W.E.G.
Newbie
imported post
http://www.geocities.com/rkba2da/vcdl20071016.pdf
-----Original Message-----
From: VCDL President
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 4:53 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: VCDL UPDATE 10/15/07
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VCDL's Gun Dealer Legal Defense Fund -- help fight Mayor Bloomberg's scheme to cripple Virginia firearms dealers. See: www.vcdl.org/index.html#DefenseFund
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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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VCDL UPDATE 10/15/07 - Defending your right to defend yourself
1. Antis planning protest at Richmond gun show on Saturday!
2. University demands psych eval for student self-defense advocate
3. Governor Kaine responds to member question on executive order
4. Arlington federation wants to publish gun buyer names
5. Virginia may protect CHP identities
6. LTE blames Richmond for shooting death
7. Independence, VA to Remove No-Guns Sign
8. More $ at VT: does it buy more security?
9. Report of gun on campus shuts down Danville Community College
10. VCDL members bring new gun dealer up-to-speed on SSN privacy
11. NY Gun Laws Foster Illegal Gun & Drug Trade
12. Gun owner unfriendly jeweler in Richmond
13. Just stand there while I die in DC
14. More Virginia students forming student "militia"
15. Tribute to Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis
16. Off-duty Wisconsin police officer shoots seven
17. Doctors advised to interrogate kids about guns
18. NYC Madman shot after stabbing two
19. Ohio student: Can guns stop crime?
20. Gun Dealer's Defamation Suit Proceeds Against Bloomberg
21. Washington Gun Ban Under Fire
22. Norfolk/Festevents CANNOT ban guns at Norfolk events
23. Gun shows and events!
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1. Antis planning protest at Richmond gun show on Saturday!
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The Million Mom March/Bady Campaign is planning a protest this Saturday at the C & E Gun Show at the Showplace in Richmond. They are planning a "lie-in" (boy, isn't THAT the truth!) at noon near the building. They plan on having women dressed in black to lie down for two-minutes to represent how long it took Cho to get his guns.
I am going to have fun with this one! Cho had to wait THIRTY DAYS to get his 9 MM pistol. More proof that gun control is a joke. Anyway, I hope these women bring warm bedding for the month that they should be lying there. ;-)
I plan on talking to the press (if any shows up) and our Executive members are discussing some possible counter-protests, like a stand-in representing those students who might be alive today if they, or other law-abiding students or teachers, had been armed on that fateful day.
The irony of this is that Steve Elliott, who runs C & E, is willing to honor the MMM's First Amendment right at the gun show, even though he could legally ban them from the property, as it is privately owned. If only the MMM hypocrites could honor the Second Amendment the same way.
Steve is going to offer to let any of the protesters in for free so they can see a gun show for themselves. I hope they go in - they will be quite surprised by what they see.
While we are at it, let's pack that gun show to support C & E.
And on a final note, while the MMM's wish list for gun control would actually make crime worse if implemented, they have a right to their beliefs and it is important that we honor that right. That means being polite to them, while letting the media know that the MMMs are simply wrong on the issues.
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2. University demands psych eval for student self-defense advocate
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Here we go. You had best be prepared for the next round of attacks on gun owners - the psychiatric one that disarms you.
Last April, a student at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota immediately saw the case for concealed weapon carry at his school, and openly advocated the same.
The school is now demanding he get a psychiatric examination!
Of course if he's forced to get that evaluation, he loses his gun rights forever. Gun owners are viewed by gun haters as mentally insane. Of course, I think people who are afraid of inanimate metal objects are the ones who might want to seek mental help! ;-)
The article below tells that story. Later, (not repeated here, though the link <http://thefire.org/index.php/article/8475.html> is provided and we encourage all to follow it), the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (an organization solely advocating free speech on campus) took up the Hamline student's cause. What the university wants is no different than the treatment meted out in Stalinist Soviet Union "mental hospitals" where opponents of Stalinism were sent for their "obvious" mental illness. Those who fail to learn history, are doomed to repeat it.
You can read the actual emails sent from the student to the university on the web page where the article is located:
<http://tinyurl.com/ywbkaz>
After the Virginia Tech tragedy, even talking about concealed carry is grounds for suspension 5/9/2007 by Ward Rubrecht
Sipping soda from a straw and leaning on his elbows at Perkins, Troy Scheffler seems harmless enough. The 31-year-old Hamline University grad student resembles a post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta-slightly overstuffed, with graying sideburns and a small, tense smile. It's easy to imagine him hitting on a girl at a dance club.
But Scheffler is packing heat. A gun-toting concealed carry permit holder, he rarely leaves home without his sidearm. [Here comes the anti-gun press. You know what's coming when the reporter suddenly can speak only in the cliched lingo of the Wild West: 'packing heat', 'gun-toting,' etc. - PVC] He feels safer in the rough areas of town when he's armed, though he knows not everyone feels safe around him. A couple of days ago, he got pulled over for speeding. When the cop noticed the concealed carry permit, he ordered Scheffler out of the car, patted him down, and searched his car.
"A clear violation of my Fourth Amendment rights," Scheffler says with an exasperated chuckle, referring to the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
It wasn't the first time Scheffler's gun got him into trouble.
On April 16, colleges were rocked by the news coming out of Virginia Tech. Initial reports were sketchy and confused, but by the end of the day a clear picture emerged: An angry and deranged Seung-Hui Cho had killed 32 students and faculty before turning his gun on himself in the largest mass shooting in American history.
In the aftermath, officials at Hamline University sought to comfort their 4,000 students. David Stern, the vice president for academic and student affairs, sent a campus-wide email offering extra counseling sessions for those who needed help coping.
Scheffler had a different opinion of how the university should react. Using the email handle "Tough Guy Scheffler," Troy fired off his
response: Counseling wouldn't make students feel safer, he argued. They needed protection. And the best way to provide it would be for the university to lift its recently implemented prohibition against concealed weapons.
"Ironically, according to a few VA Tech forums, there are plenty of students complaining that this wouldn't have happened if the school wouldn't have banned their permits a few months ago," Scheffler wrote. "I just don't understand why leftists don't understand that criminals don't care about laws; that is why they're criminals. Maybe this school will reconsider its repression of law-abiding citizens' rights."
After stewing over the issue for two days, Scheffler sent a second email to University President Linda Hanson, reiterating his condemnation of the concealed carry ban and launching into a flood of complaints about campus diversity initiatives, which he considered reverse discrimination.
"In fact, three out of three students just in my class that are 'minorities' are planning on returning to Africa and all three are getting a free education on my dollar," Scheffler wrote with thinly veiled ire. "Please stop alienating the students who are working hard every day to pay their tuition. Maybe you can instruct your staff on sensitivity towards us 'privileged white folk.'"
After clicking send, Scheffler didn't think much more about his emails. He'd never felt his conservative views were welcome on campus. In classes, he was often shouted down by students or sometimes even by professors.
But after the Virginia Tech massacre, school administrators across the country were ramping up security. Flip to any cable news channel and you'd hear experts talking about warning signs that had been missed. Cho had a history of threatening behavior and stalking. And a psychological evaluation had deemed him a threat to himself.
So Hamline officials took swift action. On April 23, Scheffler received a letter informing him he'd been placed on interim suspension. To be considered for readmittance, he'd have to pay for a psychological evaluation and undergo any treatment deemed necessary, then meet with the dean of students, who would ultimately decide whether Scheffler was fit to return to the university.
The consequences were severe. Scheffler wasn't allowed to participate in a final group project in his course on Human Resources Management, which will have a big impact on his final grade. Even if he's reinstated, the suspension will go on his permanent record, which could hurt the aspiring law student.
