W.E.G.
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VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/13/08
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Van Cleave
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 1:03 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/13/08
VCDL Update 8/13/08 - "Defending your right to defend yourself"
1. Dan Moore's false arrest case in Norfolk resolved
2. Shooting on Virginia Tech Campus
3. VCDL has three new Executive Members
4. Government vs. private property: it matters
5. Officials at conference: campus lockdown not possible
6. LTE: Member refutes restaurant carry ban
7. Yes: renewing 180-90 days ahead of expiry is the law
8. Culpeper Police Chief wants to ban shooting
9. LTE -- pretty smart 8th grader
10. Going After Crimes -- and Guns -- in Richmond
11. Capital Gun Owners organization formed
12. House Democrats Seek Less-Rigid D.C. Gun Laws
13. In Connecticut we'll take your gun, just in case
14. McCain seems to propose martial law for US
15. Student Group Lobbying for Legislation to Allow Concealed Firearms
on College Campuses
16. Chicago still trying to circumvent 2nd Amendment
17. New VCDL Gun Show Coordinators
18. Gun shows and events! Norfolk show needs volunteers!
**************************************************
1. Dan Moore's false arrest case in Norfolk resolved
**************************************************
Mr. Moore was arrested in Norfolk last year because of profiling. The
Pilot Online article <http://tinyurl.com/364f6l> has some background
on the case. He recently notified us about the resolution of the
case. The principle of rule of law that is the cornerstone of our
Democracy and way of life, was vindicated here.
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum4/14715.html
(The link includes an image of the letter from Chief Marquis)
Mr. Moore writes:
"After a little over a year, the Norfolk case is finished. I am very
happy to announce that Norfolk has awarded me with an undisclosed
amount plus an apology letter from the Chief of Police.
I would like to thank all of you who have supported me and guided me
with your knowledge and wisdom.
I have learned that instances like these must be handled wisely. You
must put yourself in the best legal position as you cannot challenge
authority at that moment. I have read Citizen's suggestions and I
concur. His plan of action when dealing with such instances requires
a calm mind and much knowledge of the law.
I started carrying about 2 years ago and I've never even imagined such
events ever occurring. But thanks to this website and the wonderful
folks that mod it, and the awesome people that post, it makes things
gravy.
**************************************************
2. Shooting on Virginia Tech Campus
**************************************************
How can this be? Virginia Tech claims that by having a 'no gun'
policy no one can get shot.
http://tinyurl.com/5mb6pl
August 02, 2008
WSET-13 Lynchburg
A Virginia Tech employee is in the hospital after police say he shot
himself on campus Saturday. According to school officials, the
incident happened in Cassell Coliseum about 2:15 Saturday afternoon.
They say there was no threat to the university community. The victim
was transported to Roanoke for treatment, but there is no word on his
condition at this time. Immediately after the shooting, the university
sent out a campus-wide email telling students and faculty what
happened. Virginia Tech officials were criticized for not alerting the
campus community sooner that there had been a shooting on campus on
April 16th last year. That day a student killed two other students in
a dorm room, then two hours later killed 30 teachers and students in a
classroom across campus before committing suicide.
**************************************************
3. VCDL has three new Executive Members
**************************************************
VCDL has three new Executive members: Andrew Dysart, and Billy and Jan
Donald.
Andrew has been extremely active in fighting for college students,
faculty and staff to be able to carry a concealed handgun on campus if
they have a CHP.
Billy and Jan Donald pitch in at VCDL events around the state. If
you've had a hot dog or hamburger at a VCDL picnic, there's a good
chance that Billy cooked it for you. The husband/wife team can be
counted on when we need help.
**************************************************
4. Government vs. private property: it matters
**************************************************
From time to time I get an email where the writer shows some
confusion about whether private property can ban guns, especially
without signage to that effect.
There is a world of difference between public property and private
property when it comes to banning guns.
On property owned by the state or by localities, with few exception,
like in a jail or holding cell area, guns CANNOT be banned for NON-
employees.
On private property, guns can be banned at will. There is no need for
a sign - a verbal warning is sufficient and legal from the private
property owner. And don't get hung up on the word "owner". Anyone
acting as an agent for the owner can issue the notice.
If you are asked to leave because of your gun on PRIVATE property, DO
**NOT** ASK THEM TO POST THE PROPERTY!!!
As long as it is not posted people can continue to carry there - what
happened to you might be a quirk or just an unwritten policy against
open carry. If you are unlucky enough to be asked to leave while at
an establishment and you can't politely and respectfully convince them
to let you stay in very short order, then honor their request and
leave quietly and contact VCDL at: <http://www.vcdl.org/static/
gue.html>
If you must leave, try to find out if their "no gun" policy is
storewide or just at that business, if it applies only to employees,
and if you can get a copy of the policy.
**************************************************
5. Officials at conference: campus lockdown not possible
**************************************************
Someone has taken a *serious* look at what it takes to 'lockdown' a
sprawling university campus. The conclusion? Forget about it.
http://tinyurl.com/5u5tun
Aug 05, 2008
By KARIN KAPSIDELIS
Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Authorities can lock down a kindergarten classroom, a middle school or
a prison. But officials say it's not really possible to lock down a
sprawling college campus.
"We're designed to allow free movement, free thought," Michael Young,
director of public safety at Washington and Lee University, told his
counterparts from across the state during a conference yesterday on
campus safety.
The 2008 Governor's Campus Preparedness Conference brought about 500
people to Virginia Commonwealth University for a day of discussions
that spanned issues from terminology to threat assessment.
It was the second year for the conference, which last year focused on
security in the aftermath of the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.
Yesterday's conference took an "all-hazards approach" to also include
threats ranging from a natural disaster to a flu pandemic, said Robert
P. Crouch, assistant to the governor for commonwealth preparedness.
At one session participants got an overview of new state and federal
legislation on campus safety.
The federal Higher Education Act, for example, requires schools to
report hate crimes, including larceny and vandalism.
Virginia legislation requires schools to set up threat-assessment
teams and adopt crisis and emergency-response plans that must be
reviewed and revised every four years.
By January, they must have a first-warning system in place. The
conference included vendors selling the latest in communication
technology for such systems.
But Robert Dillard, chief of police for the University of Richmond,
cautioned against the false sense of security that instant-
notification systems offer.
Campus officials still must confirm what's going on, he pointed out.
Not long after the Tech tragedy, a report of shots fired on campus
turned out to be "offensive linemen throwing cherry bombs at each
other."
The alerts, he said, have the potential to cause "absolute, total
panic and fear."
At UR, one student remained hidden for more than four hours after a
May incident because she was out of cell-phone range and did not
receive an all-clear message.
UR has taken a number of steps because of that incident, caused by an
intruder with a pellet gun and a fake beard.
The school has installed locks on classrooms and labs so that students
and staff can seek "secure shelter" -- the term they prefer over
"lockdown."
Peepholes are being installed in doors because people who have locked
themselves in aren't going to open a door for someone claiming to be
police, Dillard said.
Michael F. Lynch, chief of police at George Mason University, said he
was troubled by the "blame-storming" that followed the Tech tragedy.
Well-intentioned panels and studies make recommendations on how to
identify the next shooter, he said.
They also imply the shootings in Norris Hall, where 30 people were
killed, could have been prevented if Tech had been locked down after
an earlier shooting in a dormitory.
"Virginia Tech cannot be locked down," he said. "I call it impossible."
**************************************************
6. LTE: Member refutes restaurant carry ban
**************************************************
Member Alan Rose of Franklin, VA wrote this model letter-to-the-editor.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/sidearm-vacation
Last week I wore my concealed handgun into three restaurants that
serve alcohol. This is a crime in Virginia. Many alarmists have warned
of Wild West-style pandemonium if concealed handguns were to be
permitted to commingle with alcohol. I was on vacation in the Wild
West, traveling through some of the most rural portions of Texas on a
journey between Dallas and Corpus Christi, in a state that trusts its
citizens more than Virginia does. So what happened in these 'handguns
allowed' restaurants? Absolutely nothing.
No duels, no dinner shootouts, no deadly arguments. No robberies. Just
trustworthy citizens going about their lives. Maybe next year Virginia
citizens can be deemed to be as trustworthy as Texans are. Are we
really that different?
**************************************************
7. Yes: renewing 180-90 days ahead of expiry is the law
**************************************************
Member Bob Risacher of Farmville, VA wrote to us about his experience
exercising the newly revised CHP renewal law. We will probably be
seeing a lot of this for several months as the Court Clerks start
being exposed to people demanding they follow the new law. If you are
on the leading edge, you may have to educate your local Circuit Court
Clerk.
Mr. Risacher writes:
"Just to alert you to the problems (forewarned is forearmed) that some
have had with the 'powers-that-be' around the state, I want to report
the excellent service that I recently received here in Prince Edward
County. Thanks to the notices that I received from VCDL, I applied
for my CWP renewal in the 90-180 day time slot prior to my permit's
expiration date. The Clerk's office approved it in about two weeks.
When I picked it up and after I got home, I realized that it had been
mistakenly dated at the date it was approved rather than for my
October renewal date. A phone call to the Clerk's office resulted in
a fast and efficient correction. The young lady who assisted me
stated that she had seen the notice of the law change but had
apparently forgotten it. As soon as I told her that I believed that
the date was incorrect, she had it corrected as quickly as she was
able to obtain the Clerk's signature."
**************************************************
8. Culpeper Police Chief wants to ban shooting
**************************************************
This bears watching:
http://tinyurl.com/6l9px9
By Allison Brophy Champion
Star Exponent.com
August 3, 2008
Culpeper town law prohibits the shooting of guns in town except for
residents who have a special permit from the town manager to do so.
Police Chief Scott Barlow wants to close that loophole.
"We are so populated now it is not safe to allow folks to shoot in
town when their neighbors are just a stones throw away," he said in an
e-mail Friday about occasional requests from town citizens for
permission to shoot garden pests.
At its meeting last week, the Public Safety Committee passed through
the chief's recommendation to Town Council.
"There's no reasonable reason to discharge firearms in town," Barlow
told the committee. "It's too congested for that now."
The chief said many cities regulate the distance from residential
areas from which a gun can be discharged.
"It's another way of saying, don't do it," Barlow said.
He added that the proposed Town ordinance change - deleting the
provision for a special permit from the Town Manager to shoot a gun in
town - would not apply to self-defense.
Consideration of the local law change will go before Town Council at
its meeting Aug. 12 for a first reading. A second reading on the
matter will be held at the Sept. 9 meeting, at which time council
could vote to implement the change.
Closing gun loophole
*What it says now:
Culpeper Town Code Section 26-1, Discharge of firearms, says, "No
person shall discharge, shoot or set off firearms of any description
within the town, except pursuant to a written permit issued by the
town manager or his designee. If the person applying for such permit
desires to discharge firearms on any land other than his own, he shall
present to the town manager or his designee written permission from
the owner of the land on which the firearms will be discharged."
