be no ranges, no accumulation of discharged bullets and spent casings on national parks land.
And we again know from experience that most DGUs (defensive gun uses) end without a shot being fired.
What this means is Judge Kollar-Kotelly, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Brady Campaign, et al, subscribe to the perverted value system that the potential for an immeasurable effect on the environment outweighs the right of a human to defend their life and the lives of their loved ones. That is what it boils down to.
Bottom line: They would rather see you dead than armed. And they'll use the force of the state to bend you to their will.
That's despicable.
But fine--let's use their "logic." Let's get equally ridiculous.
Where are the studies "to evaluate all reasonably foreseeable environmental impacts" of park rangers and law enforcement discharging their weapons? Have they been completed? Based on what? And if so, what basis would anyone have to believe law-abiding citizens would conduct themselves differently? Or do the "Only Ones" magically leave no tracks?
If the evaluations haven't been completed, doesn't this mean we need to disarm them now--lest the last pristine places on Earth become irrevocably toxic wastelands?
To suggest that the extremely rare occasion of a discharge in a DGU will have any measurable impact on an environment that can include thermal features exuding (GASP!) "greenhouse gases," or wholesale roadkill slaughter is sheer nonsense. We can't allow anti-human law to be made based on that.
We need to recall that the Constitution is "the supreme law of the land."
We need to recall that the Constitution mandates an express prohibtion on the lawful authority of government, specifically, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
We need to understand the purpose behind ordaining and establishing said Constitution was--and is--to "secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity."
How does ruling from the bench that you or I must place ourselves and our loved ones at risk--because some government bureaucrat didn't crunch some meaningless numbers--accomplish that?
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17. Alaska Senate supports park users concealed weapons regulation
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http://tinyurl.com/dz6at2
KTVA 03/26/2009
Source: Alaska State Legislature - Senate
JUNEAU - The Alaska State Senate today unanimously passed a resolution (SJR 3) commending the National Park Service and former President George Bush for adopting a regulation allowing park users who have state-issued concealed carry permits to carry a concealed firearm in national parks. The resolution also urges the present administration of Barack Obama to continue the rule and improve on it by allowing weapons to be carried openly.
After it took effect on January 9, the rule was challenged by environmental and gun control groups, resulting in a preliminary injunction stopping its implementation.
"Our expression of support for this rule through SJR 3 becomes ever more important and pertinent with the decision of the federal court to issue a preliminary injunction," said Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, the prime sponsor of SJR 3. "We want the Obama administration to fight to defend the rule, which could mean the difference between life and death to a park user in extremely remote and wild areas of Alaska."
Therriault noted that current federal park rules allow a handgun to be taken into a park, but it must be disassembled, unloaded, and kept where it is not readily accessible to the user. "The new rule is based on the logic that if a hiker is already allowed to carry a concealed weapon on most public land, there is no reason to deny them the same level of personal protection in federal parks. Carrying around an unassembled, unloaded gun in the Denali backcountry is not going to be of much use if you are suddenly charged by a bear," Therriault said.
The groups that challenged the rule in federal court argued that the government had not gone through the process of generating an environmental analysis. The federal government defended the rule by pointing out that it did not authorize any environmental impacts, so there was no need for an environmental analysis.
SJR 3 will next go to the State House of Representatives for its consideration. After passage by the House, the resolution will be sent to President Obama, the leaders of Congress, and Alaska's delegation in Congress.
To contact the Newsroom, call 907-274-1111.
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18. National Parks ruling being appealed
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http://tinyurl.com/d9bmcr
The Associated Press
via the Arizonal Daily Star 03.21.2009
WASHINGTON - The National Rifle Association on Friday appealed a federal court ruling that blocked a Bush administration policy allowing people to carry concealed, loaded guns in national parks.
The decision, issued Thursday by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-
Kotelly, halted a regulation from the waning days of the Bush administration. The rule, which took effect in January, allowed visitors to carry a loaded gun into a park or wildlife refuge as long as the person had a permit for a concealed weapon and the state where the park or refuge was located allowed concealed firearms.
Previously, guns in parks had been severely restricted.
Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, said the group will pursue all legal and legislative options. The NRA had pushed for the Bush rule change and was granted legal standing in a lawsuit brought by gun-
control advocates and environmental groups.
"We didn't give up in the fight to change the old, outdated rule, and we are going to pursue every legal and legislative avenue to defend the American people's right to self-defense," Cox said Friday.
In her 44-page ruling, Kollar-Kotelly called the Interior Department's rule-making process "astoundingly flawed" and said officials failed to evaluate the possible environmental impacts of the rule change, as required by law. The judge set an April 20 deadline for the Interior Department to indicate its likely response to her preliminary injunction.
The Obama administration had said it was reviewing the Bush rule but had defended it in court.
Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who pushed for the Bush rule change, said Friday that he was not giving up.
"I'm an avid supporter of the Second Amendment, and I will continue to fight on behalf of gun owners," he said. "I will continue to push so that any law-abiding citizen, in accordance with state law, can carry their guns in national parks."
Meanwhile, several groups representing park employees praised the judge's ruling.
"We have said from the beginning that the (Interior Department) was proposing a solution for a problem that did not exist," said Bill Wade, former superintendent of Virginia's Shenandoah National Park and chairman of the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees.
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19. CCW shooting in Florida
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Don't make a move in such a situation unless you are reasonably sure that you, or perhaps another innocent, are going to be shot.
Better to just stay quiet, and ready.
Certainly DO NOT get into an argument with the criminal!
If you are in a position where you feel you must shoot, then draw and shoot fast - and do so minus any chit-chat or forewarning about what you are going to do:
http://tinyurl.com/dao2v6
Robber fatally shot in Miami Burger King holdup
BY ROBERT SAMUELS Mar. 25, 2009
Miami Herald
An afternoon shootout at a busy Burger King restaurant in Miami left a potential robber dead and the customer who shot him seriously wounded.
The bloody event unfolded about 4 p.m. Tuesday at the restaurant at Northeast 54th Street and Biscayne Boulevard. It was a time, employees said, when it is usually crowded with schoolchildren and people getting out of work early.
The robber entered wearing a ski mask. He approached a clerk, showed his gun and demanded money, said Miami police spokesman Jeff Giordano.
A customer eyed him and the two started arguing. The customer had a concealed-weapons permit and his gun -- and the two exchanged gunfire.
The robber crumpled to the floor and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The customer, with several gunshot wounds, was in serious but stable condition at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center.
Officers divided witnesses into several groups outside the restaurant to gather information about the incident. Employees waiting to start their shift called friends and family members on their cellphones to pass the time because they were not allowed through the police tape.
"I just hope all my people are OK inside," said Cynthia Thomas, who has worked at the Burger King for five years. "It is scary."
Around them, drivers on busy Biscayne Boulevard gawked at the scene.
The area is a prime destination for residents in the Upper East Side neighborhood -- featuring Soyka's restaurant, Sushi Siam and Andiamo Pizza.
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20. WaPo editorial against abuse victims having guns
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This is the epitome of hypocrisy! The media wants everyone to honor their right to print whatever they want, even if it is short on facts. But let the weakest and most vulnerable among us seek the only real means of protection they can when the police are not immediately available, and the media sounds like Marie Antoinette with her famous, "Let them eat cake!" line to starving French peasants:
http://tinyurl.com/dj43vg [editorial]
http://tinyurl.com/d3b49m [response]
Washington Post
Tuesday, March 24, 2009; Page A12
Editorial: "Arming abuse victims is the wrong way to curb domestic violence."
[SNIP]
Victims' advocates and law enforcement officers have serious concerns about the amendment. They worry that an abuser could discover a firearm hidden by a victim or wrestle away a gun during a dispute. It takes considerable training, police officials note, to be able to effectively wield a gun in self-defense. There's another wrinkle: An abuser could misleadingly claim to be a victim of domestic violence and file for a protective order. This would rush a gun into the hands of someone capable of violence. And police officers called to domestic disputes could find themselves in greater danger.
*****
Newsbusters critique of editorial:
[SNIP]
According to a March 24 Post editorial, abused women are just too emotionally unstable to exercise their Second Amendment rights and probably "have seen one Jodie Foster film too many" if they think a gun can even the odds against a violent abuser.