"'Oh, he's the crazy guy that they called the cops on.' How am I supposed to explain that to the Bar Association?" Scheffler asks.
He has also suffered embarrassment. Scheffler obeyed the campus ban and didn't go to class, but his classmate, Kenny Bucholz, told him a police officer was stationed outside the classroom. "He had a gun and everything," Bucholz says. Dean Julian Schuster appeared at the beginning of class to explain the presence of the cop, citing discipline problems with a student. Although Schuster never mentioned Scheffler by name, it didn't take a scholar to see whose desk was empty.
Scheffler has tried to get answers from the university, to no avail. On April 25, he called President Hanson's office to request a meeting, but when he told the secretary his name, she claimed the computer system had crashed and she couldn't access the president's schedule. She promised to call Scheffler back, but more than a week later, he's still waiting.
Hamline administrators were similarly circumspect when a reporter called. School officials declined to be interviewed, citing student privacy concerns. Requests for information were diverted to lawyer Rebecca Bernhard, who said Hamline acted appropriately in light of recent events at Virginia Tech. "Hamline takes campus safety very seriously," she says.
Now Scheffler is looking to hire a lawyer of his own. Even if Hamline lifts the suspension, he doubts he'll return to campus, he says. "If they're going to treat me that way before, how will they treat me after?"
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3. Governor Kaine responds to member question on executive order
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A VCDL member asked the following question of Kaine's executive order on mentally ill ban on having a gun:
Question: If a female rape victim is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by a police doctor or psychiatrist would they be prohibited from owning a gun under the new proposed gun law? Please reply with an answer. Thank you xxx
Response:
Dear xxx :
Thank you for your recent e-mail to Governor Kaine concerning the possession of firearms by persons diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I am responding on behalf of the Governor.
State and federal law prohibits persons who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated mentally defective from purchasing or possessing firearms. Governor Kaine signed Executive Order 50 (2007) on April 30, 2007, to provide clarification to the mental health prohibition. This Executive Order provides that courts should report any mental health adjudications leading to involuntary treatment, premised upon a finding that an individual is a danger to herself or others, whether or not such treatment is to be received in an inpatient or outpatient setting. These individuals are no longer permitted to lawfully purchase or possess a firearm. This Executive Order applies to individuals diagnosed with PTSD only if they have been ordered to receive involuntary mental health treatment by a court.
The Governor appreciates the input from citizens of the Commonwealth and considers such input when formulating his position on policies that affect the health and safety of the population.
Sincerely,
John W. Marshall
Secretary of Public Safety
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4. Arlington federation wants to publish gun buyer names
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Member John Donald sent us this item. More stupid and dangerous ideas from the northern part of the Commonwealth.
The Arlington County Civic Federation prepares a recommendation for the State Legislature to consider every year. The 2008 package contained Issue 5 of interest to gun owners <http://civfed.org/leg08firstvote.pdf>.
Issue 5b is the tired old "gunshow loophole" item.
Issue 5a, subject of the report below, wants to report names of gun
**buyers!!!**
There is apparently not enough crime in Arlington County, and the 'Civic' foundation wants to increase it by making it easier for criminals to target the homes of gun owners.
<http://tinyurl.com/3b9gy9>
Handgun Proposal Tops Civic Federation Legislative Wish List
by SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer
Friday, October 5, 2007
Delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation have embraced what could become a controversial issue: publishing the names of local residents who purchase handguns.
The federation's membership on Oct. 2 voted 20-14 to include the provision in its 2008 General Assembly legislative package, which is slated for final adoption next month.
The proposal calls for officials to furnish to media outlets the names of those who have purchased handguns. Newspapers and other media organizations can then determine whether to publish them.
"I don't see why it's a bad thing for folks to know who has guns in their neighborhood," Civic Federation delegate Max Scruggs said. [Hmmm, sounds like Mr. Scruggs is legally blind! ;-) -PVC]
But another delegate, Jackie Snelling, suggested that the provision would be perceived as a back-door attempt to impose gun registration, something Virginia law does not now permit.
"What is the purpose of this?" Snelling asked. [At least Jackie Snelling restores my faith in part of the Federation. - PVC]
Police officials seemed dubious; a number suggested, privately and out of earshot of delegates, that publishing a list of those who have acquired handguns could leave the homeowners open to burglars, who might try to find the guns for use in later crimes. [I wish the police had said this **within** earshot of the Federation. - PVC]
The Civic Federation is one of many groups, locally and statewide, that annually send policy recommendations down to Richmond. The General Assembly will convene in January.
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5. Virginia May Protect CHP Identities
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VCDL is planning to fight for an exemption to any bill that restricts access to the CHP holder database, if the data is to be used for certain specific purposes. For example, the voter registration database is restricted, but has some exemptions for specific purposes:
<http://tinyurl.com/245kpp>
WDBJ Channel 7 - Roanoke
October 8, 2007
Should information about concealed weapon permit holders be kept private?
Back in March, in an effort to demonstrate access to public records, the Roanoke Times printed the names and addresses of every concealed weapons permit holder in Virginia. Now a new proposal would keep the public from using the Freedom of Information Act to access identifying information about permit holders.
"A lot of the folks who were upset had gotten the permit to protect themselves from a stalker, from an ex-boyfriend, or girlfriend that was violent towards them," says Delegate Morgan Griffith. The last thing they wanted was their gun carry status and address printed for everyone to see. But even if the Roanoke Times had not printed the list, it was still available to any citizen who submitted a FOIA request to get it.
A subcommittee of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is recommending personal identifiable information of concealed carry holders be kept private. Under their proposal, folks could request statistical information, like what percentage of the population in the Roanoke Valley has a concealed gun permit.
Law enforcement could still access the complete data for their jobs. The proposal must be approved by the General Assembly before it becomes law.
It is important to note that state police did not do anything wrong when they released the concealed carry list to the newspaper. They were just following the law.
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6. LTE blames Richmond for shooting death
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<http://tinyurl.com/3cp96q>
City Bears Blame For Parlor Shooting
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Regarding the shooting at Baskin-Robbins:
In an area that has seen an almost six-fold increase in armed commercial robberies; at a store that had been robbed at gunpoint several weeks earlier; in an attempted robbery by a career criminal
-- the victim is on trial. What is wrong with this picture?
I understand the application of the letter of the law. What crushes me is the attitude, the resignation to high levels of crime, that are evident in the comments made by Commonwealth's Attorney Michael
Herring: "I don't think more guns in any way is a good thing"; "It's only a matter of time before a victim hits an innocent bystander"; and would-be robber Jerome Davis' fate "should have been decided in the courthouse, not in the Baskin-Robbins."
Eliminate the guns, and we still have a holdup with a BB gun. The only way victims may hit bystanders is if criminals keep holding up our stores.
Store managers don't bring guns to work as a part of customer-service training! They do it because armed robberies are a part of business in that area! And Davis had many, many opportunities to have his fate decided by law enforcement and the judicial system before he walked into the Baskin-Robbins.
Dennis Flannery. Richmond.
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7. Independence, VA to Remove No-Guns Sign
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On September 26th, we received the following email from an observant VCDL member in Independence, VA:
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I have observed that in Independence VA, at an entrance common to the town offices, the town police, and a state DMV branch, a "no weapons" sign is posted which includes a "no guns" symbol. [end e-mail]
--
VCDL Executive Member and Webmaster John Pierce, sent a letter to Independence Town Attorney Roger Brooks advising him of our concerns. Mr. Brooks responded quickly and professionally:
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John,
Thanks for your letter of Sept. 26, 2007, regarding the sign at the Independence Town Hall. I have reviewed the statutes cited, an Attorney General's opinion, and other statutes and agree with your position. As Town Attorney, I have advised the Town Manager that the sign is invalid and unenforceable and should be removed unless specific authority can be cited to the contrary. Thank you for alerting us to the problem. As a permit holder, I appreciate your input. I have visited this website before [VCDL] and find the information presented to be valuable.