*What it would say if amendment approved by Town Council:
"No person shall discharge, shoot or set off firearms of any
description within the town."
[PVC: At a minimum, there needs to be an exception for self-defense
written into the ordinance!]
**************************************************
9. LTE -- pretty smart 8th grader
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5s5lxb
LTE Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
August 7, 2008
D.C. residents should be able to own guns
This is in response to Richard Amrhine's July 20 column ["Ruling has
gun-control advocates reaching for the sky"].
Mr. Amrhine pointed out the main interpretations of the Second
Amendment, which is the right to bear arms.
Primarily mentioned was that every citizen should have the right to
own a gun. The second interpretation is that citizens should have the
right to own a weapon for use in a government-regulated militia.
I believe that in the case of Washington, D.C., the first
interpretation should be applied.
Those who support gun control are outraged over the court ruling for a
number of reasons, but the main one is that the court has agreed to
allow weapons.
However, I believe that they have neglected to acknowledge one key
point: Death tolls resulting from the use of a handgun have
drastically risen over the past 10 years.
Allowing the ban to exist has not only failed to lower the quantity of
weapons on the street, but it has also left Washington residents
without protection against those who use guns for violent means.
I think the gun-control laws in Washington should be lifted so people
can defend themselves against those using weapons with cruel intentions.
Gus Stevens
Stafford
The writer is a rising eighth-grader at Rodney Thompson Middle School.
**************************************************
10. Going After Crimes -- and Guns -- in Richmond
**************************************************
Project Exile is still villainizing guns, in my opinion. Yes, we
don't want criminals using guns to harm or kill people, but I don't
want criminals harming people with any tool or in any way:
http://tinyurl.com/6cz787
The Wall Street Journal
August 5, 2008; Page A12
By GARY FIELDS
RICHMOND, Va. -- The National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun Violence rarely agree on anything related to gun laws.
But both support a law-enforcement program in Richmond that targets
gun crimes.
The Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision in June that struck down
restrictions on individual gun ownership caused city officials
nationwide to worry that they could see an increase in gun violence.
It also renewed interest in Richmond's efforts to combat it. The city
has already reduced firearm-related violence dramatically. It has done
so not by making gun purchases more difficult -- Virginia is one of
the easiest places to legally buy a handgun -- but by severely
punishing all gun crimes, including those as minor as illegal
possession.
The decade-old program is credited with reducing the number of guns on
the streets by 31% in its first year, 1997. By 2007, the city
registered 56 murders, down from 112 in 1996, the last full year
before the program was implemented. Armed robberies dropped nearly a
third.
"What they're doing in Richmond isn't brain surgery," says Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Mike Campbell.
"They are sitting down and working for a common goal: put the mopes
with the guns in jail. Word spreads when you do that."
Dubbed Project Exile, the program forms the foundation of a series of
local, state and federal law-enforcement partnerships. It focuses on
the city's most violent areas and hands out harsh sentences for any
crime involving a firearm, a move that runs counter to traditional
city tactics of barring gun stores and crafting onerous licensing
requirements.
With concern over crime rising amid budget cuts to local law
enforcement, a small but growing number of law-enforcement officials
view Project Exile and the cooperative efforts in Richmond as a way to
further accelerate the decline. Other cities, including Springfield
and Peoria in Illinois have visited to see what Richmond is doing.
Although the NRA is challenging gun laws in various cities such as San
Francisco and Chicago, it supports Richmond's efforts.
"By prosecuting them they prevent the drug dealer, the gang member and
the felon from committing the next crime," says NRA Executive Vice
President Wayne LaPierre. "Leave the good people alone and lock up the
bad people and dramatically cut crime."
Although it wants more done to tamp down the supply of guns, the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also supports Richmond's efforts,
says Peter Hamm, Brady spokesman. The organization supports any
measure that reduces violent crime, which the Richmond effort is
doing, he says.
Before Project Exile began in 1997, Richmond had the third-highest
murder rate in the nation, according to Federal Bureau of
Investigation statistics. Guns were the weapons of choice. That year,
then Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney James Comey and Assistant Federal
Prosecutor David Schiller promised 100% prosecution of gun crimes.
They ran television and radio ads. A 40-foot city bus was emblazoned
with the message: "An Illegal Gun Gets You 5 Years in Federal Prison."
Bail was unlikely, parole nonexistent, and inmates facing federal time
were more likely to be sent to prisons out of state.
As Project Exile has matured, the marketing campaign has toned down
and it has become the basis for a larger cooperative effort. The tough
penalties are still in place, but the state has added gun-related
penalties of its own, some more severe than federal punishment. At a
bimonthly meeting, a team of police, agents and state and federal
prosecutors determine in which venue they will bring a case to ensure
the maximum possible penalty.
"Whether you take a person state or federal, that person's gone," says
David McCoy, the interim Richmond police chief. "The goal is to
address violent crime and get violent criminals off the street."
In the 1990s other jurisdictions created similar programs to Exile and
like Richmond had initial reductions in gun violence. They experienced
a similar rise in that violence in the early 2000s. Violent crime
dropped nationally in 2007 after a two-year rise -- even as violent
crime continued to go up in smaller cities.
Richmond, however, seems to have overcome at least one obstacle that
has endured elsewhere. Although state and federal agencies talk
cooperation, there are turf wars -- and agencies aren't always as
collegial as they are in Richmond.
But Richmond doubled down on the cooperation among state and federal
agencies. The eight federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies
and federal and state prosecutors meet regularly almost like one super
police force determining where to deploy personnel.
In one example of cooperation, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI took a case to ease the
workload on local authorities, says Brian Swann, who heads the ATF
office here. The defendant killed a man who was trying to steal his
crack cocaine. Although murder cases aren't usually federal, this one
involved a firearm and drugs, and so could be moved to federal court.
The defendant got life plus 40 years.
North of downtown, Mr. Swann and fellow ATF agent James Panos cruise
in an unmarked car. While the agents conduct investigations, they also
patrol like city police, engaging citizens and talking to potential
suspects, "just to let them know we're here and keeping an eye on
them," Mr. Swann says.
The agents respond to all murders in their sectors, as well as all
shootings. The other local, state and federal agencies conduct similar
operations.
"If we get called out" and someone identifies a suspect as Peanut, "I
expect my guys to know who 'Peanut' is, who his grandmother is, who he
hung out with last night," Mr. Swann says.
Residents have become accustomed to the agents and wave from porches
as they drive by. One house is pockmarked from an old shooting.
Nearby, Mr. Panos identifies several people familiar to authorities.
One was the subject of a 2006 raid at his home where three guns and 10
grams of crack cocaine were seized. "We couldn't tie him to the guns,"
Mr. Panos says.
Further along, another young man eyes the car warily. He is known
around the neighborhood as a low-grade drug dealer, but one who
refuses to carry a gun, Mr. Panos says.
It is quiet for the moment, even in the Providence Park area where
there were six shootings earlier this year. State, local and federal
officials descended on the area and things have calmed down. "Maybe
we'll be out of a job one day," says Mr. Panos.
**************************************************
11. Capital Gun Owners organization formed
**************************************************
Organizer Amy McVey (first person to have gun registered in D.C. under
the emergency legislation enacted following the striking of D.C.'s gun
ban by the Supreme Court) sent us the following note, and below that
is the Washington Times coverage:
"Please join our organization! We have members who are DC residents
as well as business owners and employees. You do not have to be a gun
owner but rather a person who supports the concept that Washington DC
residents and visitors should be able to fully exercise their rights
protected by the Second Amendment.
We will keep your personal information private.
Please respond with an e-mail to <amybmcvey@msn.com> with your name,
address, and a preferred e-mail address. I am encouraging you to send
this to your friends and family who may be willing to join us. There
is strength in numbers!
And...if you are a DC Resident or Business Owner and have not yet
signed my on-line petition to repeal the ban on semi-automatic guns,
click on the link or copy and paste in your browser:
http://www.petitiononline.com/DCsemi/petition.htm
Please note that our website <http://www.capitalgunowners.org/> is
currently under construction.
For more information contact:
Amy McVey 202-966-9276
George Lyon 202-828-9472
Thanks,
Amy"
http://tinyurl.com/5fcucs
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Gun owners arm themselves with advocacy group
David C. Lipscomb THE WASHINGTON TIMES
As the District prepares to fight double-barreled attempts to loosen
its gun-control laws, some of the city's gun rights pioneers have done
what folks in Washington do best - they have formed a lobbying group.
About a dozen residents have pledged their support to Capital Gun
Owners, a new D.C.-based gun advocacy and education group headed by
Northwest resident Amy McVey.
"We're at a point where we're feeling our way here," said Mrs. McVey,
who was the first D.C. resident to register a handgun after the
District's 32-year-old ban on handguns was struck down by the Supreme
Court in June. "I'm sure our mission will evolve as needed."
The group includes co-founders George Lyon and Gillian St. Lawrence,
who were among the six plaintiffs in the initial challenge to the
District's handgun ban in 2003, which led to the District of Columbia
v. Heller Supreme Court case.
Mrs. McVey said the four-day-old group will lobby for less gun control
and provide residents with gun-education resources as more of them
seek to own guns.
The formation of the group comes as the District is taking fire from
two sides - U.S. District Court and Congress - on its still-rigid gun-
control laws.
On July 28, Dick Anthony Heller, who won his case in the Supreme
Court, and two others filed a challenge against the city's ban on
semiautomatic weapons, which it defines as machine guns.
This week, the House of Representatives agreed to vote next month on a
bill that would repeal the ban and eliminate registration requirements
for people who pass federal licensing standards.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C. Democrat, opposes the bill. She
said it treads on home rule in the District and would be detrimental
to the city's crime-fighting efforts.
Mrs. McVey said the group's top priorities are lobbying the District
to lift its ban on semiautomatic handguns, allow residents to carry
handguns outside of the home, streamline or eliminate firearm
registration and lobby Congress to allow D.C. residents to buy
handguns in Maryland and Virginia.
Currently, firearms in the District must be registered, kept in the
home and locked or disassembled unless they are being used for self-
defense.
Most semiautomatic handguns are prohibited because they fall under the
city's definition of a machine gun, which is any gun that can hold 12
or more rounds without being reloaded.
Federal law requires people to purchase handguns in the state in which
they live.
The creation of the group comes amid uncertainty about how many law-
abiding people are interested in purchasing firearms in a city
suffering from a high rate of gun violence.
Since the city opened handgun registration July 17, 287 persons have
picked up handgun applications, 21 have brought in handguns to be
registered and 11 have completed the process, according to
Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Traci Hughes.
However, Mr. Lyon said he does not think D.C. residents are
overwhelmingly against guns and that more supporters will surface as
the organization becomes better known.
"I'm not positive that we're in the minority," Mr. Lyon said. "I'd
like to think that we'd put a positive face on the concept of gun
culture."
