Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL)

Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
PO. Box 513, Newington, VA 22122 • 804-639-0600 • 703-372-3285 • 757-271-3705 • 540-446-5783

10/25/09 - VCDL Update 10/25/09 - Part 1

Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VCDL Update 10/25/09 - Note: Sorry for the high volume of alerts lately, but things are approaching a fever pitch with the elections just around the corner! 1. Antis are upset about VCDL protesting anti-gun mayors Monday and Tuesday night! 2. VT students join LU in fight for gun rights [video] 3. Candidates differ little in chamber debate 4. 2009 state delegate candidate forum [video] 5. Who needs a gun in a restaurant? 6. VB man held at gunpoint inside car 7. Va. Tech families target Albo 8. Reasons to question new poll showing 80% of Virginians favor gun control 9. Metro columnist Dan Casey: 'Deadeye Dan' targets online training law 10. Mousetrapping and other underhanded tactics 11. Surviving disaster: Mall shooting 12. NIH quietly begins to study gun safety 13. Update: More info on homeowner shot by police 14. L.A. Times Editorial: Targeting gun shows 15. U.S.-Mexico groups urge new U.S. assault weapons ban 16. Editorial: Get rid of the guns 17. LTE: "Gun" column fails to consider 2nd Amendment 18. Violent crime data 19. Gun facts 20. Ohio town to Bloomberg: Butt out 21. Awesome video from the National Shooting Sports Foundation 22. Kentucky pastor drops flock for his Glock 23. Norfolk Gun show 11/7 - 11/8 CANCELLED 24. Help needed at new Richmond gun show ************************************************** 1. Antis are upset about VCDL protesting anti-gun mayors Monday and Tuesday night! ************************************************** The antis have "learned" about VCDL protesting the Falls Church Mayor, tomorrow, Monday, October 26 and the Norfolk Mayor, Tuesday, October 27 and are, er, up in arms. They are trying to get their members to turn out at the city council meetings to counter our protest. As EM Matt Gottshalk said when he saw this, "I've never seen so much slander in so few words." Here is what the Virginia Center for Public Safety (how's that for a misnomer?) sent to their members (my comments imbedded in brackets) -- CRITICAL ALERT! Please forward this to anyone who can help! The most extreme representatives of the pro-gun movement are planning to show up at local city council meetings across the Commonwealth for the purpose of harassing and intimidating the seven Virginia Mayors who have courageously stood up in support of the safety and well- being of their citizens over the fear-mongering and cowardice of the gun carriers. [PVC: Where do I begin? Since when is redressing grievances with the government considered harassing or intimidating the government? And I have to laugh when I hear the antis calling US cowards. "Harassing," intimidating," and "cowardice" are THEIR qualities which they are "projecting" on us.] PLEASE DON"T ALLOW THEM TO SUCCEED! On a Web site called "Ammoland", the President of the so-called "Virginia Citizens Defense League" has pledged to show up at each Mayor's next City Council Meeting in order to try to browbeat and intimidate these public servants into capitulating to the VCDL's irrational and dangerous positions. [PVC: Protecting the Second Amendment civil right of Americans is "irrational and dangerous?"] Believing that no democracy can tolerate political action through armed intimidation, The Virginia Center for Public Safety hopes all Virginians, liberal, moderate, and conservative, will help us stand up to these extremists, who while cloaking themselves in the veil of law and order, are perfectly satisfied with felons, terrorists, and the mentally disturbed having easy, unscrutinized access to guns, including military-grade weapons, as long as they do too. [PVC: Great example of the temper that the antis have. Look at the viciousness of those words against all of you. VCDL members carry guns for self-defense and will attend these city council meetings as we always have - as an orderly law-abiding group of citizens. Only the antis have ever accused us of being anything else. The antis, on the other hand, are the ones you have to watch out for. VCDL does not want terrorists and violent criminals to have guns, but we are smart enough to know that you can't stop them from getting guns, even if every law-abiding citizen turned in every gun they owned.] WE NEED YOUR PRESENCE, PARTICULARLY THAT OF RESIDENTS OF THESE CITIES, AT THE FOLLOWING CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS: In support of Falls Church Mayor Robin Gardner: Monday, October 26th, at 7:30 PM In support of Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim: Tuesday, October 27th, at 7:00 PM As we learn about any other attempts by the VCDL to engage in this type of intimidation of public servants, we'll pass it on. We anticipate they will try to harass the other five mayors, also. [PVC: