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

05/14/10 - VCDL Update 5/14/10

Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VCDL Update 5/14/10 1. Reminder: VCDL meeting May 20 at Mason District Govt Center 2. PBS 'Need to Know' episode is now online 3. PBS 'Need to Know': Reactions and comments 4. The Second Amendment and the terror watch list 5. Bloomberg (naturally) focuses on terror suspect's gun purchase 6. Editorial: Gun plus booze equals stupor 7. RTE LTE: We will become the Wild West 8. Crimes decline, adult arrests increase in Va. 9. Why you might need a gun at a hotel 10. Open carry incident at the Fairfax Government Center 11. VCDL fixes Harrisonburg 'no firearms' on their website 12. Randy Forbes' newsletter: Protecting Second Amendment rights 13. Second Amendment quotes 14. Who needs a gun while standing in your front yard? 15. RMGO Lawsuit against gun ban wins - CSU backs down 16. Man arrested after loaded handgun, bullets found in vehicle 17. Editorial: Guns needed to stop Chicago murders 18. Wyoming now honors Virginia concealed handgun permits 19. KENYA: Your guns or your freedom, please ************************************************** 1. Reminder: VCDL meeting May 20 at Mason District Govt Center ************************************************** VCDL will have its monthly meeting in Annandale on Thursday, May 20th, at 8 PM, with fellowship starting at 7:30 PM. After the meeting, we will adjourn to a local restaurant for continued fellowship. The meeting is open to the public, so bring a friend, family, or coworker. Those who wish to carry to the restaurant will need to open carry as they serve alcohol. Starting on July 1, I won't have to bother with that statement! ;-) The meeting location is: Mason District Governmental Center 6507 Columbia Pike Annandale, VA 22003 Directions and more information is on the VCDL web site: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html ************************************************** 2. PBS 'Need to Know' episode is now online ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/vcdlneedtoknow ************************************************** 3. PBS 'Need to Know': Reactions and comments ************************************************** After the 'Need to Know' program aired, an anti-gunner sent me this jewel. So typical that group: 'There are several constants in your gun toting crowds.... you're all fat, ignorant and sport bad haircuts. So carrying around guns make you feel important and meaningful. How pathetic.' Who's pathetic? Also, Roy B Scherer emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/2v45woe The show has promise, though it clearly has a way to go. The part that sticks in my mind, unfortunately, is the look of stunned disbelief on the face of the interviewer when the pro-self-defense speaker mentioned that if there had been just one armed passenger on each of the two World Trade Center flights, the tragedy may well have been prevented. He seemed to go into brain-freeze at the thought of a gunfight inside a jet plane. Too bad that he wasn't capable of understanding that even the worst-case outcome of such a fight, causing the aircraft to crash somewhere random and kill everybody aboard, would have still saved several thousand lives. Perhaps the true difference between those who choose to carry means of self-defense and those who do not is that those who choose to act responsibly are the ones who aren't afraid to think about unpleasant possibilities. ************************************************** 4. The Second Amendment and the terror watch list ************************************************** Dave Hicks emailed me this: -- I can hardly believe it. The Roanoke Times actually comes out against prior restraint of 2A when there is no criminal conviction!. Wow! http://tinyurl.com/2cbaael blogs.roanoke.com May 7, 2010 Some Republicans are coming under undue ridicule for opposing an effort to block the purchase of weapons by people on the U.S. terror watch list. In an editorial for next week, we'll defend Republicans like Maine's Susan Collins and South Carolina's Lindsey Graham, noting that those on the watch list have been convicted of no crime and should not be stripped of constitutional rights simply because the government has decided they deserve extra scrutiny when they fly. We will, though, propose that the Department of Homeland Security be notified whenever someone on the list attempts to purchase a weapon, so that the purchase can be blocked - or at least investigated. ************************************************** 5. Bloomberg (naturally) focuses on terror suspect's gun purchase ************************************************** Dave Workman emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/2g5wwh8 www.examiner.com By Dave Workman May 5, 2010 [SNIP] Whatever else anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may be, he is predictable. It took less than 24 hours after authorities disclosed that a firearm was recovered from Times Square terror-bomb suspect Faisal Shahzad's car - left parked at Kennedy International Airport when he was apprehended trying to flee the country - for Bloomberg to appear before a Senate committee, calling for tighter gun restrictions... ************************************************** 6. Editorial: Gun plus booze equals stupor ************************************************** Dave Hicks emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/3ybqb9j www.roanoke.com May 3, 2010 Why should some people get to have guns and drink and others not? This whole guns and bars thing is getting rather confusing. Say