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

06/10/10 - VCDL Update 6/10/10 - Part 3

Stephen Wenger emailed me this: -- From suntimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/2dnlsfz Daley's gun ban emboldens thugs May 29, 2010 BY ALAN GOTTLIEB AND DAVE WORKMAN Mayor Daley doesn't get it about firearms and personal safety. After the highly publicized self-defense shooting in East Garfield Park on the West Side on Wednesday, he should fold his tent, shut his mouth and go away. The U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to nullify Chicago's draconian handgun ban, and nothing clarifies Daley's dilemma with guns more dramatically than the slaying of home invader Anthony 'Big Ant' Nelson, a 29-year-old career thug who has, according to the Chicago Tribune, a '13-page rap sheet that includes a number of drug and weapons convictions dating to 1998, according to police and court records.' This neighborhood predator made what nationally recognized self-defense expert Massad Ayoob calls 'a fatal error in the victim selection process.' Nelson reportedly fired a shot from a handgun -- you know, they're banned in Chicago, and convicted felons like 'Big Ant' aren't supposed = to have them anyway; yet another failure of gun control -- through the = bedroom window of an 80-year-old Army veteran who served in the Korean = War. Most likely to Nelson's great, and terminal, surprise, the older man fired back, with his own handgun that almost certainly was not registered in the city. Had he followed the law, this gentleman, his wife, and possibly their 12-year-old grandson, who was in the next room, might all be dead right now. Fortunately, thanks to the Illinois Legislature's override of Rod Blagojevich's veto of SB 2165 in November 2004, the older gentleman will not face prosecution. That was the 'Hale DeMar' act, which protects homeowners who shoot in self-defense even if there is a local = ordinance against handgun possession. DeMar shot a burglar in his Wilmette home and was initially charged with violating that community's handgun ban, but public outrage forced = the Cook County prosecutor to drop the charge. The question remains in this case whether the old gentleman will get his gun back from the police when the investigation is completed. Daley wants his citizens, including elderly people, to remain disarmed = while only someone living in monumental denial would believe that creeps like Nelson might be deterred from packing guns illegally. Daley has practiced anti-gun demagoguery for years, but that may soon come to a screeching halt, not only because of an affirmative high court ruling in the case of McDonald vs. City of Chicago -- the Second = Amendment Foundation's case before the U.S. Supreme Court -- but also because public reaction to the Nelson shooting is decidedly in support = of the man who shot him. Chicago residents have grown weary of living in dangerous neighborhoods where, because of Daley's anti-gun policies that defend the city's ban, they have been stripped of the tools to fight back. It = is their plight against armed criminals like Nelson that compelled the = Second Amendment Foundation to join with the Illinois State Rifle Association and four Chicago residents to sue the city. Reaction among Chicago residents to Wednesday's fatal shooting clearly = demonstrates that the public supports this lawsuit. While Daley appears at a press event and suggests he might like to poke a gun barrel into the rump of a reporter and fire a round, neighbors of the Army veteran who killed Nelson in self-defense, along = with Chicago Sun-Times columnist Stella Foster, are telling the mayor that he needs to 'come up with a better solution [to crime] than just saying 'turn in your guns.' ' Daley's stubborn defense of his city's handgun ban shows him to be so out of touch with the public, and with the reality of his city's crime = problem, that he may not even be jolted to good sense by a Supreme Court loss. Well, here is the reality: Richard Daley's policies are directly responsible for people like Nelson, because the Chicago gun ban has emboldened Windy City thugs to prey on good people they know will be disarmed. Tough luck for Nelson that one courageous older man -- a man = who had been robbed at gunpoint last year in his own home for $150 -- had the fortitude and good sense to arm himself in spite of Daley's ban, and now his neighborhood is 'one short' of the kind of scum that the Chicago ban has essentially protected for more than a quarter- century. Alan Gottlieb is executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation. Dave Workman is senior editor of Gun Week. They are co- authors of 'America Fights Back: Armed Self-Defense in a Violent Age.' ************************************************** 24. Calif. man irked by Daley gun quip accused of threat ************************************************** There