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

07/10/09 - VCDL Update 7/10/09 - Part 2

concealed weapon, the number of those killed would have been fewer. Imagine if two good guys had weapons. Imagine if a lawfully armed citizen discovered this evil man in the moments before he began his killing spree. When I was in high school in California, a gang member placed an ice pick against my throat and threatened to stab me. That was many years ago, and it still haunts me. I have felt a duty since then not to let evil sweep my life away. The Times' tactics to marginalize concealed carry permit holders is un- American because it attacks a select group of us who have taken on a huge responsibility to protect ourselves and the community if the need = arises. It is a moral responsibility to protect all life. Gun owners don't hide their guns so they can drink in bars. The weapons are concealed for defensive purposes only. Again, it is only for law-abiding, responsible citizens. If you aren't = either of these, don't get a permit. ************************************************** 12. Paranoid nation? ************************************************** "What has happened to us as a reliant nation in the last half century that nearly 190,000 citizens in the great state of Virginia, for example, feel unsafe to the extent they have acquired permits to carry = a concealed weapon?" So, FBI statistics on crime are just a government conspiracy to make us think that there is actually such a thing as crime? And I guess the = media must be in collusion with the government in using actors to depict dead bodies on the nightly news. Ah, how those Ivory Towers of academia can take an emeritus distinguished professor out of reality and leave him immersed in a make-believe and very naive world: http://tinyurl.com/np7hur roanoke.com Paranoid nation G.V. Gibbs Gibbs, of Blacksburg, is an emeritus distinguished professor in the departments of Geosciences, Material Science and Engineering and Mathematics at Virginia Tech. It is gratifying to know that it is easier in Virginia and in many other states to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon than it is = to obtain a permit to drive a car. It is also gratifying to know that one can obtain a firearm of choice at a Virginia gun show without a check of one's criminal record. It is further gratifying that the guns-in-bars legislation, passed by both the Virginia House and Senate, and vetoed twice by Gov. Tim Kaine, will at long last likely become law under the governorship of either Creigh Deeds or Bob McDonnell, both strong advocates for giving = Virginians their Second Amendment-given rights, as deemed members of a = well-regulated militia, to carry concealed weapons in bars. Indeed, according to Larry Pratt, the esteemed president of Virginia Gun Owners of America, when one is having a friendly drink in a bar, it would be gratifying to know that when you're carrying a concealed weapon there would be a greater element of surprise than if you were carrying the weapon openly. It is even more gratifying to hear his assertion that a concealed weapon would give one an edge over any attacker. In effect, when in a bar, keep your pistol loaded, cocked and concealed. As aptly point out by Dan Casey, "With burning cigarettes banned from most restaurants, perhaps the most likely kind of bar smoke we'll see is the smoldering wisps that emerge from a hot pistol barrel after some permit-holding, gun-hiding patrons get into a face-off" ("Get ready for guns in bars," June 21 column). Such potential face-offs may well be gratifying to Pratt and to some of the sophistic members of the Virginia House and Senate, together with Deeds and McDonnell, but it would hardly be gratifying to the one = at the end of the smoking gun barrel. When I was in the Navy in the 1940s, sometimes but not often I experienced altercations in bars that sometimes resulted in a black eye or perhaps a bloody nose, but I never experienced anyone being shot. What has happened to us as a reliant nation in the last half century that nearly 190,000 citizens in the great state of Virginia, for example, feel unsafe to the extent they have acquired permits to carry = a concealed weapon? In short, are we fast becoming a nation of paranoids? If so, is the solution more concealed weapons? ************************************************** 13. Taking to the air in defense of open carry ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/ngcu5g ************************************************** 14. Politicizing the Holocaust Museum shooting is important ************************************************** VCDL member Jack Sherman writes: I must disagree with the Washington Times (EDITORIAL: Politicizing tragedy, 6/14/09). Politicizing the tragic Holocaust Museum shooting is of the utmost importance. The guard killed is the son of a member of my wife's church and I am of the Jewish faith and so this shooting touches home all the more. Let us not forget that the shooter was stopped by two armed and trained carriers of firearms. Had they and their guns not been available, imagine how high the number of victims might have been. The = museum was filled with visitors on that day. The killing of one individual was tragic but it could have been equal to or even worse than the Virgina Tech massacre. Bear in mind that the police only responded after the shooting. They were not there to prevent it. Gun free zones are nothing less than potential killing zones in this upside down world of ours. Whether it be armed guards or armed citizens, we must continue the fight for the right to self defense. ************************************************** 15. Good experience with FCPD ************************************************** A VA-ALERT reader recounts a positive experience