xd.40
Regular Member
imported post
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS AN *ACTION ITEM* alert. The Action Item is at the end.
Below is an email that Delegate Bob Marshall has sent out to his constituents about shenanigans that were pulled last year by the Speaker of the House, Delegate Bill Howell.
Actually, VCDL has been telling you that the Speaker's fingerprints are all over the demise of many pro-gun bills over the last few years, but this is confirmation from an "insider."
It is important for you to understand that the Speaker of the House in Virginia is the most powerful Speaker in the United States. He has immense powers, including setting up the committees, subcommittees and determining the makeup of the committees and subcommittees. He even picks the members of the committees and subcommittees from the OTHER PARTY!!
So committees and subcommittees can be stacked however the Speaker pleases. That is true legislative power that is mind blowing.
A few years ago, strong, but politically incorrect pro-gun bills were killed in the House by sending them to subcommittee #3 of the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee. We refer to subcommittee #3 as the "Death Star" subcommittee because Speaker Howell assigned 3 anti-gun Democrats and 2 pro-gun Republicans to the subcommittee. Virtually any pro-gun bill that ended up there was doomed to die by a vote of 3 to 2 against the bill - and that they did, including College Carry and others.
The Speaker's scheme was to ensure the best pro-gun legislation died at the hands of the anti-gun Democrats in the Death Star subcommittee. (Those anti-gun Democrats should not be forgotten, either: Delegates Jim Scott, Paula Miller, and Roslyn Tyler.)
When VCDL complained to the Republican Leadership bitterly about pro-gun bills going to the Death Star subcommittee, they stopped going there. BUT, pro-gun bills from the 2008 session simply DISAPPEARED. They were never heard in a subcommittee nor in any committee. They just dried up and blew away to parts unknown!
Yet another reminder of the power of the Speaker. In essence he has a pocket veto. He puts the bill in his pocket and it is never heard from again. :-(
So much for your voice being heard and pro-gun bills even getting a fair hearing.
Many Delegates are dismayed by the "disappearing bills" phenomenon, but Delegate Marshall wasn't afraid to go against his Party to protest what he sees as an injustice.
Here is Delegate Bob Marshall's email to his constituents (which was initiated by a constituent request for legislation on repealing the restaurant ban and allowing carry in K-12 schools by CHP holders):
--
I have long supported responsible gun owners to secure concealed carry permits. Back in the 1990’s I opposed the gun a month law which passed anyway, I supported a revamping of Virginia’s concealed carry law, and I opposed amendments weakening concealed carry rights.
In 2005 I voted for HB 2535 which allows the holder of a valid concealed handgun permit to possess a concealed handgun on school property while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular access or exit from the school.
And in 2008 I voted for SB 476 which allowed concealed handgun permit holders to enter a restaurant where alcohol is served but which prohibits a person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on the premises.
In 2008 I and Del. Gilbert introduced concealed carry bills.
I would have voted for HB 1371 (Gilbert) which prohibits a state entity, including the board of visitors of a state institution of higher education, from prohibiting the possession of a handgun on state property by a person with a valid concealed handgun permit, unless expressly authorized by statute to adopt such a rule, regulation, or policy. This is directed primarily at sate college Boars of Visitors which have prohibited concealed carry permit holders who are students from exercising concealed carry rights on a campus.
Additionally, I introduced HB 424 which allows full-time faculty members of state institutions of higher education who possess a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun on campus.
However, Republican Speaker Bill Howell made it very clear he did not want these bills considered, and Militia and Police Chair Beverly Sherwood refused to call our bills up for a hearing. Del. Gilbert and I held a press conference at the end of the 2008 session and criticized Speaker Howell for this gag rule he imposed on our concealed carry bills.
Republican Majority leader Morgan Griffith said the bills would have failed if they were reported to the floor. But his statement does not square with his own actions in pulling a bill from the House floor when I offered an amendment to another bill which would have allowed professors to carry on campus.
When I was not in the House Chamber because of a previously scheduled meeting in Northern Virginia, Del. Griffith called up the bill I wanted to amend and it passed without my proposed concealed carry amendment.
What I am saying is that I am not hopeful the Republican leadership will assist us in this matter.