are two standards in Chicago: the Mayor can threaten someone with violence and that is just a funny 'joke.' But if someone threatens the Mayor with the exact same violence, then it is a serious = threat and the person is arrested. -- From suntimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/239xzss Calif. man irked by Daley gun quip accused of threat May 27, 2010 SUN-TIMES STAFF Mayor Daley's sarcastic remark last week about shoving a gun up the rear of an inquisitive reporter and firing a round apparently reached California. A San Jose, Calif., man was arrested Thursday for allegedly leaving a phone message at Daley's office threatening to do the same to the mayor, a source said. Christopher Fox, 39, was charged with making a threat against a public = official, authorities said. He was taken into custody by San Jose police and is awaiting extradition here. Last week, during a gun-control event that included a table full of seized weapons, Daley was asked about the effectiveness of Chicago's handgun ban. Daley picked up a bayonet-equipped rifle and told the Chicago Reader reporter, 'If I put this up your butt, you'll find out how effective it is. If we put a round up your, you-know. . . . [Confiscating] this gun saved many lives. It could save your life.' Daley later said he regretted the remark. ************************************************** 25. Mayor Daley comments on man who shot intruder ************************************************** Chicago Mayor Daley is in a pickle as he tries to tap dance around a veteran saving saving lives with a unregistered handgun. -- From examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/2fcbylq [SNIP] Mayor Daley comments on man who shot intruder May 27, 2010 Chicago Government Examiner Mary Egan In a news conference today, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley responded briefly to a recent gun-related incident. When asked if the 80-year- old Army veteran who shot an intruder in his home would be charged, Daley replied, 'I don't t know, thank you very much,' and left the conference. ************************************************** 26. Chicago: cop's murder has some thinking of carrying a gun ************************************************** Mayor Daley is starting to see a revolt. Jim Slagle emailed me this: -- From cbs2chicago.com: http://tinyurl.com/29yzf8j May 25, 2010 5:34 pm US/Central Cop's Murder Has Some Thinking Of Carrying A Gun Some Gun Control Supporters Now Thinking Of Breaking City's Handgun Ban CHICAGO (CBS) -- They are law-abiding citizens in Chicago, but they are so worried about their own safety, they say they might have to break the law. The last straw was the death of Chicago Police officer Thomas Wortham IV last week. That has some African-American families in Chicago considering doing something they never would have done before: carry a pistol. CBS 2's Jim Williams reports he grew up among those families and he's never anything like it. Many Chicagoans have been upset for some time about violence here, but = Wortham's murder has touched a raw nerve in the black community. Now some want to do more than simply call 911 or march for peace in the streets. They want their own gun. Mike Robinson, who runs basketball camps, is hearing it. 'I've heard parents in my basketball camps express that very fervently, just over the weekend, that they want the right to protect themselves,' Robinson said. Estella Jernigan, works at a seniors center in Chatham, talked to an older man here who's taking a job for one reason. 'He said he was going to apply for a security guard so he would be armed.' Jernigan said. 'So he could carry a gun.' South Side resident and local school council member Shawn Gowder said, = 'I'm hearing that all over town - South Side, West Side.' Gowder, who said his mother had always been in favor of gun control, has now changed her mind. 'My mother, who is in 60s, now feels she needs to have a gun and she needs to take lessons so that she will be qualified in case somebody kicks in her door,' said Gowder. In middle class black neighborhoods like Chatham, people have voted overwhelmingly for Democratic politicians who have overwhelmingly supported gun control. But now many are scared and angry over the killing of Officer Wortham, = late Wednesday night in Chatham. 'I would say the most recent incident here in Chatham has such a profound impact on people's consciousness about violence, about crime in the streets, that people who would not normally want to own a gun, are considering that,' said Robinson. In that neighborhood, many residents have told CS 2 News off camera that they are willing to begin carrying a gun to protect themselves, even if it means breaking the ban on handguns. Coy Pugh, a former state representative and lobbyist for the Illinois Rifle Association, said he knows why even law-abiding citizens might arm themselves. 