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said he thinks
groups like Capital Gun Owners are essential to crafting fair and
reasonable legislation and looks forward to hearing from members when
the Council addresses gun laws.
But Mr. Mendelson, who chairs the Council's committee on public
safety, said he thinks some of the criticism that has been made of the
existing laws may be premature because they have not been examined
since the gun ban was enacted in 1976.
"We have to take the law off the shelf, dust it off and see where the
flaws are," he said.
Mr. Mendelson said he still does not know whether he will convene a
special committee hearing to examine gun laws while the Council is on
summer recess.
The Council last month passed emergency legislation that is in effect
for 90 days, outlining gun-registration procedures.
The Council is expected to draft permanent legislation in September
after studying the impact and effectiveness of the current measures.
**************************************************
12. House Democrats Seek Less-Rigid D.C. Gun Laws
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5fcucs
By Mary Beth Sheridan and Paul Duggan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 5, 2008; B01
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to
allow a vote next month on a bill that would end local handgun control
in the District, making it easier for D.C. residents to acquire
pistols, including semiautomatics, while eliminating the strict
handgun-storage requirements imposed by the city.
Supporters say the bill has a good chance of passing the House, where
pro-gun measures are popular. But it is unclear whether it would
succeed in the Senate, where complex rules make it harder to push
through legislation.
"This poses a real danger," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said,
criticizing the legislation as "radical" because it would gut the
city's gun-control rules.
"If it passes the House," she said, "you have to hope the Senate
doesn't take it up."
The measure, filed Thursday by several conservative Democrats, adds
more fuel to the debate over gun control in the nation's capital.
After a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision June 26 ended the city's
32-year-old handgun ban, the District replaced the ban with strict
handgun limits, which critics say violate the high court's ruling.
The bill would scrap those limits, allowing residents to own handguns
without registering them with the D.C. police department, provided
they meet federal requirements for firearms ownership.
Besides abolishing the requirement that owners keep their handguns
unloaded in their homes and either disassembled or fitted with trigger
locks, the measure would repeal the city's prohibition on most
magazine-fed semiautomatic handguns -- a ban that has been in effect
for decades and was not part of the Supreme Court case.
The legislation also would allow D.C. residents to buy and take
delivery of handguns in Virginia and Maryland. Federal law currently
prohibits gun buyers from acquiring the weapons in states where they
do not reside.
Key negotiators on the bill, including Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.),
said in a statement that they have "an agreement with House
leadership" for the measure to come to a vote early next month. The
legislation was offered as a compromise after House Republicans had
maneuvered to get a vote on another measure that would have gone even
further, repealing a D.C. law that allows gun makers to be sued by
victims of firearms violence.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), one of the bill's sponsors, said
supporters of the measure think that the city has "basically thumbed
its nose" at the Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision by enacting tough
limits on handgun ownership. The majority opinion affirmed an
individual's right under the Second Amendment to own firearms for self-
defense but said that governments may enact reasonable restrictions.
If the legislation fails, Altmire said, "at least we, as people who
are accountable to our constituents, can go back home and talk about
what we did on the issue."
Forty-eight Democrats have signed on as sponsors of the bill,
including Democrats from pro-gun districts who could be vulnerable in
November's election. Norton said in a statement that those Democrats
"hope to relieve election year pressure by getting a Democratic-backed
bill to the floor, out of fear that the [National Rifle Association]
will run hometown ads against their reelection."
Democrats have a 37-seat advantage in the House.
While the debate goes on, D.C. police are continuing to process gun-
registration applications, limiting owners to one handgun each while
the prohibition on most semiautomatic handguns remains in place.
As of Friday, police said, 21 applications had been received and 11
approved. Among those who now have legal handguns in their D.C. homes
is Dick A. Heller, 66, a security guard from Capitol Hill who sued the
city over the 1976 handgun ban and won the Supreme Court case.
Heller filed another lawsuit against the District last week, alleging
that the restrictions imposed by the District after the high court's
decision violate the letter and spirit of the ruling.
Of the 11 newly registered handguns, police said, eight had been
stored outside the District by their owners while the ban was in
place. The other three were kept illegally in D.C. homes during the
ban and were registered in recent days under an amnesty program.
Police said three applications have been denied (and the handguns
seized) because the applicants had criminal records. The other seven
applications are pending.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives said two men are federally licensed to sell firearms in
D.C. But the men deal only with selected clients, including police
officers and security companies, the agency said.
Unless the House legislation becomes law, allowing D.C. residents to
purchase handguns across state lines in Virginia and Maryland, most
would-be gun owners in the nation's capital will have to wait for a
federally licensed dealer in the city to start doing business with
more customers.
**************************************************
13. In Connecticut we'll take your gun, just in case
**************************************************
What happens when government gets too big for its britches:
http://tinyurl.com/5l4bgd
August 04, 2008
WorldNetDaily
A new report to the Connecticut state legislature shows police have
used the state's unique gun seizure law to confiscate more than 1,700
firearms from citizens based on suspicion that the gun owners might
harm themselves or others.
The state's law permits police to seek a warrant for seizing a
citizen's guns based on suspicion of the gun owner's intentions,
before any act of violence or lawbreaking is actually committed.
The law was first proposed in 1998, following a mass shooting at the
Connecticut Lottery Corporation that left five dead, including the
gunman. Since the law went into effect Oct. 1, 1999, according to new
Office of Legislative Research report, police have made more than 200
documented requests for warrants to seize firearms from citizens, and
only two of the requests have been denied.
The law has remained hotly debated since its passage, as some point to
possible murders and suicides it may have prevented, and others worry
that police would abuse the law.
"It certainly has not been abused. It may be underutilized," Ron
Pinciaro, co-executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence,
told the Waterbury Republican American. "The bottom line from our
perspective is, it may very well have saved lives." [PVC: I'll bet if
Mr. Pinciaro's private property was snatched up at will by the police,
he'd be squealing like a stuck pig.]
Attorney Ralph D. Sherman, who has represented several of the gun
owners whose firearms were confiscated under the law, disagrees.
"In every case I was involved in I thought it was an abuse," he told
the newspaper. "The overriding concern is anybody can report anybody
with or without substantiation, and I don't think that is the American
way."
Joe Graborz, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties
Union, an affiliate of the ACLU, told WND the law "continues to invest
unusual and far-reaching powers in police authority that does not
belong there" by requiring "police to act as psychologists in trying
to predict and interpret behavior."
"What is the standard of proof on this?" he asked. "The way this law
is written, it can and will be easily abused by police."
Under the statute, dubbed the "turn in your neighbor" law by
opponents, any two police officers or a state prosecutor may seek a
warrant, following a specified process of investigation, to confiscate
guns from people deemed a risk to harming themselves or others. The
vast majority of cases, however, begin when a person -- usually a
spouse or live-in, according to the OLR report -- file a complaint.
Shortly after the law was passed, Thompson Bosee of Greenwich, Conn.,
had his guns and ammunition seized by police. Bosee told WND in 1999
he suspects a neighbor, with whom he has had words regarding the
neighbor's driving on Bosee's property, might have reported him.
"They had a warrant for my guns, they arrested my guns," said Bosee.
A member of both the NRA and the American Gunsmithing Association,
Bosee said he works on his guns in his garage and is not ashamed of it.
Although Greenwich Police would not comment, they released a list of
the guns and ammunition they seized from Bosee, including six
handguns, three rifles, one shotgun, one submachine gun and 3,108
rounds of ammunition.
The new OLR report shows that in most cases, relatives or neighbors of
the gun owner filed the complaint when they feared for their own
safety or feared the owner was suicidal. In a case from Southington,
however, a man had his gun taken for threatening to shoot a dog.
Attorney Ralph Sherman told WND the law's cruelty to animals
justification for gun seizure worries him.
"If I throw a rock or a newspaper at a dog in my yard or in my garden,
that doesn't mean I'm mentally unbalanced," he said. "What if a
neighbor doesn't like me and sees that?"
In October 2006, according to the Republican American, police obtained
a seizure warrant after a man made 28 unsubstantiated claims of
vandalism to his property. The police application for seizure
described the man as paranoid and delusional, citing extensive self-
protection measures installed on the man's property, including alarms,
cameras and spotlights.
Four months after the man's guns were taken, a judge ruled that police
had failed to show the man posed any risk and ordered the guns
returned. According to the ruling, the gun owner had no history of
documented illness, criminal activity or misuse of firearms. "In fact,
the firearms were found in a locked safe when the officers executed
the warrant," the ruling said.
The law dictates that courts hold a hearing within 14 days of a
seizure to determine the eventual fate of the guns. In most cases,
according to the OLR report, the guns are held for a period of up to a
year, destroyed or sold. The Republican American reports that in 22 of
the more than 200 cases, the guns were ordered returned.
Connecticut State Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, House chairman of the
Judiciary Committee and one of the chief authors of the law, told the
Republican American he wasn't aware of any pending challenges to the
law's constitutionality.
"The whole point was to make sure it was limited and constitutional,"
he said.
Sherman however, said the law hasn't been challenged yet, simply
because it is used sparingly and a test case would prove too costly
for the average gun owner.
**************************************************
14. McCain seems to propose martial law for US
**************************************************
Not sure if he said what he meant, but answering a question about his
approach to combating crime, John McCain suggested that military
strategies currently employed by US troops in Iraq could be applied to
high crime neighborhoods here in the US. McCain called them tactics
"somewhat like we use in the military...You go into neighborhoods, you
clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live
there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under
control."
Link to the audio:
http://tinyurl.com/559dtt
Article:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/127881.html
**************************************************
15. Student Group Lobbying for Legislation to Allow Concealed Firearms
on College Campuses
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5h2fh2
Diverse Online
By Michelle D. Anderson
Aug 4, 2008
Washington
State legislators and students supporting legislation to allow
concealed firearms on college campuses aimed to debunk the notion that
"traditional"-aged college students are too reckless to own and
possess firearms during a recent public forum held in Washington, D.C.
During its first national meeting, "Supporting Self-Defense on
Campus", Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) along with The
Second Amendment Federation (SAF), hosted a six-part forum on Aug. 1
at the National Press Club in an attempt to gain support for
legislation allowing concealed guns on college campuses nationwide.
The group advocates that licensed individuals at least 21 years old
with substantial training and background checks should be allowed to
carry concealed firearms on campus.
Louisiana state Rep. Ernest Wooten (R) said groups like SCCC are
"fighting a perception".
"We need to be diligent, we need to pay attention, and we need to
educate," Wooten said during the legislative panel discussion. "We
have to prove that we're responsible."
The former sheriff is behind the Louisiana's HB 199, which would allow
students, faculty and staff with valid state-issued credentials to
carry concealed weapons onto public Louisiana college campuses.
