VCDL Update 2/28/11
1. Reminder: VCDL Supper in Vinton on March 11th - RSVP!2. Reminder: Sussex County to consider new range restrictions on March 17 at 7:00pm3. LTE: Rights, when regulated, cease to exist4. Update on Paul Henick case5. New gun store6. Ashby Arms radio ads7. VA-ALERT reader: Editorial link from last week's alert8. 3 women robbed at gunpoint outside Richmond Walmart9. Employee finds handgun in Vienna community center bathroom 10. Punch drunk: Shotguns and shotglasses11. House budget bill blocks ATF request for emergency anti-gun trafficking authority12. WaPo's Courtland Milloy learns about gun safety, but not about reporting on guns13. Guns and churches14. VCDL President to speak at Lynchburg Tea Party on Thursday, March 3rd15. 'Zero tolerance' criminalizing kids16. Lewis and Clark air rifle 17. NY spree killer used a knife 18. Tongue in cheek: We must ban automobiles19. Swiss reject gun control20. Revise gun-control laws one state at a time 21. DC Crime Museum promotes unhelpful firearm stereotypes22. More whining from the antis as Texas prepares to allow carry on College campuses23. Finnish television wants to talk to Virginia gun owners who have protected themselves
**************************************************1. Reminder: VCDL Family Supper in Vinton on March 11th - RSVP!**************************************************
There will be a VCDL family supper at FAMOUS ANTHONY'S, 323 East Virginia Ave, Vinton VA 24179 on Monday evening, March 7. Early birds will start arriving at 6:30 PM---guests start ordering from the menu at 7 PM.
This event is open to all VCDL members, their families and any guests who want to attend. Please respond to confirm attendance - there is seating for about 50 folks - those who respond late may have to sit in the main part of the restaurant and join the short meeting after supper.
Come and enjoy the fellowship of like minded folks! Speaker (s) to be announced.
Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows*vcdl.org to RSVP.
**************************************************2. Reminder: Sussex County to consider new range restrictions on March 17 at 7:00pm**************************************************
The proposed range ordinance being considered by Sussex County is secheduled be coming up on March 17th at 7 PM, so if you live in the general area, mark your calendars so we can show up in force! If things change, I will advise.
**************************************************3. LTE: Rights, when regulated, cease to exist**************************************************
VCDL Board member Dennis O'Connor hits a home run in response to an anti-gun diatribe by Million Mom March's Andrew Goddard in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Roy Scherer emailed me this:
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Great Letter to the Editor in this morning's Richmond Times-Dispatch. From Dennis J. O'Connor, and awarded "Correspondent of the Day"!
=46rom the Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/6yc2wfx
Rights, when regulated, cease to exist
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Andrew Goddard ["Regulating guns doesn't require ban,"] too carelessly confuses privileges and rights by suggesting tests, licenses, registrations, insurance, and inspections required for owning and operating vehicles ought to apply to a constitutional right. Of course, his real purpose is to isolate the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights and downgrade gun ownership to a mere privilege to be conferred at whim by the government.
In Goddard's statement "The Second Amendment is important, but it was not intended to create an excuse to oppose all reasonable public-safety measures," let's change Second to First. While requiring Branch Davidians, Muslims or practitioners of other minority religions to be tested, licensed, registered, insured, inspected, etc. as a precondition to exercising faith or speech might result in a more ordered society, we could no longer pretend to be free.
Now let's change Goddard's statement about guns to apply it to religions or free speech:
"Religions (or free speech) do not cause criminality, they just make criminality more deadly."
Goddard's assurances that "not a single proposal" of the government roadblocks, checks, and screenings he advocates would prevent lawful exercise of rights rings hollow, because once rights are so completely subject to government preconditions, they cease to be rights at all.
Dennis J. O'Connor.
Prince George.
**************************************************4. Update on Paul Henick case**************************************************
Board member Dale Welch emailed me this on the current status of VCDL member Paul Henick. Paul, as you might recall, was charged with brandishing for pointing his finger at a security guard and for obstruction of justice because he refused to provide ID on demand.
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There is a new judge in the case, the old one retired early.
The obstruction charge was dismissed with prejudice (won't be coming back).
There is a new trial date to hear the brandishing charge set for June 21st.
=46rom opencarry.org: http://tinyurl.com/6ep7j6b
**************************************************5. New gun store**************************************************
EM Pat Webb emailed me this:
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A friend of mine opened up a new gun store in Zions Crossroads. The name of the shop is:
Crossroad Gun ShopGreg Armstrong-Ownergagunsmith*centurylink.netwww.sportingarmsonline.comPh. (434) 589-0907
It is located off 250 and 15 on Zion Park Court (first left off Zion Park Road). Hours are 1 - 6 Wed , 9 - 6 T, F, S and 12 - 6 Sun ., but he is there during off hours most of the time.
**************************************************6. Ashby Arms radio ads**************************************************
Dennis Golden emailed me this:
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Here is a link to two adds that we're currently running. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mreuMvtl8Fk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M73ns2DUuQ
Dennis GoldenAshby Arms, LLCHarrisonburg, Va 22802
**************************************************7. VA-ALERT reader: Editorial link from last week's alert**************************************************
Roy Scherer emailed me to point out that I had not put in a link to an important editorial in the last alert. An anti-gun editor from Ohio turned around on his views when presented with facts and not emotionalism.
=46rom morningjournal.com: http://tinyurl.com/63ehpt6
THE EDITOR'S COLUMN: Facts top feelings, change views on gun issuesPublished: Sunday, February 06, 2011
AFTER reading through reporter Taylor Dungjen's front page story today on the relatively trouble-free growth of concealed carry of handguns in Ohio, I have to admit I was wrong.
