1. Upcoming Sussex hearing on shooting ranges - corrections2. VCDL membership meeting in Newport News area on March 24th3. VCDL membership meeting in Annandale on March 29th, speaker survived terrorist attack at a church4. VCDL membership meeting in Charlottesville area on April 7th5. Update on Central Virginia Sporting Clays in Fluvanna6. Fairfax County Police at VCDL meeting7. RTD LTE: Gun control is not the answer8. Guns in parks rule reaches one-year anniversary9. "Yeah, it's loaded"10. Perceptions of gunshot noise from a distance11. Gun control: punishing the innocent12. Tragedy in Trinidad: The failure of GUN control13. Texas campus carry interview14. NY Times chart: A gun around the house15. Politically corrected [gun rights] glossary
**************************************************1. Upcoming Sussex hearing on shooting ranges - corrections**************************************************
Sussex area members (and anyone else who can come), the Sussex Count Board of Supervisors is meeting on March 17th to consider some onerous shooting range restrictions.
IMPORTANT NOTE: the original proposed ordinance has been modified since the hearing last month and we need to make sure that the updated ordinance goes back to the Planning Commission for another public hearing on the changes! We do NOT want them to RAM this through!
The meeting is going to be held:
When: Thursday, March 17 Time: 6:00pm Where: Sussex Central High School Auditorium 21394 Sussex Drive Sussex, Virginia 23884
*** Please note that the meeting is being held in a *high school*.
A good turnout is needed to show support for ranges, both current and future, in Sussex County!
**************************************************2. VCDL membership meeting in Newport News area on March 24th**************************************************
EM Ron Lilly and Ed Burton have arranged for VCDL to have a membership meeting at the Lafayette Gun Club in Grafton. The meeting is on Thursday, March 24th, from 7 PM to 9:30 PM. The meeting will cover a wrap up of the General Assembly session and a variety of recent events affecting our right to keep and bear arms.
For those who have never been to the Lafayette Gun Club, this will be a great chance to see their facilities (including an indoor handgun range that is open 24/7!)
The meeting is open to the public, so bring your family, friends, and coworkers.
Here is a Google map to the Club that you can use to get directions:
http://tinyurl.com/4bfafgd
I'll see you there!
**************************************************3. VCDL membership meeting in Annandale on March 29th, speaker survived terrorist attack at a church**************************************************
VCDL will have its monthly membership meeting at the Mason Government Center in Annandale on Tuesday, March 29th, from 8 PM to 9:30 PM. Fellowship starts at 7:30 PM.
We will have two guest speakers:
Scott Martin, who is running for the 39th Virginia Senate district against Senator George Barker, will speak for a few minutes about his campaign.
Charl van Wyk, from South Africa, will be speaking about his deadly run in with terrorists at an attack on a church he was attending in South Africa in 1993 (St. James Massacre). He survived and saved lives because he was armed with a .38 snub-nosed revolver on that fateful day. This should be very, very interesting!
We will also be discussing recent events affecting our gun rights.
As with all VCDL membership meetings, this is open to the public. Bring friends, family and coworkers with you!
Directions can be found here:
http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
**************************************************4. VCDL membership meeting in Charlottesville area on April 7th**************************************************
A VCDL meeting with food - hard to beat that
=46rom EM Patricia Webb:
In an effort to make membership meetings more accessible for those in western portions of the state, Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club has been very generous in making their clubhouse available for VCDL meetings. We are most grateful for this.
The next VCDL meeting at Rivanna Rifle and Pistol Club will be on Thursday, April 7th. Preceding the meeting there will be a pot-luck dinner beginning at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will begin at 7:30PM. We will be discussing the advancements made this year in the General Assembly.
Please come join us. Membership in VCDL or RRPC is not required. In fact, we encourage you to bring guests who have never been to a VCDL meeting. In addition, if you live in the vicinity and have never been to RRPC, this is an excellent opportunity to check out the range. RRRC is dedicated to the shooting sports and firearms education.
