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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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1. Next VCDL Bowling Pin Shoot on June 18
2. Are you a VA-ALERT subscriber who is not yet a member of VCDL? Join us!
3. "no fee" for military at state parks
4. Ammo recall
5. Reader response: Fake al-Qaeda spokesman?
6. Who needs a gun in church?
7. Metro cops confiscating more guns in transit system
8. Intelligence bulletin about car decal outrages gun rights advocates
9. What a difference a gun makes
10. Who needs a gun in a hotel lobby?
11. Justice officials in 'panic mode' as hearing nears on failed anti-gun trafficking program
12. U.N. agreement should have all gun owners up in arms
13. Editorial: The U.N. gun grabber
14. Columnist: Pro-gun lobby skips two words: 'well-regulated'
15. Update on self-defense case in England
**************************************************1. Next VCDL Bowling Pin Shoot on June 18**************************************************
EM Brandy Polanowski is going to have a VCDL table at a shooting match in Louisa County to benefit the Patriot Shrine Club. What: Bowling Pin Competition to benefit Patriot Shrine ClubWhen: June 18, 2011Where: Freemans Range located at 5672 Bibb Store Road, Louisa, VA 23093Time: 11 am for Shooters Meeting Five shooters, using similar calibers, will compete to shoot all 5 pins from the table in the fastest time. Bring eye and ear protection, gun(s) in zipped bag or secured holster - unloaded, with ammo to use for each round. There will be rounds for handgun as well as shotgun using #8 shot only (later in the day). Each round is $5.00, winner of each round wins a prize.
Awards will be given to top shooters in each class at the end of the shoot (man, lady, law enforcement, senior, revolver, shotgun, etc.) All money will go to the Patriot Shrine Club. Food and drink will be available. (No drugs, alcohol or pets allowed) All responsible ages welcome. Children must be supervised by an adult at all times.
**************************************************2. Are you a VA-ALERT subscriber who is not yet a member of VCDL? Join us! **************************************************
Good news first: VCDL now has over 15,000 gun owners subscribed on the VA-ALERT email system! That is absolutely nothing to sneeze at
Bad news: VCDL has only around 5,000 members. We need to build up our membership, as the General Assembly session will be here before we know it.
If you are not a member, but are on VA-ALERT and know the effort that VCDL puts into protecting your right to keep and bear arms in Virginia, please consider formally joining us!
We don't hound members for donations, but we do count on having enough members to get the job done. The larger our membership, the more resources we have and the more clout.
If you would like to join, you can do so on-line using a credit card or you can print out an application and mail it to us. Plus, we have a booth at almost every gun show where you can join. Membership is only $25 a year. As a new member joining now, your membership will not expire until 9/30/2012.
Here is a link to the Join Us page. The on-line payment option is at the bottom:
http://www.vcdl.org/join.html
**************************************************3. "no fee" for military at state parks**************************************************
Good news for both our active and veteran military members - State Parks, by direction of Governor McDonnell, is waiving the $5 parking fee this year! That will, of course, apply to the VCDL picnic at the Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield on August 6th. Thanks to a State Park employee for passing that information on to me.
**************************************************4. Ammo recall**************************************************
C.S. Miller emailed me this:
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Winchester Revises Ammo Recall: ... DO NOT USE WINCHESTER RANGER 223 REMINGTON 64 GRAIN POWER-POINT AMMUNITION THAT HAS A LOT NUMBER ENDING IN DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, DK51, DM70, DM80, DM90, DM01, DM11 or DM21.
The ammunition Lot Number is ink stamped inside the right tuck flap of the 20-round carton, as indicated here: To determine if your ammunition is subject to this notice, review the Lot Number. If the last four characters of the Lot Number are DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, DK51, DM70, DM80, DM90, DM01, DM11 or DM21 immediatelydiscontinue use and contact Winchester toll-free at 866-423-5224 to arrange for replacement ammunition and free UPS pick-up of the recalled ammunition..