Back in 2004, when Ohio's law allowing licensed concealed carry of handguns was adopted, I was among the opponents who thought it would make public shoot-outs common and fill the streets with blood.
In part, my view was molded by the accidental gunshot death of a person I very much admired.
He was the guy who gave me my first newspaper byline, as a matter of fact.
We worked together on police beat when I was a reporting intern at The Cleveland Press one summer, and by the time I came back as a full-time reporter after graduation from college, he was gone.
Guns were not part of my city-kid upbringing, and all I saw of them as a young reporter on the police beat spelled trouble.
As this newspaper's Editorial Page editor in 2004, whenever I wrote a negative opinion piece about concealed carry, it got support from some readers who shared the same feeling, but it also got a flood of responses countering my arguments. The response from gun supporters was loud and spirited, to put it politely, and full of factual information. And the difference between opinion based on "feeling" and opinion based on fact, over time, made all the difference in changing my viewpoint.
The facts showed that concealed carry did not bring Ohio more crime, more bloodshed or a Wild West atmosphere. In fact, none of that has happened anywhere in the United States as legal concealed carry has become the rule rather than the exception in the state laws across the land.
Yes, in a perfect world, there would be no need for guns. But the world is not perfect, and never will be perfect. Two-legged predators will always be a threat to good citizens. The law forbids felons from possessing guns, but criminals ignore the law, so it is only proper that law-abiding people be allowed to possess and to carry a weapon if they meet the rules in the law.
Police cannot be everywhere at all times, and most often are not in a position to provide protection from a potentially deadly criminal attack that occurs in seconds. That's when a person's right and responsibility to defend themselves and their family members from death or serious harm would call for use of a firearm.
Our nation's founders put their own lives at grave risk to break free of a tyrannical king and give us liberty, something that nobody but us Americans has ever tasted so fully in the history of mankind.
Out of that crucible of the American Revolution, the founders drew up the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.
Second only to free speech, they emphasized the right to keep and bear arms for defense -- a right the Supreme Court recently said belongs to each individual, not just collectively to create state militias.
So, back to Lorain County and concealed carry. Time and events have proven that concealed carry is safe for the public in general. Gun ownership is perfectly fine. Both carry an obligation to follow well-known laws and rules for safety, and that's exactly what law abiding citizens will do by their nature. It's criminals, by their nature, that we should worry about.
This column, and Taylor Dungjen's front page story by no means cover every aspect of the long-running debates over firearms. That would take a book, or several books.
For now, let's just say I freely admit I was on the wrong side of this argument for too long, and the facts presented by gun rights advocates over the years finally have brought me to see the issue with appropriate clarity.
If you want to be a gun owner or even a concealed carry license holder, fine. Just do it right.
It's one of our most fundamental rights as Americans.
Tom Skoch is editor of The Morning Journal and www.MorningJournal.com, where his Tell the Editor blog appears. He is on Twitter as MJ_Tom_Skoch and can be contacted by e-mail at tskoch*morningjournal.com.
**************************************************8. 3 women robbed at gunpoint outside Richmond Walmart**************************************************
Bill Hine emailed me this:
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=46rom nbc12.com: http://tinyurl.com/45cjbls
[SNIP]3 women robbed at gunpoint outside WalmartPosted: Feb 14, 2011 7:10 PMUpdated: Feb 15, 2011 6:15 AM
By Melissa Correa - bio | emailPosted by Terry Alexander
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Richmond police are looking for a man who pulled a gun on a trio of women outside a Walmart. It happened Sunday night around 9:30 at the store located on Sheila Lane near Forest Hill Avenue and Chippenham Parkway.
Three women were sitting in a car outside that Walmart. Police say a guy with a gun came up to them and snatched their purses. Tonight, as police track down the thief, some women are thinking about how they'd protect themselves and their stuff.
**************************************************9. Employee finds handgun in Vienna community center bathroom **************************************************
If you have to take off your gun to use the restroom, place it somewhere were it will be **impossible** to forget. For men, their pants pocket usually works.
Peter Sabela emailed me this:
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=46rom the Sun Gazette: http://tinyurl.com/4lwgmfm
Employee Finds Handgun in Community Center Bathroom(Created: Wednesday, February 9, 2011 7:49 AM EST)
A Vienna Community Center employee on Jan. 29 at 8:31 a.m. found a Smith & Wesson 9mm semiautomatic handgun inside the men's bathroom at the center, which is located at 120 Cherry St., S.E., Vienna police said.
The weapon's safety catch was on and there was no round in the chamber, said Master Police Officer Bill Murray, a police spokesman.
Officers located the weapon's owner a short time later. The man had unholstered his firearm to use the urinal and then forgot about the weapon, police said.
The man is licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Maryland and carries it in plain view while in Virginia, police said.
After consulting with a magistrate, authorities determined no violation of law had occurred. The weapon will be returned to the owner when he provides proof of ownership, police said.
**************************************************10. Punch drunk: Shotguns and shotglasses**************************************************
A rant by Jack Lauterback about guns in restaurants, where he incorrectly thinks that someone who is open carrying and gets drunk is somehow exempted from being charged with drunk in public, etc.
You may remember Jack - he is a bar tender who admits to alcohol and drug abuse on his blog and I guess knows a lot about "crazy pills," too. I debated him on television last year over the issue of carrying guns in restaurants.
As a reminder, McEachin's bill died.