Those planning to attend the dinner please RSVP to pat.webb*vcdl.org, placing the number attending in the subject line. Example: 4/7 VCDL meeting, 2 for dinner. The drinks and a main course of homemade meatloaf will be provided. Please bring a side dish to share if you can, but don't let that stop you from coming if you can't.
Hope to see you there!
**************************************************5. Update on Central Virginia Sporting Clays in Fluvanna**************************************************
The Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors hearing on the new Special Use Permit for the Central Virginia Sporting Clays (CVSC) range has been POSTPONED for a few months. CVSC is going to be meeting with some of its neighbors during that time to measure the sound levels emanating from the proposed new shooting directions. If they can satisfy their neighbors, while making sure the range has what it needs to function, then all the better.
I will let everyone know when this comes up before the Board of Supervisors so we can show up in support.
**************************************************6. Fairfax County Police at VCDL meeting**************************************************
Ian Branson filmed the last Annandale meeting where the Fairfax County Police spoke on how they handle "man with a gun" calls and other such things. It was standing-room-only! The meeting turned out really well, with people wishing we had more time.
As a bit of history, and so that you understand the significance of the question asked by the first person, he is one of seven VCDL members who was kicked out of a restaurant in Manassas because a group of police pressured the restaurant manager to do so. That event triggered one of VCDL's largest protests, flooding Manassas City Hall with over 300 unhappy gun owners back in 2007.
Here is Ian's video of the Fairfax County Police presentation at the VCDL meeting:
http://tinyurl.com/6bp7naz
**************************************************7. RTD LTE: Gun control is not the answer**************************************************
=46rom the Richmond Times-Dispatch: http://tinyurl.com/4mxfbrl
February 21, 2011
Gun control is not the answer
We all heard about the tragic shooting in Arizona. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to the victims and their families. Now it is time to take a hard look at the facts.
Fact One: This was not caused by an inanimate object. A high-capacity magazine was, strangely enough, not the culprit here. All evidence points to a young man who chemically altered his consciousness and acted in a way that no normal person would act.
Fact Two: Cain killed Abel. No handguns, no high-capacity magazines, no assault rifles, no gun shows. Bad people have been murdering innocent victims since long before the invention of weapons.
Fact Three: No law has ever prevented crime. It only gives us a vehicle to punish the criminal after the fact. Calling for gun bans, restrictions on gun shows or any other kind of new law will do nothing to change Fact One or Fact Two.
The laws are already in place. Jared Loughner's actions were already illegal. That did not deter him. As a society, there is something we can do, however. We can stop denying law-abiding individuals of their rights and put more effort toward upholding the laws we already have. Gun control is not the answer.
Pat WebbBeaverdam
**************************************************8. Guns in parks rule reaches one-year anniversary**************************************************
Stephen P. Wenger emailed me this:
--
Where are the rivers of blood?
=46rom examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/6z55vnc
By Randi MinetorFebruary 22, 2011
[SNIP]
One year ago today, on February 22, 2010, the National Park Service lifted the ban on carrying concealed weapons in the parks for those who have permits to do so. [PVC -- Actually, Congress lifted the ban on carrying handguns, concealed or openly, as long as the person carrying the handgun was complying with the law of the state in which the National Park was located.] The change came about when the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act was signed into law on May 22, 2009.
The bill contained a line item added at the last moment by a Republican senator, specifically allowing people with concealed carry permits to carry their guns into national parks in the states covered by their permits. [PVC -- see my comment above.]
At the time, critics predicted that the new rule would frighten families away from the parks, and that the number of animals shot by gun owners in the parks would increase exponentially.
So what actually happened?
Not much at all, noted David Barna, spokesperson for the National Park Service, in an email. There was "really almost no impact," he wrote. One specific incident made national news last year on May 28, when a pair of hikers in Alaska's Denali National Park drew a .45-caliber pistol and fired on a grizzly bear charging toward them from out of a thicket. The bear was wounded and later died, and after an investigation, park officials ruled that the shooting was a legitimate act of self-defense...