On the week of October 8th, the town council met and voted to have the sign removed and Mr. Brooks contacted us again.
As stated, I advised the Town Manager that the sign should be taken down. The matter was further addressed at the Town Council Meeting this week and Council confirmed that the sign should be taken down.
--
VCDL would like to thank Mr. Brooks for his professional and courteous assistance. We would also like to thank the Independence Town Council for their quick action when the matter was placed before them.
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8. More $ at VT: does it buy more security?
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One of our VT student monitors sent us this item talking about the email alert system that Virginia Tech is implementing:
--
I am just marvelling at how complex this system is getting, and still wondering how this is supposed to make me, the average student, any safer.
I'm sending these things to you and the VCDL because I just hope that real people from the outside world (whose taxes go to pay for a lot of this stuff) can make some sense of it and maybe make things better. I notice that a contract company is responsible for most of this implementation, and I can't help wondering how much money is being made from this "fear sale".
The biggest gap in the system is that if I am in a classroom, the first thing most professors do is have all the students turn off all their cell phones. Most professors also turn off their own cell phones. While many students have their laptops running in class, not all do. While taking exams and such computers are generally turned off, too. So how is this system supposed to help?
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9. Report of gun on campus shuts down Danville Community College
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We don't know any more about this story. However, all the panic and shutting down the college for a day because somebody had a handgun carried visibly on their waistband is childish. But that's the kind of fear that is generated when colleges disarm all the law-abiding students and faculty.
<http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=7200667>
A report of a suspected gunman on campus sent students and staff home early from Danville Community College today.
Around noon, a student told police she had seen a man walking down a street that runs through campus with what looked like a gun in his waistband. The school immediately activated its emergency response plan and searched every building on campus. But there was no other sign of the alleged gunman.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the day. Administrators say they don't believe there is any threat, but they wanted to err on the side of caution. The school will reopen tomorrow morning.
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10. VCDL members bring new gun dealer up-to-speed on SSN privacy
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A VCDL member recently contacted me about being pressured by a gun store associate to disclose his social security number (SSN) when buying a gun at G&S Wild Country Outfitters, 23987 Senedo Road, Woodstock, VA.
But by the time EMs Mike Stollenwerk and John Pierce contacted Shiela, the owner/manager of G&S Wild Country Outfitters, Shiela reported that she had already checked with the ATF and verified for sure that disclosure of an SSN is not required to buy a gun.
Shiela indicated that gun sales were relatively new for her store and that she wants everybody to know that her store will respect federal and Virginia law which forbids forced disclosure of SSNs to buy guns or apply for concealed handgun permits.
So if you are traveling near Woodstock anytime soon, consider stopping by G&S Wild Country Outfitters and check 'em out!
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11. NY Gun Laws Foster Illegal Gun & Drug Trade
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Smuggling may be the world's third oldest profession. The following article (well done, and too long to record in its entirety here) points out the futility of New York's gun laws and their unintended consequences of increasing smuggling while at the same time making the job of law enforcement harder.
<http://tinyurl.com/2476b3>
How did 14 firearms stolen in Charlottesville end up in the hands of New York police?
by : Scott Weaver
It's just after 2am. As the temperature drops into the 30s, four men creep around the corner to the front door of Mountain River Outdoors Inc off Route 29N. They're here to get what waits inside: black-market gold. Guns.
Ross Tierney, owner of Mountain River, had ordered a new door earlier in the day when he found the front door jam and frame splintered. He repaired the door as best he could, patching the frame with some wood he had lying around, and went home after another 10-hour work day, hoping for the best.
That night, though, the four men, ages ranging from 16 to 21, walked into the store with no problem. They break in through the jury-rigged door as the alarm sounds for the second time in 24 hours.
They grab 14 guns and check the clock. They've been in for almost three minutes. The second display case, the one holding the revolvers
- its glass panels are broken, eighth-of-an-inch cracks across each, but still in their frames and now the four are out of time.
The police rush to the store in under five minutes. The door's open, one case is pried open and there's a cache of semi-automatic pistols missing. But nobody's there.
Tierney arrives minutes after the police, fresh out of bed. First thing, he calls the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, better known as the ATF, to report the stolen guns. After filling out the requisite forms, he starts to clean up his store, dejected.
Drugs, more prevalent and cheaper in Northern cities like Boston and New York City, are smuggled south into states like Virginia and North Carolina, where gun control laws are a lot less stringent. The drugs are traded for easily obtained guns - guns that head up to Northern cities, guns with street prices hundreds of dollars less than if they'd been copped up north.
Like every black market, the Iron Pipeline serves an under-met demand. As long as the demand for handguns in northern states continues to dramatically exceed its tightly regulated supply, and as long as the supply of readily accessible guns continues to exist in southern states due to looser restrictions, even measures like Virginia's one-gun-a-month law and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent city-run sting operations into gun stores in southern states will have negligible effects.
One effect Virginia's one-gun-a-month law has had, however unintended, is to flatten out the illegal gun trade. Larger smuggling runs have dissipated into more frequent, lower-volume trips up north.
"The demand didn't diminish any," Dunham says. "I think rather than have a few large-scale dealers, there are many one- and two- and three-gun smugglers. And the problem is, they're harder to catch. They're less likely to be prosecuted. Sometimes [federal prosecutors] don't want to prosecute somebody who just did one or two guns. Somebody does 50 guns - that's a different story."
As gun restrictions tighten, smugglers' strategies evolve with them to accommodate and eventually thwart new laws. Evolving smuggling techniques force the ATF and local police to adopt new enforcement strategies. In a strange way - but one that an economist might have predicted - it's possible the Virginia's one-gun-a-month law might ultimately make the ATF's job more difficult.
"Overall, it cuts down on the number of guns, but it spreads the risk out," says Dunham. "Trying to monitor the recovering and tracing of guns and see who's buying them and what they're doing with the guns - yeah, it makes more legwork for us." There is also less payoff for the increased legwork as the number of guns that smugglers run in a single trip dwindles.
Tierney says that the local police and ATF "both did a phenomenal job" after the break-in. "You literally couldn't ask for people to be more responsive. They were on the ball."
But even after the arrests and the convictions, the fallout from the 2006 burglary continues. "I went to court a week ago," Tierney says. "They were prosecuting a person who had bought one of the stolen guns."
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12. Gun owner unfriendly jeweler in Richmond
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Member Patricia Webb sent us this exchange with a local jeweler. Jewelers of all people, should appreciate the benefit of having lawfully armed customers [incidentally, in New York City where a concealed weapon permit is almost impossible for civilians to obtain, one of the allowed categories is for jewelers]
Message to Patricia from Jared's:
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Subject: Re: Firearms/Weapons policy
Your customer service representative is:Emily Myers
Summary: Customer Relations at Jared
Dear Ms. Webb,
I would like to respond to your e-mail concerning the Firearms/Weapons policy posted at our Short Pump Township location.
Even though many states have laws permitting residents to carry concealed weapons and firearms, private employers have the right to ban weapons and prohibit persons with weapons from entering the premises. For the safety and security of our customers and store employees Jared The Galleria of Jewelry has made the decision to ban weapons and anyone possessing them from entering the store. Sincerely,
Emily Myers
Customer Relations
--
Message from Patricia to Jared's:
--
Dear Ms. Myers,
Thank you for your prompt response. Rest assured that I will not be patronizing your stores or your e-stores. I do not support businesses which create unsafe environments by disarming law abiding citizens. Please be aware that criminals do not care if you allow guns except that they are less likely to be shot while committing a crime and therefore tend to target such places. You are not creating a safe haven for your employees or customers.