This notice applies only to RANGER 223 Remington 64 Grain Power-PointA(R) centerfire rifle ammunition with lot numbers ending in DK01, DK11, DK21, DK31, DK41, DK51, DM70, DM80, DM90, DM01, DM11 and DM21. Other Symbol Numbers or Lot Numbers are not subject to this recall... (This is nominally law-enforcement-only ammo.)
http://www.thetacticalwire.com/story/238940
**************************************************5. Reader response: Fake al-Qaeda spokesman?**************************************************
Curtis Pollock emailed me this in response to the 6/8/11 VA-ALERT item, "VCDL quoted in Pilot al-Qaeda article w/ POLL. (original article posted below)":
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I am surprised that you cannot see Adam Gadahn for the phony he is. What kind of an idiot tells his "enemies" the chinks he has identified in their armor, and how he plans to exploit those chinks? He just happens to be spewing the same false crap the anti-gunners spew in order to incite fear and support for more gun legislation. And now the anti-gunners can use this crap as cannon fodder to say we need more gun laws to protect us from our sworn enemies. How convenient.
Gadahn is as Muslim as I am a tree frog. He's Jewish and Mayor Bloomberg is probably skinning him a low five under the table as we speak.
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Original Virginia-Pilot article: http://tinyurl.com/4ygttuy
Al-Qaida could exploit U.S. gun shows, spokesman saysRICHMOND
Advocates for stricter gun laws are citing an unlikely source as they try to advance their agenda: the al-Qaida terrorist group.
In a recently released Web video, al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn tells supporters in the West they are "perfectly placed" to do "major damage to the enemies of Islam" and suggests one way to do that is to acquire deadly weapons.
"America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms," Gadahn says in the clip. "You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?"
The comments by Gadahn, an American spokesman for al-Qaida, refer to the so-called gun-show loophole, a flash point in the debate over gun rights in Virginia and beyond.
Gun-control advocates, including parents of students injured and killed in the April 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, have unsuccessfully lobbied the General Assembly to require background checks of prospective buyers before a private party can sell them firearms at a gun show.
Under current state law, licensed weapons dealers are required to perform background checks.
Seizing on the video, a coalition of organizations led by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence sent a letter Tuesday to the White House urging President Barack Obama to order a review of ways to reduce "the firepower available on the civilian gun market, to tighten existing laws regulating the gun industry, and to improve the background check system to make it harder for those with terrorist ties to obtain firearms."
Noting that only nine states have background-checklaws for private sales, the group wants a national standard. [PVC: Typical Brady Campaign thinking - the state's don't want this, so let's cram it down their throats federally..]
Brady Campaign president Paul Helmke said the video of a terrorist "telling his folks there is basically a free-for-all arms bazaar" in America should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers that there are cracks in existing gun laws.
Gun-rights advocates had a decidedly different take on the al-Qaida message.
Shenandoah County Republican Del. Todd Gilbert chided gun-control groups like the Brady Campaign for exploiting the statements of a murderous organization to advance a political agenda.
"Since there are groups in the world like that who want to kill us and destroy our way of life and our freedoms, I would think it's all the more reason to embrace the freedoms we hold dear, not the least of which is the right to defend ourselves from the likes of them," said Gilbert, who serves on the House of Delegates subcommittee where past gun-show loophole measures have met their demise.
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, said one obvious flaw in the al-Qaida video is the inaccurate claim about buying automatic weapons.
"Machine guns cannot be purchased anywhere in the United States without going through a detailed and lengthy background check, paying a $200 tax, and notifying local law enforcement," he said. "Additionally, in Virginia the gun would then have to be registered with the state within 24 hours."
Van Cleave acknowledged "nothing can stop a determined terrorist from getting a gun" through illegal or lawful means.
"One can never ignore such threats," he said, "but we should not be running to dump our civil liberties overboard, either. The more armed the populace is, the quicker a lone wolf, if one pops up, could be put down."