'In the community that I grew up in, they say it's better for the police to catch me with it than the robber to catch me without it,' said Pugh. And that concerns people like Linda Williams, who believes more guns in the community will make matter worse. 'All the other industrialized nations do not have the gun laws that we = have and they don't have nearly the amount of killing and injury we do,' she said. 'So, no, I don't believe that more guns is better.' Those in favor of gun control point out that even though Wortham had a = weapon and so did his father, a retired police sergeant, the young officer still ended up shot and killed. But those on the other side of the argument believe criminals are less = likely to approach someone in the first place, or break into a home, if they think the would-be victim might be carrying a gun. Meantime, the U.S Supreme Court is expected to rule by the end of June = on whether Chicago's handgun ban is constitutional. It is widely expected the court will strike down the city's ban, given the court struck down a similar ban in Washington, D.C., in 2008. ************************************************** 27. Chicago could require gun owners get training, liability insurance = if handgun ban overturned ************************************************** However, Daley will try every unscrupulous way he can find around any Supreme Court ruling that the 2A is applicable to the various states and localities. He will make it as hard as possible to get a gun. And he wonders why crime in Chicago is through the roof. EM Dave Hicks emailed me this: -- From suntimes.com: http://tinyurl.com/27wfj94 City could require gun owners get training, liability insurance if handgun ban overturned May 20, 2010 BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter Chicago gun owners could be required to take a training course, register their firearms, allow police to perform ballistics tests and even purchase liability insurance, if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns = the city's strictest-in-the-nation handgun ban. Mayor Daley isn't saying precisely what he will do in the face of almost certain defeat. But to protect first-responders, he's prepared to go above and beyond the replacement model crafted by Washington D.C. after its handgun ban = bit the dust. Washington requires gun owners to get five hours of safety training, register their firearms every three years and face criminal background = checks every six years. Gun owners there are further required to submit fingerprints and allow = police to perform ballistic tests. They must keep revolvers unloaded and either disassembled or secured with trigger locks unless they have = reason to fear a home intruder. As sweeping as those provisions are, they apparently don't go far enough for Daley, who hinted strongly at an insurance component to protect police officers and paramedics. 'You have to think about the first-responders. You're putting them in a difficult position to make decisions. What happens if they don't make the right decision? A person has a gun, but is [it] the person in = the house? Does he have a right to carry a gun or is he the person [who] broke in?' Daley said. 'I'm not laying it out, but there are gonna be many topics we're gonna = talk about and who pays for it. And [the city may require] authorized people like the Chicago Police Department to train you.' Earlier this year, Daley ridiculed the Supreme Court for affirming the = Second Amendment right to bear arms while sitting in a protective bubble. On Thursday, he continued to hold out hope that the justices would have an abrupt change of heart. 'You have to have confidence in the Supreme Court. Maybe they'll see the light of day. Maybe one of them will have an incident and they'll change their mind overnight,' he said. ************************************************** 28. Is Connecticut's open carry movement a sign for the nation? ************************************************** Jon Stuck emailed me this: -- From courant.com: http://tinyurl.com/387774k Support Is Growing For Openly Carrying Permitted Weapons April 18, 2010|By EDMUND H. MAHONY, The Hartford Courant An eruption in a simmering dispute over gun rights occurred when James = Goldberg, wearing camouflage clothing and a holstered - and licensed - = pistol on his right hip, walked into a Chili's restaurant in upscale Glastonbury, where he intended to pay for a takeout order. According to Goldberg, a college-educated, occupational safety engineer, a restaurant employee, concerned by the sight of an armed customer, called the town police department. A goggle-eyed luncheon crowd watched three officers roll up, confront Goldberg and handcuff him. 