Heck, pass it on now. The other mayors are from Petersburg, Richmond, Hopewell, Portsmouth, and Alexandria. We just don't have dates/times yet for their protests.] ************************************************** 2. VT students join LU in fight for gun rights [video] ************************************************** VCDL joins students to support concealed-carry on campus http://tinyurl.com/yhs7gs7 www.wset.com VT Students Join LU in Fight for Gun Rights 10/16/09 | reporter: Jeremy Mills producer: Amy Foster Lynchburg, VA - Supporters of the Second Amendment gathered Friday afternoon at the Liberty University (web) School of Law for a gun rights symposium. The discussion of current legal cases turned into a cry for help from students at Virginia Tech. Some Virginia Tech students even skipped class to do it. Alyson Boyce with VT Students for Concealed Carry President said, "Two and a half years ago, if you would have asked me anything about gun rights, I would not have been able to tell you a thing." Now, Boyce is the president of the Hokie Chapter of Students for Concealed Carry Rights. "I lost a very good friend of mine named Mike Pohle on April 16th and after that, it really opened my eyes to the discussion," Boyce said. VT Students for Concealed Carry Founder Ken Stanton said he wants to be a college professor. He founded the student group after the massacre because he doesn't believe he should have to choose between education or self defense. "It's a decision I don't like to make. I am very passionate about education but I am also very passionate about surviving any kind of disaster so that I can continue to teach in the future," Stanton said. Virginia Citizens League President Philip Van Cleave said, "The worst crimes we have, if you think back on all these massacres, they happened in gun-free zones. Virginia Tech was a gun free zone." The student group asked for help in getting their college concealed rights passed next year in the General Assembly. They admit there's no proof it would stop future campus shootings, but they believe it will. "The reality is that nobody even had the chance to find out if it could have stopped or kept the body count down," Boyce said. Students for Concealed Carry Rights believe they have a good shot at getting their bill passed. They tell us it depends largely on who wins the governor's race. -------- Videos of the symposium: 6:00pm Promo Spot [video] http://tinyurl.com/yfp6p79 http://dl.getdropbox.com 7:00pm Spot [video] http://tinyurl.com/yjzu2ku http://dl.getdropbox.com -------- http://tinyurl.com/ylkgc5t www2.newsadvance.com Gun rights advocates speak at Liberty Robert Dowlut, General Counsel for the NRA, speaks to Liberty University students, faculty and members of the community on Friday. By Liz Barry Published: October 16, 2009 With a "Guns Save Lives" sticker on his breast pocket, Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, made the case Friday for why students should be allowed to carry concealed firearms on college campuses during the "To Keep and Bear" Second Amendment symposium at Liberty University School of Law. "At the end of the day, I don't think there should be restrictions of firearms. Period," Van Cleave said during the question and answer period. "There are always going to be criminals; they will always get guns. But the key is, can you protect yourself? God gave you one life and I think he wants you to protect it." Guest speakers Van Cleave and Robert Dowlut, general counsel for the National Rifle Association, took center stage during the two-hour dialogue in the law school's Supreme Courtroom -- a full-scale replica of the U.S. Supreme Court, complete with a nine-member bench and Roman columns. More than 100 students, faculty and community members attended the event, which was sponsored by the Liberty chapter of the Federalist Society, a national organization that advocates a legal system based on individual liberty, traditional values and the rule of law. The brainchild behind the symposium was third-year law student Jeremy Morris, who believes in a strict interpretation of the Second Amendment. "Especially in this time of Comrade Obama, excuse me, President Obama, we want to make sure our gun rights are protected," Morris said during his introductory remarks, eliciting some chuckles from the audience. Dowlut's speech focused on the status of gun rights on the state and national levels. He drew on his experience with the NRA and court cases old and new to show how gun law has been shaped over the past century. "State courts are a very important bulwark of freedom," Dowlut said. "The national Constitution is a floor, not a ceiling," he said, adding that broader gun rights may be achieved on the state level. Van Cleave, a former police officer, heads up the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a grassroots organization devoted to advancing Second Amendment rights in Virginia. He argued that lives might have