**************************************************6. Who needs a gun in church?**************************************************
Recently Attorney General Cuccinelli gave a formal opinion that under Virginia law self-defense is a "good and sufficient" reason to carry a gun at church. The antis, and many in the media, slammed Cuccinelli, saying that no one ever need a gun at church for protection and that such a things was crazy as churches are safe domiciles.
Oh, yeah?
Daryl Bickell emailed me this:
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=46rom insidenova.com: http://tinyurl.com/6zv8jxc
Masked gunman robs Woodbridge churchBy STAFF Published: June 06, 2011
WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- Two teens were charged Sunday morning with robbing a Woodbridge church at gunpoint during worship services, police said.
A gunman came in to the Christ is Lord Ministry, located at 14338 Jefferson Davis Highway near the Prince William Shopping Center around 11:45 a.m. through an unlocked rear door, Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok said.
The robber, who was wearing a mask, entered a back office where four church employees were counting money from the service collection, police said.
Police allege that 19-year-old Stephen Ernest Wing held the employees up at gunpoint, took an undisclosed amount of money and fled in a vehicle, Perok said.
Parishioners in the church did not know it was being robbed while they were attending services, police said.
Wing, and Andrew Phillip Conteh, 18, of Lorton, were later charged with the crime.
Perok said that after the robbery, Wing met up with Conteh at his home in the 7600 block of Wildwood Court in Lorton.
Perok did not explain how Conteh was involved other than to say Conteh did not have an active role in the robbery.
Police said both men were "quickly identified" as being responsible for the crime.
Wing, who lives in the 3371 block of Yost Lane in the Anden at the Woods neighborhood near Dumfries, as well as Conteh, were charged with abduction, robbery and use of a firearm in commission of a felony, Perok said.
They were both held without bond. Police did not have the court dates immediately available.
Wing and Conteh were arrested at their respective homes without incident, Perok said.Senior Pastor Rev. Gibrilla Bangura said that people in his congregation were "terrified" when they found out about the robbery Sunday.
"We tried to calm them down," Bangura said of his parishioners.
Bangura said that he plans to tell his congregation that they are safe during this Sunday's service.
"We live in world where people need to be aware," Bangura said, "But people can [still] come to church without being scared."
Bangura said in a news release that the robbery will not deter the congregation.
"While we believe that God will continue to protect us and prevent a repeat of Sunday's action, we have also taken extra security measures that will keep both church members and visitors safe while worshiping in our facilities," Bangura wrote.
**************************************************7. Metro cops confiscating more guns in transit system**************************************************
I doubt there are more guns in the transit system. Probably just more police looking for them.
James Kiser emailed me this:
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=46rom the Washington Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/6x4j6xr
Metro cops confiscating more guns in transit systemBy: Kytja Weir 06/08/11 8:05 PM Examiner Staff Writer
Number of recovered weapons soarsMetro transit police are confiscating more guns from riders, finding more firearms in the past two years than in the previous 12 years combined, according to agency statistics.
Police recovered 65 weapons last year, including a Remington 12-gauge shotgun, a 9 mm Beretta, a Colt .38 semiautomatic handgun and rounds of ammunition. That marked a huge spike over the 21 firearms seized in 2009.
Both years' tallies are far higher than previous years when transit police recovered 10 or fewer guns per year between 1997 and 2008, according to Metro statistics obtained in a public records request.
"It's obviously disturbing if people are carrying around concealed weapons on the system," said Justin Keating, Metro's police union attorney.
He said police officers have been finding more weapons as they frisk people.. Transit police are issued bulletproof vests and have been trained to be careful, but he said his officers are concerned. "Of course they should be nervous, as should riders," he said.
Metro spokesman Dan Stessel acknowledged the agency is finding more guns in the system but sees the situation differently. "The system is safe," he said. "I don't think people should look at these numbers and be concerned about riding Metro." Instead, he said, they should take comfort that police are getting those weapons off the streets.
Guns are allowed in the Metro system only in Virginia -- and gunslingers there need a concealed weapon permit if the firearm isn't visible. But as soon as a train or bus crosses into Maryland or the District, Stessel said, the guns are considered illegal.