'What can we get him for?' Goldberg, 32, says one of the officers asked his colleagues. The answer, as it turned out, was nothing. A state Superior Court judge dismissed the breach of peace charge police ultimately filed against Goldberg, forcing law enforcement experts to concede that, absent extenuating circumstances, there is nothing in Connecticut law to prohibit licensed gun owners from conducting their lives visibly armed. The judge's decision was treated as a vindication by some gun owners in traditionally gun-shy Connecticut. They are joining groups elsewhere in asserting, as Goldberg does, what they say is the right to carry sidearms openly, in public, for protection. The 'open carry' movement is growing at a time when the federal courts = have been looking more favorably on the rights of gun owners than on the authority of governments to restrict gun ownership. There are three federal lawsuits pending in Connecticut that challenge = the way the state enforces gun laws. In one, Goldberg is suing Glastonbury over his arrest three years ago, claiming he was charged even though there is no state law against openly carrying a sidearm. In the other two, Goldberg and M. Peter Kuck, a member of the state Board of Firearms Permit Examiners, argue separately that arbitrary enforcement of state gun laws by biased police officers has denied or delayed the issuance of handgun permits, resulting in a denial of due process rights to gun owners. Kuck, as a member of the board that hears appeals from gun owners who have been denied permits or whose permits have been revoked, is indirectly attacking the work of his board. Goldberg argues that he was wrongly denied a pistol permit for nearly two years after the dismissal of his arrest. A federal judge in Hartford dismissed both permit suits. But in late March, a federal appeals court in New York overturned the dismissals and sent the cases back to Hartford for further review. Balancing Interests Goldberg's arrest, the success of the lawsuits and an increasingly vocal open-carry movement have attracted the attention of state law enforcement experts and policymakers who are concerned with balancing the potentially conflicting interests of openly armed gun owners against those who may become alarmed by the sight of guns. 'I think people have the right to bear arms,' said state Rep. Stephen D. Dargan, D-West Haven and co-chairman of the legislature's public safety committee. 'How they bear those arms in public is another issue. If I'm a store owner and I see someone walk in with a gun, maybe I pull out the gun I keep under the counter. Maybe I call the police. Maybe they come running in with their guns drawn, because they = don't know what's going on.' In the past two years, open carry has become part of the national gun discussion. The Starbucks coffee chain put the issue before a broad audience earlier this year when it decided to allow obviously armed customers into its stores in states that permit open carry. Virginia, Tennessee and Arizona have enacted laws allowing openly armed patrons to drink in barrooms. Student gun clubs at Connecticut's state universities joined a national push earlier this month to compel public universities to permit armed students to attend classes. Also this month, Connecticut gun owners staged a Second Amendment rally at the state Capitol. No one in Connecticut is predicting that the suits or the evolving discussion of gun rights will result in a spike in the number of armed = shoppers at suburban malls. But the talk alone has law enforcement officers and policymakers re-examining the existing law and how it should be enforced. Even through it may be legal for a permitted gun owner to carry a pistol or revolver in public in Connecticut, the officials say every case is not necessarily legal and they will closely examine those brought to their attention. 'There is no law that expressly prohibits the open carrying of a firearm by somebody who has a permit to carry it, in and of itself,' said Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane. 'But there are statutes that could very well be violated, depending on the evidence and the circumstances. And that could lead to arrest, confiscation and forfeiture of firearms that are displayed in violation of those statutes.' The circumstances to which Kane refers involve how gun owners carry weapons and how members of the public react to an openly carried weapon. If citizens panic and call the police, Kane said, there will be an investigation. 'Depending on the circumstances, it could constitute a breach of peace, or it could constitute a threatening or it could constitute a public disturbance,' he said. Business owners can also post signs prohibiting the carrying of weapons on their premises. State Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven and co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee, acknowledged inconsistencies in the = way gun laws have been enforced. 