There is the additional problem that Speaker Bill Howell in 2008 pushed for and secured a House Rules change which limits all delegates to only introducing 15 bills per year. I talked to the Speaker about this at the Clemson-UVA game, Saturday, November 22. He told me no one ever asked him to introduce more than 15 bills, and that he saw no reason that any House of Delegates member should be allowed to introduce more than 15 bills. I disagreed with him, pointing out that I have more registered voters than some Virginia state Senate districts.
I voted AGAINST this rules changed and another one which provided for secret votes in sub-committees and was punished by Speaker Howell by being denied a committee chairmanship, removed as vice chair from a committee I had been on since 1992 and was subject to other “penalties.”
You may want to contact Speaker Howell and Del. Griffith to let them know of your concerns about the way they are handling concealed carry bills, and their support for limits on the number of bills members may introduce.
They can be reached at: delwhowell@house.state.va.us and delmgriffith@house.state.va.us
The state senate has no such rules limiting the number of bills senators may introduce.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
PS Below is a news article from the Collegiate Times on the press conference Del Gilbert and I held.
Tabled concealed carry legislation sparks debate
by Gordon Block, CT news reporter
Tuesday, March 4, 2008; 11:20 AM
RICHMOND -- New legislation from two Virginia state delegates has caused controversy following recent incidents at college campuses nationwide. The legislation, HB 424 and HB 1371, introduced by delegates Robert Marshall (R-13) and Todd Gilbert (R-15), would allow faculty members to carry weapons into classrooms.
Both HB 424 and HB 1371 were left in committee, meaning that the bills have been killed for the 2008 session. Marshall and Gilbert came together for a press conference with members of the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Monday morning. At the conference both legislators defended the ability for professors to carry weapons.
"You entrust your son or daughter's with them for their future training, and they should be trusted enough so we can say 'You can do this,'" Marshall said.
Gilbert noted the ability for citizens to protect themselves in violent situations.
"Bad guys will carry guns no matter what," Gilbert said. "Armed citizens can stop shootings."
Gilbert blasted the Virginia Tech Review Panels' assertion that more guns would have caused confusion during the shootings on April 16.
"I find this to be a shameful exercise of political correctness," Gilbert said. "The statement is based on pure emotion."
Also addressed were the fears that instructors would become targets of violence as a result of their ability to carry guns.
"There's nothing that puts an X on their forehead," Marshall said.
Representatives from Students for Concealed Carry on Campus also spoke out on the issue.
"If I pay money to go to a school I should be able to protect myself," said Logan Metesh, a sophomore historic preservation major and student leader for SCCC at the University of Mary Washington.
Other students echoed those feelings.
"If I'm walking on campus, I can defend myself," said Lyndsay George, sophomore English major at Virginia Tech.
Also mentioned was that those with concealed weapons permits are heavily accredited.
"People who do carry concealed guns are responsible and certified," George said.
Student supporters of the legislation called for those against the bill to consider the logic behind the bills.
"Those who are against the bills should check their facts and think about it," Metesh said.
Others asked for people to understand the issue.
"People opposed to the legislation are doing so for emotional rather than practical means," George said.
However, some universities, like Tech, do not agree with the newly proposed legislation.
"We don't believe guns belong on the campus or in the classroom," said Larry Hincker, associate vice president of university relations.
Others have questioned whether or not it would be effective.
"You can pro and con it all day, but it's not going to solve the problem. There are too many factors to make it a clear yes or no answer," said Jasper Cooke, member of the board of directors for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement administrators.
The current session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourns Saturday, March 8, and will reconvene for an additional session April 16.
--
ACTION ITEM:
Let's all contact Speaker Howell and urge him to help us get all pro-gun bills a fair vote - no more Death Star subcommittees, no more bills disappearing into thin air.
If you're a constituent of Speaker Howell, be sure to mention that fact. He needs to hear that voting gun owners in his district are upset about the underhanded way he's killed pro-gun legislation.
*** BE POLITE, but FIRM ***
Delegate Howell's email address:
DelBHowell@house.state.va.us
Suggested title: Give pro-gun bills a fair chance!
Suggested message:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Unlike recent years where the most important pro-gun bills either went to a committee controlled by anti-gun Democrats or the bills just disappeared into thin air, I urge you to use your powers to see that all pro-gun bills get a full and fair hearing in the House.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
***************************************************************************
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's meeting schedule: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS IS AN *ACTION ITEM* alert. The Action Item is at the end.