being pulled over in Fairfax County: I just wanted to report a pleasant encounter I had with a Fairfax County PD officer who stopped me a couple weeks ago (for a burned out headlamp). Even though I know we CHP holders aren't required to notify, I choose to do so, as I have a number of friends who are cops, = and from their testimonial -- and my own personal experience -- the more "at ease" an officer feels, the less likely I am to get a ticket! As the officer approached my window, I handed him my license and CHP, and informed him I was armed. His immediate response was a casual: "Oh, that's fine." He handed the CHP right back to me, asked for my registration, and went back to his vehicle to run my info. After returning (and giving me a verbal warning about the burned-out light), = he and I had a pleasant chat about his experiences with CHP holders, how his system reports that we have them, and the upcoming gun show in = Chantilly. ************************************************** 16. Police: Man killed in Suffolk break-in had no gun ************************************************** Remember that in Virginia you aren't allowed to use deadly force to protect property, only human life. Of course if you interrupt a burglary in progress and they point a gun at you, that would change everything: http://tinyurl.com/nsrwns HamptonRoads.com Police: Man killed in Suffolk break-in had no gun SUFFOLK A man who was shot to death early Sunday by the owner of the store he had broken into did not have a gun, a police spokeswoman said Monday. James Howard Durden Jr. fired from outside his convenience store and in through a window at Ernest Scott Roop, 38, after he was alerted from home in the early morning hours Sunday to the break-in at his nearby business. Debbie George, the police spokeswoman, said Durden told police that Roop "pointed something at him," but she said she did not know if that = was when Durden fired. In the store, police found a tire iron that they think Roop used, but it was not near his body, she said. Meanwhile, police tested Durden's blood for alcohol after they noted - = and a breath test confirmed - the presence of it on him shortly after the shooting, according to a search warrant filed Monday in Circuit Court. Those details, as well as a review of surveillance camera footage, are = part of an investigation into whether Durden, 46, was justified in firing his .45-caliber handgun at his J&L Food Mart in the rural village of Whaleyville. The case then will be sent to the commonwealth's attorney to decide whether it warrants criminal charges, George said. In general, the law is very grudging on private citizens' use of lethal force, but it is more clear on the right to kill to protect a life than on doing so to protect property, said Anne Coughlin, a criminal law professor at the University of Virginia. Such cases are rare, and there is no recent Virginia case law on the topic, Coughlin said. Details such as how threatened Durden felt will come into play, she said. "This is a tough, tough call for a prosecutor," she said. Durden did not respond to a message left at his store Monday, and no one answered the door at his home. He was badly shaken by the incident, said Mike Fowler, a friend who was with Durden's family the day after the shooting. He said he was confident Durden did what he felt he had to do. The friends both own businesse s and have talked about how they would handle a burglary. Their consensus, Fowler said, was to shoot only if their life depended on it. "There's no way in hell James Durden would have fired on somebody unless he felt 100 percent his life was in danger," Fowler said. "If anybody thinks he went up there like John Wayne and started shooting through the window like a damn fool, they're crazy." The window, at the side of the store, had four bullet holes. Two men from Suffolk Glass Inc. replaced the 3-foot-by-7-foot pane Monday. One = of them, Sam Morris, said he replaced the same window about six months = earlier on another burglary attempt. Durden had been the victim of multiple break-ins, Fowler said. None had been reported to the police within the past two years, according to the department's crime analyst, George said. Less than half a mile down the road, Michele Dunning said her general store has been broken into four times since September. A suspect in two of th e cases was being prosecuted, she said. Few other businesses operate on the road that runs through Whaleyville. At the Food Mart, farm fields border two sides of the parking lot. Durden's home is just across the street. Inside the store, business seemed to run as usual Monday. Three men smoked cigarettes at a small table between the soft drink coolers and the racks of bread. One of them, Emmett Jessee, said he felt sorry for = the man who was shot but believed Durden was in the right. Over by the register, at least three surveillance cameras looked down. = Another pointed out toward the gas pumps through the window Durden shot into. The call to police came at 4:04 a.m. from someone from Durden's home, according to the search warrant. Minutes earlier, a device similar to a baby monitor had crackled to life in the house, alerting the Durdens = to the break-in, George said. Fowler said the couple kept the device by their bed. Durden's wife went along to check on the store, saw the man inside and yelled at him = through the window to leave, Fowler said. About two minutes into the call to police, the caller said shots had been fired, George said. The search warrant said the caller told police an unknown man was dead in the store. That man was Roop. To friends and family, he was "Scotty." He had struggled for years with drug addiction, his parents said Monday from their home, where Roop had been living. He had a criminal record, including a felony burglary