Craig Rupert emailed me this:
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=46rom Style Magazine: http://tinyurl.com/4sjxwen
Posted On: 2/14/2011=09Punch Drunk
Right now you can drink and carry a gun with no repercussions in Virginia. Does anyone else feel like they're taking crazy pills?by Jack Lauterback
Shotguns and Shot Glasses
In an effort to temper the never-ending derangement that is Virginia's relationship with alcohol and guns, State Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, put forth Senate Bill 1395, which would make drinking while carrying a firearm illegal.
Yes, that's correct: Right now you can drink and carry a gun with no repercussions in Virginia. Seriously?! I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
That this isn't already against the law is baffling and shows how red and deeply Southern this state still is. Regardless, McEachin's bill seeks to at least counter the law that went into place a year ago, which allows for concealed weapons in bars as long as the holder has a permit and remains sober.
Unfortunately it's widely suspected that McEachin's legislation, although it passed 12-1 in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee and 40-0 in the full Senate, ultimately will die in a House of Delegates subcommittee before it reaches the full body. But McEachin isn't giving up. "I don't subscribe to the notion that this bill won't pass through the House of Delegates or else I wouldn't have introduced it," he says. "We already got 40 votes in the Senate, and with both parties working together I'm hopeful we can get the necessary votes in the House."
If it fails, it'll be thanks to a bunch of old Republican bags on the subcommittee and heavy pressure on them from the (possibly drunk?) good ol' boys to "uphold the Second Amendment!" [PVC: I've noticed that everything in Jack's world seems to revolved around being intoxicated.]
As for allowing concealed weapons in bars, McEachin says he's not sure what the process would have been to repeal the law, but is focused on this new bill: "I think it will go through."
What else is there to say? We've already had one concealed weapons permit-holder in Lynchburg shoot himself in the leg while drinking in a bar. Next time a person will die, though I doubt it will change the stances of lawmakers or gun nuts. When it comes to firearms, rational thought is merely an afterthought for these people. [PVC: Yes, Jack - and you are such a great example of someone thinks rationally
]**************************************************11. House budget bill blocks ATF request for emergency anti-gun trafficking authority**************************************************
James Durso emailed me this:
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=46rom The Hill: http://tinyurl.com/6d6e7ou
House budget bill blocks ATF request for emergency anti-gun trafficking authorityBy Mike Lillis - 02/19/11 11:40 AM ET
The Republican budget bill passed in the House Saturday morning blocks a request from federal officials for broader authority to fight gun trafficking to Mexico.
The provision would bar the government from requiring gun dealers in southern border states to report bulk purchases of assault weapons - an emergency measure designed to stem the flow of guns to Mexico's violent drug cartels..
Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.), who sponsored the provision, said it will "protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.""I remind my colleagues this amendment carries the full support of the National Rifle Association," Boren said on the floor Friday night.
His amendment passed 277 to 149. Forty-one Democrats voted in favor of the bill, and two Republicans - Reps. Peter King (N.Y.) and Brian Bilbray (Calif.) - opposed it. King, the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, has often been at odds with GOP leaders over gun reform.
In December, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) asked for new powers to require gun dealers in Mexican border states to report sales of two or more assault weapons to the same buyer within five work days.
The ATF's emergency request was a response to spiraling drug violence in Mexico, where more than 30,000 people have been killed since 2006, when President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown against the country's powerful cartels. Thousands of the guns used by those cartels have been traced to gun dealers in the United States.
A 2009 report from the Government Accountability Office found that more than 20,000 - or 87 percent - of the guns confiscated from the Mexican cartels between 2004 and 2008 originated in the U.S. More recently, the figure has risen to over 90 percent.
The Obama administration is still weighing whether to grant the ATF request, but the Boren amendment would make the White House decision irrelevant.
Boren, who formed the Second Amendment Task Force in the last Congress, said his opposition to the ATF's request is three-fold. First, it puts an additional paperwork burden on gun dealers. Second, it creates a federal catalog of assault weapons buyers, thereby violating their privacy. And finally, he says ATF doesn't have the legal authority to require such reporting.
The ATF proposal applies only to dealers in Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas. Affected guns must be semi-automatic, must carry ammunition larger than .22 caliber, and must feature a detachable ammunition clip -- characteristics favored by the Mexican drug cartels.
Boren said those guns represent some of the "most popular rifles used by millions of Americans for self-defense, hunting and other lawful purposes."
Gun control advocates both on and off Capitol Hill have backed the ATF's emergency request, arguing that the sheer number of U.S. guns abetting Mexican drug crime makes it a necessary step.
"Last year, the U.S. military announced that if the drug war continues it will cause the Mexican government to collapse and the cartel war would spread over the border into the U.S.," Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said on the floor Friday. "This amendment makes the drug war worse."
Chu is spearheading a letter urging the White House to approve the ATF's request.
**************************************************12. WaPo's Courtland Milloy learns about gun safety, but not about reporting on guns**************************************************
Deborah Jane emailed me this:
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Washington Post reporter Courtland Milloy learned something about gun safety from George Lyon. That's good! But, what's NOT good is that he just couldn't get far enough removed from anti-gun rhetoric, because it's apparent that he still hasn't learned that one can write an article about guns and NOT include any negative comments. Oh, if only he'd stuck to the positive things about guns and gun safety, rather than reverting back to the negative angle. So very disappointing.
Blessings,
Deborah Jane
=46rom the Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/4oyob5j
Gun safety starts with finger off the triggerBy Courtland MilloyWashington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, February 15, 2011; 10:41 PM
With efforts underway to make carrying a concealed weapon legal in the District, I wanted to know what kind of training you'd need to do so safely. George Lyon, who is among those leading the charge, offered to give me a primer.