I will be sure to tell my friends who also take the responsibility of self defense seriously that they should avoid your establishments. [And she has now told 6,500 gun owners! - PVC]
Sincerely,
Pat Webb
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13. Just Stand There While I Die
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EM Hal Macklin sent me this item:
<http://tinyurl.com/333b5o>
Just Stand There While I Die
The D.C. government has that right, and exercises it frequently.
October 10, 2007
The National Review
By David Freddoso
The first time someone tried to mug me in Washington D.C., I ran away as he threatened to shoot me from behind.
The second time, when the exact same situation arose, I knew better. I stopped and turned around to confront the robber as soon as he threatened to shoot: "Hey, buddy!" I said confidently. "Who do you think you're fooling? Guns are outlawed in the District of Columbia - I know you don't really have one."
Okay, sorry, I'm just making that part up. What really happened is I ran like hell and got away, both times. Both times, the cops showed up about an hour after I dialed 911.
I have no idea whether either of my muggers actually had a gun - they each chased me from behind, and I was too busy running to ask. But a few years back, my best friend and his brother knew for sure that real guns were being trained on their heads as they were forced for several minutes to lie face-down, just blocks from the Capitol, on the red-brick sidewalk in front of their D.C. rowhouse. They both survived the robbery (two blocks from the local police precinct), but neither of them thought to ask the important questions: "Excuse me, were those guns legally registered before 1977? Are they grandfathered under the District of Columbia Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975?"
I hope that now you can understand where I am coming from when I read District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer's hysterical court filing in the Heller case, which may strike down the District's 31-year-old comprehensive ban on gun ownership.
"Whatever right the Second Amendment guarantees," wrote the District's chief law enforcer, "it does not require the District to stand by while its citizens die."
What an excellent example of unintended humor - the District's government is a national leader in standing by while its citizens die. Our homicide rate hit a 20-year low in 2005 - just 29 victims per 100,000 residents. That is slightly better than New York City's rate (30.7) under Mayor David Dinkins in 1990, when the Big Apple suffered 2,250 homicides.
In 1991, the D.C. murder rate reached an astounding 81 per 100,000 - that was two years after Mayor Marion Barry famously told the Washington Press Club, "Except for the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
D.C. residents are strictly forbidden from owning handguns, even in the privacy of their homes. Any long guns must be registered and kept "unloaded and disassembled." It is not even legal, strictly speaking, to assemble and load your gun when you hear an intruder downstairs. A lower court ruled the ban unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court will decide later this year whether to take up the case.
In the debate over the gun ban, there is a strong statistical case that an armed citizenry is safer than one disarmed by unconstitutional laws, but this argument is not even necessary. There is absolutely no valid case that the District's gun ban makes me safer as a District resident. When Singer and Mayor Adrian Fenty (D., of course) penned a September 4 Washington Post op-ed stating that "The handgun ban has saved countless lives," were they really suggesting that without the ban there might have been 1,000 murder victims in 1991, instead of just 482? The implication is that D.C. is so totally ungovernable that only a total deprivation of constitutional rights can make it barely livable.
It is bad enough that the District government takes away constitutional rights in the name of safety, and then fails even to provide safety. But the story is actually better than that. In their response to the attorney general's brief, Heller and the other plaintiffs in the case responded to Singer by noting the following
irony:
Petitioners correctly note that the Second Amendment "does not require the District to stand by while its citizens die." Yet the city consistently fights to secure its right to stand by while its citizens are victimized by crime.
Yes, you read that correctly. The plaintiffs' attorneys refer to a series of cases in which the District literally asserted its right to "stand by" while its citizens are victimized. The most dramatic is Warren v. District of Columbia, in which three women were sexually violated because of gross negligence on the part of Metropolitan police officers responding to their call. In the early morning hours of March 16, 1975, two men broke down the back door of a D.C. townhouse in Northeast and began raping a woman on the second floor. Her two roommates, hiding one floor above, called the police. According to the court's opinion, a squad car responded, and the officer failed even to exit his car before leaving. The two women, listening to their roommate scream, called the police again. This time, an officer went so far as to knock at the door, but then left without further inspection.
Once the attackers discovered the other two women, they had their sick, twisted way with all three of them for the next 14 hours (I will not describe any of the details). The women sued the District of Columbia, which argued that "a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen." The District won the case based on what is actually a long-standing legal principle.
Singer, with her silly, dramatic argumentation, has reminded us of this fact - something for which we should all be grateful.
It is our misfortune in Washington to be governed by such simpletons, but it is also a hidden blessing that their legal team shows this level of incompetence. It may be our best chance as District residents to take our safety out of their hands and put it back into our own.
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14. More university students forming student "militia"
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Students at both the Georgetown University Law Center and the George Washington University have recently formed student "militia", intended to be forums for supporting 2nd Amendment rights.
A new student organization at the Georgetown University Law Center is aiming to foster debate and awareness about the Second Amendment. Last Thursday, thirty-two students gathered in McDonough Hall for the inaugural meeting of the Georgetown Law Militia.
The group's mission is to give law students an opportunity to advocate and defend the constitutionality of gun ownership. "The idea behind what the group believes is that there is a human right to self-defense," said Michael Stollenwerk [and VCDL EM - PVC], the Law Militia's founder and current President. "We believe that the way to protect that human right is through guns," Stollenwerk added.
At the Law Militia's first meeting, attorney Alan Gura [lead for the case concerning a challenge to Washington, D.C's various gun bans, Parker v. District of Columbia] discussed the Parker case at length while also delving into the theoretical prerogatives behind his defense of the Second Amendment. "As far as the Constitution is concerned, hand guns are a protected class of weapons under the Second Amendment," Gura said. "The first clause of the Second Amendment is insignificant to its operative clause." Later in the meeting, Gura discussed his commitment towards defending individual rights. "I've always believed in the Bill of Rights," Gura said. "One of reasons I became an attorney was to be in a position to vindicate individual liberties." During the meeting, Gura continuously emphasized the significance of the Parker case, noting that the case is the first in which a federal appeals court in the United States has struck down a gun control law on Second Amendment grounds. "With this case, it's beginning to look like the tide may be "shifting our way," Gura said. At the present moment, the Parker case has been appealed to the Supreme Court. If the Court agrees to hear the case, it would be the first time since the 1939 case of United States v. Miller that the Supreme Court has directly interpreted how far the Second Amendment can reach. Gura said that he's looking forward to the chance he has of arguing a case before the Supreme Court. "I'm very excited," Gura said. "I've never done it before so this is definitely something worth looking forward to."
Should the Parker case go to the Supreme Court, Stollenwerk said he and others plan to be on hand. "Hopefully we'll organize a camp out or something so that we can get in there and see this argument," Stollenwerk said.
*****
Meanwhile, students at George Washington University are also forming a pro-gun group.
Juniors Andrew Breza and Ken Stauff share an interest in Second Amendment rights and range shooting, and began organizing the Colonial Militia, a group concerned with gun rights advocacy and shooting for pleasure.
The Colonial Militia has not yet been approved as an official student organization, as GW officials continue to demand that the club require members undergo background checks before they can go to a shooting range in Virginia. [Gee, I wonder if GW officials demand members of any of their other official organizations (Black Law Student Association or GW College Democrats?), get background checks
too?- PVC]
"We had a meeting two days (after the Virginia Tech. incident) and put out a statement to the club members on Facebook. One of the main reasons for this group is education," Stauff said.