been saved during the Virginia Tech massacre if students and faculty with concealed firearms permits had been allowed to arm themselves while on campus. Van Cleave said he believes that future shootings can be prevented or mitigated with looser gun laws, and cites colleges in Utah and Colorado as leaders in allowing guns on campus. Self-defense with firearms is a basic right, he said. "The worst crimes we have, when you think back to all those massacres, they happen in gun- free zones." The symposium was rounded out with comments from Virginia Tech student Ken Stanton, who founded the VT chapter of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus (SCCC). Stanton, who lost a friend in the shootings, said he was compelled to start the chapter as a way to make his campus safer. Liberty University also has a chapter of SCCC, headed by Clint Armstrong, a student and full-time IT employee at the school. Last spring, Liberty's board of directors decided that the school should stay gun-free, after Armstrong and others approached the school about allowing people with concealed handgun permits to carry weapons on campus. Armstrong, who attended the symposium, said he hopes Liberty will change its policy on concealed handguns. "I have my concealed carry permit and I carry a gun everywhere else I go, but I work here five days a week, full-time," he said. "It just never made sense that the place where I spend the most amount of time I have to be disarmed. I'm not as safe as I am when I go to Walmart or a restaurant." Morris is also a strong proponent for allowing guns on campus. "We live in a violent society, a society where a seemingly peaceful, safe community, like here in Southern Virginia, can see tremendous violence. "I have a natural right to protect myself that's guaranteed to me in the Constitution, and derivatively through the Bill of Rights." Federalist Society president Benjamin Boyd said that the symposium was a good fit for university. "Liberty University is well known for its conservative positions. We have an automatic appeal in that most conservatives and many evangelicals are emphatically supporting gun rights." He said he hopes the speakers' messages reached some anti-gun people in the audience, even if they were in the minority. "It's good just to see people coming together and speaking about gun rights." ************************************************** 3. Candidates differ little in chamber debate ************************************************** With both candidates in the 35th District wanting to close a non- existent loophole, I wonder if it is worth even going to the polls in that district? -- http://tinyurl.com/yft2wh8 www.connectionnewspapers.com Candidates Differ Little in Chamber Debate Delegate District 35: Hyland, Keam share views on transportation and gun show sales. By Julia O'Donoghue Thursday, October 15, 2009 The 35th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates is the definition of what politicos like to call a "swing" district. In recent elections, Democrats and Republicans have switched off in controlling the delegate seat that represents Vienna, Oakton and part of Fairfax during open races. During a special election in 1996, Democrat and Vienna town council member George Lovelace won the office over Republican and independent candidates with 51.6 percent of the vote. The very next year, he was defeated by Republican Jeannemarie Devolites Davis, who edged Lovelace out with 51.3 percent of the vote, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections. In 2003, the most recent election with no incumbent in the race, Del. Steve Shannon (D-35) narrowly beat his Republican opponent with 51.9 percent of the vote. And though U.S. president Barack Obama won the 35th district easily in 2008, Democratic nominee John Kerry beat U.S. President George W. Bush (R) with only 51 percent of the vote four years earlier, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. WITH SHANNON running for Virginia attorney general instead of delegate this year, voters in the 35th District will once again be filling an open seat in the House of Delegates. Republican Jim Hyland, who was a candidate for the same office in 2005, faces Democrat Mark Keam in the Nov. 3 election. Both candidates considered the district to be up for grabs and characterized it as independent and centrist in nature. Perhaps that is why Hyland and Keam articulated many of the same, moderate perspectives on issues during a candidates' forum before the Vienna-Tysons Chamber of Commerce Oct. 8. THE TWO CANDIDATES both break with their party's respective nominees for governor when it came to funding transportation projects. Hyland and Keam had virtually the same response when asked how they would approach finding a funding solution for Northern Virginia's transportation needs. "Everything has to be on the table," said Hyland. Keam opened his response with "every option has to be on the table." By "everything" and "every option," Hyland and Keam meant that both tax increases -- which candidates tend to call "new revenue sources" -- as well as shifting money from the general fund should be considered when coming up with a transportation compromise. "If you draw lines in the sand, nothing is going to get accomplished," said Hyland. But so far, leaders from both political parties in Richmond, including the gubernatorial candidates, have been unwilling to move from their partisan or ideological positions to reach a compromise. BOTH 35TH DISTRICT candidates rather candidly said there is a need for "new revenue" -- typically in the form of taxes -- to solve the transportation problem. "We have to be honest with ourselves about the need for new revenue," said Hyland. "Nobody wants to talk about new revenue. Both governor candidates skirt the issue frankly," said Keam, who agreed with Hyland. Hyland also seemed to have concerns about McDonnell's plan to sell off the commonwealth-run liquor stores to provide money for transportation. "I consider alcohol a very powerful drug and if we sell the stores, I want to make sure there are restrictions in place. We don't want to find two or three liquor stores on one street corner," said Hyland. THE TWO CANDIDATES also said they supported closing the so-called "gun show loop hole," which allows people who are not licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons without a background check at gun shows. People who are federally-licensed dealers, those who usually own a gun store, are required to perform background checks on customers at the gun shows. Keam said he owns a rifle that he keeps at his brother's house because he has small children. He said the U.S. Constitution does protect the right of reasonable people to own firearms, though guns should be kept out of the hands of people who are mentally ill, abusive, violent criminals or have similar problems. Hyland supports a former restriction in Virginia under Gov. Doug Wilder (D) that allowed people to only purchase one gun per month. He said he is worried that criminals, including gang members from Northern states, come to Virginia to buy multiple weapons because they are allowed to. POLITICAL REDISTRICTING was one issue on which the candidates differed. Every 10 years, the Virginia General Assembly redraws the political districts for the state senate, delegates, local government officials like supervisors and members of the U.S. Congress. Typically, the political party in power draws lines to benefit their own candidates. Almost always the residency and political viability of incumbents from both parties is also taken into consideration. "Incumbents of both parties make an absurd joke of our democracy through redistricting," said Keam, who favors having a nonpartisan commission draw the new district lines. Hyland disagreed with Keam, saying it is difficult to find a truly nonpartisan group of individuals, particularly if they have to be appointed by political officials. "The legislature has to do what the legislature has to do," he said. ************************************************** 4. 2009 state delegate candidate forum [video] ************************************************** VA state delegate candidates answer a question on gun laws. Delegates Shuler and Nutter and candidate Peggy Frank respond to the question on the first part of the video: http://tinyurl.com/yztrdze ************************************************** 5. Who needs a gun in a restaurant? ************************************************** One dead, one injured in Va. Beach pub shooting Josh Kellogg emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/yj995kp http://hamptonroads.com One dead, one injured in shooting at Beach pub By Alicia P.Q. Wittmeyer The Virginian-Pilot (c) October 19, 2009 One man was killed and another injured in a shooting early Sunday morning at a sports bar. Police received a call at 2:19 a.m. reporting the shooting at the Hometown Heroes Sports Pub, in the 3700 block of Tiffany Lane, Virginia Beach police spokeswoman Margie Hobbs said. They arrived and found two men with gunshot wounds. Both were taken to the hospital, where one was pronounced dead. The other had non-life- threatening injuries, Hobbs said. Police identified the dead man as Jawan Evans, 29, of the 3600 block of Burns Court. Hobbs said police do not have a good description of the shooter and ask that anyone with information call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. ************************************************** 6. VB man held at gunpoint inside car ************************************************** Motorist stopped for man crossing road, who then drew his gun and forced the driver to run errands with him before robbing him http://tinyurl.com/yjguppk www.wavy.com VB man held at gunpoint inside car Updated: Monday, 12 Oct 2009, 5:31 PM EDT Published : Monday, 12 Oct 2009, 4:19 PM EDT Jason Marks VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - A Virginia Beach man became the victim of a crime inside his own car. Virginia Beach police say a man with a gun forced the victim to drive several places before he robbed him. "We're very concerned about what happened," said Virginia Beach Master Police Officer Margie Hobbs. Police say on Saturday night a man stepped in front of a car on Newtown Road. The unsuspecting driver was simply being courteous. "He just saw him crossing the road," added Hobbs. "He just slowed down to let him cross and unfortunately became a victim of carjacking." Police tell WAVY.com the suspect jumped in the passenger seat and pulled out a gun. He told the driver to head to the 7-11 at the corner of Virginia Beach Boulevard and Wexford Drive. "When he pulled into the 7-11 he told the victim to stay," said Hobbs. "He took his car keys so he couldn't go anywhere and told him if he moved he would shoot him, so it's very scary for him." The suspect walked into the store wearing a white shirt. He made a couple purchases and got back into the car. The victim was so afraid he couldn't even make a run for it. They then drove another three blocks to Nelms Lane. Police say the suspect stole the victim's keys, wallet and cell phone before he ran off. The only evidence left behind was his visit to the 7-11. Police tell WAVY.com you can protect yourself by driving with your doors locked. If have any information on this case call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. ************************************************** 7. Va. Tech families target Albo ************************************************** Some anti-gun families are campaigning against Del. Dave Albo (R- Fairfax) for dragging his feet on closing the "gun-show loophole. Delegate Albo - how's supporting all those anti-gunners working out for you? http://tinyurl.com/ykhe7mn http://voices.washingtonpost.com VaTech Families Target Albo Relatives of victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre have been among the most vocal proponents of a change to state law that would close the state's so-called gun show "loophole," which permits private gun show vendors to sell to customers without first conducting a background check. Now, some of those same family members are campaigning against a member of the House of Delegates whom they say betrayed them in that fight: Del. Dave Albo (R-Fairfax). Funny thing is, Albo says he agrees with the familes that the law should be changed and even voted that way as chairman of the Virginia State Crime Commission. But some of the Tech families believe Albo is paying lip service to his more liberal Northern Virginia constituents while obstructing the families' efforts behind the scenes to appease pro-gun Republicans. Here's their beef: In January, Albo delayed a vote by the crime commission that would have recommended to the state legislature that the law be changed. The delay allowed Del. Terry Kilgore (R-Scott), an opponent of the legislation who was running late, to participate in a vote that deadlocked the panel. (More on that meeting here.) So while Albo voted yes, his actions imply that he wanted the effort to fail, they say. Their suspicions were confirmed, they said, when Albo later told them to "just forget it" after they asked for further assistance. Their outrage intensified this fall when Albo objected to his opponent, Democrat Greg Werkheiser, featuring Lori Haas in a mailer. By enlisting Haas, whose daughter Emily was injured in the shooting, Albo said Werkheiser was essentially exploiting the Tech tragedy for political gain. But in an open letter to Albo Tuesday, five family members including Haas countered that, "If anyone is guilty of exploiting the tragedy -- a tragedy that all of us live with every day -- it is you." "Earlier this year, Greg Werkheiser helped Lori Haas share, in her own words, how you treated her and your record on the issue," they wrote. "It is clear to us that despite your pledge to support us, you never intended to follow through. It was all a facade and clearly a political maneuver to obtain more votes this fall. Your recent mailer reinforced our belief when, like a typical politician, you used Lori's words against your opponent." Albo said he is puzzled by the actions of the family members. "Usually I get people against me when I vote against their bill," he said. "This is a new one." [By way of clarification, this bill has never gotten out of committee in the House over the years, and Albo has never had a chance to vote on it on the floor. The vote he is referring to was as part of the crime commission.] Albo today said it is routine to delay a vote to wait for tardy members of the crime commission. And he said the "forget it" remark was simply a statement of fact about the bill's prospects this year. "If you can't get it out of the Democrat-controlled senate, you're not going to be able to get it passed this year," he elaborated. "I'm really confused as to why