"Let's see if I can make a ragged hole," he said during our recent get-together at the National Rifle Association shooting range in Fairfax County. Using a Glock 31 semiautomatic handgun, Lyon proceeded to put three shots in the same spot on a paper-plate target 21 feet away.
"From that distance, it can take someone about 1.5 seconds to reach you," he said. "That's about how much time you have to decide whether to shoot or not."
Lyon, who lives in Northwest Washington, looks more like a bookworm than a gunslinger. But the 57-year-old communications lawyer is quick on the draw, and he's dead-on accurate with a variety of firearms - including the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle that he registered before the District banned them.
He was one of the plaintiffs in the 2008 Supreme Court case that loosened restrictions on gun ownership in the District, and now he's party to a lawsuit seeking the right to carry a gun on the streets.
He might not have to wait for a court decision. A bill introduced in Congress last week would further weaken D.C. gun laws by repealing the ban on semiautomatics such as the AR-15, make it easier to purchase and register guns and "ensure that firearms may be transported and carried for legitimate purposes."
"I compare carrying a gun with wearing a seat belt," Lyon told me. "You don't buckle up expecting to be in a car accident. But if you get into one, the seat belt gives you a better chance of survival."
Now it was my turn to face off with the paper plate.
After attaching a holster and ammo clips to my belt, Lyon handed me a Glock 26 subcompact - one of eight firearms he owns and his likely choice to carry concealed.
If that plate had been somebody's head, the ragged hole that Lyon made would have been located between the eyes. One of my shots took off what could have been a piece of ear.
While admiring my handiwork, I heard Lyon yell through the din of gunfire from the other shooting stalls: "Finger off the trigger!"
Finger off the trigger until you're ready to fire: such a simple, basic rule of gun safety, and yet so easy to forget.
As I began to holster the firearm, Lyon yelled, "Stop!" That darn finger again. Holstering a gun with a finger on the trigger is how people shoot themselves in the foot, he explained.
During the practice session, we discussed myriad critical issues relating to the use of firearms for self-defense: situational awareness, mental fitness, threat assessment, when to shoot, when to run, tactical reloading, malfunction repair under fire, scanning for innocent bystanders, not scaring off witnesses who can testify that you acted properly, what to do with your gun when police show up and on and on.
Most states don't require gun owners to have any meaningful training. The District, which still has among the strictest rules for gun ownership in the country, requires only four hours of classroom instruction and one hour on the shooting range.
"I certainly have my concerns about that," said Lyon, who has spent more than 300 hours shooting and attended some of the best firearms training schools in the country. "I would prefer that the city institute a scheme that requires adequate training to issue a concealed or open-carry permit."
That's easier said than done.
I'd been so mesmerized by the kick of the gun, the flash from the barrel, ejected shell casings flying everywhere, the smell of gun smoke and the adrenaline rush from nicking that paper plate that I didn't realize my finger was still curled through the trigger guard, unaware if only for a moment that the pistol was primed for an accidental discharge.
But a moment is all it takes for a tragedy to occur. Who knows what else I'd forget while walking the streets with a gun on my hip?
"Give me another couple of hours on the range with you, and I'll have you to the point where you'll feel comfortable carrying a gun," Lyon said.
As knowledgeable and patient as Lyon was, however, I knew it would take longer than that. A whole lot longer.
**************************************************13. Guns and churches**************************************************
I am quoted in the story below:
=46rom The Huffington Post:http://tinyurl.com/5rwat7m
States Caught In Crossfire Over Guns In ChurchesFirst Posted: 02/14/11 10:19 PM Updated: 02/14/11 10:19 PM
By Adelle M. BanksReligion News Service
The way Rev. Jonathan Wilkins sees it, members of his Baptist church in Thomaston, Ga., should have the right to carry guns into worship services to protect the congregation.
Wilkins' Baptist Tabernacle and a Georgia gun-rights association are challenging a new state law that prohibits weapons in houses of worship. A lower court ruled against them in January; the case is now headed for appeal.
"What we're fighting for is not that just any old body can carry guns in church," Wilkins said. "We would be responsible. We would want people who are trained, and so forth, to carry, people that we designate for protective purposes."
Recently, state legislatures in Georgia, Michigan and Louisiana have been caught in the crossfire of the debate between gun rights and gun control as they consider allowing weapons in houses of worship.
Though gun-rights proponents think they have both the First and Second Amendments on their side, they also cite the rights of religious organizations as property owners. Opponents, meanwhile, worry that having weapons in worship is part of a slippery slope to permitting them everywhere.
A month after then-Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the 2010 law listing places of worship among "unauthorized" locations for carrying weapons, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal took the opposite tack. Louisiana law now permits trained worshippers to bring guns into churches, mosques and synagogues as long as fellow congregants are informed.
Meanwhile, other states are mulling whether to scale back restrictions on weapons.
In Michigan, gun rights activists are pushing for a change in the law that would make it possible to carry guns in worship without prior permission from a presiding official.
Mike Thiede, spokesman for Michigan Gun Owners and a member of a Baptist church, said he spoke to legislators in favor of changing the law after a church secretary was assaulted and a pastor was tied up during a robbery at another church.
"I just thought it was a terrible situation for people to be in," he said. "Outside that door, they could protect themselves but inside that door, they could be a victim."
Other crimes have prompted greater interest in new legislation. In 2009 alone, abortion doctor and usher George Tiller was shot in the foyer of his Lutheran church in Kansas; the Rev. Fred Winters was killed in his Illinois pulpit; and the Rev. Carol Daniels was found dead in her Oklahoma church.