[font="Times New Roman"
http://www.geocities.com/rkba2da/vcdl20071016.pdf
-----Original Message-----
From: VCDL President
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2007 4:53 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: VCDL UPDATE 10/15/07
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VCDL's Gun Dealer Legal Defense Fund -- help fight Mayor Bloomberg's scheme to cripple Virginia firearms dealers. See: www.vcdl.org/index.html#DefenseFund
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VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
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VCDL UPDATE 10/15/07 - Defending your right to defend yourself
1. Antis planning protest at Richmond gun show on Saturday!
2. University demands psych eval for student self-defense advocate
3. Governor Kaine responds to member question on executive order
4. Arlington federation wants to publish gun buyer names
5. Virginia may protect CHP identities
6. LTE blames Richmond for shooting death
7. Independence, VA to Remove No-Guns Sign
8. More $ at VT: does it buy more security?
9. Report of gun on campus shuts down Danville Community College
10. VCDL members bring new gun dealer up-to-speed on SSN privacy
11. NY Gun Laws Foster Illegal Gun & Drug Trade
12. Gun owner unfriendly jeweler in Richmond
13. Just stand there while I die in DC
14. More Virginia students forming student "militia"
15. Tribute to Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis
16. Off-duty Wisconsin police officer shoots seven
17. Doctors advised to interrogate kids about guns
18. NYC Madman shot after stabbing two
19. Ohio student: Can guns stop crime?
20. Gun Dealer's Defamation Suit Proceeds Against Bloomberg
21. Washington Gun Ban Under Fire
22. Norfolk/Festevents CANNOT ban guns at Norfolk events
23. Gun shows and events!
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1. Antis planning protest at Richmond gun show on Saturday!
**************************************************
The Million Mom March/Bady Campaign is planning a protest this Saturday at the C & E Gun Show at the Showplace in Richmond. They are planning a "lie-in" (boy, isn't THAT the truth!) at noon near the building. They plan on having women dressed in black to lie down for two-minutes to represent how long it took Cho to get his guns.
I am going to have fun with this one! Cho had to wait THIRTY DAYS to get his 9 MM pistol. More proof that gun control is a joke. Anyway, I hope these women bring warm bedding for the month that they should be lying there. ;-)
I plan on talking to the press (if any shows up) and our Executive members are discussing some possible counter-protests, like a stand-in representing those students who might be alive today if they, or other law-abiding students or teachers, had been armed on that fateful day.
The irony of this is that Steve Elliott, who runs C & E, is willing to honor the MMM's First Amendment right at the gun show, even though he could legally ban them from the property, as it is privately owned. If only the MMM hypocrites could honor the Second Amendment the same way.
Steve is going to offer to let any of the protesters in for free so they can see a gun show for themselves. I hope they go in - they will be quite surprised by what they see.
While we are at it, let's pack that gun show to support C & E.
And on a final note, while the MMM's wish list for gun control would actually make crime worse if implemented, they have a right to their beliefs and it is important that we honor that right. That means being polite to them, while letting the media know that the MMMs are simply wrong on the issues.
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2. University demands psych eval for student self-defense advocate
**************************************************
Here we go. You had best be prepared for the next round of attacks on gun owners - the psychiatric one that disarms you.
Last April, a student at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota immediately saw the case for concealed weapon carry at his school, and openly advocated the same.
The school is now demanding he get a psychiatric examination!
Of course if he's forced to get that evaluation, he loses his gun rights forever. Gun owners are viewed by gun haters as mentally insane. Of course, I think people who are afraid of inanimate metal objects are the ones who might want to seek mental help! ;-)
The article below tells that story. Later, (not repeated here, though the link <http://thefire.org/index.php/article/8475.html> is provided and we encourage all to follow it), the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (an organization solely advocating free speech on campus) took up the Hamline student's cause. What the university wants is no different than the treatment meted out in Stalinist Soviet Union "mental hospitals" where opponents of Stalinism were sent for their "obvious" mental illness. Those who fail to learn history, are doomed to repeat it.
You can read the actual emails sent from the student to the university on the web page where the article is located:
<http://tinyurl.com/ywbkaz>
After the Virginia Tech tragedy, even talking about concealed carry is grounds for suspension 5/9/2007 by Ward Rubrecht
Sipping soda from a straw and leaning on his elbows at Perkins, Troy Scheffler seems harmless enough. The 31-year-old Hamline University grad student resembles a post-Pulp Fiction John Travolta-slightly overstuffed, with graying sideburns and a small, tense smile. It's easy to imagine him hitting on a girl at a dance club.
But Scheffler is packing heat. A gun-toting concealed carry permit holder, he rarely leaves home without his sidearm. [Here comes the anti-gun press. You know what's coming when the reporter suddenly can speak only in the cliched lingo of the Wild West: 'packing heat', 'gun-toting,' etc. - PVC] He feels safer in the rough areas of town when he's armed, though he knows not everyone feels safe around him. A couple of days ago, he got pulled over for speeding. When the cop noticed the concealed carry permit, he ordered Scheffler out of the car, patted him down, and searched his car.
"A clear violation of my Fourth Amendment rights," Scheffler says with an exasperated chuckle, referring to the constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure.
It wasn't the first time Scheffler's gun got him into trouble.
On April 16, colleges were rocked by the news coming out of Virginia Tech. Initial reports were sketchy and confused, but by the end of the day a clear picture emerged: An angry and deranged Seung-Hui Cho had killed 32 students and faculty before turning his gun on himself in the largest mass shooting in American history.
In the aftermath, officials at Hamline University sought to comfort their 4,000 students. David Stern, the vice president for academic and student affairs, sent a campus-wide email offering extra counseling sessions for those who needed help coping.
Scheffler had a different opinion of how the university should react. Using the email handle "Tough Guy Scheffler," Troy fired off his
response: Counseling wouldn't make students feel safer, he argued. They needed protection. And the best way to provide it would be for the university to lift its recently implemented prohibition against concealed weapons.
"Ironically, according to a few VA Tech forums, there are plenty of students complaining that this wouldn't have happened if the school wouldn't have banned their permits a few months ago," Scheffler wrote. "I just don't understand why leftists don't understand that criminals don't care about laws; that is why they're criminals. Maybe this school will reconsider its repression of law-abiding citizens' rights."
After stewing over the issue for two days, Scheffler sent a second email to University President Linda Hanson, reiterating his condemnation of the concealed carry ban and launching into a flood of complaints about campus diversity initiatives, which he considered reverse discrimination.
"In fact, three out of three students just in my class that are 'minorities' are planning on returning to Africa and all three are getting a free education on my dollar," Scheffler wrote with thinly veiled ire. "Please stop alienating the students who are working hard every day to pay their tuition. Maybe you can instruct your staff on sensitivity towards us 'privileged white folk.'"
After clicking send, Scheffler didn't think much more about his emails. He'd never felt his conservative views were welcome on campus. In classes, he was often shouted down by students or sometimes even by professors.
But after the Virginia Tech massacre, school administrators across the country were ramping up security. Flip to any cable news channel and you'd hear experts talking about warning signs that had been missed. Cho had a history of threatening behavior and stalking. And a psychological evaluation had deemed him a threat to himself.
So Hamline officials took swift action. On April 23, Scheffler received a letter informing him he'd been placed on interim suspension. To be considered for readmittance, he'd have to pay for a psychological evaluation and undergo any treatment deemed necessary, then meet with the dean of students, who would ultimately decide whether Scheffler was fit to return to the university.
The consequences were severe. Scheffler wasn't allowed to participate in a final group project in his course on Human Resources Management, which will have a big impact on his final grade. Even if he's reinstated, the suspension will go on his permanent record, which could hurt the aspiring law student.
"'Oh, he's the crazy guy that they called the cops on.' How am I supposed to explain that to the Bar Association?" Scheffler asks.