you wanted to go out tonight and slam back a few. You are perfectly free to do so, provided you're old enough, of course. You can go alone and drink. Or you can tote along your friend, just as long as he's out in the open and everyone knows you're drinking and armed. Virginia law is A-OK with that. Your bartender might not be, but that's his problem. You can just take your money where you and Smith & Wesson are welcome. Now, say you just happen to be a cop or a commonwealth's attorney with a permit to carry concealed. Why, then, you can tuck your friend in your waistband or ankle holster, plop down on your favorite stool and hoist a few. Perfectly legal. Not very bright, but legal. Now, say you aren't one of those elite, but you don't like to go advertising that your friend is keeping you company. What's a good, law-abiding citizen like you to do but wait? Come July 1, you too can carry concealed in places where alcohol is sold. Only you can't drink it. At least not legally. That's not fair, says Philip Van Cleave, leader of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Well, don't go falling off your bar stool, but we agree. Van Cleave worked so hard to get this law passed, and a year ago he would have been fine with it. He said as much in a commentary right here on our pages. But that was before his friend became governor. Now he wants a redo: Either everyone gets to carry concealed and drink or no one gets to carry concealed and drink. Better, we think, no one should get to drink and carry. Open or concealed. Period. But don't just listen to us. As some of our letter writers like to remind us, we aren't gun experts. So let's check with the experts, the big guns, the authoritative source -- the National Rifle Association: 'Never use alcohol or over-the-counter, prescription or other drugs before or while shooting. Alcohol, as well as any other substance likely to impair normal mental or physical bodily functions, must not be used before or while handling or shooting guns.' A sober warning worth heeding. ************************************************** 7. RTE LTE: We will become the Wild West ************************************************** 'This trend of Virginia lawmakers attempting to permit ordinary citizens to carry firearms in places where weapons don't belong is a dangerous one.' And that's why the crime rate in Virginia continues to drop (see item #8, below). Dave Hicks emailed me this: -- Another anti who thinks 'unarmed victim zones' work and that recent State gun rights law changes will result in more danger, because permitting 'ordinary citizens to carry firearms in places where weapons don't belong is ... dangerous ....' http://tinyurl.com/385fbx6 www.roanoke.com May 4, 2010 We will become the Wild West Re: 'Gun law change helps the law-abiding against the lawless,' April 25 letter: Is everywhere in Virginia going to look like the Wild West? There are more and more places in Virginia that residents with concealed weapons permits are allowed to carry a firearm. The Virginia General Assembly recently allowed citizens who possess concealed weapons permits the right to carry firearms in places that serve alcohol. Earlier this year, there was a bill going through the General Assembly that would permit full-time professors at state universities to carry their weapons into their classrooms. In a state where a concealed carry permit can be obtained through an online test, there is no reason for bar patrons or professors to be carrying weapons of any kind at all. This trend of Virginia lawmakers attempting to permit ordinary citizens to carry firearms in places where weapons don't belong is a dangerous one. RILEY CASH RADFORD ************************************************** 8. Crimes decline, adult arrests increase in Va. ************************************************** Philip Levy emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/2493vp6 wtop.com May 7, 2010 RICHMOND, Va. - State police say Virginia saw declines in violent crimes and other offenses in 2009. The Virginia State Police's 2009 Crime in Virginia report says violent crimes fell by 9.7 percent compared to 2008. Motor vehicle and other property thefts and drug offenses also decreased. Juvenile arrests also declined but adult arrests increased. Juvenile arrests for violent crimes and other serious offenses fell by 4.1 percent, while arrests for trespassing, bad checks and other lesser offenses dropped by 13.9 percent. Adult arrests for serious offenses increased by 3.9 percent. Arrests for less serious offenses rose by 5 percent. Total arrests increased by 2.9 percent, from 339,189 in 2008 to 345,884 in 2009. ************************************************** 9. Why you might need a gun at a hotel ************************************************** Dave Hicks emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/2a9jxdr www.wavy.com May 6, 2010 Hotel shooting suspect caught on tape VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A Country Inn & Suites employee was shot at about 10 p.m. Wednesday during an attempted robbery, Virginia Beach police said. Surveillance video at the hotel captured images of the suspect. The video shows him enter through the front doors, wearing a black cloth over his mouth and a hat. He was also carrying a silver gun. The suspect jumped over the counter and confronted the clerk. There was an altercation in which the clerk was shot. In the surveillanve video, he can then be seen emerging minutes later, with his shirt over his head as he ran out of the same doors he entered. Police said the victim was taken to the hospital. Even though he was