"When you see things like that happening over and over again, churches are saying, `What are we supposed to do?"' said Jeffrey Hawkins, executive director of the Virginia-based Christian Security Network.
Hawkins' organization reported seven homicides in churches in 2010, but while he supports crime prevention techniques, Hawkins does not advocate worshippers carrying guns into church.
"You go into somewhere crowded, like a church, and there's three people who have guns out that are shooting at each other," he said. "How's the police officer going to be able to discern who's ... the bad guy?"
Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney of the San Francisco-based Legal Community Against Violence, said many states remain silent on weapons and worship. But she said gun lobbyists have become more vocal advocates for permitting weapons not only in churches but in other public places, such as parking lots and bars.
"Guns don't have a place in public, especially places like churches and bars and places where a lot of people are congregating," she said. "An unintentional shooting could end up injuring many people."
Laws about weapons in houses of worship vary widely. Some states forbid firearms in religious buildings but others permit them unless a congregation has posted a sign disallowing them. Still others say they're permitted if the pastor, priest or rabbi gives the OK.
And the penalties are just as varied, with some "like a traffic ticket" and other violations considered a felony, Hawkins said.
In Virginia, carrying a gun in a house of worship is allowed unless there's a service being conducted. If there is a service, "good and sufficient reason" -- a term left undefined in the code -- is required.
"We think our law is actually broad enough that there's no great urgency to try to change it," said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group.
In Mississippi, several bills introduced this year to remove churches from a list of prohibited places for weapons died in committee, but at least one continues to be debated.
"It seems to me that our law that explicitly prohibits acts in a church that are perfectly legal outside the church clearly violates the First Amendment in addition to the Second," said Jeff Pittman, vice president of the Mississippi State Firearm Owners Association.
**************************************************14. VCDL President to speak at Lynchburg Tea Party on Thursday, March 3rd**************************************************
I will be speaking at Lynchburg Tea Party this Thursday, March 3rd, at 7 PM.. I will be speaking on how the elections later this year could affect the Virginia Senate and our gun rights.
The meeting will be held at the Liberty University Law School in room 1709. However, the meeting might be moved to the larger Supreme Court room if attendance justifies it.
The Law School is located near the Lahaye Ice Center.
A campus map can be downloaded by clicking here (the Law School is building 1800 on the map, near the bottom):
http://www.liberty.edu/media/1616/CampusMap080108.pdf
**************************************************15. 'Zero tolerance' criminalizing kids**************************************************
Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
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=46rom the Arizona Daily Sun: http://tinyurl.com/4nj8yq7
'Zero tolerance' criminalizing kidsNAT HENTOFF | Posted: Thursday, February 17, 2011
In 1994, Congress passed the Gun-Free Schools Act, mandating a one-year expulsion for any student bringing a firearm to school. Since then, many school districts around the nation have instituted rigid "zero tolerance" policies, providing inflexible one-size-fits-all punishments for widely diverse "offenses" even beyond the scope of the Gun-Free Schools Act
In a recent case, at Spotsylvania High School in Virginia, 14-year-old Andrew Mikel, an honor student, active in the ROTC as well as in his church, has been expelled for the rest of the school year for violent criminal conduct and possession of a weapon.
Following the lead of the school officials, the Spotsylvania County School Board referred the ninth-grader to local law enforcement, resulting in his now being involved in juvenile criminal proceedings for assault.
Already, one result of Andrew's introduction to the criminal law system is that, having hoped to attend the U.S. Naval Academy (his father is a former Navy Seabee and Marine officer), Andrew -- so far -- can no longer qualify as an applicant.
Coming to his defense is the nation's most ceaseless, across-the-board civil libertarian, John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute in Charlottesville, Va. At no charge, a Rutherford attorney has brought Andrew's case to the Spotsylvania Country District Court. I will report the results when issued.
And what was Andrew Mikel's alleged, heinous crime?
On Dec. 10, in the school hallway during lunch period, kidding around, he was using the body of a pen to blow "spit wads" at some of his fellow students. I remember kids doing that when I attended a Boston public school.
Finding his son being charged with violent criminal conduct, Andrew Mikel Sr., the boy's father, said: "I fought for my country and the rights of people here, and my family sacrificed right along with me. The actions of the school system completely are inconsistent with what I fought for.
To come home after fighting for so long and seeing my own child being abused, I'm outraged." (Rutherford.org, Jan. 31).I have a bulging file of "zero tolerance" punishments from sea to shining sea that have derailed the education, and lives, of students. One of those that stand out is the case of 6-year-old Zachary Christie in the Christina School District of Newark, Del. Gosh, this is what this kid did, as reported on the front page of the Oct. 12, 2009, New York Times. He took "a camping utensil that can serve as a knife, fork and spoon to school. He was so excited about recently joining the Cub Scouts that he wanted to use it at lunch."
Having violated the school's zero-tolerance code on weapons, the child faced 40 days in the district's reform school. That sure would teach him a lesson, but about what?
This was a boy, said his mother, Debby Christie, "who wears a suit and tie some days to school because he takes school so seriously." Starting a protest website, Zachary's mother proclaimed reasonably: "He is not some sort of threat to his classmates."
Her outrage was contagious, and further protests caused the school board to hastily revise its zero-tolerance code of conduct to give the child somewhat of a reprieve. He only had to serve a suspension of three to five days.