He has also suffered embarrassment. Scheffler obeyed the campus ban and didn't go to class, but his classmate, Kenny Bucholz, told him a police officer was stationed outside the classroom. "He had a gun and everything," Bucholz says. Dean Julian Schuster appeared at the beginning of class to explain the presence of the cop, citing discipline problems with a student. Although Schuster never mentioned Scheffler by name, it didn't take a scholar to see whose desk was empty.
Scheffler has tried to get answers from the university, to no avail. On April 25, he called President Hanson's office to request a meeting, but when he told the secretary his name, she claimed the computer system had crashed and she couldn't access the president's schedule. She promised to call Scheffler back, but more than a week later, he's still waiting.
Hamline administrators were similarly circumspect when a reporter called. School officials declined to be interviewed, citing student privacy concerns. Requests for information were diverted to lawyer Rebecca Bernhard, who said Hamline acted appropriately in light of recent events at Virginia Tech. "Hamline takes campus safety very seriously," she says.
Now Scheffler is looking to hire a lawyer of his own. Even if Hamline lifts the suspension, he doubts he'll return to campus, he says. "If they're going to treat me that way before, how will they treat me after?"
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3. Governor Kaine responds to member question on executive order
**************************************************
A VCDL member asked the following question of Kaine's executive order on mentally ill ban on having a gun:
Question: If a female rape victim is diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by a police doctor or psychiatrist would they be prohibited from owning a gun under the new proposed gun law? Please reply with an answer. Thank you xxx
Response:
Dear xxx :
Thank you for your recent e-mail to Governor Kaine concerning the possession of firearms by persons diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I am responding on behalf of the Governor.
State and federal law prohibits persons who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated mentally defective from purchasing or possessing firearms. Governor Kaine signed Executive Order 50 (2007) on April 30, 2007, to provide clarification to the mental health prohibition. This Executive Order provides that courts should report any mental health adjudications leading to involuntary treatment, premised upon a finding that an individual is a danger to herself or others, whether or not such treatment is to be received in an inpatient or outpatient setting. These individuals are no longer permitted to lawfully purchase or possess a firearm. This Executive Order applies to individuals diagnosed with PTSD only if they have been ordered to receive involuntary mental health treatment by a court.
The Governor appreciates the input from citizens of the Commonwealth and considers such input when formulating his position on policies that affect the health and safety of the population.
Sincerely,
John W. Marshall
Secretary of Public Safety
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4. Arlington federation wants to publish gun buyer names
**************************************************
Member John Donald sent us this item. More stupid and dangerous ideas from the northern part of the Commonwealth.
The Arlington County Civic Federation prepares a recommendation for the State Legislature to consider every year. The 2008 package contained Issue 5 of interest to gun owners <http://civfed.org/leg08firstvote.pdf>.
Issue 5b is the tired old "gunshow loophole" item.
Issue 5a, subject of the report below, wants to report names of gun
**buyers!!!**
There is apparently not enough crime in Arlington County, and the 'Civic' foundation wants to increase it by making it easier for criminals to target the homes of gun owners.
<http://tinyurl.com/3b9gy9>
Handgun Proposal Tops Civic Federation Legislative Wish List
by SCOTT McCAFFREY, Staff Writer
Friday, October 5, 2007
Delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation have embraced what could become a controversial issue: publishing the names of local residents who purchase handguns.
The federation's membership on Oct. 2 voted 20-14 to include the provision in its 2008 General Assembly legislative package, which is slated for final adoption next month.
The proposal calls for officials to furnish to media outlets the names of those who have purchased handguns. Newspapers and other media organizations can then determine whether to publish them.
"I don't see why it's a bad thing for folks to know who has guns in their neighborhood," Civic Federation delegate Max Scruggs said. [Hmmm, sounds like Mr. Scruggs is legally blind! ;-) -PVC]
But another delegate, Jackie Snelling, suggested that the provision would be perceived as a back-door attempt to impose gun registration, something Virginia law does not now permit.
"What is the purpose of this?" Snelling asked. [At least Jackie Snelling restores my faith in part of the Federation. - PVC]
Police officials seemed dubious; a number suggested, privately and out of earshot of delegates, that publishing a list of those who have acquired handguns could leave the homeowners open to burglars, who might try to find the guns for use in later crimes. [I wish the police had said this **within** earshot of the Federation. - PVC]
The Civic Federation is one of many groups, locally and statewide, that annually send policy recommendations down to Richmond. The General Assembly will convene in January.
**************************************************
5. Virginia May Protect CHP Identities
**************************************************
VCDL is planning to fight for an exemption to any bill that restricts access to the CHP holder database, if the data is to be used for certain specific purposes. For example, the voter registration database is restricted, but has some exemptions for specific purposes:
<http://tinyurl.com/245kpp>
WDBJ Channel 7 - Roanoke
October 8, 2007
Should information about concealed weapon permit holders be kept private?
Back in March, in an effort to demonstrate access to public records, the Roanoke Times printed the names and addresses of every concealed weapons permit holder in Virginia. Now a new proposal would keep the public from using the Freedom of Information Act to access identifying information about permit holders.
"A lot of the folks who were upset had gotten the permit to protect themselves from a stalker, from an ex-boyfriend, or girlfriend that was violent towards them," says Delegate Morgan Griffith. The last thing they wanted was their gun carry status and address printed for everyone to see. But even if the Roanoke Times had not printed the list, it was still available to any citizen who submitted a FOIA request to get it.
A subcommittee of the Freedom of Information Advisory Council is recommending personal identifiable information of concealed carry holders be kept private. Under their proposal, folks could request statistical information, like what percentage of the population in the Roanoke Valley has a concealed gun permit.
Law enforcement could still access the complete data for their jobs. The proposal must be approved by the General Assembly before it becomes law.
It is important to note that state police did not do anything wrong when they released the concealed carry list to the newspaper. They were just following the law.
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6. LTE blames Richmond for shooting death
**************************************************
<http://tinyurl.com/3cp96q>
City Bears Blame For Parlor Shooting
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Regarding the shooting at Baskin-Robbins:
In an area that has seen an almost six-fold increase in armed commercial robberies; at a store that had been robbed at gunpoint several weeks earlier; in an attempted robbery by a career criminal
-- the victim is on trial. What is wrong with this picture?
I understand the application of the letter of the law. What crushes me is the attitude, the resignation to high levels of crime, that are evident in the comments made by Commonwealth's Attorney Michael
Herring: "I don't think more guns in any way is a good thing"; "It's only a matter of time before a victim hits an innocent bystander"; and would-be robber Jerome Davis' fate "should have been decided in the courthouse, not in the Baskin-Robbins."
Eliminate the guns, and we still have a holdup with a BB gun. The only way victims may hit bystanders is if criminals keep holding up our stores.
Store managers don't bring guns to work as a part of customer-service training! They do it because armed robberies are a part of business in that area! And Davis had many, many opportunities to have his fate decided by law enforcement and the judicial system before he walked into the Baskin-Robbins.
Dennis Flannery. Richmond.
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7. Independence, VA to Remove No-Guns Sign
**************************************************
On September 26th, we received the following email from an observant VCDL member in Independence, VA:
--
I have observed that in Independence VA, at an entrance common to the town offices, the town police, and a state DMV branch, a "no weapons" sign is posted which includes a "no guns" symbol. [end e-mail]
--
VCDL Executive Member and Webmaster John Pierce, sent a letter to Independence Town Attorney Roger Brooks advising him of our concerns. Mr. Brooks responded quickly and professionally:
--
John,
Thanks for your letter of Sept. 26, 2007, regarding the sign at the Independence Town Hall. I have reviewed the statutes cited, an Attorney General's opinion, and other statutes and agree with your position. As Town Attorney, I have advised the Town Manager that the sign is invalid and unenforceable and should be removed unless specific authority can be cited to the contrary. Thank you for alerting us to the problem. As a permit holder, I appreciate your input. I have visited this website before [VCDL] and find the information presented to be valuable.