conviction in 2003 that earned him jail time and was revoked twice, according to online court records. He also had an energetic, playful way about him and a 13-year-old daughter whom he adored, his parents said. He had recently befriended a 6-year-old neighbor boy who has cystic fibrosis. "Whenever he was sober, he was a sweetheart," said his mother, Diane Roop. Scott Roop recalled the time his son insisted on camping out on the side of a mountain, way up past where his family's hunting party spent = the night. Then there was the time his cheap reel broke on a big catfish, so he stripped to his underwear and jumped into a cold pond to pull the line in by hand. The Roops said their son tried to quit his drug habit several times. He'd get clean and start eating right and exercising for a few months, = but inevitably he'd falter. "He was a kind guy," Scott Roop said. "That's the thing about it that's so disturbing." ************************************************** 17. Kansas AG moves to recognize non-resident carry permits ************************************************** This means that those of you with Florida permits can carry in Kansas now. http://tinyurl.com/krb4kf nraila.org Kansas Attorney General Moves to Recognize 'Non-Resident' Carry Permits Monday, June 29, 2009 Kansas Attorney General Steve Six today concluded that the State of Kansas will now recognize 'non-resident' right-to-carry permits issued = by any of the 22 states already recognized. "NRA has maintained for years that language in the Kansas statute indicates that 'non-resident' right-to-carry permits should be recognized," said Chris W. Cox, NRA chief lobbyist. "This decision is a victory for gun owners as it expands right-to-carry laws and provides permit holders additional freedoms in Kansas to protect themselves and their families." At NRA's urging, Six re-evaluated the language and determined that the = statute indeed supports 'non-resident' permit recognition. The training, safety and proficiency standards and process required by applicable states are equal to or greater than the standards imposed by Kansas, therefore, it is possible to extend recognition. States affected by this allowance include: Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas. "Right-to-carry laws decrease crime and this measure will continue to provide law-abiding people options to protect themselves," concluded Cox. "On behalf of NRA members and gun owners throughout the country, we'd like to thank Kansas Attorney General Steve Six for his support of our Second Amendment freedoms." ************************************************** 18. Second Amendment includes parks, too ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/nhce22 durangoherald.com Second Amendment includes parks, too Article Last Updated; Wednesday, June 24, 2009 Wayne Hare goes to some pains to establish his credentials as a "gun lover" in his op-ed ("The Right to Bear Qualms," Herald, June 7). Then, he launches into an attack on the recent change in law that acknowledges that U.S. citizens have a right to possess operable firearms when traveling in our national parks. He finds nothing unreasonable in the prior regulations that required everyone entering a national park to disassemble, unload and keep guns = out of reach. He mocks the idea that "tourists visiting the parks are feeling so unsafe in the great outdoors that they are clamoring for the right to tote arms in their RVs and handguns on their hips." "If so," he says, "I haven't heard about it." Hare needs to read more. It's not bears and mountain lions that concern visitors to the parks, but human predators. The very remoteness of many park campsites and trails leaves visitors vulnerable to such predators. The murder of a mother and her daughter on a trail in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on July 11, 2006, = is a case in point. Crime doesn't stop at the park's edge. Crime and violence are increasing in our national parks. Regulations prohibiting firearms will likely be observed only by citizens who represent no threat to their neighbors and totally disregarded by those who do. The law- abiding are more vulnerable if criminals can be confident prospective victims will always be unarmed. It's difficult to quantify how much crime is deterred by lawful possession of firearms. Knowledge that the potential victim may be armed can be deterrent in itself. Crime may also be deterred by the mere display of a weapon. Unless a firearm is actually discharged in self-defense, you'll never read about these instances in the newspaper. Ware exhibits a curious animosity toward the National Rifle Association for its political action. What great prize has the NRA wrested from Congress other than acknowledgement that, like crime, our = Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms doesn't end at the park's = edge? Virgil R. Pulliam, Durango ************************************************** 19. Flying with firearms, a primer ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/lpcfod Packing & the Friendly Skies What You Need to Know About Flying With Firearms by Deviant Ollam In 2002, privacy activist John Gilmore gained national press attention = when he attempted to fly to Washington, DC without showing identification in the airport. It didn't go well. He was prevented from boarding his aircraft, denied passage to our nation's capital, and ultimately prevented from having a meeting with one of his Congressional representatives. Thus, in one instance, this successful businessman and noted critic of bureaucratic interference was denied the full extent of protections afforded to him under the 1st and 4th Amendments to our Constitution. In 2007, I began attempting to fly to various destinations while in possession of firearms. I have faired rather better