But when zero-tolerance punishments have landed hard on other youngsters nationwide, protests -- and often there have been none -- were ineffective. Whitehead's long list of these traumatic teaching moments include "a high school sophomore who was suspended for violating the school's no-cell-phone policy after he took a call from his father, a master sergeant in the U.S. army who was serving in Iraq at the time. And in Houston, an eighth-grader was suspended for wearing rosary beads to school in memory of her grandmother."
Dig this: This bastion of learning had a specific zero-tolerance edict against a rosary, "which the school insists can be interpreted as a sign of gang involvement."That must be some gang!
Ignorant of the Constitution to begin with, school officials also did not realize that this student was not in any way representing an attempt by the state of Texas to proselytize the other students. This eighth-grader was exercising her individual right to free expression of religion.
These cases are included in John Whitehead's Feb. 7 column (Rutherford.org): "Zero tolerance policies: Are the schools becoming police states?"
Well, the schools are certainly not teaching the Constitution. Tea partiers, many of whom carry the Constitution in their pockets, have a rising influence among certain Republican members of Congress -- and there are now tea partiers actually in Congress. Surely they should begin to persuade members of both parties to scrap the Gun-Free Schools Act and create new legislation narrowly focused on actual guns and violence in schools. This can bring back the Constitution back to our school kids.
And wouldn't you think that the president of this great republic, who lectured on constitutional law at the University of Chicago years ago, would have something to say about the baleful effect of zero tolerance on so many of this burgeoning generations of Americans?Man up, Obama!
Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. He is a member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow.
**************************************************16. Lewis and Clark air rifle **************************************************
Greg Reinhart emailed me this:
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Phillip,
Don't know if you had seen this or known about it. It is rather cool.
I hope you enjoy.
Greg Reinhart
=46rom network54.com: http://tinyurl.com/4pnbhzm
**************************************************17. NY spree killer used a knife **************************************************
Yes - we must now ban knives, cars . . . A VA-ALERT reader emailed me this:
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Philip -
I thought you might be interested in this article.
Are the gun control nuts and Bloomberg's Idiots Against All Guns group going to come out to ban knives now as well? [PVC: No, they just irrationally hate guns.]
=46rom aolnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/6jjaurl
NY Spree-Killing Suspect Obsessed Over Woman, Her Friends SayFeb 14, 2011 - 3:37 PM
David LohrContributor
Maksim Gelman became obsessed with Yelena Bulchenko after she refused his romantic overtures, her friends say, and the New York man had reportedly been stalking her for months before that obsession allegedly triggered a flurry of violence that left Bulchenko and three others dead.
"They were never a couple. [They were] barely friends," Andrey Andriak told the New York Daily News. "He wanted to take it to the next level and she didn't."
A college friend of Bulchenko's said the 6-foot-2, 260-pound man contacted her constantly.
"He would call and text her all the time, but she would never answer back," Lauren Vasquez told the Daily News. "He didn't get it. It was all in his head that they were together or would be together."
Bulchenko had been dating a man from Brooklyn named Gerard Honig.
"He was a sick bastard," Honig told the newspaper about Gelman. "He was crazy and doing a lot of drugs."
Gelman, 23, has racked up a half-dozen arrests in recent years on drug, robbery, aggravated harassment and graffiti charges, the Daily News reported.
According to police and media reports, the terrifying series events this weekend unfolded like this:
Friday morning, Gelman stabbed his stepfather, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, to death when the 54-year-old man refused to let him borrow his car, police said. Gelman then drove to Bulchenko's home. On his way, he ran reportedly down a crossing guard, breaking both her legs.
Police said Gelman then stabbed 56-year-old Anna Bulchenko to death and lay in wait for her 20-year-old daughter. When Yelena arrived at the house, Gelman allegedly chased her into the street and stabbed her to death.
Three were dead, but the spree wasn't over.
Gelman reportedly rear-ended a car and then slashed the driver, Art DiCrescento, 60, and stole his car. When he sped off, he allegedly struck and killed Steven Tannenbaum, a 60-year-old pedestrian.
A short while later, the vehicle Gelman allegedly stole was found abandoned, with its engine running, near the Brooklyn College campus. Authorities brought a team of tracking dogs to the scene and tracked Gelman's scent to a freight-train overpass, where they made an eerie discovery, The New York Post reported.
The dogs took police to a cinder-block shack, where they found some disturbing graffiti. Someone had spray-painted blood-red hearts and the name "Yelena." Gelman had been arrested for spray-painting graffiti on the same structure before, The Post reported.
As police searched the shack, Gelman hailed a livery cab in Bedford-Stuyvesant and attacked the driver, sources told the Post. When the car crashed, Gelman ran, police said.
Gelman then allegedly attacked a man named Sheldon Pottinger on the Eastern Parkway and stole his vehicle.
On Saturday morning, Gelman boarded a subway train and allegedly attacked a male passenger named Joseph Lozito.
"He took out a giant knife and just looked at me and said, 'You're going to die, you're going to die,' and then he lunged at me," Lozito told ABC's "Good Morning America" today.
The two men fought briefly and a police officer who was on the train helped subdue Gelman, ending his 28-hour stabbing spree. Lozito said it was not until after the scuffle that he realized he had been stabbed in the head and hand.
"When I sat up, that's when I noticed all the blood pouring down on me. I'd never seen anything like that in my life," he told "Good Morning America."
Lozito was taken to a hospital where he received multiple stitches. He was released this morning.
On Sunday, Gelman was arraigned in Brooklyn Criminal Court on four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, robbery charges and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. When he was being led inside the courthouse, tension among the onlookers erupted and shouts of "Pig!" and "Killer!" could be heard, the Post reported.
According to the newspaper, Gelman responded angrily, telling the crowd to "Shut up!" and saying, "This was a setup, man. This is bulls---."