Ken Stanton, a Virginia Tech graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in
engineering education, agreed in an earlier debate with Paul Helmke,
president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. [PVC - This
sentence doesn't make any sense, especially in light of the comments
in the next two paragraphs. The reporter probably meant to say
"disagreed".]
Stanton, who is the leader of Virginia Tech's SCCC chapter, said it is
unfair that many people think all college students abuse drugs and
binge drink, thus making them poor candidates to carry concealed
firearms on campus.
Helmke countered Stanton's argument saying college students are often
likely to commit suicide and in engage in substance abuse-related
behavior.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, in a 2006 national
survey on drug use and health, reported that almost 70 percent of
individuals aged 21-25 either engaged in social alcohol drinking,
binge alcohol use or heavy alcohol use. It also reported that the
rates for serious psychological distress in 2006 were highest for
adults aged 18 to 25.
Likewise, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college
students, according to the National Mental Health Association.
On April 16, 2007, a student gunman at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg
gunned down 32 people and later turned the gun on himself, committing
suicide. The massacre was followed by another shocking campus shooting
last February at Northern Illinois University where a student killed
five people and wounded 15, before committing suicide.
Jeremy Schwab, a SCCC member and a student at University of Texas-
Dallas, said his life experiences and the recent campus shootings have
informed his support of concealed carry on college campuses.
When Schwab was 16 years old, a robber pointed a gun at his head while
Schwab was on his way to make a bank deposit. In college, Schwab would
have a gun pointed to his head again near a coffee shop.
"These laws protect the weak against the aggressive," said Oklahoma
state Rep. Jason Murphey (R), who is behind Oklahoma's HB 2513. If the
bill goes through, it would allow students to carry firearms on campus
if they are at least 21 and are licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
In February the bill was approved by the state's House Judiciary and
Public Safety Committee, but stalled in March when another measure was
proposed that would have lowered to 18 the legal age to become
eligible for the concealed carry license. Many have said that measure
is illogical because 18-year-olds cannot purchase handguns.
Conceal-carry advocates in Oklahoma hope to follow in the steps of
Utah, the first and only state to allow concealed guns to be carried
on campus.
Andrew Dysart, a George Mason University (GMU) student and leader of
GMU's SCCC chapter, said he has been fighting for concealed carry on
the Fairfax, Va.-based campus for some time.
"I was met with full resistance and with full hostility from college
administrators," said the 25-year-old Marine Corps veteran.
As of May 1, SCCC had 30,000 members, 90 percent of whom were college
students.
Its social networking-based Facebook group, which currently has over
32,000 members, has acted as a catalyst for the fairly new group's
growth.
In April, the group held a national silent protest against gun-free
zones by wearing empty holsters.
The six-part forum also featured a debate about gun-free school zones;
a panel discussion focused on students, legislature, media bias about
guns on campus; and attorney Alan Gura, who was involved in the
Supreme Court's recent ruling allowing handguns in the District of
Columbia.
**************************************************
16. Chicago still trying to circumvent 2nd Amendment
**************************************************
Even an anti-gun Chicago newspaper tells Chicago Mayor Daley to drop
Chicago's handgun ban. BUT, they admit they don't like the Supreme
Court ruling and, with a wink and a nod, tell Chicago that they can
make applying for a permit for a handgun agonizingly slow - even worse
than DC.
That is how the battle with such places will be fought. Localities
will drag their heels and make citizens wait very long times before
they get a gun permit.
Of course that will lead to a fight to get rid of the permit
requirement to own a gun as unconstitutional. So bring it on, Chicago.
http://tinyurl.com/2j5363
Chicago Tribune
August 1, 2008
Wilmette's gun ban is history. Morton Grove, which passed the nation's
first handgun ban, followed suit on Monday. Those towns repealed their
laws because the U.S. Supreme Court in June knocked down Washington
D.C.'s handgun ban. Local officials say they don't have the resources
to fight challenges to their laws in court.
There's another good reason for their decisions: They would lose. The
Supreme Court has made that clear.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, though, insisted last week that the city
would defend its handgun ban in court. "Morton Grove can do anything
that it wants," Daley said. "I don't look at this lightly-that, 'Oh,
because the Supreme Court's done it we're just gonna dismiss it and
all of a sudden people can arm themselves.' "
Like Daley, this page strongly disagreed with the court's ruling. We
admire his stand on this issue. But the court ruling was clear and
explicit: A blanket ban on handgun ownership is unconstitutional under
the 2nd Amendment.
Fighting in court to uphold Chicago's ban might buy some time, but at
a high cost. The city will pay for lawyers and then it will lose.
Better to focus on a law the city can successfully defend.
That doesn't mean that Chicago should abandon its duty to protect
public safety and its crucial mission to keep guns off the city's
streets. The Supreme Court's decision said that the right to own a gun
under the 2nd Amendment "is not unlimited." The court didn't offer
much elaboration on that. But that means there's still likely to be
ways for state and local governments to impose reasonable restrictions
on the sale and ownership of firearms that don't rise to a complete
ban on possession. Such measures will have a decent chance of passing
legal muster-if they are designed to ensure that firearms are
permitted only to those who can use them safely for sport and for self-
protection.
That is happening in Washington, D.C. The city recently replaced its
handgun ban with a series of requirements for prospective gun owners.
They can register a weapon if they clear a background check, pass a
vision test and a written test of gun safety knowledge. They must keep
their pistols at home, unloaded and either disassembled or equipped
with trigger locks. The guns can be loaded and used only if the owner
reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger from an
attacker in the home.
That last provision, and the rest of the law, is already being
challenged, by the same plaintiff who successfully challenged the D.C.
gun ban in the first place.
The Supreme Court said a requirement that a lawful firearm in the home
must be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock is unconstitutional
unless it contains a provision that allows for self-defense. The
courts will determine if the new Washington law goes far enough in
protecting that right.
But there is still room for strong license and safety requirements,
and that's what Chicago should explore.
Some gun advocates also accuse D.C. officials of concocting a
cumbersome process to discourage gun ownership. Those officials have
hinted that the city's gun registration bureaucracy could be
grindingly slow. Chicago already knows how to play that game. Anyone
who's grappled with the City Hall bureaucracy to get a tree trimmed or
a building permit knows how Chicago's bureaucracy can plod along.
We share Daley's anger at the 5-4 ruling of the Supreme Court. It was
based on flawed legal reasoning, ignored precedent and will lead to
years of litigation about the constitutionality of various firearms
restrictions.
But there are no more appeals to that ruling. A handgun ban such as
the one Chicago passed in 1982-well, the high court made clear that
that's dead.
Chicago will have to prepare to live with that ruling and find other
ways to protect the public. Might as well start now.
**************************************************
17. New VCDL Gun Show Coordinators
**************************************************
VCDL would like to welcome two new coordinators who will be managing
the recruiting and information tables at regional gun shows. Ed
Burton is coordinator for the Norfolk region, and Danny Paulson is
taking over for TJ Parmele in the NoVa region. Both Ed and Danny are
long-time volunteers with VCDL, and we thank them for taking on this
extra responsibility. There are now twelve volunteer gun show
coordinators in eight regions throughout the state.
**************************************************
18. Gun shows and events! Norfolk show needs volunteers!
**************************************************
The Virginia Citizens Defense League thanks the following member-
activists who generously gave of their time to advance and help defend
the rights of their fellow gun owners by working our recruiting and
information booth at the C&E gun show in Richmond, July 12-13:
Carl Shuler, Sue Brush, Debra & Brian Weidman, David Crosby, Paul
Henick, Billy Donald, Owen Pollard, JC, Dale Walsh, and Audrey
Muehleisen
We also thank the volunteers at the C&E gun show in Salem, July 19-20:
Sherrill Smith, Ken Modica, John Everett, Bruce Powers, Rodney
Metheny, Joe Eiermann, Dave and Denise Knight, Kathy Smith, and Clint
Perdue
Finally, we would like to thank the volunteers at the C&E/Showmasters
gun show in Chantilly, July 25-27:
TJ Parmele, Ken Bullock, David Spencer, Jim Kiser, Jay & Margot
Alexander, Ken Moore, Max Padon, Larry Riley, Thomas Love, Jerry
Coffey, David Park, Daniel Paulson, and Dexter Guptill
--
As an all volunteer organization, VCDL depends on YOU to volunteer
your time at our area events, where we recruit new activists and keep
gun owners informed. No experience necessary; if it's your first time
we'll pair you with a veteran volunteer. To find out more about
helping at our gun show tables, go to:
http://www2.vcdl.org/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/vcdl/gs.html
and click on any of the blue links, or contact the coordinator for the
show/event listed below with which you are interested in helping.
Here are the upcoming events with which we need YOUR help:
a. ROANOKE http://www.showmasters.us, August 16-17
Saturday, August 16 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 17 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Roanoke.
b. VIRGINIA OUTDOOR SPORTSMAN'S CLASSIC http://www.vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com/
, SALEM CIVIC CENTER, August 22-24
Friday, August 22 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 23 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 24 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The VCDL table is being paid for again by Grahme Anderson, Empire
Siding And Windows, Roanoke. Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org
to help at this big show in Salem.
c. HARRISONBURG http://www.showmasters.us, August 23-24
Saturday, August 23 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 24 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Bob Schmidt at Shenandoahgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Harrisonburg.
d. NORFOLK http://www.showmasters.us, September 6-7 **Help needed
desperately**
Saturday, September 6 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Ed Burton at Norfolkgunshows@vcdl.org to help at the
Norfolk Scope.
e. CHANTILLY http://www.cegunshows.com, September 12-14
Friday, September 12 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday, September 13 9:00
a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday, September 14 10:00 a.m.
- 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact our Northern Virginia coordinator at NOVAgunshows@vcdl.org
to help in Chantilly.
f. HAMPTON http://www.guns-knives.com, September 20-21
Saturday, September 20 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 21 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Ron Lilly at HamptonRoadsgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Hampton.
g. FISHERSVILLE http://www.showmasters.us, September 27-28
Saturday, September 27 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 28 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Bob Schmidt at Shenandoahgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Fishersville.
h. DALE CITY http://www.olddominionshows.com, October 4-5
Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 5 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact TJ Parmele at NOVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in Dale City.
i. SALEM http://www.cegunshows.com, October 4-5
Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 5 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in Salem.
j. VIRGINIA BEACH http://www.guns-knives.com, October 11-12
Saturday, October 11 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 12 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Ron and Jean Hyson at VBgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Virginia Beach.
k. RICHMOND http://www.cegunshows.com, October 18-19
Saturday, October 18 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 19 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Contact Audrey Muehleisen at CentralVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help at the
Showplace in Mechanicsville.
VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/13/08
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip Van Cleave
Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 1:03 PM
Subject: VA-ALERT: VCDL Update 8/13/08
VCDL Update 8/13/08 - "Defending your right to defend yourself"
1. Dan Moore's false arrest case in Norfolk resolved
2. Shooting on Virginia Tech Campus
3. VCDL has three new Executive Members
4. Government vs. private property: it matters
5. Officials at conference: campus lockdown not possible
6. LTE: Member refutes restaurant carry ban
7. Yes: renewing 180-90 days ahead of expiry is the law
8. Culpeper Police Chief wants to ban shooting
9. LTE -- pretty smart 8th grader
10. Going After Crimes -- and Guns -- in Richmond
11. Capital Gun Owners organization formed
12. House Democrats Seek Less-Rigid D.C. Gun Laws
13. In Connecticut we'll take your gun, just in case
14. McCain seems to propose martial law for US
15. Student Group Lobbying for Legislation to Allow Concealed Firearms
on College Campuses
16. Chicago still trying to circumvent 2nd Amendment
17. New VCDL Gun Show Coordinators
18. Gun shows and events! Norfolk show needs volunteers!
**************************************************
1. Dan Moore's false arrest case in Norfolk resolved
**************************************************
Mr. Moore was arrested in Norfolk last year because of profiling. The
Pilot Online article <http://tinyurl.com/364f6l> has some background
on the case. He recently notified us about the resolution of the
case. The principle of rule of law that is the cornerstone of our
Democracy and way of life, was vindicated here.
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum4/14715.html
(The link includes an image of the letter from Chief Marquis)
Mr. Moore writes:
"After a little over a year, the Norfolk case is finished. I am very
happy to announce that Norfolk has awarded me with an undisclosed
amount plus an apology letter from the Chief of Police.
I would like to thank all of you who have supported me and guided me
with your knowledge and wisdom.
I have learned that instances like these must be handled wisely. You
must put yourself in the best legal position as you cannot challenge
authority at that moment. I have read Citizen's suggestions and I
concur. His plan of action when dealing with such instances requires
a calm mind and much knowledge of the law.
I started carrying about 2 years ago and I've never even imagined such
events ever occurring. But thanks to this website and the wonderful
folks that mod it, and the awesome people that post, it makes things
gravy.
**************************************************
2. Shooting on Virginia Tech Campus
**************************************************
How can this be? Virginia Tech claims that by having a 'no gun'
policy no one can get shot.
http://tinyurl.com/5mb6pl
August 02, 2008
WSET-13 Lynchburg
A Virginia Tech employee is in the hospital after police say he shot
himself on campus Saturday. According to school officials, the
incident happened in Cassell Coliseum about 2:15 Saturday afternoon.
They say there was no threat to the university community. The victim
was transported to Roanoke for treatment, but there is no word on his
condition at this time. Immediately after the shooting, the university
sent out a campus-wide email telling students and faculty what
happened. Virginia Tech officials were criticized for not alerting the
campus community sooner that there had been a shooting on campus on
April 16th last year. That day a student killed two other students in
a dorm room, then two hours later killed 30 teachers and students in a
classroom across campus before committing suicide.
**************************************************
3. VCDL has three new Executive Members
**************************************************
VCDL has three new Executive members: Andrew Dysart, and Billy and Jan
Donald.
Andrew has been extremely active in fighting for college students,
faculty and staff to be able to carry a concealed handgun on campus if
they have a CHP.
Billy and Jan Donald pitch in at VCDL events around the state. If
you've had a hot dog or hamburger at a VCDL picnic, there's a good
chance that Billy cooked it for you. The husband/wife team can be
counted on when we need help.
**************************************************
4. Government vs. private property: it matters
**************************************************
From time to time I get an email where the writer shows some
confusion about whether private property can ban guns, especially
without signage to that effect.
There is a world of difference between public property and private
property when it comes to banning guns.
On property owned by the state or by localities, with few exception,
like in a jail or holding cell area, guns CANNOT be banned for NON-
employees.
On private property, guns can be banned at will. There is no need for
a sign - a verbal warning is sufficient and legal from the private
property owner. And don't get hung up on the word "owner". Anyone
acting as an agent for the owner can issue the notice.
If you are asked to leave because of your gun on PRIVATE property, DO
**NOT** ASK THEM TO POST THE PROPERTY!!!
As long as it is not posted people can continue to carry there - what
happened to you might be a quirk or just an unwritten policy against
open carry. If you are unlucky enough to be asked to leave while at
an establishment and you can't politely and respectfully convince them
to let you stay in very short order, then honor their request and
leave quietly and contact VCDL at: <http://www.vcdl.org/static/
gue.html>
If you must leave, try to find out if their "no gun" policy is
storewide or just at that business, if it applies only to employees,
and if you can get a copy of the policy.
**************************************************
5. Officials at conference: campus lockdown not possible
**************************************************
Someone has taken a *serious* look at what it takes to 'lockdown' a
sprawling university campus. The conclusion? Forget about it.
http://tinyurl.com/5u5tun
Aug 05, 2008
By KARIN KAPSIDELIS
Richmond TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Authorities can lock down a kindergarten classroom, a middle school or
a prison. But officials say it's not really possible to lock down a
sprawling college campus.
"We're designed to allow free movement, free thought," Michael Young,
director of public safety at Washington and Lee University, told his
counterparts from across the state during a conference yesterday on
campus safety.
The 2008 Governor's Campus Preparedness Conference brought about 500
people to Virginia Commonwealth University for a day of discussions
that spanned issues from terminology to threat assessment.
It was the second year for the conference, which last year focused on
security in the aftermath of the 2007 shootings at Virginia Tech.
Yesterday's conference took an "all-hazards approach" to also include
threats ranging from a natural disaster to a flu pandemic, said Robert
P. Crouch, assistant to the governor for commonwealth preparedness.
At one session participants got an overview of new state and federal
legislation on campus safety.
The federal Higher Education Act, for example, requires schools to
report hate crimes, including larceny and vandalism.
Virginia legislation requires schools to set up threat-assessment
teams and adopt crisis and emergency-response plans that must be
reviewed and revised every four years.
By January, they must have a first-warning system in place. The
conference included vendors selling the latest in communication
technology for such systems.
But Robert Dillard, chief of police for the University of Richmond,
cautioned against the false sense of security that instant-
notification systems offer.
Campus officials still must confirm what's going on, he pointed out.
Not long after the Tech tragedy, a report of shots fired on campus
turned out to be "offensive linemen throwing cherry bombs at each
other."
The alerts, he said, have the potential to cause "absolute, total
panic and fear."
At UR, one student remained hidden for more than four hours after a
May incident because she was out of cell-phone range and did not
receive an all-clear message.
UR has taken a number of steps because of that incident, caused by an
intruder with a pellet gun and a fake beard.
The school has installed locks on classrooms and labs so that students
and staff can seek "secure shelter" -- the term they prefer over
"lockdown."
Peepholes are being installed in doors because people who have locked
themselves in aren't going to open a door for someone claiming to be
police, Dillard said.
Michael F. Lynch, chief of police at George Mason University, said he
was troubled by the "blame-storming" that followed the Tech tragedy.
Well-intentioned panels and studies make recommendations on how to
identify the next shooter, he said.
They also imply the shootings in Norris Hall, where 30 people were
killed, could have been prevented if Tech had been locked down after
an earlier shooting in a dormitory.
"Virginia Tech cannot be locked down," he said. "I call it impossible."
**************************************************
6. LTE: Member refutes restaurant carry ban
**************************************************
Member Alan Rose of Franklin, VA wrote this model letter-to-the-editor.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/sidearm-vacation
Last week I wore my concealed handgun into three restaurants that
serve alcohol. This is a crime in Virginia. Many alarmists have warned
of Wild West-style pandemonium if concealed handguns were to be
permitted to commingle with alcohol. I was on vacation in the Wild
West, traveling through some of the most rural portions of Texas on a
journey between Dallas and Corpus Christi, in a state that trusts its
citizens more than Virginia does. So what happened in these 'handguns
allowed' restaurants? Absolutely nothing.
No duels, no dinner shootouts, no deadly arguments. No robberies. Just
trustworthy citizens going about their lives. Maybe next year Virginia
citizens can be deemed to be as trustworthy as Texans are. Are we
really that different?
**************************************************
7. Yes: renewing 180-90 days ahead of expiry is the law
**************************************************
Member Bob Risacher of Farmville, VA wrote to us about his experience
exercising the newly revised CHP renewal law. We will probably be
seeing a lot of this for several months as the Court Clerks start
being exposed to people demanding they follow the new law. If you are
on the leading edge, you may have to educate your local Circuit Court
Clerk.
Mr. Risacher writes:
"Just to alert you to the problems (forewarned is forearmed) that some
have had with the 'powers-that-be' around the state, I want to report
the excellent service that I recently received here in Prince Edward
County. Thanks to the notices that I received from VCDL, I applied
for my CWP renewal in the 90-180 day time slot prior to my permit's
expiration date. The Clerk's office approved it in about two weeks.
When I picked it up and after I got home, I realized that it had been
mistakenly dated at the date it was approved rather than for my
October renewal date. A phone call to the Clerk's office resulted in
a fast and efficient correction. The young lady who assisted me
stated that she had seen the notice of the law change but had
apparently forgotten it. As soon as I told her that I believed that
the date was incorrect, she had it corrected as quickly as she was
able to obtain the Clerk's signature."
**************************************************
8. Culpeper Police Chief wants to ban shooting
**************************************************
This bears watching:
http://tinyurl.com/6l9px9
By Allison Brophy Champion
Star Exponent.com
August 3, 2008
Culpeper town law prohibits the shooting of guns in town except for
residents who have a special permit from the town manager to do so.
Police Chief Scott Barlow wants to close that loophole.
"We are so populated now it is not safe to allow folks to shoot in
town when their neighbors are just a stones throw away," he said in an
e-mail Friday about occasional requests from town citizens for
permission to shoot garden pests.
At its meeting last week, the Public Safety Committee passed through
the chief's recommendation to Town Council.
"There's no reasonable reason to discharge firearms in town," Barlow
told the committee. "It's too congested for that now."
The chief said many cities regulate the distance from residential
areas from which a gun can be discharged.
"It's another way of saying, don't do it," Barlow said.
He added that the proposed Town ordinance change - deleting the
provision for a special permit from the Town Manager to shoot a gun in
town - would not apply to self-defense.
Consideration of the local law change will go before Town Council at
its meeting Aug. 12 for a first reading. A second reading on the
matter will be held at the Sept. 9 meeting, at which time council
could vote to implement the change.
Closing gun loophole
*What it says now:
Culpeper Town Code Section 26-1, Discharge of firearms, says, "No
person shall discharge, shoot or set off firearms of any description
within the town, except pursuant to a written permit issued by the
town manager or his designee. If the person applying for such permit
desires to discharge firearms on any land other than his own, he shall
present to the town manager or his designee written permission from
the owner of the land on which the firearms will be discharged."
*What it would say if amendment approved by Town Council:
"No person shall discharge, shoot or set off firearms of any
description within the town."
[PVC: At a minimum, there needs to be an exception for self-defense
written into the ordinance!]
