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

08/26/09 - VCDL Update 8/25/09 - Part 2

of administrative penalties for licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers of firearms. Today, for most violations, BATFE can only give = a federal firearms license (FFL) holder a warning, or revoke his license. S. 941and H.R. 2296 would allow fines or license suspensions for less serious violations, while still allowing license revocation for the kind of serious violations that would block an investigation or put guns in the hands of criminals. This will help prevent the all-too- common situations where BATFE has revoked licenses for insignificant technical violations--such as improper use of abbreviations, or filing = records in the wrong order. S. 941 represents the first time such BATFE reform legislation has been introduced in the Senate. However, the House passed similar legislation (H.R. 5092) in the 109th Congress, by a 277-131 vote. A majority of the House--224 congressmen--cosponsored H.R. 4900 in the 110th Congress. A fact sheet on S. 941/H.R. 2296 can be found here: http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=251&issue=28 As of July 31, S. 941 has 10 cosponsors, and H.R. 2296 has 174 cosponsors. Please be sure to contact your U.S. Senators and Representative, and ask them to cosponsor and support S. 941 and H.R. 2296! You can call your U.S. Senators at (202) 224-3121, and your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121. ************************************************** 14. Jane Ann Morrison: Speak up when someone carries guns, urges violence to make statement ************************************************** A typical hysterical anti-gunner. We certainly don't advocate murdering politicians or anyone else for that matter. But carrying a gun and advocating murder are two very different things: protecting an innocent life vs taking an innocent life. http://tinyurl.com/lfwnxo www.lvrj.com JANE ANN MORRISON: Speak up when someone carries guns, urges violence to make statement Aug. 20, 2009 When Shakespeare wrote, "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers," it was a quip by a murderous villain designed to elicit a laugh about creating an ideal world in "Henry VI." But at a recent event where I spoke, listeners vented their hostility by bashing politicians. When someone said, "Let's kill all the politicians," it wasn't amusing, clever or Shakespearean. Yet I didn't call the man out on it. And I'm ashamed I didn't make it clear his comment, no matter how it was meant, offended me. Genocide is not funny. But disdain for politicians seems to be so commonplace that people feel free to say anything, no matter how hateful, and pass it off as "political discourse." Advocating genocide is not political discourse. Carrying guns to presidential speeches about health care is not political discourse; it's political theater and a scare tactic. Urging the murder of three judges is neither political discourse nor political theater. In today's world, some think it's OK to scream in fury at elected officials, especially when their real goal is to get television face time. Toting an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle on your back and a 9 mm pistol on = your hip to protest a presidential speech, as a man did in Phoenix on Monday, is more political theater, especially because an organizer said Phoenix police were told ahead of time that the gun-toter would be there. The Arizona Republic identified the man as "Chris." The newspaper's online poll showed that 59 percent of those who responded opposed taking guns to political events because it creates an environment of fear, while 32 percent thought it was just fine to exercise one's Second Amendment rights. What if "Chris" had been Seung-Hui Cho? Or Eric Harris? Or Dylan Klebold? Perhaps you've forgotten their names. Cho is the Virginia Tech shooter = who killed 32 students and teachers on April 16, 2007, before killing himself. Harris and Klebold were the shooters in the Columbine High School massacre. They killed 12 students and one teacher on April 20,1999, before killing themselves. How would you have felt about any of those three exercising their constitutional and legal rights by packing at a political rally? If you were giving a speech and saw someone walk in toting one or two guns, would you assume it was a political statement or wonder if this was about to become massacre central? How would you know if the gun bearer was sane or insane? Handguns were the impetus for shock blogger Hal Turner's indictment on = charges of threatening three federal judges in June. Turner wrote the appellate judges "deserve to be killed" for upholding Chicago's ban on = handguns. Then the New Jersey man went further, providing photos, work addresses and phone numbers on his Web site. He wrote that he would provide maps and home addresses later. His commentary wasn't just a passing reference. He wrote: "Let me be the first to say this plainly: These Judges deserve to be killed. Their blood will replenish the tree of liberty. A small price to pay to assure freedom for millions." Turner went on to refer to the murder of a judge's mother and husband, = writing: "Apparently, the 7th U.S. Circuit court didn't get the hint after those killings. It appears another lesson is needed." And he continued: "These Judges deserve to be made such an example of as to send a message to the entire judiciary: Obey the Constitution or = die." A jury will decide whether Turner is guilty of threatening to assault or murder a U.S. judge with intent to retaliate against a judge performing official duties. His attorney argues that the First Amendment protects Turner. We'll wait to see if urging the murder of specific people qualifies as "uninhibited, robust, and wide-open" debate on public issues, which is = protected free speech, or if it's more like yelling fire in a theater and creating a panic, which is not. Until then, I question why listeners remain silent when people talk about killing politicians or judges? In my case, I didn't want to be rude. And frankly, I was stunned. But it's time to speak out against those who advocate genocide [PVC: You bet!], encourage murder [PVC: Agreed] or tote guns at political speeches and town hall meetings [PVC: No, now you have gone way off the deep end and your bigotry is showing]. Our silence seems too much like tacit agreement. ************************************************** 15. More on anti's hate agenda ************************************************** Truth would "take away the whole redneck right-wing extremist thing." = Finally, a little candidness from the media. A conversation between gun book author and activist Alan Korwin and the local NBC-TV affiliate in Phoenix: -- Alan wrote: I mentioned to the local NBC-TV affiliate that the media seemed to be avoiding the fact that Chris, the well-known local libertarian with the rifle (and a sidearm), was black. "Well, we're not supposed to mention race if it's not a key part of the story."* My eyebrows shot up. "You have a black man with a gun! At a rally for the black president! That's not relevant?" So she sheepishly admitted, with a chuckle, "Well, that would take away the whole redneck right-wing extremist thing." This is known in "news" circles as objective reporting. *This is in fact a guideline Society of Professional Journalists recently introduced, to reduce the appearance of black people and the mention of black people, typically because they are over-represented in crime stories. ************************************************** 16. MSNBC follow up: Um, we were speaking 'generally' ************************************************** Anchor spoke "generally" about white racists with guns, despite specific fact of black man with AR-15 at town hall meeting http://tinyurl.com/n48xnp michellemalkin.com Michelle Malkin links to this story from Hot Air: -- "Contessa was speaking generally and not about that specific person with the automatic weapon[sic]." -- Also, Americans for Limited Government has demanded that MSNBC fire those responsible. -- www.politico.com ALG to MSNBC: Fire Brewer, Ratigan, Toure August 20, 2009 Michael Calderone Blog I wrote earlier how an MSNBC segment is drawing heat from conservatives who accuse the network of selectively cropping an image so as not to show that one of the people carrying guns at an Obama event was an African-American. Now, Bill Wilson, president of Americans for Limited Government, is now calling on the network to fire those responsible for producing the = broadcast, in what he describes as a "nefarious assault on decency." "On behalf of the nearly half million members of Americans for Limited = Government -- and tens of millions of other equally appalled Americans = of all races nationwide -- I hereby demand the immediate termination of Contessa Brewer, Toure, Dylan Ratigan and any and all others involved in any way with the fraudulent "news" that ran in the 10:45AM = segment of your August 18 broadcast." Wilson sent the letter to NBC News President Steve Capus, and copied GE chief Jeffrey Immelt and MSNBC president. UPDATE: An MSNBC spokesperson said the claim against the network are = "completely ridiculous." UPDATE 2: Olbermann showed more footage [http://tinyurl.com/mqyq4] of = the man on Aug. 19. Mr. Steve Capus NBC News 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10112 Dear Mr. Capus: On Tuesday, August 18, at 10:45 AM, your network -- with a blatantly racist broadcast -- took the falsification of the news to a dangerous new low. I am writing to you today on behalf of the 400,000 members of = Americans for Limited Government nationwide to ask that all involved in this nefarious assault on decency be immediately fired from their jobs. I am referring, of course, to the MSNBC "news" cast on that morning in = which your anchors hysterically raised the specter of impending racial = violence -- while carefully cropping the very video upon which they based their duplicitous charges. Leading audiences nationwide to believe that militant whites were mounting violence against a black President, they deliberately covered up the fact that the individual they were framing was himself African-American. I could go on with a graphic description of the horrendous misrepresentation foisted on the American people by your anchors and those who worked with them on your distorted reportage, but by now, I am sure that you are well aware of the despicable fraud they perpetrated. Even if you, like most Americans, were not watching MSNBC = at the time, you undoubtedly have been apprised of the transgression by now. Therefore, I will not waste your time or mine regurgitating the facts of the blatant abuse of the public trust. Instead, let me simply get to the vital thrust of this letter: On behalf of the nearly half million members of Americans for Limited Government -- and tens of millions of other equally appalled Americans = of all races nationwide -- I hereby demand the immediate termination of Contessa Brewer, Toure, Dylan Ratigan and any and all others involved in any way with the fraudulent "news" that ran in the 10:45AM = segment of your August 18 broadcast. You network has besmirched the dignity and honor of American people. You have endangered the life of the President of the United States. You have purposely fanned racial tensions. And you have deliberately lied to your own audience. Failure on your part to act will be proof positive that you, your corporation and the corporation that owns you intended this deception. = As such, you can no longer claim to be "press" in any sense of the word but will have crossed the line, becoming a political