**************************************************9. "Yeah, it's loaded"**************************************************
VA-ALERT reader "Tony" emailed me this:
--
=46rom Washingtonian.com: http://tinyurl.com/463ybpz
By Michael Gaynor & Eli Meir KaplanFebruary 22, 2011
The national "open carry" movement, in which gun owners openly-and legally-carry guns in public, began in Virginia a decade ago. Meet three women who aren't bashful about it.
Carrie Moats of Ashburn goes by the name Open Carrie on Internet forums: "I don't carry every day. When I'm walking my dog, especially at night, I have my gun with me. The most common reaction I get is 'Are you off-duty?' People think I'm a police officer."
Moats, shown shopping at a Target in Sterling, says: "My first gun was a .380, but it kept jamming." She now carries a 9mm Glock 19. Moats calls herself politically independent: "I'm not right or left wing. The people who want more gun control don't understand that it just hurts people like me, a law-abiding citizen."
Caitlin Rutherford, 20, talks on the phone while wearing her Glock at her parents' home in Carrolton, Virginia. The Hampton resident has been carrying since her 18th birthday. "You have to be 18," she says, "or else I would've started much earlier. I get all kinds of reactions. People ask, 'Is that legal?' Others say, 'That's so awesome-thank you for doing that.' "
Caitlin walks her boyfriend's beagle: "When I'm walking the dog at night, sometimes people will start yelling at me. I'll turn the other way, and when they see I have a gun, they leave me alone."
Caitlin's stepmother, Jadranka-who also carries a gun-sets pizza out for lunch.
Caitlin watches as Jadranka makes brownies. Says Caitlin: "I practice on guns from small .22s all the way up to huge military machine guns. My favorite's my Glock 19. Many say it's a manly gun, but I feel like it fits on me most comfortably. The kick isn't too bad, but it's still a pretty big bullet.." Caitlin's father is a former Army Special Forces weapons specialist. "He got me started in middle school, when I was old enough to control a gun," says Caitlin. "I'm a great shot, by the way-not to brag."
Michelle Rogers of Lorton with daughters Rebekah, five, and Maggie, two. "It might be being a woman, but I don't get a lot of the comments I've heard other people have gotten," Rogers says. "I've gotten a lot of 'Is that thing real?' "
Rogers kisses her daughter Rebekah while wearing her SIG Sauer P239. "I didn't grow up around guns," Rogers says. "I was raised in New Jersey, where the only people who had guns were police or criminals." The first time she fired one was in the Army. "I think it should be legal everywhere. But I don't open-carry in places where it might come off as inappropriate, like my kid's soccer game or a child's birthday party."
Firearms belonging to Rogers and her husband. For everyday carry, she uses her P239: "It's smaller and only a single-stack magazine, so it's better for female hands. There have been times where I've felt uncomfortable and glad that I had it. But more so, there were times when I was upset I didn't have it. If I'm driving through DC or Maryland and my car breaks down in the middle of the night, I'm completely without protection."
**************************************************10. Perceptions of gunshot noise from a distance**************************************************
Bob Culver emailed me this in response to "VA-ALERT: Update: Fluvanna Planning Commission hearing" (on February 24th):
--
Phillip,
Yep, No. 4 is the kind of gross exaggeration you will find when someone, civilian or legislator, tries to argue a semi technical subject (guns) without knowing anything about it.
In the outdoor environment, just based on the spreading of the sound pressure over distance, the Sound Pressure Level (SPL), what is measured with a sound meter - a weighted Sound Pressure Level - decreases with distance. It decreases as an inverse square law or by 6dB for each doubling of distance.
A shooter wears hearing protection because the SPL can be very high from his position, perhaps 120 to 140 dBA for a variety of shotguns at about 2 feet behind the muzzle.
Moving from there to 1 mile is just over 11 doublings of distance so the distance attenuation is about 70 dB. Additional attenuation occurs due to the physical environment the sound is passing through; the least over a hard smooth surface and the most if through thick vegetation. Plan on 10 to 20 dB in any case. Also, the attenuation is not uniform for all frequencies, it is more for the higher frequencies than the low. Finally, an impulse sound is distorted in time as it travels, the sharp impulse is stretched out and its perception as a high frequency crack close to the source is changed with distance.