**************************************************
9. LTE -- pretty smart 8th grader
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5s5lxb
LTE Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star
August 7, 2008
D.C. residents should be able to own guns
This is in response to Richard Amrhine's July 20 column ["Ruling has
gun-control advocates reaching for the sky"].
Mr. Amrhine pointed out the main interpretations of the Second
Amendment, which is the right to bear arms.
Primarily mentioned was that every citizen should have the right to
own a gun. The second interpretation is that citizens should have the
right to own a weapon for use in a government-regulated militia.
I believe that in the case of Washington, D.C., the first
interpretation should be applied.
Those who support gun control are outraged over the court ruling for a
number of reasons, but the main one is that the court has agreed to
allow weapons.
However, I believe that they have neglected to acknowledge one key
point: Death tolls resulting from the use of a handgun have
drastically risen over the past 10 years.
Allowing the ban to exist has not only failed to lower the quantity of
weapons on the street, but it has also left Washington residents
without protection against those who use guns for violent means.
I think the gun-control laws in Washington should be lifted so people
can defend themselves against those using weapons with cruel intentions.
Gus Stevens
Stafford
The writer is a rising eighth-grader at Rodney Thompson Middle School.
**************************************************
10. Going After Crimes -- and Guns -- in Richmond
**************************************************
Project Exile is still villainizing guns, in my opinion. Yes, we
don't want criminals using guns to harm or kill people, but I don't
want criminals harming people with any tool or in any way:
http://tinyurl.com/6cz787
The Wall Street Journal
August 5, 2008; Page A12
By GARY FIELDS
RICHMOND, Va. -- The National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign
to Prevent Gun Violence rarely agree on anything related to gun laws.
But both support a law-enforcement program in Richmond that targets
gun crimes.
The Supreme Court's Second Amendment decision in June that struck down
restrictions on individual gun ownership caused city officials
nationwide to worry that they could see an increase in gun violence.
It also renewed interest in Richmond's efforts to combat it. The city
has already reduced firearm-related violence dramatically. It has done
so not by making gun purchases more difficult -- Virginia is one of
the easiest places to legally buy a handgun -- but by severely
punishing all gun crimes, including those as minor as illegal
possession.
The decade-old program is credited with reducing the number of guns on
the streets by 31% in its first year, 1997. By 2007, the city
registered 56 murders, down from 112 in 1996, the last full year
before the program was implemented. Armed robberies dropped nearly a
third.
"What they're doing in Richmond isn't brain surgery," says Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman Mike Campbell.
"They are sitting down and working for a common goal: put the mopes
with the guns in jail. Word spreads when you do that."
Dubbed Project Exile, the program forms the foundation of a series of
local, state and federal law-enforcement partnerships. It focuses on
the city's most violent areas and hands out harsh sentences for any
crime involving a firearm, a move that runs counter to traditional
city tactics of barring gun stores and crafting onerous licensing
requirements.
With concern over crime rising amid budget cuts to local law
enforcement, a small but growing number of law-enforcement officials
view Project Exile and the cooperative efforts in Richmond as a way to
further accelerate the decline. Other cities, including Springfield
and Peoria in Illinois have visited to see what Richmond is doing.
Although the NRA is challenging gun laws in various cities such as San
Francisco and Chicago, it supports Richmond's efforts.
"By prosecuting them they prevent the drug dealer, the gang member and
the felon from committing the next crime," says NRA Executive Vice
President Wayne LaPierre. "Leave the good people alone and lock up the
bad people and dramatically cut crime."
Although it wants more done to tamp down the supply of guns, the Brady
Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence also supports Richmond's efforts,
says Peter Hamm, Brady spokesman. The organization supports any
measure that reduces violent crime, which the Richmond effort is
doing, he says.
Before Project Exile began in 1997, Richmond had the third-highest
murder rate in the nation, according to Federal Bureau of
Investigation statistics. Guns were the weapons of choice. That year,
then Deputy Assistant U.S. Attorney James Comey and Assistant Federal
Prosecutor David Schiller promised 100% prosecution of gun crimes.
They ran television and radio ads. A 40-foot city bus was emblazoned
with the message: "An Illegal Gun Gets You 5 Years in Federal Prison."
Bail was unlikely, parole nonexistent, and inmates facing federal time
were more likely to be sent to prisons out of state.
As Project Exile has matured, the marketing campaign has toned down
and it has become the basis for a larger cooperative effort. The tough
penalties are still in place, but the state has added gun-related
penalties of its own, some more severe than federal punishment. At a
bimonthly meeting, a team of police, agents and state and federal
prosecutors determine in which venue they will bring a case to ensure
the maximum possible penalty.
"Whether you take a person state or federal, that person's gone," says
David McCoy, the interim Richmond police chief. "The goal is to
address violent crime and get violent criminals off the street."
In the 1990s other jurisdictions created similar programs to Exile and
like Richmond had initial reductions in gun violence. They experienced
a similar rise in that violence in the early 2000s. Violent crime
dropped nationally in 2007 after a two-year rise -- even as violent
crime continued to go up in smaller cities.
Richmond, however, seems to have overcome at least one obstacle that
has endured elsewhere. Although state and federal agencies talk
cooperation, there are turf wars -- and agencies aren't always as
collegial as they are in Richmond.
But Richmond doubled down on the cooperation among state and federal
agencies. The eight federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies
and federal and state prosecutors meet regularly almost like one super
police force determining where to deploy personnel.
In one example of cooperation, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI took a case to ease the
workload on local authorities, says Brian Swann, who heads the ATF
office here. The defendant killed a man who was trying to steal his
crack cocaine. Although murder cases aren't usually federal, this one
involved a firearm and drugs, and so could be moved to federal court.
The defendant got life plus 40 years.
North of downtown, Mr. Swann and fellow ATF agent James Panos cruise
in an unmarked car. While the agents conduct investigations, they also
patrol like city police, engaging citizens and talking to potential
suspects, "just to let them know we're here and keeping an eye on
them," Mr. Swann says.
The agents respond to all murders in their sectors, as well as all
shootings. The other local, state and federal agencies conduct similar
operations.
"If we get called out" and someone identifies a suspect as Peanut, "I
expect my guys to know who 'Peanut' is, who his grandmother is, who he
hung out with last night," Mr. Swann says.
Residents have become accustomed to the agents and wave from porches
as they drive by. One house is pockmarked from an old shooting.
Nearby, Mr. Panos identifies several people familiar to authorities.
One was the subject of a 2006 raid at his home where three guns and 10
grams of crack cocaine were seized. "We couldn't tie him to the guns,"
Mr. Panos says.
Further along, another young man eyes the car warily. He is known
around the neighborhood as a low-grade drug dealer, but one who
refuses to carry a gun, Mr. Panos says.
It is quiet for the moment, even in the Providence Park area where
there were six shootings earlier this year. State, local and federal
officials descended on the area and things have calmed down. "Maybe
we'll be out of a job one day," says Mr. Panos.
**************************************************
11. Capital Gun Owners organization formed
**************************************************
Organizer Amy McVey (first person to have gun registered in D.C. under
the emergency legislation enacted following the striking of D.C.'s gun
ban by the Supreme Court) sent us the following note, and below that
is the Washington Times coverage:
"Please join our organization! We have members who are DC residents
as well as business owners and employees. You do not have to be a gun
owner but rather a person who supports the concept that Washington DC
residents and visitors should be able to fully exercise their rights
protected by the Second Amendment.
We will keep your personal information private.
Please respond with an e-mail to <amybmcvey@msn.com> with your name,
address, and a preferred e-mail address. I am encouraging you to send
this to your friends and family who may be willing to join us. There
is strength in numbers!
And...if you are a DC Resident or Business Owner and have not yet
signed my on-line petition to repeal the ban on semi-automatic guns,
click on the link or copy and paste in your browser:
http://www.petitiononline.com/DCsemi/petition.htm
Please note that our website <http://www.capitalgunowners.org/> is
currently under construction.
For more information contact:
Amy McVey 202-966-9276
George Lyon 202-828-9472
Thanks,
Amy"
http://tinyurl.com/5fcucs
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Gun owners arm themselves with advocacy group
David C. Lipscomb THE WASHINGTON TIMES
As the District prepares to fight double-barreled attempts to loosen
its gun-control laws, some of the city's gun rights pioneers have done
what folks in Washington do best - they have formed a lobbying group.
About a dozen residents have pledged their support to Capital Gun
Owners, a new D.C.-based gun advocacy and education group headed by
Northwest resident Amy McVey.
"We're at a point where we're feeling our way here," said Mrs. McVey,
who was the first D.C. resident to register a handgun after the
District's 32-year-old ban on handguns was struck down by the Supreme
Court in June. "I'm sure our mission will evolve as needed."
The group includes co-founders George Lyon and Gillian St. Lawrence,
who were among the six plaintiffs in the initial challenge to the
District's handgun ban in 2003, which led to the District of Columbia
v. Heller Supreme Court case.
Mrs. McVey said the four-day-old group will lobby for less gun control
and provide residents with gun-education resources as more of them
seek to own guns.
The formation of the group comes as the District is taking fire from
two sides - U.S. District Court and Congress - on its still-rigid gun-
control laws.
On July 28, Dick Anthony Heller, who won his case in the Supreme
Court, and two others filed a challenge against the city's ban on
semiautomatic weapons, which it defines as machine guns.
This week, the House of Representatives agreed to vote next month on a
bill that would repeal the ban and eliminate registration requirements
for people who pass federal licensing standards.
Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C. Democrat, opposes the bill. She
said it treads on home rule in the District and would be detrimental
to the city's crime-fighting efforts.
Mrs. McVey said the group's top priorities are lobbying the District
to lift its ban on semiautomatic handguns, allow residents to carry
handguns outside of the home, streamline or eliminate firearm
registration and lobby Congress to allow D.C. residents to buy
handguns in Maryland and Virginia.
Currently, firearms in the District must be registered, kept in the
home and locked or disassembled unless they are being used for self-
defense.
Most semiautomatic handguns are prohibited because they fall under the
city's definition of a machine gun, which is any gun that can hold 12
or more rounds without being reloaded.
Federal law requires people to purchase handguns in the state in which
they live.
The creation of the group comes amid uncertainty about how many law-
abiding people are interested in purchasing firearms in a city
suffering from a high rate of gun violence.
Since the city opened handgun registration July 17, 287 persons have
picked up handgun applications, 21 have brought in handguns to be
registered and 11 have completed the process, according to
Metropolitan Police spokeswoman Traci Hughes.
However, Mr. Lyon said he does not think D.C. residents are
overwhelmingly against guns and that more supporters will surface as
the organization becomes better known.
"I'm not positive that we're in the minority," Mr. Lyon said. "I'd
like to think that we'd put a positive face on the concept of gun
culture."
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said he thinks
groups like Capital Gun Owners are essential to crafting fair and
reasonable legislation and looks forward to hearing from members when
the Council addresses gun laws.