Gelman was back in a Brooklyn courtroom today to be assigned a new attorney.
He was born in the Ukraine and became a naturalized U.S. citizen about five years ago, according to reports. He lived in Brooklyn with his mother and stepfather. His mother told police he appeared to be high when he attacked his stepfather.
Police say they are still trying to determine a motive in the alleged killing spree.
"What's so horrendous and bizarre, we have no reason that we can give you as to why he did this," New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said during a weekend press conference.
**************************************************18. Tongue in cheek: We must ban automobiles**************************************************
Lindsay Trittipoe emailed me this:
--
=46rom market-ticker.org: http://tinyurl.com/4p5sx8u
We Must Ban Automobiles
This is an absolutely unacceptable amount of bloodshed:
SAN DIEGO -- A taxi cab driver plowed slowly into a crowd on a sidewalk in San Diego's busy Gaslamp District early Saturday, injuring more than two dozen people, police said.
We cannot have automobiles doing this sort of damage. 25 people were injured, 17 of them requiring hospitalization, and one woman had her leg severed.
These are astounding and utterly unacceptable injures. These evil things called "taxi cabs" are responsible for the horrifying damage done in San Diego. That's a type of automobile, and of course we can't trust any of them - they're all the spawn of Satan.
For the good of America we must rid ourselves of this cancerous monstrosity and return immediately to the use of horses and asses for the transport of people. These hunks of metal and plastic are just too dangerous to have in civilian hands. Over 40,000 people die a year in and around them; by far one of the most-dangerous instrumentalities ever invented by mankind.
It's time to impose the common-sense restriction of banning all automobiles from private ownership. Not only is this is a common-sense reaction to this carnage, there's nothing in the Constitution that gives you an individual right to own one!
**************************************************19. Swiss reject gun control**************************************************
Bob Johnson emailed me this:
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=46rom news.carrentals.co.uk: http://tinyurl.com/655mm7y
Swiss reject tightened gun control lawsPosted on: February 13th, 2011 by Hannah Westfield
Results show that Voters in Switzerland have rejected new gun control legislation.
The near complete election results mean that Switzerland will retain its current gun laws, which allow citizens t keep army-issued firearms at home. If the measure would have passed, weapons would've had to be held at armouries whilst gun owners would have to endure more extensive background checks.
The final results will soon be in, however it emerged early on Sunday that at least 14 of the 26 cantons in Switzerland had voted against the measure. The legislation would've needed a nod from the majority of the country's cantons in order to pass. Those opposing the legislation said that it would've underminded long-standing trust in the army.
Overall, about 43% of voters in Switzerland supported the new plan, whilst 57% voted against it. Despite the results, both Basel and Geneva had been part of the minority by approving the new plan.
BBC correspondent Imogen Foulkes said that the news would prove to be a major blow for Switzerland's gun control campaign groups. She added that the exact number of firearms in the country isn't known due to the lack of a national registry, however it is estimated to be between two and three million.
**************************************************20. Revise gun-control laws one state at a time **************************************************
Bob Johnson emailed me this:
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Pro-gun article pointing out that most states w/ lenient gun laws are safer vs states like California and Maryland.
=46rom my.hsj.org: http://tinyurl.com/654vyps
Revise Gun Control Laws One State at a TimeThursday, February 17, 2011 By Jacob Berk '12
In light of recent firearm-related tragedies, many people have adopted "zero tolerance" to anything gun related and want much more gun control installed nationwide. This makes zero sense. An analysis of states and their respective gun laws explains why.
The states of California, Delaware, and Maryland all have strict gun control, yet rank among Americas 15 most dangerous states, according to www.walletpop.com.
On the other hand, some states have little gun control yet experience little crime. These states include Vermont, Montana, New Hampshire, Maine and Wyoming.
Vermont is the shining example of how practically no gun control can go hand in hand with almost no crime. Machine guns, high capacity magazines, and large caliber firearms are all legal. Perhaps most interesting is that a person as young as 16 can buy and carry a handgun with no permits needed. The practicality of these weapons and laws are debatable, but the lack of crime in the state is not. Vermont is universally ranked as one of Americas safest states, often holding first place, in numerous newspapers, magazines, and websites.
This analysis shows that gun control cannot be used as a solid answer to crime, since gun control and crime have no direct correlation. Many other factors contribute to crime, including poverty rates and population density. Due to this, gun control should be left to state governments, since they can provide more effective gun control than the federal government.
An example of federal gun control and why it is a poor idea is the 1994 Clinton Assault Weapons Ban. It made guns like the AK-47 illegal, and gave characteristics for what an "assault weapon" was. These characteristics include high calibers and the ability to shoot fully automatic. Any gun that had one or more of these features was banned as well.
However, there was a huge problem. The guidelines banned many guns that we would not consider assault weapons. Examples of this is a gun being too short or it could accept, but not necessarily depend on, high capacity magazines (the device in a gun that houses the bullets or shells).
The bill expired in 2004. Now, many gun-control advocates want similar laws installed. This is because the United States experienced a progressive decline in violent crime starting in 1992, which happens to fall into the years that the assault weapon ban was in effect. However, it is overlooked that this ban was installed when the US economy was making a fantastic rebound. It is well known that a good economy means less crime. Even after the ban expired, crime has continued to decrease nationwide, according to www.disastercenter.com.
One of the biggest problems with any kind of gun control is that criminals will get the illegal weapons anyway. What ends up happening is that law-abiding people lose the privilege to own certain firearms, while the outlaws keep them.