It's not clear why so many more guns have been found in recent years. The agency's new policy of random bag checks does not appear to have affected the numbers since the searches began in late December and no guns were found then.
Serious crime on the transit system surged in 2010 to the highest level in at least six years. Yet the increase in gun seizures was far greater than the increase in crime.
Meanwhile, the spike in firearms inside Metro's tunnels, stations and buses does not appear to be reflect what's happening outside them. Data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which traces guns for law enforcement agencies around the country, show that the number of firearms submitted for tracing in D.C., Virginia and Maryland stayed mostly steady between 2006 and 2009, with a slight decrease in D.C. and a slight increase in Virginia. Statistics from 2010 were not available, bureau spokeswoman Donna Sellers said.
Metro hasn't changed its policing strategies, Stessel said. "But there is obviously a high vigilance in the system and that could be a reason why we are recovering more guns and taking them off the streets," he said.
The agency also changed its tracking system in 2009, he said, so it's possible that data for earlier years do not include all confiscated weapons. But the numbers already had started to rise in 2009 when the old system was still in use.
And, Keating said, longtime transit police officers have noticed a change. "Old timers say it didn't used to be this way," he said.
**************************************************8. Intelligence bulletin about car decal outrages gun rights advocates**************************************************
Brian McDonough emailed me this:
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=46rom wusa9.com: http://tinyurl.com/44a45fk
[SNIP]Intelligence Bulletin About Car Decal Outrages Gun Rights AdvocatesJun 8, 2011
WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA) -- A new intelligence bulletin from the Washington Region Threat Analysis Center warns area police to beware of motorists displaying a car decal favored by gun rights advocates.
The decal, sold for $5 online at www.legallyconcealed.org, is designed as a statement of support for Second Amendment rights.
But according to the bulletin, officers are advised, "The presence of the symbol provides an early warning indicator that you MAY be about to encounter an armed individual." [PVC: So what? Police should assume everyone is armed. And most armed individuals are doing so legally and are an asset, not a liability, to law enforcement.]
**************************************************9. What a difference a gun makes**************************************************
James Durso emailed me this:
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=46rom yourish.com: http://tinyurl.com/6ghme2h
What a difference a gun makesPosted on 06/09/2011 by Meryl Yourish
I heard a loud noise from downstairs a little while ago. Both cats are upstairs, and it was a loud, metallic crash, so I thought it was something in the laundry room. That's a small room off the kitchen and the only way you can get to it is through the kitchen. The only way to get to the kitchen is to be inside my condo. I thought something might have fallen off a shelf, but--you never know. So I went to my room and got my handgun from my nighttable and went downstairs to see.
You know, before I had guns, if I heard a noise like that, my adrenaline would be pumping and my heart would be thumping as I crept downstairs with a baseball bat in one hand and the phone in the other. I used to think it was the good kind of adrenaline, but now I'm thinking not so much, because I was calm, cool, and collected while I checked the great room, the guest bedroom, and finally, the laundry room.
What a difference a gun makes.
It was a travel coffee mug that had fallen off the shelf, onto the dryer (which was running), and into the laundry basket.
My condo is now safe from flying coffee mugs.
Nah, I didn't shoot it. I put it back on the shelf where it belongs.
**************************************************10. Who needs a gun in a hotel lobby?**************************************************
=46rom wydaily.com: http://tinyurl.com/3c5h2xn
Late-Night Armed Robbery at York Hotel
By WYDaily StaffWednesday, June 08, 2011
York County sheriff's deputies are investigating an armed robbery Monday night around 11:10 at the Days Inn in the 700 block of Lightfoot Road.
Two men, both armed with handguns, robbed the clerk of an undisclosed amount of cash. One suspect is described as a white male, 20 to 25 years old, between 5'10" and 6' tall and weighing 155-165 pounds. He displayed a large black semiautomatic pistol. The second suspect is described as a black male, 20 to 25 years old, about 5'8" and between 175-185 pounds. He wore a dark blue or black baseball cap with a gold sticker on the brim, and displayed a small black semiautomatic pistol. Both suspects wore T-shirts over their faces.