But Mr. Mendelson, who chairs the Council's committee on public
safety, said he thinks some of the criticism that has been made of the
existing laws may be premature because they have not been examined
since the gun ban was enacted in 1976.
"We have to take the law off the shelf, dust it off and see where the
flaws are," he said.
Mr. Mendelson said he still does not know whether he will convene a
special committee hearing to examine gun laws while the Council is on
summer recess.
The Council last month passed emergency legislation that is in effect
for 90 days, outlining gun-registration procedures.
The Council is expected to draft permanent legislation in September
after studying the impact and effectiveness of the current measures.
**************************************************
12. House Democrats Seek Less-Rigid D.C. Gun Laws
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5fcucs
By Mary Beth Sheridan and Paul Duggan
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, August 5, 2008; B01
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to
allow a vote next month on a bill that would end local handgun control
in the District, making it easier for D.C. residents to acquire
pistols, including semiautomatics, while eliminating the strict
handgun-storage requirements imposed by the city.
Supporters say the bill has a good chance of passing the House, where
pro-gun measures are popular. But it is unclear whether it would
succeed in the Senate, where complex rules make it harder to push
through legislation.
"This poses a real danger," Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said,
criticizing the legislation as "radical" because it would gut the
city's gun-control rules.
"If it passes the House," she said, "you have to hope the Senate
doesn't take it up."
The measure, filed Thursday by several conservative Democrats, adds
more fuel to the debate over gun control in the nation's capital.
After a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision June 26 ended the city's
32-year-old handgun ban, the District replaced the ban with strict
handgun limits, which critics say violate the high court's ruling.
The bill would scrap those limits, allowing residents to own handguns
without registering them with the D.C. police department, provided
they meet federal requirements for firearms ownership.
Besides abolishing the requirement that owners keep their handguns
unloaded in their homes and either disassembled or fitted with trigger
locks, the measure would repeal the city's prohibition on most
magazine-fed semiautomatic handguns -- a ban that has been in effect
for decades and was not part of the Supreme Court case.
The legislation also would allow D.C. residents to buy and take
delivery of handguns in Virginia and Maryland. Federal law currently
prohibits gun buyers from acquiring the weapons in states where they
do not reside.
Key negotiators on the bill, including Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.),
said in a statement that they have "an agreement with House
leadership" for the measure to come to a vote early next month. The
legislation was offered as a compromise after House Republicans had
maneuvered to get a vote on another measure that would have gone even
further, repealing a D.C. law that allows gun makers to be sued by
victims of firearms violence.
Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), one of the bill's sponsors, said
supporters of the measure think that the city has "basically thumbed
its nose" at the Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision by enacting tough
limits on handgun ownership. The majority opinion affirmed an
individual's right under the Second Amendment to own firearms for self-
defense but said that governments may enact reasonable restrictions.
If the legislation fails, Altmire said, "at least we, as people who
are accountable to our constituents, can go back home and talk about
what we did on the issue."
Forty-eight Democrats have signed on as sponsors of the bill,
including Democrats from pro-gun districts who could be vulnerable in
November's election. Norton said in a statement that those Democrats
"hope to relieve election year pressure by getting a Democratic-backed
bill to the floor, out of fear that the [National Rifle Association]
will run hometown ads against their reelection."
Democrats have a 37-seat advantage in the House.
While the debate goes on, D.C. police are continuing to process gun-
registration applications, limiting owners to one handgun each while
the prohibition on most semiautomatic handguns remains in place.
As of Friday, police said, 21 applications had been received and 11
approved. Among those who now have legal handguns in their D.C. homes
is Dick A. Heller, 66, a security guard from Capitol Hill who sued the
city over the 1976 handgun ban and won the Supreme Court case.
Heller filed another lawsuit against the District last week, alleging
that the restrictions imposed by the District after the high court's
decision violate the letter and spirit of the ruling.
Of the 11 newly registered handguns, police said, eight had been
stored outside the District by their owners while the ban was in
place. The other three were kept illegally in D.C. homes during the
ban and were registered in recent days under an amnesty program.
Police said three applications have been denied (and the handguns
seized) because the applicants had criminal records. The other seven
applications are pending.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives said two men are federally licensed to sell firearms in
D.C. But the men deal only with selected clients, including police
officers and security companies, the agency said.
Unless the House legislation becomes law, allowing D.C. residents to
purchase handguns across state lines in Virginia and Maryland, most
would-be gun owners in the nation's capital will have to wait for a
federally licensed dealer in the city to start doing business with
more customers.
**************************************************
13. In Connecticut we'll take your gun, just in case
**************************************************
What happens when government gets too big for its britches:
http://tinyurl.com/5l4bgd
August 04, 2008
WorldNetDaily
A new report to the Connecticut state legislature shows police have
used the state's unique gun seizure law to confiscate more than 1,700
firearms from citizens based on suspicion that the gun owners might
harm themselves or others.
The state's law permits police to seek a warrant for seizing a
citizen's guns based on suspicion of the gun owner's intentions,
before any act of violence or lawbreaking is actually committed.
The law was first proposed in 1998, following a mass shooting at the
Connecticut Lottery Corporation that left five dead, including the
gunman. Since the law went into effect Oct. 1, 1999, according to new
Office of Legislative Research report, police have made more than 200
documented requests for warrants to seize firearms from citizens, and
only two of the requests have been denied.
The law has remained hotly debated since its passage, as some point to
possible murders and suicides it may have prevented, and others worry
that police would abuse the law.
"It certainly has not been abused. It may be underutilized," Ron
Pinciaro, co-executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence,
told the Waterbury Republican American. "The bottom line from our
perspective is, it may very well have saved lives." [PVC: I'll bet if
Mr. Pinciaro's private property was snatched up at will by the police,
he'd be squealing like a stuck pig.]
Attorney Ralph D. Sherman, who has represented several of the gun
owners whose firearms were confiscated under the law, disagrees.
"In every case I was involved in I thought it was an abuse," he told
the newspaper. "The overriding concern is anybody can report anybody
with or without substantiation, and I don't think that is the American
way."
Joe Graborz, executive director of the Connecticut Civil Liberties
Union, an affiliate of the ACLU, told WND the law "continues to invest
unusual and far-reaching powers in police authority that does not
belong there" by requiring "police to act as psychologists in trying
to predict and interpret behavior."
"What is the standard of proof on this?" he asked. "The way this law
is written, it can and will be easily abused by police."
Under the statute, dubbed the "turn in your neighbor" law by
opponents, any two police officers or a state prosecutor may seek a
warrant, following a specified process of investigation, to confiscate
guns from people deemed a risk to harming themselves or others. The
vast majority of cases, however, begin when a person -- usually a
spouse or live-in, according to the OLR report -- file a complaint.
Shortly after the law was passed, Thompson Bosee of Greenwich, Conn.,
had his guns and ammunition seized by police. Bosee told WND in 1999
he suspects a neighbor, with whom he has had words regarding the
neighbor's driving on Bosee's property, might have reported him.
"They had a warrant for my guns, they arrested my guns," said Bosee.
A member of both the NRA and the American Gunsmithing Association,
Bosee said he works on his guns in his garage and is not ashamed of it.
Although Greenwich Police would not comment, they released a list of
the guns and ammunition they seized from Bosee, including six
handguns, three rifles, one shotgun, one submachine gun and 3,108
rounds of ammunition.
The new OLR report shows that in most cases, relatives or neighbors of
the gun owner filed the complaint when they feared for their own
safety or feared the owner was suicidal. In a case from Southington,
however, a man had his gun taken for threatening to shoot a dog.
Attorney Ralph Sherman told WND the law's cruelty to animals
justification for gun seizure worries him.
"If I throw a rock or a newspaper at a dog in my yard or in my garden,
that doesn't mean I'm mentally unbalanced," he said. "What if a
neighbor doesn't like me and sees that?"
In October 2006, according to the Republican American, police obtained
a seizure warrant after a man made 28 unsubstantiated claims of
vandalism to his property. The police application for seizure
described the man as paranoid and delusional, citing extensive self-
protection measures installed on the man's property, including alarms,
cameras and spotlights.
Four months after the man's guns were taken, a judge ruled that police
had failed to show the man posed any risk and ordered the guns
returned. According to the ruling, the gun owner had no history of
documented illness, criminal activity or misuse of firearms. "In fact,
the firearms were found in a locked safe when the officers executed
the warrant," the ruling said.
The law dictates that courts hold a hearing within 14 days of a
seizure to determine the eventual fate of the guns. In most cases,
according to the OLR report, the guns are held for a period of up to a
year, destroyed or sold. The Republican American reports that in 22 of
the more than 200 cases, the guns were ordered returned.
Connecticut State Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, House chairman of the
Judiciary Committee and one of the chief authors of the law, told the
Republican American he wasn't aware of any pending challenges to the
law's constitutionality.
"The whole point was to make sure it was limited and constitutional,"
he said.
Sherman however, said the law hasn't been challenged yet, simply
because it is used sparingly and a test case would prove too costly
for the average gun owner.
**************************************************
14. McCain seems to propose martial law for US
**************************************************
Not sure if he said what he meant, but answering a question about his
approach to combating crime, John McCain suggested that military
strategies currently employed by US troops in Iraq could be applied to
high crime neighborhoods here in the US. McCain called them tactics
"somewhat like we use in the military...You go into neighborhoods, you
clamp down, you provide a secure environment for the people that live
there, and you make sure that the known criminals are kept under
control."
Link to the audio:
http://tinyurl.com/559dtt
Article:
http://www.reason.com/blog/show/127881.html
**************************************************
15. Student Group Lobbying for Legislation to Allow Concealed Firearms
on College Campuses
**************************************************
http://tinyurl.com/5h2fh2
Diverse Online
By Michelle D. Anderson
Aug 4, 2008
Washington
State legislators and students supporting legislation to allow
concealed firearms on college campuses aimed to debunk the notion that
"traditional"-aged college students are too reckless to own and
possess firearms during a recent public forum held in Washington, D.C.
During its first national meeting, "Supporting Self-Defense on
Campus", Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC) along with The
Second Amendment Federation (SAF), hosted a six-part forum on Aug. 1
at the National Press Club in an attempt to gain support for
legislation allowing concealed guns on college campuses nationwide.
The group advocates that licensed individuals at least 21 years old
with substantial training and background checks should be allowed to
carry concealed firearms on campus.
Louisiana state Rep. Ernest Wooten (R) said groups like SCCC are
"fighting a perception".
"We need to be diligent, we need to pay attention, and we need to
educate," Wooten said during the legislative panel discussion. "We
have to prove that we're responsible."
The former sheriff is behind the Louisiana's HB 199, which would allow
students, faculty and staff with valid state-issued credentials to
carry concealed weapons onto public Louisiana college campuses.
