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 3

writing on one's computer-printed luggage tag) or restrictions on how locks should be applied to luggage. Such matters can be corrected by standing one's ground and politely requesting a supervisor. Having a copy of the pertinent rules and showing them often helps. I have made a two-sided sheet summarizing these rules available on my web site. Some travelers I know find it comforting to keep a copy (sometimes laminated) with them when flying. It is almost self-evident where such uninformed staff are likely to be = encountered. Rural parts of the country have a rich firearms heritage. = Small airports in these regions are almost never a problem. Employees in major urban centers where gun laws are strict and individuals servicing flights to foreign destinations with repressive laws are less likely to have encountered armed citizens in the past. Airline Policies Here is a matter of significant concern for me and a cause of many needless headaches for countless armed travelers. A number of carriers = impose regulations and restrictions that go well beyond the Federal standard, and violation of their rules can lead to large financial penalties or denial of baggage outright. Most often, issues surrounding the number of firearms being transported or the inclusion of ammunition are what cause difficulty. As a helpful guide to sorting = the dizzying array of red tape, I have prepared a write-up on my web site that shows each specific way that all airlines deviate from the basic TSA standard. How their policies can affect you is outlined, and = (to simplify matters further) a basic "letter grade" is assigned to each carrier as a reflection of how their rules are written and how they treat the firearm issues in public statements. The carriers with sensible and accommodating policies include US Airways, SouthWest, and Continental's stateside service. Among the worst airlines are AirTran and especially Jet Blue and NorthWest Airlines. The extent of these last two carriers' dislike of firearms is hard to imagine. You can read full accounts of their public statements and an analysis of their awful policies in the "Airline Report Cards" section of my web site. Distant Screening Areas In most airports, the "secondary screening area" (where TSA officers will give your luggage a once-over before you leave it in their care) is relatively close to your check-in desk. To the end of a row of counters or sometimes across the arrival hall just behind where you are standing is typically the farthest you have to walk. If you've shelled out three dollars for a Smart Carte or employed a skycap for assistance, it's best to keep them around just in case a longer journey is necessary. On occasion (particularly in the international wing of airports) there = simply is no secondary area. Bags are taken (locked) right at check- in, and you will be paged if something alerts and you need to open things up. (This can lead to awkward requests by TSA officers asking you to surrender your key or combination to them so they can take it to a secure area where your bag is waiting. This is NOT legal. Do not part with your key, as it should remain in your possession at all times. Escalate matters to a supervisor if necessary.) Methods of Locking Bags Here is where the greatest confusion presents itself concerning flying = with firearms. Depending on who you talk to, what web sites you consult, and how a particular individual has been trained one can encounter a litany of advice. The following is the best that I can offer given both my research as well as my experience. If you are traveling with handguns, there is nothing particularly wrong with using a small gun case. PLEASE NOTE, however, that while it = may be legal to place a small, locked gun case into a larger, unlocked = luggage item... this is NOT recommended. Every instance of theft of a firearm from baggage of which I am aware has taken place in specifically this type of scenario. Even if you have a small pistol case, I beseech you to place it in a large hard-sided case and place your lock on that case. I should mention... even if your smaller pistol case is able to be locked, do not secure it. It is not unheard of for airport staff or TSA officers to tell travelers that a locked inner case precludes the need to lock one's outer case. I go a step farther and make certain that my locks cannot even fit on my inner pistol cases. Never give a bureaucrat an opportunity to request that you leave your outer bag unlocked. (That means no soft-sided luggage... not even partial hard- sided bags are acceptable.) Local Law Enforcement On very rare occasions, police officers at airports (particularly highly specialized units like port authority police or airport- specific departments) are unfamiliar with the "Safe Passage" rights of = travelers under the FOPA. While this is highly atypical, a handful of passengers have been detained if firearms in their possession are prohibited by local law. Google the Gregg Revell case of 2005 for more = information about the worst such incident on record. Again, this is by = no means the norm, but you would be well-served by familiarizing yourself with those facts and having the contact information of a good = lawyer. (It is beyond the scope of this article, but in this age one would