Yes, an abuser could discover the gun and could wrestle it away. But that's a risk many women who are abused are willing to take. Many women who are abused are not willing to take that risk. But don't abuse victims deserve the choice to exercise their right to self-
defense? To the Post the answer is no, not if it involves the politically incorrect choice of a firearm.
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21. Administration wants to reinstate the assault weapons ban
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Member Charles Feury sent us this item.
http://tinyurl.com/co8kgq
Attorney General Eric Holder is using the drug violence in Mexico to "confuse and mislead" Americans in an attempt to reinstate the expired federal assault weapons ban, gun advocates say.
By Joshua Rhett Miller
FOXNews.com March 17, 2009
Get ready for a gunfight.
Attorney General Eric Holder is using the drug violence in Mexico to "confuse and mislead" Americans in an attempt to reinstate the expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban, gun advocates claim.
Holder revealed his intention to reinstate the ban last month while announcing more than 700 arrests in connection with a crackdown on Mexican drug cartels operating in the United States.
"As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to re-institute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder said. "I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum."
Holder said reinstating the ban would decrease the flow of guns from the U.S. into Mexico. He declined to offer a timeframe for any re-
implementation; Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller also declined comment on Tuesday.
But Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, told FOXNews.com that Holder's "argument in general is bizarre."
"It's a delusion to say that diminishing the Second Amendment in America is somehow going to stop these ruthless drug cartels in Mexico."
LaPierre called on Holder and Justice Department officials to uphold existing laws and focus on increasing enforcement along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, rather than consider additional legislation.
"The answer is to enforce the law on both sides of the border," LaPierre said. "I reject the notion that the reenactment of that ban would have any impact on the Mexican drug cartels."
LaPierre, referring to the drug-related violence that killed more than 6,200 people in Mexico last year, accused Holder of trying to "put a failed political agenda on the back of a national tragedy."
Signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban prohibited the sale of ammunition clips with more than 10 rounds and 19 types of semi-automatic military-style guns, including AK-47s and AR-15s. The ban expired in 2004, and a 10-year extension proposed by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was voted down.
Michael Hammond, spokesman for the Gun Owners of America, said he was not surprised by Holder's comments.
"We expected the Obama administration, contrary to promises made during the campaign, to do everything it can to go after us," Hammond said. "It's no surprise to us that [Holder] is using a crisis as an argument to achieving his policy goals."
During a House subcommittee hearing last week, Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, warned against making U.S. gun owners "scapegoats" for the Mexican crisis.
"The message here is clear: According to some, the violence in Mexico is not the fault of the drug cartels or their American customers, nor is it the fault of decades of Mexican government corruption," Cox said in prepared remarks.
"In their view, the fault lies with American gun owners. This is an outrageous assertion."
Authorities should ramp up border security and continue targeting so-
called straw buyers who do the cartels' "dirty work," Cox said.
But Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center, testified at the subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs on Thursday that the U.S. civilian gun market is fueling violence in Mexico and on both sides of its border.
"If one set out to design a 'legal' market conducive to the business of funneling guns to criminals, one would be hard-pressed to come up with a 'better' system that the U.S. civilian gun market -- short of simply selling guns directly to criminals from manufacturer and importer inventories," Diaz said in prepared remarks.
"The U.S. gun market not only makes gun trafficking in military-style weapons easy, it practically compels that traffic because of the gun market's loose regulations and the gun industry's ruthless design choices over the last several decades."
Citing February 2008 congressional testimony of William Hoover, assistant director of field operations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Diaz said military-style weapons like the Barrett .50-caliber rifle, the Colt AR-15 .223-
caliber assault rifle and the AK-47 are "precisely the makes and models of firearms that have been carefully designed, manufactured or imported and heavily marketed over the last 20 years by the U.S. civilian gun industry."
More than 7,770 guns sold in the U.S. were traced to Mexico last year, up from 3,300 in 2007 and roughly 2,100 in 2006, according to ATF statistics. It was not immediately clear what percentage of those guns fell under the United States' federal assault weapons ban.
Diaz also cited ATF tracing data that shows Mexican drug cartels receive between 90 and 95 percent of their firearms from the United States.