BTW, Measuring the sound of gunshots is VERY DIFFICULT. That is it is difficult if you want to measure something that correlates with the perception of gun shot sound AND be able to explain what you measured. The gun shot impulse is very short duration and is NOT a steady state sinusoidal sound. It is an impulse and must be measured carefully.
If you are interested in this there is a web site at:
http://www.elcaudio.com/decibel.htm that is interesting reading.
Now, back to comparative sound levels at a distance; Lets see... 130dBA less 80 dB attenuation (70+10) yields about 50 db. Yep, I can hear those pesky crickets!
Bob
**************************************************11. Gun control: punishing the innocent**************************************************
James S. Northern emailed me this:
--
Below is an article from one of your contemporaries, Charles Heller, Secretary of the Arizona Citizens Defense League responding to an ignorant article from the Arizona Daily Star calling for a ban on "high-capacity magazines"(10 rounds) as well as questioning the "need" for citizens to own weapons such as the AR-15, etc. A pretty well thought out response to the wacko anti-gun folks knee-jerks responses to the Congresswoman "Gabbys" shooting.
=46rom the Arizona Daily Star: http://tinyurl.com/4anhulr
By Charles HellerFebruary 22, 2011
The Arizona Daily Star hopes the next shooter may only get 10 victims instead of 19. We think that's flawed math. It's also a placebo in place of real action to save lives. If you can't prevent shooters' commission of murder, how do you preclude their magazines?
Each demand for limits on guns drives panicked buyers to the marketplace, according to John Leavitt, assistant Tucson police chief. According to him, TPD is having difficulty finding new Glock magazines due to "supply problems."
Banning full-capacity magazines bears with it the stink of punishing the innocent for the acts of the guilty, but that's gun control for you.
Some irrational folks out there think that you make us safer by disarming the victims. Then they dance in the blood of the disarmed victims to achieve more "gun control," when "previous methods" didn't work.
Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again, expecting a different result.
Let's point out that gun control never works. Retired INS Senior Special Agent Michael Cutler, who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., says a criminal can acquire a handgun there in one of the most "gun-controlled environments in the nation," in minutes. The legal gun owner must take months, and may not succeed.
Is it impolitic to point out that nuts and criminals will always get guns, no matter what you do? Somewhere out there right now, several people have guns who shouldn't. That won't change.
What to do?
In Arizona, we have the finest training academies in the world. You can learn to use a gun defensively, and take responsibility for your own life. This is especially true once you realize that there is no constitutional duty for police to protect you.
Will you be a sitting duck, or a first responder? In Arizona, it's your choice.
The Tucson shooter spent 31 seconds shooting. The standard for neutralizing an active shooter at seven yards is 1.9 seconds, from concealment, with two shots to the center of mass. That's our kind of math. It also knocks out the argument of hitting innocent bystanders, something that is very rare, according to Dr. John Lott author of "More Guns, Less Crime."
The Star doesn't want to trust civilians with "assault weapons." The AR-15, the M1-A, and other civilian rifles, are not assault weapons by Department of Defense definition. They are not select fire, or full auto. Calling them such is just poor journalism. The AR-15 (civilian version of current military rifle) is the most popular sporting, hunting, target, and defense rifle in the U.S., according to the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI). Millions are in civilian hands, as well they should be.
Going after them and normal, common-variety sidearms like Glocks, Sig Sauers and Rugers, attempts to limit a legal product in the name of "safety." Safety is neither defined nor achieved by this. Their similarity to military look-alikes is cosmetic. They function like your granddad's hunting rifle.
If you want "safety," do three things:
1) Secure Arizona buildings, per Senate Bill 1201: Put metal detectors and two armed guards on building entrances, or let the people protect themselves. That's how the Holocaust Museum stopped a shooter in 2009. [PVC: To be clear, the two armed guards stopped the shooter at the museum.]
2) Learn defensive tactics, and make sure there are armed, trained people around our congressional representatives. They need not be cops, just well-trained and alert.