Police were unable to get a description of the suspects' vehicle.
No one was injured during the robbery, police said.
**************************************************11. Justice officials in 'panic mode' as hearing nears on failed anti-gun trafficking program**************************************************
There will be much more on Project Gun Runner in the next update.
James Durso emailed me this:
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=46rom Fox News: http://tinyurl.com/3eq2zcj
[SNIP]Justice Officials in 'Panic Mode' as Hearing Nears on Failed Anti-Gun Trafficking ProgramBy William La JeunessePublished June 10, 2011| FoxNews.com
Officials at the Department of Justice are in "panic mode," according to multiple sources, as word spreads that congressional testimony next week will paint a bleak and humiliating picture of Operation Fast and Furious, the botched undercover operation that left a trail of blood from Mexico to Washington, D.C.
The operation was supposed to stem the flow of weapons from the U.S. to Mexico by allowing so-called straw buyers to purchase guns legally in the U.S. and later sell them in Mexico, usually to drug cartels.
Instead, ATF documents show that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms knowingly and deliberately flooded Mexico with assault rifles. Their intent was to expose the entire smuggling organization, from top to bottom, but the operation spun out of control and supervisors refused pleas from field agents to stop it.
**************************************************12. U.N. agreement should have all gun owners up in arms**************************************************
Tim Evans emailed me this:
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=46rom blogs.forbes.com: http://tinyurl.com/3bq8thg
U.N. Agreement Should Have All Gun Owners Up In ArmsJun. 7 2011 By Larry Bell
It may not come as surprising news to many of you that the United Nations doesn't approve of our Second Amendment. Not one bit. And they very much hope to do something about it with help from some powerful American friends.
Under the guise of a proposed global "Small Arms Treaty" premised to fight "terrorism", "insurgency" and "international crime syndicates" you can be quite certain that an even more insidious threat is being targeted - our Constitutional right for law-abiding citizens to own and bear arms.
What, exactly, does the intended agreement entail?
While the terms have yet to be made public, if passed by the U.N. and ratified by our Senate, it will almost certainly force the U.S. to:
Enact tougher licensing requirements, creating additional bureaucratic red tape for legal firearms ownership.
Confiscate and destroy all "unauthorized" civilian firearms (exempting those owned by our government of course).
Ban the trade, sale and private ownership of all semi-automatic weapons (any that have magazines even though they still operate in the same one trigger pull - one single "bang" manner as revolvers, a simple fact the ant-gun media never seem to grasp).
Create an international gun registry, clearly setting the stage for full-scale gun confiscation.
In short, overriding our national sovereignty, and in the process, providing license for the federal government to assert preemptive powers over state regulatory powers guaranteed by the Tenth Amendment in addition to our Second Amendment rights.
Have no doubt that this plan is very real, with strong Obama administration support. In January 2010 the U.S. joined 152 other countries in endorsing a U.N. Arms Treaty Resolution that will establish a 2012 conference to draft a blueprint for enactment. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has pledged to push for Senate ratification.
Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton has cautioned gun owners to take this initiative seriously, stating that the U.N. "is trying to act as though this is really just a treaty about international arms trade between nation states, but there is no doubt that the real agenda here is domestic firearms control."
Although professing to support the Second Amendment during her presidential election bid, Hillary Clinton is not generally known as a gun rights enthusiast. She has been a long-time activist for federal firearms licensing and registration, and a vigorous opponent of state Right-to-Carry laws. As a New York senator she ranked among the National Rifle Association's worst "F"-rated gun banners who voted to support the sort of gunpoint disarmament that marked New Orleans' rogue police actions against law-abiding gun owners in the anarchistic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
President Obama's record on citizen gun rights doesn't reflect much advocacy either. Consider for example his appointment of anti-gun rights former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels as an alternate U.S. representative to the U.N., and his choice of Andrew Traver who has worked to terminate civilian ownership of so-called "assault rifles" (another prejudicially meaningless gun term) to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Then, in a move unprecedented in American history, the Obama administration quietly banned the re-importation and sale of 850,000 collectable antique U.S.-manufactured M1 Garand and Carbine rifles that were left in South Korea following the Korean War. Developed in the 1930s, the venerable M1 Garand carried the U.S. through World War II, seeing action in every major battle.