shot multiple times, police said his injuries are not life-threatening. The suspect is described as a black male, 5 foot 9 to 5 foot 10, 185 to 190 pounds and about 18 or 19 years old. The Country Inn & Suites is located on Burton Station Road, near the Norfolk Airport. If you have any information that could help police, call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-UP. ************************************************** 10. Open carry incident at the Fairfax Government Center ************************************************** Tony M emailed me about a problem he encountered while open carrying at the Fairfax County Government Center. If you should have a similar incident while carrying, always be sure to get the names of the security or law enforcement officers involved. Then forward all details to the VCDL: ---- Hello Phil, I'm not sure if I should've used this email form or not, anyway just wanted to get the jist of what took place today, May 5th, at the Fairfax Government Center. At about 3:30 PM I walked into the above mentioned building while open carrying. I was stopped by a security guard who told me I wouldn't be allowed to proceed without showing some form of identification. I informed him that Virginia law does not require any identification to be shown and that I was there to conduct business. He then called the Fairfax county police department and the officer said that it was up to the guard to let me carry on or not. I didn't argue and just decided to contact you instead. ---- In this case, EM Dave Vann headed over to the government center and politely educated the guard on Virginia law. The guard's supervisor overheard the conversation and reinforced Dave's educational lesson. :-) A few days later, the guard saw Tony M. apologized to Tony for misunderstanding Virginia law. ************************************************** 11. VCDL fixes Harrisonburg 'no firearms' on their website ************************************************** VCDL coordinates with Harrisonburg to fix illegal 'no guns' in parks wording on their web site and future flyers. Hats off to EM Dave Knight for working with them. The emails are in reverse chronological order: From: Dave Knight Date: May 7, 2010 10:17:29 AM EDT To: Lee Foerster Subject: Re: Website still boasts illegal 'no weapons' policy Dear Mr Foerster Outstanding! I trust you will also ensure that all Park & Rec signage will be similarly amended or removed. Thanks very much for your prompt attention to this matter. Regards, Dave Knight Radford ---- On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 7:59 AM, Lee Foerster wrote: The wording has been deleted from the Activities Guide on our website and will be omitted from future mailings. ---- From: Dave Knight Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 6:49 PM To: Lee Foerster Subject: Website still boasts illegal 'no weapons' policy Dear Mr, Forester: The current Harrisonburg website contains the following item: - No ... firearms or weapons of any kind are allowed on park property. Pursuant to Virgina Statute (15.2-915) all such local government restrictions on lawful firearm possession & carry on public property are prohibited. For Harrisonburg to be in compliance with state law (i.e. 15.2-915), this policy needs to be rescinded immediately, if it has not already been rescinded, the website updated, and any illegal 'no weapons' signs removed. Please let me know what you intend to do. Sincerely, David Knight ************************************************** 12. Randy Forbes' newsletter: Protecting Second Amendment rights ************************************************** Congressman Randy Forbes sent this out in an email to constituents recently: -- Friend: According to George Washington, 'Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone under independence . . . the very atmosphere of firearms anywhere restrains evil interference - they deserve a place of honor with all that's good.' So important are firearms to the maintenance of freedom, that the right to bear arms was enshrined in the 2nd Amendment (http://tinyurl.com/5l7728), which was ratified on December 15, 1791 as part of the original Bill of Rights. More recently, the 2008 Heller decision by the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that there is a federal right for individuals to possess firearms. Yet, there remain those that would infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms. In response, I have joined Rep. Rehberg (MT) in cosponsoring a resolution, H. Con. Res. 71, which expresses Congress' Sense the Federal Government should not create a national database tracking firearm owners or firearm purchases. This resolution (http://tinyurl.com/26lgq27 ) works to protect against the expansion of Federal power to keep tabs on law-abiding citizens who assert their right to bear arms. I have also joined a number of my colleagues as a cosponsor of H.R. 1923, the Fairness in Firearm Testing Act. This Act would require the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to make and preserve a video recording of the entire process of its examination and testing of an item for the purpose of determining whether the item is a firearm (and if so, the type of firearm) or ammunition. It also bars ATF from editing or erasing any such recording, and makes it available at trial if requested to increase accountability. This important bill will provide video documentation of how ATF associates a gun with a crime or gun owner, preventing them from arbitrarily enforcing laws as they see fit and manipulating evidence without consequence. Together, these common sense pieces of legislation work to protect law- abiding citizens from having their rights infringed by the federal government. As a cosponsor of these bills, I intend to make a clear statement that the 2nd Amendment is just as relevant today as it was in 1791. Please share your thoughts on this issue by e-mailing me here (http://tinyurl.com/25a67nr ). I look forward to hearing from you. Yours in service, Randy Forbes Member of Congress ************************************************** 13. Second Amendment quotes ************************************************** Ed Walsh emailed me this: -- Hello Thought you might enjoy a few really good gun related quotes I found this morning. Ed -- 'You didn't hear Elliot Ness whining about Al Capone's machine gun.' (Not sure who said this) Ken Konecki-July 1992 [who?] 