3) Find a way to direct mentally ill people to help, without precluding their rights.
The only effective way to respond to unlawful violence is with lawful deadly force. Time for some more of us to get trained.
Charles Heller is secretary of the Arizona Citizens Defense League and radio host of "America Armed & Free" on AM 1030 KVOI, Tucson.
**************************************************12. Tragedy in Trinidad: The failure of GUN control**************************************************
VCDL EM Deborah Jane Anderson emailed me this:
--
This is part 2 in a 3-part series (Part 1 can be read at http://tinyurl.com/6cuwl9m -- part 3 hasn't yet been published).
But, as for the present article, I think I would better be titled "Tragedy in Trinidad: The failure of GUN control" because that's what the REAL failure is in DC.
Blessings,
Deborah Jane Anderson
=46rom WTOP: http://tinyurl.com/5txk9fm
By Gary EmerlingFebruary 25, 2011
Part II: The failure of crime control
WASHINGTON - Alonzo Robinson was pronounced dead in the early morning hours of July 19, 2008.
He had been shot in the back, police said.
Twelve spent 9 mm shell casings were found at the scene.
Alonzo's mother, Marcella, learned her son had been killed after she was taken to the hospital for her own gunshot wound. The bullet pierced and exited her forearm, leaving a scar.
"It's awful," Marcella said. "Just being with him for 13 years, he's the only thing I ever really had."
Meanwhile, news of the fatal shooting reached D.C. city hall, where the mayor just a month earlier had decided to take drastic measures to stop violence in the neighborhood.
***
Former Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's police checkpoints were the brainchild of two of his top advisers -- former Attorney General Peter Nickles and Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
Lanier's penchant for testing out novel crime-fighting approaches, coupled with Nickles' brash assertion of authority, created the perfect power couple for Fenty to turn to when confronted with what was seen as a wave of violent crime besieging the District's Northeast neighborhoods in 2008.
From January through April, there had been 17 homicides in the city's Ward 5, of which Trinidad makes up a small part. The number was a 112 percent increase compared to the same time in 2007, and nine homicides were committed within the ward during April alone.
According to the Washington Post, Fenty held a meeting with Nickles and Lanier on how to stop the bloodshed. When asked, Nickles and Lanier differed on whether such a meeting was held and whether Fenty directed them to come up with a plan.
Nickles said the meeting referred to by the Post likely was a CapStat session -- one of a series of accountability roundtables held by the mayor and his city administrator to go over a city agency's performance. Lanier said the eventual program implemented was never discussed at a CapStat meeting, and she couldn't "recall the mayor directing us to develop anything" in response to the violence.
City records show that a CapStat session was held April 1, 2008, to examine the progress of Fenty's Focused Improvement Areas initiative - a program aimed at curtailing crime in troubled neighborhoods by combining law enforcement with support from human service agencies and community-based organizations. At that meeting, police officials were directed to identify three new FIAs for the program's expansion by April 11.
By a follow-up session on May 1, records show that Trinidad -- where Alonzo Robinson would be gunned down more than two months later -- had been selected as an improvement area. An action item from the session said police also were to hold another meeting by May 9 "to generate ideas to engage the community to reduce crew violence."
A source who says he was present at a CapStat session held around that time said city officials began to focus on Trinidad because it was known to have a number of "beefs" occurring between neighborhood crews.
The source also said Nickles began to opine about the possibility of stemming the violence by rounding up those usually responsible for the trouble and keeping them from entering the neighborhood. At the time, the attorney general's comments came off as rather "bizarre," the source said.
"If you could just stop them from coming in, you could sort of eradicate the problem," the source recalled as the substance of Nickles' argument.
Fenty apparently liked what he had heard and asked for an idea along the lines of Nickles' reasoning. Everything was on the table, according to Nickles' recollection.
The mayor said "'We need to think differently, out of the box, creatively,'" Nickles remembered. "He may have said, 'Peter, why don't you get together with Lanier and see what we can come up with.'"
Roughly a month later at a June 4 news conference, Fenty stood in front of a Trinidad recreation center under the glaring sun.