Below is an email that Delegate Bob Marshall has sent out to his constituents about shenanigans that were pulled last year by the Speaker of the House, Delegate Bill Howell.
Actually, VCDL has been telling you that the Speaker's fingerprints are all over the demise of many pro-gun bills over the last few years, but this is confirmation from an "insider."
It is important for you to understand that the Speaker of the House in Virginia is the most powerful Speaker in the United States. He has immense powers, including setting up the committees, subcommittees and determining the makeup of the committees and subcommittees. He even picks the members of the committees and subcommittees from the OTHER PARTY!!
So committees and subcommittees can be stacked however the Speaker pleases. That is true legislative power that is mind blowing.
A few years ago, strong, but politically incorrect pro-gun bills were killed in the House by sending them to subcommittee #3 of the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee. We refer to subcommittee #3 as the "Death Star" subcommittee because Speaker Howell assigned 3 anti-gun Democrats and 2 pro-gun Republicans to the subcommittee. Virtually any pro-gun bill that ended up there was doomed to die by a vote of 3 to 2 against the bill - and that they did, including College Carry and others.
The Speaker's scheme was to ensure the best pro-gun legislation died at the hands of the anti-gun Democrats in the Death Star subcommittee. (Those anti-gun Democrats should not be forgotten, either: Delegates Jim Scott, Paula Miller, and Roslyn Tyler.)
When VCDL complained to the Republican Leadership bitterly about pro-gun bills going to the Death Star subcommittee, they stopped going there. BUT, pro-gun bills from the 2008 session simply DISAPPEARED. They were never heard in a subcommittee nor in any committee. They just dried up and blew away to parts unknown!
Yet another reminder of the power of the Speaker. In essence he has a pocket veto. He puts the bill in his pocket and it is never heard from again. :-(
So much for your voice being heard and pro-gun bills even getting a fair hearing.
Many Delegates are dismayed by the "disappearing bills" phenomenon, but Delegate Marshall wasn't afraid to go against his Party to protest what he sees as an injustice.
Here is Delegate Bob Marshall's email to his constituents (which was initiated by a constituent request for legislation on repealing the restaurant ban and allowing carry in K-12 schools by CHP holders):
--
I have long supported responsible gun owners to secure concealed carry permits. Back in the 1990’s I opposed the gun a month law which passed anyway, I supported a revamping of Virginia’s concealed carry law, and I opposed amendments weakening concealed carry rights.
In 2005 I voted for HB 2535 which allows the holder of a valid concealed handgun permit to possess a concealed handgun on school property while in a motor vehicle in a parking lot, traffic circle, or other means of vehicular access or exit from the school.
And in 2008 I voted for SB 476 which allowed concealed handgun permit holders to enter a restaurant where alcohol is served but which prohibits a person who carries a concealed handgun onto the premises of a restaurant or club from consuming an alcoholic beverage while on the premises.
In 2008 I and Del. Gilbert introduced concealed carry bills.
I would have voted for HB 1371 (Gilbert) which prohibits a state entity, including the board of visitors of a state institution of higher education, from prohibiting the possession of a handgun on state property by a person with a valid concealed handgun permit, unless expressly authorized by statute to adopt such a rule, regulation, or policy. This is directed primarily at sate college Boars of Visitors which have prohibited concealed carry permit holders who are students from exercising concealed carry rights on a campus.
Additionally, I introduced HB 424 which allows full-time faculty members of state institutions of higher education who possess a valid Virginia concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun on campus.
However, Republican Speaker Bill Howell made it very clear he did not want these bills considered, and Militia and Police Chair Beverly Sherwood refused to call our bills up for a hearing. Del. Gilbert and I held a press conference at the end of the 2008 session and criticized Speaker Howell for this gag rule he imposed on our concealed carry bills.
Republican Majority leader Morgan Griffith said the bills would have failed if they were reported to the floor. But his statement does not square with his own actions in pulling a bill from the House floor when I offered an amendment to another bill which would have allowed professors to carry on campus.
When I was not in the House Chamber because of a previously scheduled meeting in Northern Virginia, Del. Griffith called up the bill I wanted to amend and it passed without my proposed concealed carry amendment.
What I am saying is that I am not hopeful the Republican leadership will assist us in this matter.