this is all about me," he said. "I bent over backwards to give them their day. [Republican Del.] Rob Bell and I rewrote the entire mental health commitment laws. I am the sponsor and author of the bill that closed the [mental health] loophole that Cho actually used to get the guns. And I voted to close the gun show loophole exactly as they wanted, so I'm just confused about the animus." He speculated that the family members might be campaigning against him in the hopes that a Democratic House of Delegates would be more favorable toward their legislation. Haas acknowledged that she would like to see the Democrats take control of the House. "I would be happy to see a House of Delegates that would support gun safety, and I think our best shot is a Democratic-controlled House of Delegates," she said. But she said her problem with Albo goes deeper than that. "Del. Albo's actions belied his words," she said. "To our faces he said, 'Oh I want to close the gun show loophole.' His action was totally opposite." By Sandhya Somashekhar | October 14, 2009; 4:42 PM ET ************************************************** 8. Reasons to question new poll showing 80% of Virginians favor gun control ************************************************** Image you work for a newspaper who is losing readership and your political agenda is in the toilet. What to do? It's simple! Just stir up readership and plug your agenda at the same time by commissioning a "survey" that shows that 80 percent of Virginians want the imaginary "gun show loophole" to be closed and want a ban on concealed handguns in restaurants! What a joke. The results look like they polled the Brady Campaign. Here are a bunch of other surveys, with opposite results, that show just how phony the Virginian-Pilot's survey is: http://tinyurl.com/yjtwjvl Gallup poll October 9, 2009 "Gallup finds a new low of 44% of Americans saying the laws covering firearm sales should be made more strict. That is down 5 points in the last year and 34 points from the high of 78% recorded the first time the question was asked, in 1990." "The trends on the questions about gun-sale laws and a handgun- possession ban indicate that Americans' attitudes have moved toward being more pro-gun rights." - http://tinyurl.com/yeqlqz6 Rasmussen poll Monday, October 05, 2009 "Just 39% of Americans now say the United States needs stricter gun control, as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to review the constitutionality of state and local anti-gun laws. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 50% are opposed to stricter gun control laws, and 11% are not sure." "Yet, despite these findings, a plurality of Americans (46%) says it is too easy to buy a gun in America. Only 13% say it's too hard to purchase a firearm. One-out of-three adults (33%) say the level of difficulty is about right." - http://tinyurl.com/c5dykm CNN poll April 2009 "Since 2001, most Americans have favored stricter gun laws, though support has slightly dropped in recent years: 54 percent favored stricter laws in 2001, compared with 50 percent in 2007, according to Gallup polling. Now, a recent poll reveals a sudden drop -- only 39 percent of Americans now favor stricter gun laws, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll." - http://tinyurl.com/cwnlno ABC News poll April 2009 "Just 51 percent in this poll support the general principle of "stricter gun control laws," about the same as last September (50 percent) and down sharply from its peak, 67 percent in mid-2000. The 48 percent now opposed to gun control is the most in polls dating to 1989, and the number "strongly" opposed, at 36 percent, its highest in that time." ----- Here is the Virginia-Pilot story covering their made up news, er, "poll." http://tinyurl.com/yfg8yc3 http://hamptonroads.com Tighten gun rules, most Virginians say in poll By Bill Bartel The Virginian-Pilot (c) October 18, 2009 Most Virginians say they want to close the so-called gun show loophole that permits some gun sales without criminal background checks, and they dislike the notion of someone carrying a concealed firearm into a restaurant that serves alcohol, according to a new poll. The survey, conducted by Christopher Newport University's Judy Ford Wason Center for Public Policy, found that eight of every 10 likely voters interviewed wanted to change a state law that allows someone to buy a firearm from an unlicensed seller at a gun show without first undergoing a criminal background check. If the same sale is between a buyer and a licensed dealer at a show, a background check is required. Support for closing the loophole was shared by people of all ages and political and ethnic backgrounds - and in all regions of the state, the poll found. Almost 17 percent of those polled said they favor keeping the law as it is. A strong majority of those polled - 68.4 percent - also do not want Virginia to allow people with concealed-weapons permits to bring their Continued ...