than Mr. Gilmore in terms of my encounters with government functionaries and am pleased = to say that while many of our freedoms have suffered unconscionable assaults in recent history, the right to keep and bear arms has proven = rather resilient... even when exercised in an environment that most people incorrectly consider to be the pinnacle of a "gun free" zone. The plain fact is, in the United States of America we have the right not only to possess firearms but also the right to travel with them to = any destination we see fit. The Firearm Owner's Protection Act of 1986 = contains the Safe Passage provision, which explicitly elucidates that citizens have the right to journey state to state with firearms as long as they are locked and unloaded. This freedom of travel is unquestionable... even in instances where a party may cross borders and pass through jurisdictions with varied rules and regulations. As many of us who live along or near the Eastern seaboard know, we can drive through a state like New York with firearms even if they are not = legal in the state of New York... the jumble of incongruous and sometimes draconian local laws is not a concern for the people who are = merely passing by. Air travel is accorded the same treatment under Federal Law, with the national carriers being treated more or less like interstate highways. = No matter where the on-ramps and off-ramps are located, as long as gun = owners have their steel locked and unloaded, nothing is off-limits. There are some tips and pointers, however, of which one should be aware in order to make the process and painless and straightforward as = possible. Federal Standards The Federal Government, primarily in the form of the Transportation Security Administration, sets forth a series of guidelines and policies concerning how passengers my fly with firearms. For the most part, these standards are rather loose. The government leaves it up to = the airlines to specify any additional considerations that they see fit. That can sometimes be an issue (that is a topic which we will cover shortly) and while I'm never a champion of government interference with private entities, I wouldn't be averse to one single = "armed passenger's rights" standard imposed across all airlines. As common carriers, they are subject to some regulation. Keeping all parties in line with the bare minimum of rules as specified by the TSA = would be a fine thing, in this author's opinion. According to federal policy, passengers may travel with firearms as long as they are unloaded and packed in a fully hard-sided case that is locked and cannot be accessed by anyone except the passenger who is = checking said bag. Federal law also allows for eleven pounds of ammunition. The TSA policies do not say much about how your ordinance is to be packed, save for a prohibition of any "exposure" of the rounds. Ammunition is a key sticking point with many of the airlines, however, and we will cover this shortly. What to Expect at the Airport The actual procedure is surprisingly painless and uncomplicated, at least on paper. Passengers whose luggage contains firearms show up at the airport like any other traveler. They proceed to the check-in counter for their airline and have their bags weighed and processed in = the routine manner. However, the luggage is not immediately taken back = to the bowels of the airport. During check-in, you inform the airline that you are traveling with firearms. This should, naturally, be done sometime at the onset of the = affair... before someone signals a bag-thrower to toss your luggage on = a conveyor belt to be whisked away. When you alert your check-in agent = that you are traveling with firearms there is a bit of paperwork to handle. A "declaration form" (typically, just an index card with a carbon copy sheet affixed to the back side) is filled out with minor details, such as the date and flight number. The passenger signs this form and it is placed inside of the luggage bearing firearms. The legal text on this paper simply indicates that you have alerted the airline to the presence of firearms and assure that they are unloaded. Please note, while some of these declaration forms have the appearance = of a baggage tag (occasionally they even bear loops of string) they are NOT to be affixed to the outside of one's luggage EVER. This is a violation of Federal Law, not to mention a terribly stupid invitation for theft or baggage tampering. These forms belong INSIDE your luggage... preferably on the very top where TSA officers or others would immediately see them, indicating the presence of a firearm, no matter how deeply it may be packed amid folded shirts and sundry supplies. On occasion, you will be asked to demonstrate your firearm's safe status. I have more than once had the pleasure of dropping magazines, racking slides, or breaking open the action on a piece of steel in front of many other passengers. The pleasure I derive from this is not = visceral, and has little to do with bringing about a small, horrified look of shock on any hoplophobes nearby (something that hardly ever happens, I'm pleased to say) but comes from a deeper sense of citizenship and civic duty that I shall discuss later. Where the process diverts somewhat from routine practice is the next step. While most travelers would bid farewell to their bags at this point, you instead proceed to a TSA screening area. These are typically nearby... you may have seen them as you stroll through airport check-in halls. Often these roped-off areas are seen processing "special" baggage like oversized sports equipment, pet carriers, and the like. However, while those bags typically sit idle until a TSA officer is prepared to act on them, your luggage will receive immediate treatment. Because of the fact that firearm-bearing bags may