There is the additional problem that Speaker Bill Howell in 2008 pushed for and secured a House Rules change which limits all delegates to only introducing 15 bills per year. I talked to the Speaker about this at the Clemson-UVA game, Saturday, November 22. He told me no one ever asked him to introduce more than 15 bills, and that he saw no reason that any House of Delegates member should be allowed to introduce more than 15 bills. I disagreed with him, pointing out that I have more registered voters than some Virginia state Senate districts.
I voted AGAINST this rules changed and another one which provided for secret votes in sub-committees and was punished by Speaker Howell by being denied a committee chairmanship, removed as vice chair from a committee I had been on since 1992 and was subject to other “penalties.”
You may want to contact Speaker Howell and Del. Griffith to let them know of your concerns about the way they are handling concealed carry bills, and their support for limits on the number of bills members may introduce.
They can be reached at: delwhowell@house.state.va.us and delmgriffith@house.state.va.us
The state senate has no such rules limiting the number of bills senators may introduce.
Sincerely,
Delegate Bob Marshall
PS Below is a news article from the Collegiate Times on the press conference Del Gilbert and I held.
Tabled concealed carry legislation sparks debate
by Gordon Block, CT news reporter
Tuesday, March 4, 2008; 11:20 AM
RICHMOND -- New legislation from two Virginia state delegates has caused controversy following recent incidents at college campuses nationwide. The legislation, HB 424 and HB 1371, introduced by delegates Robert Marshall (R-13) and Todd Gilbert (R-15), would allow faculty members to carry weapons into classrooms.
Both HB 424 and HB 1371 were left in committee, meaning that the bills have been killed for the 2008 session. Marshall and Gilbert came together for a press conference with members of the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus Monday morning. At the conference both legislators defended the ability for professors to carry weapons.
"You entrust your son or daughter's with them for their future training, and they should be trusted enough so we can say 'You can do this,'" Marshall said.
Gilbert noted the ability for citizens to protect themselves in violent situations.
"Bad guys will carry guns no matter what," Gilbert said. "Armed citizens can stop shootings."
Gilbert blasted the Virginia Tech Review Panels' assertion that more guns would have caused confusion during the shootings on April 16.
"I find this to be a shameful exercise of political correctness," Gilbert said. "The statement is based on pure emotion."
Also addressed were the fears that instructors would become targets of violence as a result of their ability to carry guns.
"There's nothing that puts an X on their forehead," Marshall said.
Representatives from Students for Concealed Carry on Campus also spoke out on the issue.
"If I pay money to go to a school I should be able to protect myself," said Logan Metesh, a sophomore historic preservation major and student leader for SCCC at the University of Mary Washington.
Other students echoed those feelings.
"If I'm walking on campus, I can defend myself," said Lyndsay George, sophomore English major at Virginia Tech.
Also mentioned was that those with concealed weapons permits are heavily accredited.
"People who do carry concealed guns are responsible and certified," George said.
Student supporters of the legislation called for those against the bill to consider the logic behind the bills.
"Those who are against the bills should check their facts and think about it," Metesh said.
Others asked for people to understand the issue.
"People opposed to the legislation are doing so for emotional rather than practical means," George said.
However, some universities, like Tech, do not agree with the newly proposed legislation.
"We don't believe guns belong on the campus or in the classroom," said Larry Hincker, associate vice president of university relations.
Others have questioned whether or not it would be effective.
"You can pro and con it all day, but it's not going to solve the problem. There are too many factors to make it a clear yes or no answer," said Jasper Cooke, member of the board of directors for the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement administrators.
The current session of the Virginia General Assembly adjourns Saturday, March 8, and will reconvene for an additional session April 16.
--
ACTION ITEM:
Let's all contact Speaker Howell and urge him to help us get all pro-gun bills a fair vote - no more Death Star subcommittees, no more bills disappearing into thin air.
If you're a constituent of Speaker Howell, be sure to mention that fact. He needs to hear that voting gun owners in his district are upset about the underhanded way he's killed pro-gun legislation.
*** BE POLITE, but FIRM ***
Delegate Howell's email address:
DelBHowell@house.state.va.us
Suggested title: Give pro-gun bills a fair chance!
Suggested message:
Dear Mr. Speaker,
Unlike recent years where the most important pro-gun bills either went to a committee controlled by anti-gun Democrats or the bills just disappeared into thin air, I urge you to use your powers to see that all pro-gun bills get a full and fair hearing in the House.
Please let me know what you are going to do.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]
-------------------------------------------
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
***************************************************************************