Along with measures such as targeting Texas, Arizona and California -- the three primary states where firearms are illegally smuggled into Mexico -- Diaz called for the implementation of an "effective" federal assault weapons ban modeled on a bill introduced in 2007 by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y.
Diaz said manufacturers continued to sell assault weapons throughout the ban by making minor design changes. He also called for the passage of a bill introduced by Feinstein during the last session of Congress that would regulate .50-caliber sniper rifles under the National Firearms Act.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers like Alaska Sen. Mark Begich and Montana Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester have already informed Holder that they'll vigorously oppose any new gun restrictions the Obama administration may be considering.
In a letter to Holder shortly after his comments, all three senators urged the Justice Department to focus on enforcing existing laws.
And Arizona state Sen. Jonathan Paton, who testified at last week's hearing, said additional gun laws are just not the answer.
"It would actually hurt the problem rather than help it," Paton, a Republican, said of re-instituting the federal assault weapons ban. "They're not giving us the resources on the laws that we already have on the books. What makes me think they're going to give us the resources for new laws?"
Paton cited Mexico's far stricter gun laws as proof that new domestic laws in the United States won't deter criminals intent on trafficking arms.
"It's not going to solve the problem you have with M-16s and AK-47s; they're already banned and they're already going into Mexico at a feverish pace," Paton told FOXNews.com. "The day they start taking their border security as serious as we do, Mexico will cut down tremendously on its amount of guns."
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22. Do anti-gun politicians need facts?
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Member Wayne Kulick writes:
"When I heard Napolitano throwing out the number "2000" guns going across our border to Mexico daily, it just didn't make sense to me. So I did some digging and sure enough, that number came from a hearing with Feinstein and Durbin before the Senate Judicial Subcommittee on Drugs and Crime (http://is.gd/oV2X ). Apparently, Feinstein cited that number from a flawed Brookings Institute study and called on a BATFE rep there to confirm it and he said she was incorrect, the number was "in the hundreds." She discounted his number and continued using hers as "fact" and hence Napolitano using it as fact in the media. I've been doing an email onslaught to most of the major stations asking why none of their reporters are questioning the number Napolitano is throwing out as "fact." No change as of yet.
Interesting that though we can't track the number of people crossing the border, we're dead on about the number of guns crossing the border."
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23. Attorney General Eric Holder makes poor case for AWB
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And we thought the Attorney General's job was to enforce the law, not make it.
http://tinyurl.com/c49v8m
The Weekly Standard
Michael Goldfarb March 26, 2009
The gun-grabbers are at it again, or at least they were until Eric Holder's call for a new assault weapons ban ran into a wall of bipartisan opposition in Congress. The administration told him to pipe down and talk of an assault weapons ban has died with it. But the coverage of all this is amusing. Take Newsweek, which describes Holder's misstep as a "self-inflicted gun wound." Isikoff and Hosenball open their report:
- "After fierce resistance from the gun lobby and its allies in Congress, Attorney General Eric Holder has dialed back talk about reimposing a federal assault weapons ban to help curb the spiraling violence in Mexico.
As much as 90 percent of the assault weapons and other guns used by Mexican drug cartels are coming from the United States, fueling drug-
related violence that is believed to have killed more than 7,000 people since January 2008, according to estimates by Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials. But the political obstacles to addressing the U.S.-to-Mexico weapons flow are dramatically underscored by Holder's experience in just the last few weeks."
Liberals have been trying to limit Second Amendment rights for decades now. The argument has always rested on the damage that American guns do to American communities. Every time there's another school shooting -- a Virginia Tech or a Columbine -- editorial boards across the country demand some new firearms regulations. But Americans have rejected those arguments. They want their guns. They've weighed the costs and benefits and decided in favor of gun rights. The Supreme Court has come down in favor of an individual right to bear arms. The matter has been settled.
But for some reason Eric Holder, and apparently many in the press, have some absurd idea that the violence in Mexico will make Americans change their minds. Columbine didn't do it, but a Mexican drug war will finally convince law-abiding Americans that their tradition of gun-ownership simply comes with too high a price. Right. Because American gun-owners lose a lot of sleep worrying about drug-fueled violence in Nuevo Laredo.
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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
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