not travel through the airport system unlocked, you stand by while the TSA performs some cursory tests on your luggage. In my experience, they typically just run things through a Rapiscan x-ray machine or perform an explosive residue swab test and if nothing alerts you're on your way. If there is a need for additional inspection, you are asked to unlock the luggage and stand by while a brief hand-scan takes place. I should note that in my experience, the TSA officers are much more respectful of someone's belongings when that passenger is standing right next to them, observing their actions. When everything is all clear, you are asked to ensure that your luggage is locked properly and it is sent on its way through the airport and ultimately to your final destination. No matter how many layovers, plane changes, and other interruptions your journey involves... the bags remain locked and no one is allowed to open them until they make their way to your hands at the final baggage claim. This is because of the fact that "TSA compliant" locks are not to be used. Proper, heavy-duty padlocks are what one should employ in this situation. Naturally, I have some models that I'm happy to recommend. It is important to understand just how vulnerable your typical "hardware store" padlocks are and how unsuited they are for this task. = Picking attacks, bump keying, shimming, and other methods of entry are = easy to do and, contrary to your typical street criminal attempting home invasion, the people stealing from luggage are skilled enough to attempt some of these tactics. Beyond this, the "TSA compliant" locks are all master-keyed. In addition to being very weak and susceptible to most common picking attacks, the master keys for these locks are poorly controlled and copies exist in great number. I would never trust my firearms with anything other than a "high security" padlock obtained from a locksmith or online dealer. Personally, I always secure my belongings with Abloy Protec locks. This style of rotating-disk mechanism is not only the closest I come to using the word "unpickable" but they are of significantly robust construction and operate smoothly under the most punishing conditions. = While heavy-duty models are available (and I sometimes will use these on certain baggage) the Abloy 321 padlock, commonly known as their "executive" model offers the same level of pick protection in a small, = economic package. The splendid web site securitysnobs.com offers them for a mere $25 each. Full disclosure - while I have no direct professional affiliation with = Mitch, the individual who runs this business, he is a friend and we have an established relationship of past commerce. He imports many of his items from Dutch locksmiths, some of whom are also acquainted with = me through the physical security consulting world. I am happy to see Mitch gain exposure and business, but I receive no financial reward from your patronage of his site or my mention of it in this piece. If you can find better prices elsewhere, please feel free to seek them. Heh, but I'll tell you right now... you can't. An interesting fact of which many people are not aware pertains to what constitutes a "firearm" that must be declared to the airlines and = locked. It is not just lethal guns used for self-defense that fall under the purview of these regulations. Any device which expels a projectile by means of a combustible propellant is a "firearm" in the eyes of the Fed. As you may know, attempting to rob a bank with a flare gun or recklessly discharging blanks from a starter pistol in public can get you slapped with a gun charge just as if you were brandishing a lethal weapon. The same holds true for air travel... flare guns, blank guns, and even various related items are all considered to be "firearms" under the law. All such hardware is to be declared and locked properly. While I have not personally flown with bare, stripped receivers or NFA- tracked items like suppressors, other individuals have. It might not be understood by airline staff initially, but these items require the same treatment. As many persons who shop on gunbroker.com are aware, anything that requires an FFL to transfer between states is a "firearm" subject to all relevant policies. While historical arms buffs may be aware that black power items manufactured before the turn = of the century are not legally "firearms" I would not expect airport staff or TSA officers to understand this distinction. If flying with a = Springfield Model 1842 or a Brown Bess, for the sake of easy travel and to protect such fine pieces of history, follow these procedures, declare them as firearms, and lock your luggage fully. Some of you may have realized from the above text, that it is quite possible to leverage these "nonstandard" firearms as a means to allow locking of your luggage even if your ultimate destination is in a region of the country unfriendly towards firearms. Flare guns are legal in all fifty states with no paperwork and even high-quality models are available as cheaply as $50. Google for the German Geco Flare pistol to find listings from Sportsman's Guide and similar outfits. Problems That Sometimes Arise I wish I could say that this is how things work one hundred percent of = the time, and that it has been nothing but smooth sailing through calm = seas when people have flown with firearms. Sadly, there are a number of hiccups that can arise. For the most part, however, they are easy to handle. Uninformed Staff Airline staff (and to a much lesser degree, TSA staffers) are sometimes unfamiliar with the rules surrounding transportation of firearms. The most common difficulties concern attempts to mark the outside of luggage (either by affixing the declaration tag or by writing on one's computer-printed luggage tag) or restrictions on how