As an Illinois state senator, Barack Obama was an aggressive advocate for expanding gun control laws, and even voted against legislation giving gun owners an affirmative defense when they use firearms to defend themselves and their families against home invaders and burglars. He also served on a 10-member board of directors of the radically activist anti-gun Joyce Foundation in Chicago during a period between 1998-2001when it contributed $18,326,183 in grants to anti-Second Amendment organizations.
If someone breaks into your home when you are there, which would you prefer to have close at hand: 1) a telephone to call 911, or 2) a loaded gun of respectable caliber? That's a pretty easy question for me to answer. I am a long-time NRA member, concealed firearms license holder and a regular weekly recreational pistol shooter. And while I don't ordinarily care to target anything that has a mother, will reluctantly make an exception should an urgent provocation arise. I also happen to enjoy the company of friends who hunt, as well as those, like myself, who share an abiding interest in American history and the firearms that influenced it.
There are many like me, and fewer of them would be alive today were it not for exercise of their gun rights. In fact law-abiding citizens in America used guns in self-defense 2.5 million times during 1993 (about 6,850 times per day), and actually shot and killed 2 1/2 times as many criminals as police did (1,527 to 606). Those civilian self-defense shootings resulted in less than 1/5th as many incidents as police where an innocent person was mistakenly identified as a criminal (2% versus 11%).
Just how effectively have gun bans worked to make citizens safer in other countries? Take the number of home break-ins while residents are present as an indication. In Canada and Britain, both with tough gun-control laws, nearly half of all burglaries occur when residents are present. But in the U.S.. where many households are armed, only about 13% happen when someone is home.
Recognizing clear statistical benefit evidence, 41 states now allow competent, law-abiding adults to carry permitted or permit-exempt concealed handguns. As a result, crime rates in those states have typically fallen at least 10% in the year following enactment.
So the majority in our Senate is smart enough to realize that the U.N.'s gun-grab agenda is unconstitutional, politically suicidal for those who support it, and down-right idiotic--right? Let's hope so, but not entirely count on it. While a few loyal Obama Democrats are truly "pro-gun", many are loathe to vote against treaties that carry the president's international prestige, causing him embarrassment.
Also, don't forget that Senate confirmation of anti-gun Obama nominee Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Many within the few who voted against her did so only because of massive grassroots pressure from constituents who take their Constitutional protections very seriously.
Now, more than ever, it's imperative to stick by our guns in demanding that all Constitutional rights be preserved. If not, we will surely lose both.
**************************************************13. Editorial: The U.N. gun grabber**************************************************
=46rom the Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/2uq2g66
EDITORIAL: The U.N. gun grabberGlobal Small Arms Treaty threatens your right to self defenseBy THE WASHINGTON TIMESThursday, May 27, 2010
American gun owners might not feel besieged, but they should. This week, the Obama administration announced its support for the United Nations Small Arms Treaty. This international agreement poses real risks for freedom both in the United States and around the world by making it more difficult - if not outright illegal - for law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
The U.N. claims that guns used in armed conflicts cause 300,000 deaths worldwide every year, an inordinate number of which are the result of internal civil strife within individual nations. The solution proposed by transnationalists to keep rebels from getting guns is to make the global pool of weapons smaller through government action. According to recent deliberations regarding the treaty, signatory countries would be required to "prevent, combat and eradicate" various classes of guns to undermine "the illicit trade i
n small arms." Such a plan would necessarily lead to confiscation of personal firearms.
This may seem like a reasonable solution to governments that don't trust their citizens, but it represents a dangerous disregard for the safety and freedom of everybody. First of all, not all insurgencies are bad. As U.S. history shows, one way to get rid of a despotic regime is to rise up against it. That threat is why authoritarian regimes such as Syria, Cuba, Rwanda, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone endorse gun control.