'The 2nd amendment was never intended to allow private citizens to 'keep and bear arms'. If it had, there would have been wording such as... 'the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'' John Trenchard and Walter Moyle: '.....a Man that hath a Sword by his side, shall have least occasion to make use of it.' Margaret Thatcher, in a 1998 speech to the National Institute for Public Policy in Washington, DC: 'It is a fact, too -- although a curious one -- that the sale of small arms to gun enthusiasts or sportsmen produces a greater sense of moral outrage in Western society, than is produced by the sale to psychotic despots of weaponry capable of killing thousands. 'A gun in the hands of a free man frightens and angers the autocrat, not because he fears the power of the gun, but, rather, the spirit of the man who holds it.' Lucius Annaeus Seneca 'the younger', ca. 4 BC - 65 AD: 'Quemadmoeum gladis nemeinum occidit, occidentis telum est.' ('A sword is never a killer, it's a tool in the killer's hands.') ************************************************** 14. Who needs a gun while standing in your front yard? ************************************************** I continue to suggest that you are armed at all times, including in your home or in your yard. Jay Britt emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/39mnn5r hamptonroads.com By Kathy Adams May 5, 2010 Man arrested in Va. Beach robbery, home break-in VIRGINIA BEACH - Police have arrested a 29-year-old Virginia Beach man in a home break-in and armed robbery of two people. Adibio Ijahmid Potter, of the 3800 block of Chimney Creek Drive in Virginia Beach, has been charged with robbery of a residence, attempted robbery, burglary, use of a firearm, abduction and wearing a mask in public, according to jail records. Early Tuesday morning, two people were standing outside a residence in the 300 block of Scott Lane when a man approached them with a gun and pushed his way inside the home, said Officer Margie Hobbs, a police spokeswoman. One of them fled and called police, she said. When officers arrived, they found the robber inside the home and arrested him, Hobbs said. They also recovered $55 that had been stolen, according to a police report filed online. ************************************************** 15. RMGO Lawsuit against gun ban wins - CSU backs down ************************************************** Colorado State University rescinds their gun ban, allowing those with CHPs to be able to carry on campus! Hopefully this will be the start of a trend. Ken Stanton emailed me this. -- http://tinyurl.com/358t46p www.rmgo.org May 5, 2010 RMGO Lawsuit against gun ban wins -- CSU backs down (Fort Collins, 5/05/2010) Today the CSU Board of Governor's voted to rescind their illegal ban on concealed carry on campus. 'They didn't have a legal leg to stand on,' said Dudley Brown, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (RMGO). 'We told them in January, in no uncertain terms, that state law did not allow them to create their own gun ban. Unfortunately, it took a lawsuit to force them to back down.' RMGO filed suit against CSU's Board of Governors on April 15th, proving that unelected board had no authority to override existing state law, which explicitly allows permit holders to carry on college campuses. A day later, a Colorado Appeals Court ruled against CU's ban on carrying. 'This has been a good couple of weeks for law-abiding citizens who want to defend themselves on Colorado campuses, and a terrible week for criminals who assume no one is able to defend themselves on campuses,' Brown said. 'We're now going to track the policy of every secondary education campus in the state -- every community college, every university, all of them -- and file suit against those who attempt to violate Colorado law.' 'The citizens, students and faculty at these facilities should thank the members and donors of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners, the organization responsible for correcting these errant bureaucrats, and Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, who put a lot of hard work into this battle.' Rocky Mountain Gun Owners is Colorado's largest gun rights organization. ************************************************** 16. Man arrested after loaded handgun, bullets found in vehicle ************************************************** A reminder - Maryland's citizens do not enjoy the same firearms rights as we do here in Virginia, so don't confuse their gun laws with Virginia's gun laws. There is NO open carry in Maryland and they don't recognize our CHPs. If you have ammunition or a gun somewhere where a police officer can see them during a traffic stop, it probably won't turn out well for you. Bruce Jackson emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/29mlatj