On the week of October 8th, the town council met and voted to have the sign removed and Mr. Brooks contacted us again.
As stated, I advised the Town Manager that the sign should be taken down. The matter was further addressed at the Town Council Meeting this week and Council confirmed that the sign should be taken down.
--
VCDL would like to thank Mr. Brooks for his professional and courteous assistance. We would also like to thank the Independence Town Council for their quick action when the matter was placed before them.
**************************************************
8. More $ at VT: does it buy more security?
**************************************************
One of our VT student monitors sent us this item talking about the email alert system that Virginia Tech is implementing:
--
I am just marvelling at how complex this system is getting, and still wondering how this is supposed to make me, the average student, any safer.
I'm sending these things to you and the VCDL because I just hope that real people from the outside world (whose taxes go to pay for a lot of this stuff) can make some sense of it and maybe make things better. I notice that a contract company is responsible for most of this implementation, and I can't help wondering how much money is being made from this "fear sale".
The biggest gap in the system is that if I am in a classroom, the first thing most professors do is have all the students turn off all their cell phones. Most professors also turn off their own cell phones. While many students have their laptops running in class, not all do. While taking exams and such computers are generally turned off, too. So how is this system supposed to help?
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9. Report of gun on campus shuts down Danville Community College
**************************************************
We don't know any more about this story. However, all the panic and shutting down the college for a day because somebody had a handgun carried visibly on their waistband is childish. But that's the kind of fear that is generated when colleges disarm all the law-abiding students and faculty.
<http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=7200667>
A report of a suspected gunman on campus sent students and staff home early from Danville Community College today.
Around noon, a student told police she had seen a man walking down a street that runs through campus with what looked like a gun in his waistband. The school immediately activated its emergency response plan and searched every building on campus. But there was no other sign of the alleged gunman.
Classes were canceled for the rest of the day. Administrators say they don't believe there is any threat, but they wanted to err on the side of caution. The school will reopen tomorrow morning.
**************************************************
10. VCDL members bring new gun dealer up-to-speed on SSN privacy
**************************************************
A VCDL member recently contacted me about being pressured by a gun store associate to disclose his social security number (SSN) when buying a gun at G&S Wild Country Outfitters, 23987 Senedo Road, Woodstock, VA.
But by the time EMs Mike Stollenwerk and John Pierce contacted Shiela, the owner/manager of G&S Wild Country Outfitters, Shiela reported that she had already checked with the ATF and verified for sure that disclosure of an SSN is not required to buy a gun.
Shiela indicated that gun sales were relatively new for her store and that she wants everybody to know that her store will respect federal and Virginia law which forbids forced disclosure of SSNs to buy guns or apply for concealed handgun permits.
So if you are traveling near Woodstock anytime soon, consider stopping by G&S Wild Country Outfitters and check 'em out!
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11. NY Gun Laws Foster Illegal Gun & Drug Trade
**************************************************
Smuggling may be the world's third oldest profession. The following article (well done, and too long to record in its entirety here) points out the futility of New York's gun laws and their unintended consequences of increasing smuggling while at the same time making the job of law enforcement harder.
<http://tinyurl.com/2476b3>
How did 14 firearms stolen in Charlottesville end up in the hands of New York police?
by : Scott Weaver
It's just after 2am. As the temperature drops into the 30s, four men creep around the corner to the front door of Mountain River Outdoors Inc off Route 29N. They're here to get what waits inside: black-market gold. Guns.
Ross Tierney, owner of Mountain River, had ordered a new door earlier in the day when he found the front door jam and frame splintered. He repaired the door as best he could, patching the frame with some wood he had lying around, and went home after another 10-hour work day, hoping for the best.
That night, though, the four men, ages ranging from 16 to 21, walked into the store with no problem. They break in through the jury-rigged door as the alarm sounds for the second time in 24 hours.
They grab 14 guns and check the clock. They've been in for almost three minutes. The second display case, the one holding the revolvers
- its glass panels are broken, eighth-of-an-inch cracks across each, but still in their frames and now the four are out of time.
The police rush to the store in under five minutes. The door's open, one case is pried open and there's a cache of semi-automatic pistols missing. But nobody's there.
Tierney arrives minutes after the police, fresh out of bed. First thing, he calls the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, better known as the ATF, to report the stolen guns. After filling out the requisite forms, he starts to clean up his store, dejected.
Drugs, more prevalent and cheaper in Northern cities like Boston and New York City, are smuggled south into states like Virginia and North Carolina, where gun control laws are a lot less stringent. The drugs are traded for easily obtained guns - guns that head up to Northern cities, guns with street prices hundreds of dollars less than if they'd been copped up north.
Like every black market, the Iron Pipeline serves an under-met demand. As long as the demand for handguns in northern states continues to dramatically exceed its tightly regulated supply, and as long as the supply of readily accessible guns continues to exist in southern states due to looser restrictions, even measures like Virginia's one-gun-a-month law and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent city-run sting operations into gun stores in southern states will have negligible effects.
One effect Virginia's one-gun-a-month law has had, however unintended, is to flatten out the illegal gun trade. Larger smuggling runs have dissipated into more frequent, lower-volume trips up north.
"The demand didn't diminish any," Dunham says. "I think rather than have a few large-scale dealers, there are many one- and two- and three-gun smugglers. And the problem is, they're harder to catch. They're less likely to be prosecuted. Sometimes [federal prosecutors] don't want to prosecute somebody who just did one or two guns. Somebody does 50 guns - that's a different story."
As gun restrictions tighten, smugglers' strategies evolve with them to accommodate and eventually thwart new laws. Evolving smuggling techniques force the ATF and local police to adopt new enforcement strategies. In a strange way - but one that an economist might have predicted - it's possible the Virginia's one-gun-a-month law might ultimately make the ATF's job more difficult.
"Overall, it cuts down on the number of guns, but it spreads the risk out," says Dunham. "Trying to monitor the recovering and tracing of guns and see who's buying them and what they're doing with the guns - yeah, it makes more legwork for us." There is also less payoff for the increased legwork as the number of guns that smugglers run in a single trip dwindles.
Tierney says that the local police and ATF "both did a phenomenal job" after the break-in. "You literally couldn't ask for people to be more responsive. They were on the ball."
But even after the arrests and the convictions, the fallout from the 2006 burglary continues. "I went to court a week ago," Tierney says. "They were prosecuting a person who had bought one of the stolen guns."
**************************************************
12. Gun owner unfriendly jeweler in Richmond
**************************************************
Member Patricia Webb sent us this exchange with a local jeweler. Jewelers of all people, should appreciate the benefit of having lawfully armed customers [incidentally, in New York City where a concealed weapon permit is almost impossible for civilians to obtain, one of the allowed categories is for jewelers]
Message to Patricia from Jared's:
--
Subject: Re: Firearms/Weapons policy
Your customer service representative is:Emily Myers
Summary: Customer Relations at Jared
Dear Ms. Webb,
I would like to respond to your e-mail concerning the Firearms/Weapons policy posted at our Short Pump Township location.
Even though many states have laws permitting residents to carry concealed weapons and firearms, private employers have the right to ban weapons and prohibit persons with weapons from entering the premises. For the safety and security of our customers and store employees Jared The Galleria of Jewelry has made the decision to ban weapons and anyone possessing them from entering the store. Sincerely,
Emily Myers
Customer Relations
--
Message from Patricia to Jared's:
--
Dear Ms. Myers,
Thank you for your prompt response. Rest assured that I will not be patronizing your stores or your e-stores. I do not support businesses which create unsafe environments by disarming law abiding citizens. Please be aware that criminals do not care if you allow guns except that they are less likely to be shot while committing a crime and therefore tend to target such places. You are not creating a safe haven for your employees or customers.