Political scientist Rudy Rummel estimates that the 15 worst regimes during the 20th century killed 151 million of their own citizens, which works out to 1.5 million victims per year. Even if all 300,000 annual deaths from armed conflicts can be blamed on the small-arms trade (which they cannot), governments are a bigger threat to most people than their neighbors.
This U.N. treaty will lead to more gun control in America. "After the treaty is approved and it comes into force, you will find out that it has this implication or that implication and it requires the Congress to adopt some measure that restricts ownership of firearms," former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John R. Bolton warns. "The [Obama] administration knows it cannot obtain this kind of legislation purely in a domestic context. ... They will use an international agreement as an excuse to get domestically what they couldn't otherwise."
The U.N. Small Arms Treaty opens a back door for the Obama administration to force through gun control regulations. Threats to the Second Amendment are as real today as ever.
**************************************************14. Columnist: Pro-gun lobby skips two words: 'well-regulated'**************************************************
Another anti who has no idea what the term "well-regulated" in the Second Amendment really means. Back when the Constitution was written, "well regulated" meant "well working." Thus it was not about the Government authorizing who could carry a gun, it was about the Government expecting everyone to be proficient with their guns.
Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
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=46rom wausaudailyherald.com: http://tinyurl.com/3d6nwo9
Lamont Column: Pro-gun lobby skips two words: 'well-regulated'Jun. 5, 2011
Two articles on Page 7A of the May 26 Wausau Daily Herald pertain to the current debate over "concealed carry" of a firearm.
One item cites the progress of a bill in the Wisconsin legislature that would permit "concealed carry" without requiring training or a permit. The other summarized the recent hearing at which Jared Lee Loughner, the man who shot Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The Wisconsin Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics opposes legislation that would permit the concealed carrying of firearms. "Concealed carry" doesn't deter crime. It sure didn't work for Rep. Giffords. Under Arizona law, her assailant was legally packing. And he wasn't brought down by gunfire from a "well-regulated militia" of armed citizens. No, he was stopped by a 61-year-old woman and two men, using their bare hands.
On the other hand, emergency care at the scene was delayed because police didn't know who was carrying, and which of those might be part of the assassination attempt. It took extra time to secure the site. Precious minutes, wasted.
Why is the "well-regulated militia" part of the Second Amendment never discussed? Probably because regulating would require setting standards, doing background checks, issuing permits and documenting ownership -- all the things we do now. All the things that are central to what "well-regulated" means. We regulate those who can impact our health and well-being: drivers, nurses, doctors, police, day-care workers. Even barbers and hairdressers. Why shouldn't a gun owner be as "well-regulated" as any of these?
And how many wouId-be pistoleros do you think will ever actually use their concealed handguns? How many will just be fantasizing about being heroes, shooting it out with the bad guys? And how many might someday feel challenged to prove themselves by drawing their weapons -- downtown, at Marathon Park, or on a bus? Without any training or experience? How safe does that make you feel?
Adults. Playing with guns. Isn't that what we teach our kids not to do? Think about it.
Jeffrey H. Lamont, M.D., is president of the Wisconsin Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics. He lives in Wausau.
**************************************************15. Update on self-defense case in England**************************************************
I received two emails from VA-ALERT readers who felt that last week's VA-ALERT item on a 19 year old woman who was fined for fighting back at an attacker was misleading.
I can see their point. My problem is that I am not sympathetic to the bad guy. If a bad guy attacks someone, placing the victim in mortal fear, and the victim, with massive doses of adrenaline flowing into her veins, fights back and keeps kicking the criminal even after he has been knocked unconscious, that's just a risk the criminal took when he attacked her.
One wrote:
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Philip -
Regarding the girl who was fined, please note that she was NOT fined for fighting back; she was fined for kicking the crap out of her assailant AFTER she had knocked him unconscious. The teaching point here is about "necessary force" and the costs of exceeding it, not that UK self-defense laws are absurd (they often are, but this anecdote doesn't demonstrate it). 500BP is cheap in the circumstances.
