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Fun and firearms - Daily Press.com

Doug Huffman

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http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_gunsfestivals_edit_0810aug10,0,6748241.story wrote:
The products of the misbegotten alliance between the state legislature and the Wild West wing of gun-rights advocacy are popping up in Hampton Roads. Where will the next sighting be?

Chet Szymecki, who in 2005 went out of his way to wear his gun to a York County School Board meeting, did the same at Norfolk's Harborfest in June. That attracted the attention of police — and, undoubtedly, some of the children and adults who flock to such events. Police charged him, because Norfolk had banned guns at the outdoor festival.

But it can't. The General Assembly made sure of that, with a law that bars localities from putting limits on the carrying of firearms — or on possession, ownership, sale, transportation or storage of guns.

Norfolk recanted and admitted its error. Still, a gun-rights group has warned the Norfolk City Council "Here we come," guns on hips, to protest its attempt to disarm festival-goers.

In Virginia, any adult who isn't in a restricted category (like a felon) can carry a gun, loaded or unloaded, out in the open pretty much everywhere. Private property owners can ban guns on their premises, but cities and counties can't. Hampton wanted a gun ban at Bay Days, but realized in 2005 that the state had made it powerless.

No, no and no. No restrictions on guns in local government buildings. No restrictions on guns in parks. No restrictions on guns at festivals. No bans on guns in school parking lots, so long as they're unloaded and in trunks or gun racks.

Never mind that a locality knows its populace and risks better than legislators who are doing the bidding of gun-rights activists who will brook no compromise. The General Assembly makes sure that the rights of gun owners trump the security needs of other citizens.

So an occasion like a community festival that's really suited to funnel cakes and Tilt-a-wheels and fun for the kids also has to allow guns.

Gun-rights advocates offer a two- pronged argument for why people need to take guns practically everywhere. One, because they can (claiming that the Second Amendment says so). Two, because they never know when they might need to defend themselves or their families.

No doubt, that makes them feel better, but the prospect of more guns on hand would surely make plenty of families feel less safe, even to the point of staying away. Police often miss their targets; imagine what might happen with untrained civilians surrounded by innocent bystanders.

As the summer and fall festival season approaches, let's hope the gun- toters stay away — or, better yet, come have fun, but leave their weapons at home.
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Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$
 

Grapeshot

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My letter editor of Daily Press today reads as follows: :cuss:

Re: Fun & Firearms 8/10
You do an excellant job of writing and printing inflamatory and biased material with little regard for the truth. "Wild West" wing of the gun-rights advocacy! Really, you've been watching too many movies. We've heard it before, when "shall issue" was proposed and it didn't happen then either. The General Assembly in their wisdom created a uniform standardization of the laws on weapons for the benefit of the entire state - not to penalize your neighborhood nor step on your civic pride.

The Norfolk problem is not "to protest its attempt to disarm" people. It is an attempt to stop the repeated violation of law and repeated harrassment of law abiding citizens. But you knew that didn't you. You should be ashamed to report less than the full truth.

There are indeed limits and restrictions on firearms in the instances that you refer to in this article with repeatedly inaccurate statements to the contrary.

If you are indeed so afraid of guns perhaps you should campaign to have them removed from the hands of policemen or do they only use them when they need them?

Note: address & phone # NOT for publication.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Veritas vos liberabit
:monkey Yata hey
 

muzz3256

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Sad, very sad.

Police often miss their targets; imagine what might happen with untrained civilians surrounded by innocent bystanders.

I know that I practice more than every police officer I know, and I work in a 911 center, so I know quite a few.
 

Grapeshot

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muzz3256 wrote:
Sad, very sad.

Police often miss their targets; imagine what might happen with untrained civilians surrounded by innocent bystanders.

I know that I practice more than every police officer I know, and I work in a 911 center, so I know quite a few.
If you shoot more than 50-60 rounds every six or twelve months, then you shoot more than many, many LE's. In some departments, the training is getting better but more often than not budgetary restraints limit the time and hardware cost of additional training/pratice.

Those officers that do shoot more are probably in the minority and do so like you and I do - at their own expense.

Yata hey
 

Dutch Uncle

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"Imagine what might happen...."

This is a tired old refrain from the left. The REALITY is that millions and millions of Americans have been carrying openly or concealed for more years than we can recall, and the number of innocent people being killed is miniscule compared to the lives saved. But since the facts don't support the media's agenda, they have to appeal to fears and "what ifs".
 

Grapeshot

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TrueBrit

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Grapeshot wrote:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/opinion/dp-ed_gunsfestivals_edit_0810aug10,0,6748241.story wrote:

Extracted for brevity - the following:
As the summer and fall festival season approaches, let's hope the gun- toters stay away — or, better yet, come have fun, but leave their weapons at home.
I will leave my weapons at home............................just not all of them! :lol: :celebrate :lol:

Yata hey

Great plan, my brother Horseman of the apOCalypse! You are legal to do so, and, unkind though it sounds, let the uneducated panty-wetters do just that- wet their panties! Your right toBE safetrumps their right to FEEL comfortable! Too much of this touchy feely warm fuzzy stuff out there!Give 'em a reality check!:D

Yata hey, indeed!

No worries mate!

TrueBrit.
 

paramedic70002

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Editor,
Regarding the "Fun and Firearms" opinion piece of August 10:

While this may be an opinion piece, you still have an obligation to get your facts straight.

1. Virginia is not the Wild West. All predictions to the contrary, after passage of the shall issue concealed handgun permit (CHP) law, crime went down. Road rage shootings and duels in the street remain a rarity.

2. Guns do NOT have to be unloaded in school parking lots if the CHP holder remains in her vehicle (as in dropping off her kids).

3. The residents of any locality in Virginia are not so different than the rest of us Virginians as to have their God given right to armed self defense restricted.

4. No one has a right to asert their unreasonable fear of guns on the rest of us.

5. Civilians involved in gunfights routinely have better hit ratios than law enforcement officers. Many more report that the mere presence of a self defense firearm ends the assault.

6. Far from leaving my weapon at home, it is always with me, albeit concealed. If you can't see something, I guess it isn't there.

I suppose you'd like me to also leave it at home when I go to the grocery store, video store, bank, 7-11, vacation, etc., ad nauseum. Since I have yet to develop precognition, I can't know when I will or won't "need" my gun, therefore I choose to err on the side of caution. Don't like what I have to say? Too bad. Stop talking to me. Don't like to see my holstered gun? Too bad. Stop looking.

Let the sheep graze while the wolf lurks. But rest assured that there are always sheepdogs amongst the herd.
 

Doug Huffman

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Grapeshot wrote:
Extremely well said. You makes us proud.
Yata hey
assert

You make us proud.

Pedantic? Perhaps, but there is little time and much to read and the first to go is the illiterate/agrammatic/anonymous.

Either we are equal or we are not. Good people ought to be armed where they will, with wits and guns and the truth. NRA KMA$$
 
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