05/02/11 - Good turnout for protest today!
Posted: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 18:36:57
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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[NEWS FLASH! I will be on the Doc Thompson Show on WRVA (AM 1140 in Richmond) tomorrow, May 3, around 4:07 PM to talk about today's protest!]
On super-short notice, and in the middle of a weekday, over 30 VCDL members, some with children in tow (and one with a child in the works
) show
ed up at the Bloomberg horse-and-pony-show this afternoon! All were wearing VCDL's orange "Guns Save Lives" and the "Freedom is NOT a Loophole" stick
ers.
The message from the antis was that if only we could force all gun purchases to go through a government background check then criminals wouldn't be ab
le to get guns.
My message to the press during my interviews was that background checks do not stop criminals from getting guns, as laws cannot stop criminals from us
ing straw purchases to buy any gun they want or to keep criminals from stealing guns that are lawfully owned. I also pointed out that over 2,000 live
s are saved every day by lawful gun owners, as opposed to the 34 that Bloomberg claims are killed daily by someone using a gun (most of which are drug
or suicide related).
Since this was Bloomberg's event, I was not allowed to address the crowd, BUT a reporter from the Times-Dispatch, Will Jones, who had interviewed me e
arlier, asked Omar Samaha some great questions: "What do you say to the opponents who claim that these background checks won't reduce crime as crimin
als will simply steal guns or use straw purchases to get them?" (paraphrased)
That caught Omar completely off balance and he proceeded to stumble through a non-answer, basically saying that "if it only saves one life..." and "th
is is only the 'first step.'"
Only the first step? Too bad Will didn't followed up on that one!
Of course you and I don't need to know the steps, as we already know the final goal of the anti-freedom crowd.
--
Here is coverage from NBC 12. There should be more stories tomorrow, including one from the Times-Dispatch:
http://tinyurl.com/3stklh4
Debate over "Gun Checks Act" comes to Richmond
By Rachel DePompa
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) =96 Richmond's mayor and several local lawmakers threw their support Monday behind fixing loopholes in the nation's gun background
check system. A national campaign came to City Hall this afternoon in support of a bill currently before Congress.
James Curtis Seay's death four years ago in Southside still haunts his mother and aunt.
"He was robbed. Three punks robbed him and they shot him twice. They killed him for no reason. And to this day our families destroyed," said Laverne S
eay-Brown.
They came to the steps of City Hall Monday, to share their tears and heart break. And garner support for a bill before Congress.
"I wanted to share what happened to him and try to get involved with anything that support non-violence," Andrea Jones said.
They are supporting a national campaign to fix to the gun background check system.
"We are not interested in violating anybody's second amendment rights, but we are interested in keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, out of the hands of drug abusers, and out of the hands of criminals," said Mayor Dwight Jones.
The campaign brings a traveling billboard from city to city across America, counting the number of deaths since the mass shooting in Arizona.
The campaign also brought out dozens who are against changes to the background check system. Many of them wore their second amendment right on their hips.
"It's going to limit our ability to be able to purchase guns in the long run or to sell guns. If I want to pass it to my son they're going to say he has to pass a background check too," said Keith Swinney.
Opponents say it's 'important not to make it difficult to have a weapon to protect themselves.
For the Seay family, they wonder if a background check could have made a difference for James.
"It's so many people that's going around the system to get those guns. And we can't get them off the street," Laverne added.
The Fix Gun Checks Act is before both houses of Congress. No date has been set for a vote.
The fix gun checks campaign was in Blacksburg on the Virginia Tech campus over the weekend. From Richmond, the campaign now heads to Boston.
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[NEWS FLASH! I will be on the Doc Thompson Show on WRVA (AM 1140 in Richmond) tomorrow, May 3, around 4:07 PM to talk about today's protest!]
On super-short notice, and in the middle of a weekday, over 30 VCDL members, some with children in tow (and one with a child in the works
) showed up at the Bloomberg horse-and-pony-show this afternoon! All were wearing VCDL's orange "Guns Save Lives" and the "Freedom is NOT a Loophole" stick
ers.
The message from the antis was that if only we could force all gun purchases to go through a government background check then criminals wouldn't be ab
le to get guns.
My message to the press during my interviews was that background checks do not stop criminals from getting guns, as laws cannot stop criminals from us
ing straw purchases to buy any gun they want or to keep criminals from stealing guns that are lawfully owned. I also pointed out that over 2,000 live
s are saved every day by lawful gun owners, as opposed to the 34 that Bloomberg claims are killed daily by someone using a gun (most of which are drug
or suicide related).
Since this was Bloomberg's event, I was not allowed to address the crowd, BUT a reporter from the Times-Dispatch, Will Jones, who had interviewed me e
arlier, asked Omar Samaha some great questions: "What do you say to the opponents who claim that these background checks won't reduce crime as crimin
als will simply steal guns or use straw purchases to get them?" (paraphrased)
That caught Omar completely off balance and he proceeded to stumble through a non-answer, basically saying that "if it only saves one life..." and "th
is is only the 'first step.'"
Only the first step? Too bad Will didn't followed up on that one!
Of course you and I don't need to know the steps, as we already know the final goal of the anti-freedom crowd.
--
Here is coverage from NBC 12. There should be more stories tomorrow, including one from the Times-Dispatch:
http://tinyurl.com/3stklh4
Debate over "Gun Checks Act" comes to Richmond
By Rachel DePompa
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) =96 Richmond's mayor and several local lawmakers threw their support Monday behind fixing loopholes in the nation's gun background
check system. A national campaign came to City Hall this afternoon in support of a bill currently before Congress.
James Curtis Seay's death four years ago in Southside still haunts his mother and aunt.
"He was robbed. Three punks robbed him and they shot him twice. They killed him for no reason. And to this day our families destroyed," said Laverne S
eay-Brown.
They came to the steps of City Hall Monday, to share their tears and heart break. And garner support for a bill before Congress.
"I wanted to share what happened to him and try to get involved with anything that support non-violence," Andrea Jones said.
They are supporting a national campaign to fix to the gun background check system.
"We are not interested in violating anybody's second amendment rights, but we are interested in keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, out of the hands of drug abusers, and out of the hands of criminals," said Mayor Dwight Jones.
The campaign brings a traveling billboard from city to city across America, counting the number of deaths since the mass shooting in Arizona.
The campaign also brought out dozens who are against changes to the background check system. Many of them wore their second amendment right on their hips.
"It's going to limit our ability to be able to purchase guns in the long run or to sell guns. If I want to pass it to my son they're going to say he has to pass a background check too," said Keith Swinney.
Opponents say it's 'important not to make it difficult to have a weapon to protect themselves.
For the Seay family, they wonder if a background check could have made a difference for James.
"It's so many people that's going around the system to get those guns. And we can't get them off the street," Laverne added.
The Fix Gun Checks Act is before both houses of Congress. No date has been set for a vote.
The fix gun checks campaign was in Blacksburg on the Virginia Tech campus over the weekend. From Richmond, the campaign now heads to Boston.
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