almost consider knowing an experienced firearms lawyer to be part of responsible gun ownership. The defensive use of a firearm, even when fully-justified, will all but guarantee you a long line of legal issues. For the sake of your family, your property, and your well- being... be prepared for any eventuality.) No matter what happens, remember... you are following the law and you have a right to travel with your firearms. While the bulk of my travels have been blissfully incident-free, once in a while I will notice an aghast expression or quiet aside comment from nearby travelers. In my mind, this is both a good thing and a bad thing. Molon Labe I am proud of the firearms that I own. I am proud of my right to travel with them. I am proud to be seen with them in public. I like the fact that other citizens can see one of their ranks casually waiting in a line or proceeding to a destination while clearly armed. Now, I will admit that part of this involves the acute thrill of knowing that one or two anti-gun types are quietly wringing their hands... confronted with the plain reality of a freedom that they do not understand or support. But there is something more, something much = more. Most of all, I enjoy traveling with firearms not because of the occasional chagrined emotion it stirs up in the small-minded, but because of the lack of emotion it so often elicits from those around me. The way I see it, this is a very healthy aspect of a free society. = Witnessing people simply going about their lives while in possession of firearms is a good thing, in my view. There is a very powerful image (left) that stuck with me from the first time it scrolled across my screen. It is a photograph taken in a = grocery store in Switzerland. Looking down an aisle lined with canned goods and produce, one sees a young man strolling away from the camera. He is in the service (as are all able-bodied Swiss males aged between 19 and 31) and returning home from a day of drills and exercises. Slung across his back is his Sig 550 assault rifle. And around him, amid the handful of citizens pushing shopping carts and squeezing loaves of bread and reaching for jars of peas, all is normal. To me, that is the true sign of a society with healthy attitudes toward gun possession. And that is what we contribute to every time we = announce to co-workers that we're going to the range after five o'clock... every time our concealed carry piece peeks out from under a = shirt when we place a library book back on a high shelf... every time a family of four headed to Disney World sees us with an M-14 or a 1911 = laying in an open Pelican Case at the airport check-in desk. Normalizing gun ownership is something I take pride in, and I will continue to do so... until I can stroll into the local WaWa for a hot dog with a rifle slung over my shoulder and no one around me raises an = eyebrow. ************************************************** 20. Pastor urges his flock to bring guns to church ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/nzgd8j nytimes.com June 26, 2009 Pastor Urges His Flock to Bring Guns to Church By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Ken Pagano, the pastor of the New Bethel Church here, is passionate about gun rights. He shoots regularly at the local = firing range, and his sermon two weeks ago was on "God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry." And on Saturday night, he is inviting his congregation of 150 and others to wear or carry their firearms into the sanctuary to "celebrate our rights as Americans!" as a promotional flier for the = "open carry celebration" puts it. "God and guns were part of the foundation of this country," Mr. Pagano, 49, said Wednesday in the small brick Assembly of God church, where a large wooden cross hung over the altar and two American flags jutted from side walls. "I don't see any contradiction in this. Not every Christian denomination is pacifist." The bring-your-gun-to-church day, which will include a $1 raffle of a handgun, firearms safety lessons and a picnic, is another sign that the gun culture in the United States is thriving despite, or perhaps because of, President Obama's election in November. Last year, the National Rifle Association ran a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign against Mr. Obama, stoking fears that he would be = the most antigun president in history and that firearms would be confiscated. One worry was that a Democratic president and Congress would reinstitute the assault-weapons ban, which expired in 2004. But there is little support for the ban. Mr. Obama and his party have largely ignored gun-control issues, and the president even signed a measure that will allow firearms in national parks. Still, the fear remains that Mr. Obama, and his attorney general, Eric = H. Holder Jr., will crack down on guns sooner or later. That -- along with the faltering economy, which gun sellers say has spurred purchases for self-defense -- has fueled a record surge in gun sales. "Every president wants to be re-elected, and gun bans are pretty much a nonstarter for getting re-elected," said Win Underwood, owner of the = Bluegrass Indoor Range here. "What I suspect is going to happen is, Obama's going to cool his jets until he can get re-elected, and then he'll start building his legacy in these hot-button