advocacy organization. That, then, becomes a matter for the FCC and the courts to consider the proper punishment for this gross transgression of the rules of a civil society. Thank you. William Wilson President Americans for Limited Government cc: Jeffrey Immelt, President and Chairman, General Electric Phil Griffin, President MSNBC News ************************************************** 17. Good video to counter MSNBC edit of Obama rally ************************************************** Black AR-15 owner dispels rednecks with guns myth. This is a good video to watch if you haven't had the opportunity to interface directly with an anti. David Matthews emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/mmn4vd I found this video on YouTube. While it doesn't show his rifle, it does show the black man that carried it explaining his position on the = 2nd Amendment very eloquently to a woman who was concerned about him having it. It appears to be a personal video and not from a news agency. ************************************************** 18. Man carries 'assault' rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/pan7ek Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal updated 1:15 a.m. EDT, Tue August 18, 2009 PHOENIX, Arizona (CNN) -- A man toting an assault rifle was among a dozen protesters carrying weapons while demonstrating outside President Obama's speech to veterans on Monday, but no laws were broken. It was the second instance in recent days in which weapons have been seen near presidential events. Video from the protest in Phoenix, Arizona, shows the man standing with other protesters, with the rifle slung over his right shoulder. Phoenix police said authorities monitored about a dozen people carrying weapons while peacefully demonstrating. "It was a group interested in exercising the right to bear arms," police spokesman Sgt. Andy Hill said. Arizona law has nothing in the books regulating assault rifles, and only requires permits for carrying concealed weapons. So despite the man's proximity to the president, there were no charges or arrests to be made. Hill said officers explained the law to some people who were upset about the presence of weapons at the protest. "I come from another state where 'open carry' is legal, but no one does it, so the police don't really know about it and they harass people, arrest people falsely," the man, who wasn't identified, said in an interview aired by CNN affiliate KNVX. "I think that people need = to get out and do it more so that they get kind of conditioned to it." Gun-toting protesters have demonstrated around the president before. Last week, a man protesting outside Obama's town hall meeting in New Hampshire had a gun strapped to his thigh. That state also doesn't require a license for open carry. U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan acknowledged the incidents in = New Hampshire and Arizona, but said he was not aware of any other recent events where protesters attended with open weapons. He said there was no indication that anyone had organized the incidents. Asked whether the individuals carrying weapons jeopardized the safety of the president, Donovan said, "Of course not." The individuals would never have gotten in close proximity to the president, regardless of any state laws on openly carrying weapons, he = said. A venue is considered a federal site when the Secret Service is protecting the president and weapons are not allowed on a federal site, he added. In both instances, the men carrying weapons were outside the venues where Obama was speaking. "We pay attention to this obviously ... to someone with a firearm when = they open carry even when they are within state law," Donovan said. "We work with our law enforcement counterparts to make sure laws and regulations in their states are enforced." ************************************************** 19. White House backs right to arms outside Obama events ************************************************** Presidential spokesman Gibbs says 'laws don't change when the President comes to your state or locality" The White House has no problem with citizens who are obeying the law carrying outside the locations where the President is speaking I would love to have been a fly on the wall when Helmke heard that comment from the Presidential spokesman! ;-) Want to bet that he almost sprayed his coffee across the room? Notice how the reporter says that gun owners standing in a crowd were "milling" outside the meeting location. The reporter's choice of words show his position on the matter quite clearly: -- http://tinyurl.com/qx36q6 White House Backs Right to Arms Outside Obama Events But Some Fear Health Talks Will Spark Violence By Alexi Mostrous Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, August 19, 2009 Armed men seen mixing with protesters outside recent events held by President Obama acted within the law, the White House said Tuesday, attempting to allay fears of a security threat. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said people are entitled to carry weapons outside such events if local laws allow it. "There are laws that govern firearms that are done state or locally," he said. "Those laws don't change when the president comes to your state or locality." Anti-gun campaigners disagreed with Gibbs's comments, voicing fears that volatile debates over health-care reform are more likely to turn violent if gun control is not enforced. "What Gibbs said is wrong," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Individuals carrying loaded weapons = at these events require constant attention from police and Secret Service officers. It's crazy to bring a gun to these events. It endangers everybody." The past week has seen a spate of men carrying firearms while milling outside meetings Obama has held to defend his health-care reform effort. On Monday, a man with an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle strapped to his shoulder was outside a veterans' event in Phoenix. He was one of a dozen men who reportedly had guns outside the forum. Phoenix police made no arrests, saying Arizona law allows weapons to be carried in the open. Last week, a man with a gun strapped to his leg held a sign outside an = Obama town hall meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., that read: "It's time to water the tree of liberty." Before the same meeting, Richard Terry Young, a New Hampshire resident, was arrested by the Secret Service for allegedly having a loaded, unlicensed gun in his car. Young was stopped inside the school where Obama held the forum, having reportedly sneaked past a security perimeter. Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said incidents of firearms being carried outside presidential events are a "relatively new phenomenon." But he said the president's safety is not being jeopardized. "We're well aware of the subjects that are showing up at these events with firearms," he said. "We work closely with local law enforcement to make sure that their very strict laws on gun permits are administered. These people weren't ticketed for events and wouldn't have been allowed inside and weren't in a position outside to offer a threat." The immediate area occupied by Obama on such trips is considered a federal site where weapons are not permitted, Donovan said. Lawmakers holding tense town hall debates about health-care reform also have seen armed constituents. The staff of some, including Rep. Stephen I. Cohen (D-Tenn.), have taken precautions to guard against guns being brought into gatherings. "We asked everyone with firearms to check them with the sheriff before = we began the meeting," said Marilyn Dillihay, Cohen's chief of staff, describing an Aug. 8 town hall debate in Memphis. "We've never done that before." The decision was made because the number of people at the event and the subject of the debate created a "potentially a volatile situation," she said. "Obviously there's a lot of emotion with health care," Dillihay said. "Feelings are very tense, and we were just trying to make sure that things were safe." One man at the meeting disclosed that he had a firearm and complied with a request to put it in his vehicle, she said. Other lawmakers said they intended to take no precautions in future town hall meetings or to ask the advice of local law enforcement. C.J. = Karamargin, a spokesman for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), said the congresswoman will "balance rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment and providing her constituents with a safe forum to share their views." Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino, said concern about whether Obama will enact new gun restrictions may also be contributing to the tense political climate. "There's a lot of anger out there," Levin said. "A key thing that's been bubbling under the surface is what's going on = with President Obama and guns," he said. "There is a real question mark not only for extremists but for gun rights advocates in the mainstream." Staff writer Carrie Johnson contributed to this report. ************************************************** 20. Gun rights, control groups find fight in health debate ************************************************** GOA: government health care database could be used to disarm 'medically unfit' gun owners http://tinyurl.com/nl3baf Gun rights, control groups find fight in health debate By Jordy Yager Posted: 08/21/09 09:10 AM [ET] A Virginia-based gun rights group has taken issue with the Democrat- led healthcare proposals, saying that the proposed plans could strip citizens of their rights to own a gun. The Gun Owners of America group, which boasts more than 300,000 members, has been warning its ranks that the proposed healthcare legislation would compile the information of Americans into a government database. The group says that by using this data, the government could deem a citizen "medically unfit" to carry a gun. "All of the proposals that we're aware of would handle people's health = data that way," said Larry Pratt, executive director of the group. "And then you end up having a gazillion people lose their gun rights because of some medical record that someone doesn't like, where they say, 'Oh, that might be a danger to their self or others.' No trial, no due process, just gone." The group also objects to Health and Human Services Secretary Katherine Sebelius, saying that she is prone to restrict gun rights. "It wouldn't be any problem for her to drag up some old discredited study from the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and say, 'Guns are contagious and they're a public health menace. This is another reason for someone to pay a surtax on their insurance because they're causing all of that trouble in the emergency room,'" Pratt said. "That means that we have a dog in this fight." But Paul Helmke, president of the gun control group Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said Pratt has the wrong linkage between gun rights and healthcare. "One of the burdens on our healthcare system are the 70,000 to 80,000 people that suffer gunshot wounds every year and survive, ending up in = wheelchairs, or showing up in emergency rooms without insurance after being shot. There is a connection [between healthcare and gun rights] but it's not the connection that Larry Pratt is talking about. We as a = society are paying a large portion of the cost for this gun violence." While Pratt said he has not expressly asked his group's membership to brandish their firearms at political forums, he fully supports the demonstrators who were seen earlier this week with their licensed guns = protesting outside