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Another wrote:
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I'm a little disappointed in the presentation of item #20 "(UK) Girl fined for fighting back at masked man".
In the text of the alert is sounds as if she was fined solely for fighting back. But a quick read of the article clearly shows that is not the case. She was fined for going too far and continuing to attacking a, now at this time, unarmed and helpless man how was down on the ground and motionless.
"Burleigh, who was with her boyfriend Christopher Twaddle, 21, ripped off Docherty's black, paramilitary-style balaclava and defended herself.However, she went too far by continuing to kick her attacker on the head even after he was knocked unconscious.""Neighbours saw the accused (the girl) being extremely violent and kicking the complainer as he lay on the ground."Witnesses spoke about the complainer (the man) lying motionless and appearing unconscious."
This sounds like a good call by the legal system. We get to defend ourselves, but we don't get to take our own revenge. Similar to the pharmacy shooting in Oklahoma, the pharmacist was fine in defending himself against the two armed robbers. He was very wrong in going back a second time and shooting one of them 5 more times after he was already down on the ground and incapacitated with a head shot. [PVC: I don't see this as that situation. Had she walked away and then came back and started kicking him, having had time for the adrenaline to slow down, that would be different. That would be revenge. But to continue an attack in the heat of the moment is, to me, understandable. She may not have even realized the bad guy was out of the fight for a while with the adrenaline flowing. The criminal started it and should take his licks accordingly, IMO. Next time don't choose a victim who is going to fight back. ]
=46rom edinburghnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/3zyv27w
Girl fined for fighting back at masked man
Published Date: 27 May 2011By RORY REYNOLDS and VIC RODRICKA TERRIFIED teenage girl has been fined #500 for knocking unconscious a masked stranger who stalked her home from a nightclub in what lawyers have called an "exceptional" case.Claire Burleigh, 19, was pounced on by Sean Docherty, 43, as she was about to open the door of her Bathgate home, Livingston Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Docherty had earlier been thrown out of the nightclub following a drunken argument.
Burleigh, who was with her boyfriend Christopher Twaddle, 21, ripped off Docherty's black, paramilitary-style balaclava and defended herself.
However, she went too far by continuing to kick her attacker on the head even after he was knocked unconscious.
Burleigh appeared for sentence on a serious assault charge yesterday. She earlier admitted kicking Sean Docherty to his severe injury on August 21 last year.
The court heard from her defence lawyer, Alan Jackson, that she was confronted with a "nightmare scenario for a young girl going home".
Although Docherty, who had downed at least nine pints of beer, was the initial aggressor, his client had ended up being charged, Mr Jackson said.
After Docherty was thrown out of the Bathgate nightclub he returned at 2am to wait for Burleigh to leave, then followed her and her boyfriend home.
Prosecutor Sarah O'Gallagher said Docherty admitted being the initial aggressor. But she added: "Neighbours saw the accused being extremely violent and kicking the complainer as he lay on the ground.
"Witnesses spoke about the complainer lying motionless and appearing unconscious."
Police later found Docherty in a nearby street with severe facial injuries and called an ambulance to take him to hospital. They also recovered a balaclava from the scene of the assault.
Mr Jackson said that his client had been frightened by the incident and was crying as she defended herself.
He told the court: "It might be suggested that this was a nightmare scenario for a young girl going home. He made no comment and there was no confrontation - it was a physical attack on her.
"She turned round and found that there was a man wearing a black balaclava attacking her.
"She was terrified. She lost control and her anger and fear took over."
Sheriff Donald Muirhead told Burleigh she was entitled to hit Docherty to protect herself. But he added: "You lost control. You kept on kicking him when there was no longer any need. In all the circumstances, it seems to me that I can deal with the matter by way of a financial penalty."
No charges were brought against Docherty.
After the ruling Burleigh was too upset to speak, but Mr Jackson told the Evening News: "It was an exceptional case in unusual circumstances.
"Miss Burleigh has found it very difficult."
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