areas." When Mr. Obama was elected in November, federal instant background checks, the best indicator of gun sales, jumped 42 percent over the previous November. Every month since then, the number of checks has been higher than the year before, although the postelection surge may be tapering off, as all surges eventually do. While the number of checks in April increased 30 percent from the year before, the number of checks in May (1,023,102) was only 15 percent higher than in May 2008. The National Rifle Association says its membership is up 30 percent since November. And several states have recently passed laws allowing gun owners to carry firearms in more places -- bars, restaurants, cars = and parks. "We have a very active agenda in all 50 states," said Chris W. Cox, legislative director of the N.R.A., widely considered the country's most powerful lobby. "We have right-to-carry laws in over 40 states; 20 years ago, it was in just six." Of the 40 states with right-to-carry laws, 20 allow guns in churches. Public attitudes also seem to be turning more sympathetic to gun owners. In April, the Pew Research Center found for the first time that almost as many people said it was more important to protect the rights of gun owners (45 percent) than to control gun ownership (49 percent). Just a year ago, Pew said, 58 percent said gun control was more important than the rights of gun owners (37 percent). Gun-control advocates say they feel increasingly ineffective, especially after a recent spate of high-profile shootings, including last month's murder, inside a church in Kansas, of a doctor who performed late-term abortions. "We've definitely been marginalized," said Pam Gersh, a public relations consultant here who helped organize a rally in Louisville in = 2000, to coincide with the Million Mom March against guns in Washington. "The Brady Campaign and other similar organizations who advocate sensible gun responsibility laws don't have the money and the political power -- not even close," she said. "This pastor is obviously crossing a line here and saying 'I can even take my guns to church, and there is nothing you can do about it.' " Ms. Gersh said she was not aware that a group of local churches and peace activists were staging a counterpicnic -- called "Bring your peaceful heart, leave your gun at home" -- at the same time as Mr. Pagano's event. But news media attention -- some from overseas -- has focused on Mr. Pagano, who has been planning the event for a year, in celebration of the Fourth of July. Cameras will not be allowed in the church, he said, to protect the congregation's privacy. The celebration will feature lessons in responsible gun ownership, Mr. = Pagano said. Sheriff's deputies will be at the doors to check that openly carried firearms are unloaded, but they will not check for concealed weapons. "That's the whole point of concealed," Mr. Pagano said, adding that he = was not worried because such owners require training. Mr. Pagano said the church's insurance company, which he would not identify, had canceled the church's policy for the day on Saturday and = told him that it would cancel the policy for good at the end of the year. If he cannot find insurance for Saturday, people will not be allowed in openly carrying their guns. Arkansas and Georgia recently rejected efforts to allow people to carry concealed weapons in church. Watching the debate in Arkansas was = John Phillips, pastor of the Central Church of Christ in Little Rock. In 1986, Mr. Phillips was preaching in a different church there when a = gunman shot him and a parishioner. Both survived, but Mr. Phillips, 51, still has a bullet lodged in his spine. In a telephone interview, he said he found the idea of "packing in the = pew" abhorrent. "There is a movement afoot across the nation, with the gun lobby pushing the envelope, trying to allow concealed weapons to be carried in places where they used to be prohibited -- churches, schools, bars," Mr. Phillips said. "I don't understand how any minister who is familiar with the teachings of the Bible can do this," he added. "Jesus didn't say, 'Go ahead, make my day.' " Mr. Pagano takes such comments as a challenge to his faith and says they make him more determined. "When someone from within the church tells me that being a Christian and having firearms are contradictions, that they're incompatible with = the Gospel -- baloney," he said. "As soon as you start saying that it's not something that Christians do, well, guns are just the foil. The issue now is the Gospel. So in a sense, it does become a crusade. Now the Gospel is at stake." ************************************************** 21. Montel Williams wants tracker chips in guns ************************************************** Maybe they should imbed tracker chips in television personalities in case they decide to commit a crime? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiDVxUTXlaU&NR=1 ************************************************** 22. UK is violent crime capital of Europe ************************************************** Here we go again: GUN CONTROL DOES *NOT* REDUCE CRIME! It has the opposite effect: http://tinyurl.com/l5quws telegraph.co.uk UK is violent crime capital of Europe The United Kingdom is the violent crime capital of Europe and has one of the highest rates of violence in the world, worse even than America, according to new research. By Richard Edwards, Crime Correspondent Published: 7:00AM BST 02 Jul 2009 Analysis of figures from the European Commission showed a 77 per cent increase in murders, robberies, assaults and sexual offences in the UK = since Labour came to power. The total number of violent offences recorded compared to population is higher than any other country in Europe, as well as America, Canada, Australia and South Africa. Opposition leaders said the disclosures were a "damning indictment" of = the Government's failure to tackle deep-rooted social problems. The figures combined crime statistics for England, Wales, Scotland and = Northern Ireland. The UK had a greater number of murders in 2007 than any other EU country - 927 - and at a relative rate higher than most western European neighbours, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain. It also recorded the fifth highest robbery rate in the EU, and the highest absolute number of burglaries, with double the number of offences recorded in Germany and France. Overall, 5.4 million crimes were recorded in the UK in 2007 - more than 10 a minute - second only to Sweden. Chris Grayling, shadow home secretary, said: "This is a real damning indictment of this government's comprehensive failure over more than a = decade to tackle the deep rooted social problems in our society, and the knock-on effect on crime and anti-social behaviour. "We're now on our fourth Home Secretary in this parliament, and all we = are getting is a rehash of old initiatives that didn't work the first time round. More than ever Britain needs a change of direction." The figures were sourced from Eurostat, the European Commission's database of statistics. They are gathered using official sources in the countries concerned such as the national statistics office, the national prison administration, ministries of the interior or justice, = and police. A breakdown of the statistics, which were compiled into league tables by the Conservatives, revealed that violent crime in the UK had increased from 652,974 offences in 1998 to more than 1.15 million crimes in 2007. It means there are over 2,000 crimes recorded per 100,000 population in the UK, making it the most violent place in Europe. Austria is second, with a rate of 1,677 per 100,000 people, followed by Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Holland. By comparison, America has an estimated rate of 466 violent crimes per = 100,000 population. France recorded 324,765 violent crimes in 2007 - a 67 per cent increase in the past decade - at a rate of 504 per 100,000 population. The Home Office says there has been a downtrend in overall violence for the past decade. But last October it emerged that levels of violent crime in England and Wales had been underestimated for more than a decade because of a blunder in recording methods. Ministers admitted that some police forces had not been recording offences of grievous bodily harm with intent as serious violent crime. = When the offences were included violent crime figures immediately increased by a fifth. Separate figures disclosed in May showed that the number of people requiring hospital treatment after being seriously hurt in street fights or assaults has risen 50 per cent in five years. More than 20 people a day were taken to hospital accident and emergency departments in England last year after being hit, kicked, scratched or bitten. Alcohol is blamed as a factor in half of the incidents and raises further questions over 24-hour drinking. Researchers admit that comparisons of crime data between countries must be viewed with caution because of differing criminal justice systems and how crimes are reported and measured. A Home Office spokesperson said: "These figures are misleading. Levels = of police recorded crime statistics from different countries are simply not comparable since they are affected by many factors, for example the recording of violent crime in other countries may not include behaviour that we would categorise as violent crime. "Violent crime in England and Wales has fallen by almost a half since a peak in 1995 but we are not complacent and know there is still work to do. " ************************************************** 23. Delegate "Janus"? ************************************************** Ah, the never ending saga of my misspelling of Delegate Bill Janis's name in a previous alert. But this time my head is really spinning. VA-ALERT reader Mandy Komar writes: I thought I would pass along that Janus was the God of Beginnings and Doorways... his image was often displayed over doors. He is one who looks back to the past and forward to the future. I would imagine this = to be a good quality of a politician! So don't feel too bad [about the = misspelling]. -- But then another member sent me an email saying that the god doesn't have two heads, but two faces. And, he points out, that being two- faced does not make the best politician. Sigh. ************************************************** 24. Who's afraid of driving alone? Not 89-year-old Rachel ************************************************** Yes - this video is about guns - be patient - it's worth the wait: http://tinyurl.com/mdth3m ------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************************