the Phoenix convention center where Presdent Barack = Obama was speaking. Pratt said it helps draw attention to their objections of the healthcare bill and that it could help spur the public to not be shocked when citizens are seen carrying legal firearms in public. "I think it's been helpful," Pratt said. "These fellas hit the jackpot = with national publicity. Hopefully a discussion [will result] that will make it plain that good gun control is when a cop or a citizen has their gun in their holster. Just as we'd typically be unalarmed to = see a cop with a piece on his hip, we shouldn't have any different reaction to anybody else. A cop is just us with a uniform." But Helmke, a former mayor of Fort Wayne, Ind., says that the presence = of guns makes attendees at these forums nervous and it stifles political debate. "Our system of government is built on a robust system of public debate = and how much are you going to argue with a guy that's carrying a gun?" = Helmke said. "It's a level of intimidation, a level of bullying that is inappropriate in our public discourse. You worry enough about people carrying signs on sticks; well, guns are a whole new level of escalation. It endangers people at these events." ************************************************** 21. Another good guy wins story ************************************************** 23-year-old Milwaukee man ends armed robbery by drawing own gun http://tinyurl.com/ow9bl2 Victim Kills Would-Be Robber By Elizabeth Braun, Melanie Stout MILWAUKEE - A 23-year-old Milwaukee man was being robbed at gunpoint when he pulled out his own gun and fatally shot one of the suspects. It all happened early Thursday near 1st and Clarke. The 23-year-old man was walking his girlfriend home when two teenagers pulled out a gun and tried to rob them. But the victim also had a gun. He shot and killed one suspect, 17-year- old Kevin Ollie. Ollie's gun also went off, and he accidentally shot the other teen robber before he died. The robbery victim's family says he had no choice but to fight back. The District Attorney's office agreed. Chief Deputy District Attorney Kent Lovern said the victim acted in self-defense and will not be charged with any crime. But the surviving robber, Damien Cole, 19, has been charged with felony murder for his role in the incident where some died during the commission of another crime. He could get up to 55 years in prison on that charge. Cole also faces charges of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery. ************************************************** 22. Permit holder rescues boy from kidnapper w/o using firearm ************************************************** 'You see stuff like that on TV and you don't think it can happen to you,' says Vernal woman http://tinyurl.com/ngxaln [includes a video] Vernal woman credited for saving boy from kidnapper August 10th, 2009 * 9:58pm VERNAL -- Authorities are crediting an alert driver in Vernal for foiling the attempted kidnapping of an 8-year-old boy. Shalyn Searle says she never thought twice about stopping to help the boy. "He was screaming out, 'Help me! Help me!' I could hear him from in my = car with the windows rolled up," Searle said. She was on her way home Sunday morning when she saw a man, later identified as 22-year-old Joseph Yump, grabbing a little boy who was fishing at Kid's Canal. "He was kicking and screaming. The guy had him by the wrists and up here on the arm," Searle explained. "He lifted him up off the ground." Searle pulled over, called 911 and got out of her car. Once the suspect knew someone was watching him, he let go of the boy and continued to go north on 1500 West. Minutes later, he was arrested a few blocks away at 500 North. Searle says she was just concerned about the boy, who was visibly shaken up. "The little boy told me, 'I tried to jump in the water to get away," Searle said. "I was like, 'You don't know him at all?' He said, 'No.' Then he said to me that, you know, 'He said he wasn't going to kill me.'" Searle has a concealed weapons permit and a gun in her car. She can't believe she was put in a situation where she thought about using it. "It's something I'll never forget, that little boy's face," she said. "You see stuff like that on TV and you don't think it can happen to you. And I'm sure people don't think it can happen to their children." The Uintah County Sheriff's Office says Yump is known around town for his strange behavior, but he has never done anything like this before. Searle says it didn't surprise her that the boy was without a parent, because Vernal is seen as a small, safe town." Story compiled with contributions from Nicole Gonzales and Adam Thomas. ************************************************** 23. Gun law complaints trail Obama during park tours ************************************************** A small number of irrational antis are still trying to urge the President to stop loaded guns from being allowed in national parks. = And Paul Helmke with the Brady Campaign is showing that he can be as irrational as the best of them: http://tinyurl.com/n9g8qy Gun law complaints trail Obama during park tours Associated Press Updated: 08/15/2009 09:22:35 AM PDT BIG SKY, Mont. -- Family in tow for a tour of national treasures far from Washington, President Barack Obama is trailed by criticism from gun opponents and parks advocates for allowing firearms into such majestic places as Yellowstone. "There is still time for Congress and the president to take steps to keep loaded firearms away from the valleys of Yellowstone, the cliffs of Yosemite, and the Statue of Liberty -- but they need to act quickly," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent = Gun Violence. A bill that Obama signed in May permits licensed gun owners to bring firearms into national parks and wildlife refuges as long as state law =