Flanked by Lanier and Nickles, the mayor declared that "the normal laws and ways of doing things" just weren't working anymore.
***
On June 6, 2008 - two days after the news conference and a week after a horrific triple murder at a BP gas station in the area -- Lanier gave approval for the first Neighborhood Safety Zone to be implemented in Trinidad.
MPD operated the police checkpoints near the 1400 block of Montello Avenue on 11 occasions between June 7 and June 12, allowing 903 vehicles to pass through and turning away 48. One arrest was made for a DUI-related offense.
Officers manning the checkpoints barred anyone without a "legitimate" reason from driving into the zone. Valid reasons for allowing entry included that drivers lived in the area, were making a delivery or were going to church.
Roughly a month later, Alonzo Robinson's lifeless body lay at Children's National Medical Center in Northwest. His mother, Marcella, wept in her bed at The George Washington University Hospital.
At least five other people had been shot during the early morning hours of July 19 in the Trinidad area. One man reportedly had been stabbed in the neck.
By that time, the MPD checkpoints had become the subject of a heated court battle. The nonprofit Partnership for Civil Justice sought to have the blockades banned in court, citing Fourth Amendment concerns on behalf of several city residents.
In roughly a year, the Partnership would prove successful, persuading a federal appellate panel that the checkpoints constituted an illegal form of general crime control.
But in an immediate response to Alonzo's death and the July 19 rash of violence, Lanier authorized another implementation of the Neighborhood Safety Zones.
The blockades aimed "to ultimately find out those responsible for the violent crime in the area last weekend," Lanier said in a press release on an extension of the initiative.
MPD officers allowed 742 vehicles to pass through the blockades and refused entry to five during the July iteration of the checkpoints.
No shootings occurred. No arrests were made.
Alonzo Robinson's killer -- or killers -- remained free.
**************************************************13. Texas campus carry interview**************************************************
VCDL EM Dave Knight was interviewed last week about Texas being on the verge of passing a law allowing students at colleges and universities to be able to carry. He did a great job.
Here is an email he sent to the reporter after the story aired:
--
Karen,
I just watched your piece on the the TX campus carry issue. Nice job!!!
In retrospect, I wish I had reiterated on camera that my daughter Dianna Knight graduated in May 2007, from VT's Pamplin MBA program, barely one month after "the VT massacre" - if only to offset professor Koebel's condescending remark (as quoted by you) that campus carry advocates tend to be "unassociated with the college community". Perhaps my "Hokies United" T-shirt countered it to some extent. I'm pleased that my daughter is mentioned, along with some of my other remarks, in the transcript on the WDBJ7 website:
Frankly, given the subject matter of this piece, I found professor Koebel's assertion that "[VT] is a safe community" ludicrous on its face!
Most folks who keep up with current events understand that violent crime is a rare occurrence, but elevating that fact as a reason to deny students and faculty their legal (in VA) right to be prepared for the rare occasion when violence does erupt, suggests a cynical, pedantic naivete that puts innocents at increased risk should another "rare event" ever occur on campus!
As a retired computer software engineer, former Reserve Deputy Sheriff, NRA certified Firearms Instructor, and violent crime survivor, my positions are based on critical thinking, training and experience. I am curious to know what credentials Dr Koebel (PhD & Director, Virginia Center for Housing Research) brings to the debate on guns, armed self-defense, criminal predation and campus safety.
Thanks very much for providing an opportunity to voice my opinions on this important topic.
Regards,
Dave KnightRadford, VA
--
Here is the story with video:
=46rom WDBJ7.com: http://tinyurl.com/4ktmgbe
By Karen KileyFebruary 25, 2011
Debate heats up over allowing guns on college campusesColleges are watching the Texas legislature closely
BLACKSBURG, Va. - Legislation in Texas is stirring up an old debate here in the Commonwealth.
Should guns be allowed on college campuses?
The Virginia Tech shooting is often cited as the reason for proposals to allow guns on campus. That's the case this year in Texas, where the proposal is expected to pass.
Many in the college community are watching the legislation very closely.