Ken Stanton, a Virginia Tech graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in
engineering education, agreed in an earlier debate with Paul Helmke,
president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. [PVC - This
sentence doesn't make any sense, especially in light of the comments
in the next two paragraphs. The reporter probably meant to say
"disagreed".]
Stanton, who is the leader of Virginia Tech's SCCC chapter, said it is
unfair that many people think all college students abuse drugs and
binge drink, thus making them poor candidates to carry concealed
firearms on campus.
Helmke countered Stanton's argument saying college students are often
likely to commit suicide and in engage in substance abuse-related
behavior.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, in a 2006 national
survey on drug use and health, reported that almost 70 percent of
individuals aged 21-25 either engaged in social alcohol drinking,
binge alcohol use or heavy alcohol use. It also reported that the
rates for serious psychological distress in 2006 were highest for
adults aged 18 to 25.
Likewise, suicide is the second leading cause of death among college
students, according to the National Mental Health Association.
On April 16, 2007, a student gunman at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg
gunned down 32 people and later turned the gun on himself, committing
suicide. The massacre was followed by another shocking campus shooting
last February at Northern Illinois University where a student killed
five people and wounded 15, before committing suicide.
Jeremy Schwab, a SCCC member and a student at University of Texas-
Dallas, said his life experiences and the recent campus shootings have
informed his support of concealed carry on college campuses.
When Schwab was 16 years old, a robber pointed a gun at his head while
Schwab was on his way to make a bank deposit. In college, Schwab would
have a gun pointed to his head again near a coffee shop.
"These laws protect the weak against the aggressive," said Oklahoma
state Rep. Jason Murphey (R), who is behind Oklahoma's HB 2513. If the
bill goes through, it would allow students to carry firearms on campus
if they are at least 21 and are licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
In February the bill was approved by the state's House Judiciary and
Public Safety Committee, but stalled in March when another measure was
proposed that would have lowered to 18 the legal age to become
eligible for the concealed carry license. Many have said that measure
is illogical because 18-year-olds cannot purchase handguns.
Conceal-carry advocates in Oklahoma hope to follow in the steps of
Utah, the first and only state to allow concealed guns to be carried
on campus.
Andrew Dysart, a George Mason University (GMU) student and leader of
GMU's SCCC chapter, said he has been fighting for concealed carry on
the Fairfax, Va.-based campus for some time.
"I was met with full resistance and with full hostility from college
administrators," said the 25-year-old Marine Corps veteran.
As of May 1, SCCC had 30,000 members, 90 percent of whom were college
students.
Its social networking-based Facebook group, which currently has over
32,000 members, has acted as a catalyst for the fairly new group's
growth.
In April, the group held a national silent protest against gun-free
zones by wearing empty holsters.
The six-part forum also featured a debate about gun-free school zones;
a panel discussion focused on students, legislature, media bias about
guns on campus; and attorney Alan Gura, who was involved in the
Supreme Court's recent ruling allowing handguns in the District of
Columbia.
**************************************************
16. Chicago still trying to circumvent 2nd Amendment
**************************************************
Even an anti-gun Chicago newspaper tells Chicago Mayor Daley to drop
Chicago's handgun ban. BUT, they admit they don't like the Supreme
Court ruling and, with a wink and a nod, tell Chicago that they can
make applying for a permit for a handgun agonizingly slow - even worse
than DC.
That is how the battle with such places will be fought. Localities
will drag their heels and make citizens wait very long times before
they get a gun permit.
Of course that will lead to a fight to get rid of the permit
requirement to own a gun as unconstitutional. So bring it on, Chicago.
http://tinyurl.com/2j5363
Chicago Tribune
August 1, 2008
Wilmette's gun ban is history. Morton Grove, which passed the nation's
first handgun ban, followed suit on Monday. Those towns repealed their
laws because the U.S. Supreme Court in June knocked down Washington
D.C.'s handgun ban. Local officials say they don't have the resources
to fight challenges to their laws in court.
There's another good reason for their decisions: They would lose. The
Supreme Court has made that clear.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, though, insisted last week that the city
would defend its handgun ban in court. "Morton Grove can do anything
that it wants," Daley said. "I don't look at this lightly-that, 'Oh,
because the Supreme Court's done it we're just gonna dismiss it and
all of a sudden people can arm themselves.' "
Like Daley, this page strongly disagreed with the court's ruling. We
admire his stand on this issue. But the court ruling was clear and
explicit: A blanket ban on handgun ownership is unconstitutional under
the 2nd Amendment.
Fighting in court to uphold Chicago's ban might buy some time, but at
a high cost. The city will pay for lawyers and then it will lose.
Better to focus on a law the city can successfully defend.
That doesn't mean that Chicago should abandon its duty to protect
public safety and its crucial mission to keep guns off the city's
streets. The Supreme Court's decision said that the right to own a gun
under the 2nd Amendment "is not unlimited." The court didn't offer
much elaboration on that. But that means there's still likely to be
ways for state and local governments to impose reasonable restrictions
on the sale and ownership of firearms that don't rise to a complete
ban on possession. Such measures will have a decent chance of passing
legal muster-if they are designed to ensure that firearms are
permitted only to those who can use them safely for sport and for self-
protection.
That is happening in Washington, D.C. The city recently replaced its
handgun ban with a series of requirements for prospective gun owners.
They can register a weapon if they clear a background check, pass a
vision test and a written test of gun safety knowledge. They must keep
their pistols at home, unloaded and either disassembled or equipped
with trigger locks. The guns can be loaded and used only if the owner
reasonably believes that he or she is in imminent danger from an
attacker in the home.
That last provision, and the rest of the law, is already being
challenged, by the same plaintiff who successfully challenged the D.C.
gun ban in the first place.
The Supreme Court said a requirement that a lawful firearm in the home
must be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock is unconstitutional
unless it contains a provision that allows for self-defense. The
courts will determine if the new Washington law goes far enough in
protecting that right.
But there is still room for strong license and safety requirements,
and that's what Chicago should explore.
Some gun advocates also accuse D.C. officials of concocting a
cumbersome process to discourage gun ownership. Those officials have
hinted that the city's gun registration bureaucracy could be
grindingly slow. Chicago already knows how to play that game. Anyone
who's grappled with the City Hall bureaucracy to get a tree trimmed or
a building permit knows how Chicago's bureaucracy can plod along.
We share Daley's anger at the 5-4 ruling of the Supreme Court. It was
based on flawed legal reasoning, ignored precedent and will lead to
years of litigation about the constitutionality of various firearms
restrictions.
But there are no more appeals to that ruling. A handgun ban such as
the one Chicago passed in 1982-well, the high court made clear that
that's dead.
Chicago will have to prepare to live with that ruling and find other
ways to protect the public. Might as well start now.
**************************************************
17. New VCDL Gun Show Coordinators
**************************************************
VCDL would like to welcome two new coordinators who will be managing
the recruiting and information tables at regional gun shows. Ed
Burton is coordinator for the Norfolk region, and Danny Paulson is
taking over for TJ Parmele in the NoVa region. Both Ed and Danny are
long-time volunteers with VCDL, and we thank them for taking on this
extra responsibility. There are now twelve volunteer gun show
coordinators in eight regions throughout the state.
**************************************************
18. Gun shows and events! Norfolk show needs volunteers!
**************************************************
The Virginia Citizens Defense League thanks the following member-
activists who generously gave of their time to advance and help defend
the rights of their fellow gun owners by working our recruiting and
information booth at the C&E gun show in Richmond, July 12-13:
Carl Shuler, Sue Brush, Debra & Brian Weidman, David Crosby, Paul
Henick, Billy Donald, Owen Pollard, JC, Dale Walsh, and Audrey
Muehleisen
We also thank the volunteers at the C&E gun show in Salem, July 19-20:
Sherrill Smith, Ken Modica, John Everett, Bruce Powers, Rodney
Metheny, Joe Eiermann, Dave and Denise Knight, Kathy Smith, and Clint
Perdue
Finally, we would like to thank the volunteers at the C&E/Showmasters
gun show in Chantilly, July 25-27:
TJ Parmele, Ken Bullock, David Spencer, Jim Kiser, Jay & Margot
Alexander, Ken Moore, Max Padon, Larry Riley, Thomas Love, Jerry
Coffey, David Park, Daniel Paulson, and Dexter Guptill
--
As an all volunteer organization, VCDL depends on YOU to volunteer
your time at our area events, where we recruit new activists and keep
gun owners informed. No experience necessary; if it's your first time
we'll pair you with a veteran volunteer. To find out more about
helping at our gun show tables, go to:
http://www2.vcdl.org/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/vcdl/gs.html
and click on any of the blue links, or contact the coordinator for the
show/event listed below with which you are interested in helping.
Here are the upcoming events with which we need YOUR help:
a. ROANOKE http://www.showmasters.us, August 16-17
Saturday, August 16 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 17 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Roanoke.
b. VIRGINIA OUTDOOR SPORTSMAN'S CLASSIC http://www.vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com/
, SALEM CIVIC CENTER, August 22-24
Friday, August 22 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 23 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 24 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
The VCDL table is being paid for again by Grahme Anderson, Empire
Siding And Windows, Roanoke. Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org
to help at this big show in Salem.
c. HARRISONBURG http://www.showmasters.us, August 23-24
Saturday, August 23 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, August 24 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Bob Schmidt at Shenandoahgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Harrisonburg.
d. NORFOLK http://www.showmasters.us, September 6-7 **Help needed
desperately**
Saturday, September 6 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 7 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Ed Burton at Norfolkgunshows@vcdl.org to help at the
Norfolk Scope.
e. CHANTILLY http://www.cegunshows.com, September 12-14
Friday, September 12 3:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Saturday, September 13 9:00
a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Sunday, September 14 10:00 a.m.
- 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact our Northern Virginia coordinator at NOVAgunshows@vcdl.org
to help in Chantilly.
f. HAMPTON http://www.guns-knives.com, September 20-21
Saturday, September 20 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 21 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Ron Lilly at HamptonRoadsgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Hampton.
g. FISHERSVILLE http://www.showmasters.us, September 27-28
Saturday, September 27 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 28 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Bob Schmidt at Shenandoahgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Fishersville.
h. DALE CITY http://www.olddominionshows.com, October 4-5
Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 5 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 12:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact TJ Parmele at NOVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in Dale City.
i. SALEM http://www.cegunshows.com, October 4-5
Saturday, October 4 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 5 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Please contact Al Steed, Jr. at SWVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help in Salem.
j. VIRGINIA BEACH http://www.guns-knives.com, October 11-12
Saturday, October 11 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 12 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Please contact Ron and Jean Hyson at VBgunshows@vcdl.org to help in
Virginia Beach.
k. RICHMOND http://www.cegunshows.com, October 18-19
Saturday, October 18 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 19 10:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Contact Audrey Muehleisen at CentralVAgunshows@vcdl.org to help at the
Showplace in Mechanicsville.