It is also unfair to deny the practicality of firearms. According to www.pulpless.com, guns are used 3-5 times more often for self-defense than crime in the United States. However, some places like NYC have made legal gun ownership nearly impossible. Not only is this nonsensical, it is grossly unconstitutional.
Jared Lee Loughner, the man who shot 18 people in Tucson, AZ on January 8, 2011, used a Glock 19, a semi-automatic handgun, loaded with a high capacity magazine. To obtain this, he went to a Sportsman's Warehouse and passed a required background check, according to the Washington Post.
Gun-control advocates have stated that the high capacity magazines made it easier for Loughner to shoot more people since he didn't need to reload until he shot 33 rounds. In addition, some have called for better background checks and waiting periods to prevent criminals from getting guns.
Both of these claims do not make sense. If Loughner had a handgun with a smaller magazine, he could simply switch to another gun in a matter of seconds. After all, it is much faster to switch to another weapon than to reload. Also, he had no incriminating record before this incident, so a more detailed background check would have done nothing. Loughner bought his gun almost 3 months before the incident, so he had enough time to buy several handguns even with waiting periods. These points show that three of the most common methods of gun control are shown to be shaky at best in this kind of situation.
Some forms of gun control simply make no sense. Many rifles and handguns are banned simply due to their large calibers. The fact is that shooting a gun in real life is not like a video game such as Call Of Duty. Anyone who has shot one of these weapons will tell you that the recoil produced makes the gun far from practical.
Finally, what if gun control goes too far? "Antigun hysteria", as I call it, is sweeping the nation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confiscated over 30 airsoft guns, which are realistic toy guns that shoot plastic pellets, from a store in Oregon because they claimed they could be "easily converted into machine guns." This is complete stupidity as these guns are made of plastic and share no similar internal workings to a real gun. They might as well have said that you can convert a car to a tank with a few minor modifications.
Unfortunately, the madness doesn't stop there. A boy in PS 52 in NYC was nearly suspended for bringing a 2-inch long machine gun toy that came with a LEGO set he owns, and a 7 year old boy in New Jersey was criminally charged with possession and firing of a Nerf Gun in his school. The list goes on and on due to increasing anti-gun sentiment in many areas.
The bottom-line is that gun control, as it is, does not work. America needs to revise its gun laws to be more effective and fair or get rid of them. If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.
**************************************************21. DC Crime Museum promotes unhelpful firearm stereotypes**************************************************
http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-w ... tereotypes
SNIPThe National Crime and Punishment Museum on 7th Street N.W. in the District is a popular venue for District tourists and residents. I went there a few months ago to check it out and was pleased to discover that not only did the museum have many firearm related exhibits . . .But a more disturbing issue is that the museum's displays consistently omit any acknowledgement of, as the U.S. Supreme Court noted in United States v. Staples (1994), the "long history of lawful gun ownership by citizens in this country." Nor among the museum's vast collections is there any mention of the continuing common law right of citizen's arrest, the open and concealed carry movements, or even the recent Supreme Court cases holding that the Second Amendment "guarantee[s] the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation" that must be respected by both the federal and state governments. . . .
**************************************************22. More whining from the antis as Texas prepares to allow carry on College campuses**************************************************
EM Hal Macklin sent me this:
"Texas poised to pass bill allowing guns on campus"http://www.bostonherald.com/news/nation ... id=1318194
Now read what Colin Goddard has to say about campus carry:
[SNIP]Guns on campus bills have been rejected in 23 states since 2007, but gun control activists acknowledge it will be difficult to stop the Texas bill from passing this year. "Things do look bleak," said Colin Goddard, assistant director of federal legislation for the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, who was in Austin recently to lobby against the Texas bills.
Goddard was a student at Virginia Tech when he was shot four times in his French class. Student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people, including 10 in Goddard's classroom, before shooting himself. Goddard dismisses the idea that another student with a gun could have stopped the killer.
"People tell me that if they would have been there, they would have shot that guy. That offends me," Goddard said. "People want to be the hero, I understand that. They play video games and they think they understand the reality. It's nothing like that." [PVC: Rather than coming to someone's aid to simply save a life, Colin sees gun owners as only doing it for some kind of glory - living out a video game fantasy. Is that why Colin would come to someone's aid - simply looking for glory? Colin is also offended when someone says that if students had been legally armed at Virginia Tech that fateful day in 2008, that they might have been able to stop Cho. Goddard seems to think that being armed wouldn't have helped. If good guys with guns wouldn't be of any use in stopping Cho, then I wonder why Colin bothered calling 9-1-1?]
But Derek Titus, a senior at Texas A&M who has a state license to carry a concealed handgun, said someone with a gun that day could have improved the chances of survival.
"Gun-free zones are shooting galleries for the mass murderers," Titus said. "We do not feel that we must rely on the police or security forces to defend our lives."
**************************************************23. Finnish television wants to talk to Virginia gun owners who have protected themselves**************************************************
=46rom Krista Taubert with the Finnish Broadcasting Company:
"Finnish Broadcasting Company (Finland) is preparing a half an hour current affairs TV-story that focuses on the gun rights in the United States. The purpose of the story is to understand why Americans see the right to own and carry a gun so important and why some are against this right. We would highly appreciate the possibility to talk to the gun owners. For the purpose of the story we would especially like to talk someone who has experienced an assault and has managed to defense themselves because they had a gun to protect themselves with. Or the gun owner who purchased the gun after a traumatizing event that one thinks could have been avoided if one had been a gun owner."
If you are interesting contacting Krista about this, send me an email (president*vcdl.org) and I will forward it on.
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