Texas is seen as a battle ground. If this legislation passes, it would be a huge win for gun advocates and could spur national momentum for similar bills, including, once again, here in Virginia.
At Virginia Tech, the issue of allowing guns on campus sparks a strong, and often personal, debate.
"I think especially after all that's gone on here, it just doesn't seem like a good idea. It just brings back bad feelings," said one VT student.
"I personally think that it's not a bad idea. Because the reason, if there was another gun around, that (VT shooting) could have been stopped a lot sooner," said another VT student.
Virginia Tech Professor Ted Koebel was on campus April 16, 2007.
"Yes, that was a violent event, a hugely violent event, but it was a rare event. Did I feel any less safe on this campus, a week later, two weeks later, today? No. This is a safe community," said Koebel, a professor with Urban Affairs and Planning.
National and state statistics show the rarity of gun violence on campus, said Koebel. Even in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, he said violence on campus is not a major problem that needs fixing.
"There is just so much fear mongering that is associated with this debate," said Koebel.
Guns would change the whole dynamic of a college campus, said Koebel, and legislation supporting the idea is often pushed by people unassociated with the college community.
"If you are packing heat, then heated debate changes. It changes the culture of what we do, changes it for the negative," said Koebel.
David Knight, with the Virginia Citizen's Defense League, a pro-gun organization, disagrees.
"I don't believe there is a case anywhere in history where disarming the victims has made them safer," said Knight.
His daughter was on campus during the VT shooting, which helped shape his opinion on the issue.
"Legislation or not, if someone had had a lawfully carried gun there, I believe the outcome could have been very different," said Knight.
Knight is pushing for the Texas legislation to pass and for Virginia to follow suit and do away with "gun-free" zones.
"Gun-free zones are actually, in my opinion, victim rich, predator friendly zones," said Knight. "I believe it would give people a chance to protect themselves against a predator."
Legislation to allow guns on campus in Virginia has been introduced and failed in the General Assembly in the past.
But people on both sides of the argument are watching Texas closely to see what the next move may be, here in Virginia. [PVC: Well, WE know what VCDL will be working on next year
]**************************************************14. NY Times chart: A gun around the house**************************************************
Jay Minsky emailed me this:
--
Phil:
The attached February 20, 2011 New York Times (not a pro-gun newspaper) chart should be of interest to the VCDL membership. It shows major felonies by precinct (districts) per 1000 residents in New York City and handgun permits by Zip per 1000 residents in new York City. What is interesting is that the districts that have the highest handgun permits have the lowest # of major felonies. The districts with the lowest handgun permits have the highest # of major felonies.
The next time Mayor Bloomberg rants about gun ownership in this country he should be asked to explain the above statistics in his own city.
Jay Minsky
=46rom The New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/6y8vjy2
**************************************************15. Politically corrected [gun rights] glossary**************************************************
Ben Piper emailed me this:
--
Excellent points (mostly). I'm going to start saying "discreet carry" and "personal sidearm."
BP
=46rom gunlaws.com: http://tinyurl.com/6exh8nw
By Alan Korwin
Politically Corrected Glossary
Always frame the debate as pro rights vs. anti rights, never as pro gun vs. anti gun, which yields ground to the antis.
This is a civil-rights issue, a question of fundamental human rights.
Always talk about discreet carry, a cultural and civilized norm, never about concealed carry, which sounds like you have something to hide.
Always refer to personal sidearms, a neutral and non-inflammatory term, never to handguns, a word that has been vilified beyond usefulness.
Remember that assault is a kind of behavior, not a kind of hardware. The media loves that word because it spins the debate to their liking,and makes firearms automatically bad, instead of true focus on bad actors. Assault is a kind of behavior, not a kind of hardware.
Always ask a person who questions assault-weapon possession what guns they're talking about exactly. They do not know.
Any weapon you can own is an ordinary household firearm, the type you might find in any American household.
Don't waste time and audience attention correcting ignorant reporters who talk about clips or bullets. Let them remain self-evidently ignorant.
See the entire Glossary at gunlaws.com
-------------------------------------------***************************************************************************