I will be sure to tell my friends who also take the responsibility of self defense seriously that they should avoid your establishments. [And she has now told 6,500 gun owners! - PVC]
Sincerely,
Pat Webb
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13. Just Stand There While I Die
**************************************************
EM Hal Macklin sent me this item:
<http://tinyurl.com/333b5o>
Just Stand There While I Die
The D.C. government has that right, and exercises it frequently.
October 10, 2007
The National Review
By David Freddoso
The first time someone tried to mug me in Washington D.C., I ran away as he threatened to shoot me from behind.
The second time, when the exact same situation arose, I knew better. I stopped and turned around to confront the robber as soon as he threatened to shoot: "Hey, buddy!" I said confidently. "Who do you think you're fooling? Guns are outlawed in the District of Columbia - I know you don't really have one."
Okay, sorry, I'm just making that part up. What really happened is I ran like hell and got away, both times. Both times, the cops showed up about an hour after I dialed 911.
I have no idea whether either of my muggers actually had a gun - they each chased me from behind, and I was too busy running to ask. But a few years back, my best friend and his brother knew for sure that real guns were being trained on their heads as they were forced for several minutes to lie face-down, just blocks from the Capitol, on the red-brick sidewalk in front of their D.C. rowhouse. They both survived the robbery (two blocks from the local police precinct), but neither of them thought to ask the important questions: "Excuse me, were those guns legally registered before 1977? Are they grandfathered under the District of Columbia Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975?"
I hope that now you can understand where I am coming from when I read District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer's hysterical court filing in the Heller case, which may strike down the District's 31-year-old comprehensive ban on gun ownership.
"Whatever right the Second Amendment guarantees," wrote the District's chief law enforcer, "it does not require the District to stand by while its citizens die."
What an excellent example of unintended humor - the District's government is a national leader in standing by while its citizens die. Our homicide rate hit a 20-year low in 2005 - just 29 victims per 100,000 residents. That is slightly better than New York City's rate (30.7) under Mayor David Dinkins in 1990, when the Big Apple suffered 2,250 homicides.
In 1991, the D.C. murder rate reached an astounding 81 per 100,000 - that was two years after Mayor Marion Barry famously told the Washington Press Club, "Except for the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country."
D.C. residents are strictly forbidden from owning handguns, even in the privacy of their homes. Any long guns must be registered and kept "unloaded and disassembled." It is not even legal, strictly speaking, to assemble and load your gun when you hear an intruder downstairs. A lower court ruled the ban unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court will decide later this year whether to take up the case.
In the debate over the gun ban, there is a strong statistical case that an armed citizenry is safer than one disarmed by unconstitutional laws, but this argument is not even necessary. There is absolutely no valid case that the District's gun ban makes me safer as a District resident. When Singer and Mayor Adrian Fenty (D., of course) penned a September 4 Washington Post op-ed stating that "The handgun ban has saved countless lives," were they really suggesting that without the ban there might have been 1,000 murder victims in 1991, instead of just 482? The implication is that D.C. is so totally ungovernable that only a total deprivation of constitutional rights can make it barely livable.
It is bad enough that the District government takes away constitutional rights in the name of safety, and then fails even to provide safety. But the story is actually better than that. In their response to the attorney general's brief, Heller and the other plaintiffs in the case responded to Singer by noting the following
irony:
Petitioners correctly note that the Second Amendment "does not require the District to stand by while its citizens die." Yet the city consistently fights to secure its right to stand by while its citizens are victimized by crime.
Yes, you read that correctly. The plaintiffs' attorneys refer to a series of cases in which the District literally asserted its right to "stand by" while its citizens are victimized. The most dramatic is Warren v. District of Columbia, in which three women were sexually violated because of gross negligence on the part of Metropolitan police officers responding to their call. In the early morning hours of March 16, 1975, two men broke down the back door of a D.C. townhouse in Northeast and began raping a woman on the second floor. Her two roommates, hiding one floor above, called the police. According to the court's opinion, a squad car responded, and the officer failed even to exit his car before leaving. The two women, listening to their roommate scream, called the police again. This time, an officer went so far as to knock at the door, but then left without further inspection.
Once the attackers discovered the other two women, they had their sick, twisted way with all three of them for the next 14 hours (I will not describe any of the details). The women sued the District of Columbia, which argued that "a government and its agents are under no general duty to provide public services, such as police protection, to any particular individual citizen." The District won the case based on what is actually a long-standing legal principle.
Singer, with her silly, dramatic argumentation, has reminded us of this fact - something for which we should all be grateful.
It is our misfortune in Washington to be governed by such simpletons, but it is also a hidden blessing that their legal team shows this level of incompetence. It may be our best chance as District residents to take our safety out of their hands and put it back into our own.
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14. More university students forming student "militia"
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Students at both the Georgetown University Law Center and the George Washington University have recently formed student "militia", intended to be forums for supporting 2nd Amendment rights.
A new student organization at the Georgetown University Law Center is aiming to foster debate and awareness about the Second Amendment. Last Thursday, thirty-two students gathered in McDonough Hall for the inaugural meeting of the Georgetown Law Militia.
The group's mission is to give law students an opportunity to advocate and defend the constitutionality of gun ownership. "The idea behind what the group believes is that there is a human right to self-defense," said Michael Stollenwerk [and VCDL EM - PVC], the Law Militia's founder and current President. "We believe that the way to protect that human right is through guns," Stollenwerk added.
At the Law Militia's first meeting, attorney Alan Gura [lead for the case concerning a challenge to Washington, D.C's various gun bans, Parker v. District of Columbia] discussed the Parker case at length while also delving into the theoretical prerogatives behind his defense of the Second Amendment. "As far as the Constitution is concerned, hand guns are a protected class of weapons under the Second Amendment," Gura said. "The first clause of the Second Amendment is insignificant to its operative clause." Later in the meeting, Gura discussed his commitment towards defending individual rights. "I've always believed in the Bill of Rights," Gura said. "One of reasons I became an attorney was to be in a position to vindicate individual liberties." During the meeting, Gura continuously emphasized the significance of the Parker case, noting that the case is the first in which a federal appeals court in the United States has struck down a gun control law on Second Amendment grounds. "With this case, it's beginning to look like the tide may be "shifting our way," Gura said. At the present moment, the Parker case has been appealed to the Supreme Court. If the Court agrees to hear the case, it would be the first time since the 1939 case of United States v. Miller that the Supreme Court has directly interpreted how far the Second Amendment can reach. Gura said that he's looking forward to the chance he has of arguing a case before the Supreme Court. "I'm very excited," Gura said. "I've never done it before so this is definitely something worth looking forward to."
Should the Parker case go to the Supreme Court, Stollenwerk said he and others plan to be on hand. "Hopefully we'll organize a camp out or something so that we can get in there and see this argument," Stollenwerk said.
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Meanwhile, students at George Washington University are also forming a pro-gun group.
Juniors Andrew Breza and Ken Stauff share an interest in Second Amendment rights and range shooting, and began organizing the Colonial Militia, a group concerned with gun rights advocacy and shooting for pleasure.
The Colonial Militia has not yet been approved as an official student organization, as GW officials continue to demand that the club require members undergo background checks before they can go to a shooting range in Virginia. [Gee, I wonder if GW officials demand members of any of their other official organizations (Black Law Student Association or GW College Democrats?), get background checks
too?- PVC]
"We had a meeting two days (after the Virginia Tech. incident) and put out a statement to the club members on Facebook. One of the main reasons for this group is education," Stauff said.
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