www.fredericknewspost.com By Gina-Gallucci-White May 3, 2010 A Virginia man was arrested after a deputy saw bullets in a bottle and found a loaded handgun during a search of his vehicle, according to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office. The deputy stopped Lewis F. Southard, 63, of Nellysford, Va., for speeding about 7 a.m. Sunday on U.S. 15 near Md. 26, the sheriff's office said. When Southard, opened the glove box to retrieve his identification, the deputy saw the bottle with handgun bullets. A loaded gun was found later during a search. Southard was charged with transporting a handgun in a vehicle, authorities said. He was released on personal recognizance and a June 22 court date has been set. ************************************************** 17. Editorial: Guns needed to stop Chicago murders ************************************************** VCDL EM Hal Macklin emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/2vb3may www.washingtontimes.com May 6, 2010 [SNIP] If Chicago were serious about bringing its violent crime problem under control, it would recognize the constitutional right of residents to use firearms to protect themselves. .... Such facts are not important to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, who continues to insist that more gun-control laws are the 'solution' to his crime problem - as if hardened thugs carefully consulted the book of municipal ordinances before embarking on a crime spree. A more rational analysis would conclude that the restrictions apply only to good, law-abiding people looking for a way to defend themselves and their families. When the thugs know victims are defenseless, they pounce. That means it is up to the Supreme Court to restore to Chicagoans their fundamental right to self-defense. In the pending case of McDonald v. Chicago, a number of residents are asking the high court to apply the reasoning it used to strike down Washington's gun ban. It is worth noting that a year after the landmark District of Columbia v. Heller ruling, Washington's murder rate dropped 25 percent - without resorting to using the National Guard. Encouraging personal ownership of guns is the only proven solution to Chicago's crime problem. ************************************************** 18. Wyoming now honors Virginia concealed handgun permits ************************************************** Tom Lambert with the VA State Police emailed me this: -- We now have CHP mutual recognition with Wyoming. Our page has been updated. Tom http://tinyurl.com/3e95kr ************************************************** 19. KENYA: Your guns or your freedom, please ************************************************** When the government comes to confiscate your guns, your freedoms are approaching the end of the line. Of course they are only doing it 'for your own good.' James D Durso emailed me this: -- http://tinyurl.com/29y4ckx www.irinnews.org By Conflict News May 7, 2010 ISIOLO-SAMBURU, 7 May 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of security personnel have been deployed across northern Kenya to confiscate weapons after a voluntary disarmament exercise netted only a small fraction of the 50,000 guns thought to be in civilian hands. Firearms are widespread among pastoralist communities in east Africa, where police are rare and cattle theft and intercommunal conflict is common. Similar operations are taking place in neighbouring Ethiopia, Sudan and Uganda. Borders between these countries have been temporarily sealed. With previous disarmament operations having been heavy-handed, some families have reportedly fled their homes ahead of this one, despite assurances that the police have adopted less aggressive methods. Samburu, Turkana and Marsabit residents oppose the operation and accuse the government of failing to protect them in the past after they surrendered guns. 'We'd rather commit suicide. To hand over our guns is like stripping naked. Our people were killed, our animals taken away; many families are poor now... We'll never repeat the mistake we made two years ago,' said an elder from the village of Lerata. But the police say things are different this time. 'This operation is different. We have used a different approach; it will succeed [as it is] well planned and involves the largest number of security forces,' said Assistant Police Commissioner Marcus Ochola. 'The government is not using force, nobody will be harassed. We have gathered adequate intelligence reports. Security measures to protect all communities are also being implemented,' he said. He added that the operation involved paramilitary and regular police; rapid response units and aerial surveillance. 'Those who have gone into hiding will be tracked,' warned Internal Security Ministry Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia in the town of Isiolo, where five people have been detained for resisting security forces. Samburu member of parliament Raphael Letimalo said hundreds of local children had failed to report back to school after moving with their families to the areas of Wamba, Seloribi and Archers Post. The second term of the school year has just begun. A 2009 Human Rights Watch report entitled Bring the Gun or You'll Die, urged the government to conduct future disarmament operations in line with the provisions of the National Policy on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which calls for the underlying economic, social, cultural and political causes of gun prevalence to be addressed. ------------------------------------------- ***************************************************************************