Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

My family and I are fleeing New York and it's now comical dysfunction and oppression and will be living in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke, we settle on our house in mid-December.

Anyway, just looking to enjoy my freedoms, conceal carry (a literal impossibility here), and try and find people in the area who can direct me where the good places are to target shoot and point me towards the good gun dealers. Also happy to meet some cool people in the process.

Also, based on random Googling, I came across an organization called VCDL, checked out their website, and liked what I saw-the rallies where they talked directly to elected officials seemed like a solid approach. I got the impression they are mostly a NoVA based group, is that correct?

I must also point out the fact that I am (cue evil sound effect) primarily a liberal, and proudly so, which has made for some occasionally not so friendly debate with other gun owners who normally tend towards conservatism (this is why I always liked the NRA-they are purely single issue group). Well, at least I always added ideological variety to a group.

My own opinion is that I am saddened the vast majority of the left is on the anti-gun bandwagon, as the right to bear arms is the cornerstone of our personal liberty and the right to self-defense of life and property is a basic freedom and they just don't(or refuse) to get that very simple concept.

"Gun control" is the very opposite of what our liberal (remember-the conservatives/loyalists wanted to stay with Britain ) founding fathers intended, and being a pro gun Democrat can be very exhausting at times.

Kreutz,
First, welcome to the forum! Glad to have you with us!
Second, If you land in Cave Spring, MapQuest says you're only going to be 34 miles and 45 minutes from me. I'm about 5 miles outside of Floyd.
You can PM me, if you like, or go to my website for more info on contact.
Hope to see ya' soon!
Jim

Welcome to VGOF, Kreutz

I sent you a reply e-mail Jim, it'd be good to stretch my trigger finger, you would not BELIEVE how hard it is to even target shoot here. The application for a range only pistol permit was 35 pages! 35! And the judge can still deny you for the hell of it.

You don't need one for long arms, but of course there's no long arm ranges within 60 miles, and with the responsibilities of work and family, who has time?

The oppression of gun owners is not the main reason we are moving out of the NY metro area, but its definitely a contributing factor.

Have to admit I am saddened to see VA has no castle law doctrine, in fact the laws concerning self-defense are stricter in Virginia than New York, which has no duty to retreat in your own home, which is pretty weird when you think about it. New York being more free than Virginia on a self-defense matter is definitely weird.

to VGOF.

to the forum

When you come to civilization, please leave all vestiges of New York behind.

A true Virginia conservative is an Eighteenth-Century British liberal (rights of man, no monarchy, a voice in the government and taxation, etc.), and tends to be a libertarian with respect to the United States, and doesn't want other people spending his money without a good reason. So you may be one, who knows.

Watch out for the Roanoke City PD - they seem to have problems with recruitment and training that show up in the way they treat people carrying guns.

Kreutz wrote:...Have to admit I am saddened to see VA has no castle law doctrine, in fact the laws concerning self-defense are stricter in Virginia than New York, which has no duty to retreat in your own home, which is pretty weird when you think about it. New York being more free than Virginia on a self-defense matter is definitely weird.

Where the .... did you get those ideas?

Virginia is, and has always been, a "stand your ground" state. We might not have a formal Castle Doctrine on the books, but that doesn't mean that you can't defend yourself if threatened.

Read the attached document for more information.

Welcome to the club.
You will love the Cave Spring area. I lived there for about 15 yrs.
Now, I am 45 minutes south at Smith Mtn Lake.
Dealers to check out are Roanoke Firearms, Bryansteens and PSS.
PSS also has an indoor range.
There is also a good dealer 30 minutes south of Roanoke in Rocky Mount called D & R Outdoors.

OakRidgeStars wrote:Virginia is, and has always been, a "stand your ground" state. We might not have a formal Castle Doctrine on the books, but that doesn't mean that you can't defend yourself if threatened.

Read the attached document for more information.

I still wonder where this idea comes from. What authority is there for the proposition that the castle doctrine has been abolished in Virginia? Take a look at my website, please, and click on the link (below the picture of the mailbox) that refers to "castle doctrine case notes".

Welcome to the area. Also check out Trader Jerry's II over in Salem - good prices, hit-or-miss service. They are gone a lot to gun shows, so call ahead before making the trip.

user wrote:When you come to civilization, please leave all vestiges of New York behind.

A true Virginia conservative is an Eighteenth-Century British liberal (rights of man, no monarchy, a voice in the government and taxation, etc.), and tends to be a libertarian with respect to the United States, and doesn't want other people spending his money without a good reason. So you may be one, who knows.

Watch out for the Roanoke City PD - they seem to have problems with recruitment and training that show up in the way they treat people carrying guns.

+1

to VGOF

Kreutz wrote:I must also point out the fact that I am (cue evil sound effect) primarily a liberal

You know that there is a cure for that now!

Seriously, welcome to our little slice of heaven!

Geez, you guys sure are hard on a fella tryin' t' make a break for it.

Yarddawg wrote: to VGOF

Kreutz wrote:I must also point out the fact that I am (cue evil sound effect) primarily a liberal

You know that there is a cure for that now!

Seriously, welcome to our little slice of heaven!

Well, i said primarily a liberal, I view issues on their own merits, which everyone should probably do.

I would fall on the extreme right for my views on gun control, hatred of public unions, and immigration.

I fall on the liberal/left side for mostly my economic views, I loathe free trade, think banks should be nationalized, and think deregulation is usually the problem, not the answer.

As for the whole heath care debacle, since that is my line of business (I work on the business/information side of healthcare, not the clinical side), its something I am very knowledgeable about, and truth be told I was amazed the bill wasn't 100,000 pages, its really complex stuff messing with these methodologies that have been in place for so long.

Thousands of procedures each with their own reimbursement formulas, exclusions, bundles, etc., and the Republicans lies about the bill ("socialized medicine", death panels, etc.) pissed me off alot more then the Democrats exaggerations (you know, that it would fix anything).

However, I digress. Overall I am in lockstep with pro-Second Amendment people, and at the end of the day we call all agree thats one issue that is really important and we can all agree on.

Welcome aboard Kreutz and welcome to Virginia!

Kreutz wrote:

Yarddawg wrote: to VGOF

Kreutz wrote:I must also point out the fact that I am (cue evil sound effect) primarily a liberal

You know that there is a cure for that now!

Seriously, welcome to our little slice of heaven!

Well, i said primarily a liberal, I view issues on their own merits, which everyone should probably do.

I would fall on the extreme right for my views on gun control, hatred of public unions, and immigration.

I fall on the liberal/left side for mostly my economic views, I loathe free trade, think banks should be nationalized, and think deregulation is usually the problem, not the answer.

As for the whole heath care debacle, since that is my line of business (I work on the business/information side of healthcare, not the clinical side), its something I am very knowledgeable about, and truth be told I was amazed the bill wasn't 100,000 pages, its really complex stuff messing with these methodologies that have been in place for so long.

Thousands of procedures each with their own reimbursement formulas, exclusions, bundles, etc., and the Republicans lies about the bill ("socialized medicine", death panels, etc.) pissed me off alot more then the Democrats exaggerations (you know, that it would fix anything).

However, I digress. Overall I am in lockstep with pro-Second Amendment people, and at the end of the day we call all agree thats one issue that is really important and we can all agree on.

It's all good Kreutz, you will find that we like to pick on each other a little every now and then. Welcome again!