'People come into this with very doctrinaire views on guns,' he said, 'and I think that leads to problems with enforcement. I think sometimes people on both sides overlook things that should not be overlooked. They have preconceived notions of what is right and wrong and they act on those.' When Connecticut gun laws are correctly enforced, Lawlor said, they are among the nation's best in terms of balancing the right to own and = bear arms against the maintenance of public order. He said the 'mature' use of a handgun, something implicit in the law, should protect against public panic. 'What about people who push this right and they go into a McDonald's wearing a camouflage outfit and a gun?' Lawlor said. 'There are people = who do this. The criminal law says it is a crime to either intentionally or recklessly create alarm in public. For the same reason it is against the law to stand up in a movie theater and cry 'Fire,' you should be arrested.' Knowing The Law Glastonbury Police Chief Thomas J. Sweeney, in a deposition he gave last month as part of Goldberg's suit, said the arrest at Chili's was the result of concern raised by restaurant staff. 'You want to walk in, have an open carry, but if people get upset by the manner in which you act and comport and carry yourself, you run the risk of being arrested for it,' Sweeney said in the deposition. 'I = think there are issues when you're inside buildings where you're running a risk of a reaction of other individuals, I think that's problematic, and you may scare people, frighten people, cause alarm.' Goldberg called his arrest an overreaction by a police department unfamiliar with state handgun laws, something he said happens regularly in Connecticut. 'In my circumstance, no one pressed any charges, no one was interviewed,' he said. 'The woman who called 911 called to ask what the concealment law is in the state of Connecticut. And the dispatcher = didn't know. If the dispatcher was educated or trained, and answered that you can carry openly or concealed in Connecticut, it should have ended right there. It was unfortunate that what happened to me had to happen to me.' Goldberg said he is a trained firearms instructor, sells guns at a Newington gun retailer and runs a business that provides security for business executives and entertainment industry celebrities. He said he needs a gun for his work and believes he needs to carry it every day, for a variety of reasons: to maintain his familiarity with weapons, for protection, for business reasons and to 'stand up' for something that is permitted under the law. 'I think if you are going to carry a firearm, you should go all the way and carry the firearm so you are comfortable with it,' he said. 'It becomes something that is a part of you. It's not foreign. If you do it every day as a daily mantra, it's something that becomes an extension of your body. 'To me, guns are not dangerous. It is an inanimate object. It won't do = anything until someone with either good or negative intentions picks it up. We live in a state where we can carry openly or concealed. I don't have a problem with civilians carrying firearms or seeing civilians with firearms.' Goldberg said his arrest and the arrests of others in similar circumstances show a misunderstanding of the law by members of the public, who think it is illegal to openly carry a weapon in public in Connecticut. He also blamed police officers who are 'just uncomfortable with civilians having firearms and people having the right to carry.' 'The state needs to be educated and the people who live in the state need to be educated and know that you can carry openly or concealed and just because you see a firearm doesn't constitute that person breaking the law,' he said. 'There are a lot of great arguments for open carry in Connecticut.' On the other hand, he said, anyone who uses a gun incorrectly or uses one to intimidate or frighten people, should be arrested. 'This was really upsetting to me because in my career I dedicate myself to protecting other people,' Goldberg said. 'To be construed as = someone who is deemed to be unsuitable to carry a pistol, just because = someone happened to see it, was very disheartening.' In past years, the state police have pushed for revisions to state handgun laws that would allow the concealed carrying of weapons but outlaw open carry. The efforts have failed, and there is no similar legislative effort this year. Key lawmakers said they will wait for the resolution of the pending gun cases in Connecticut before deciding whether the law needs to be revised. 'It is definitely opening up a hornet's nest when you try to add on to = or modify the laws that govern gun ownership in Connecticut,' Lawlor said. 'And I think, on paper, we have the most sensible system in the country. I think it is appropriate to have this discussion. And maybe the legislature should weigh in. Maybe not.' ************************************************** 29. Who needs a gun in a National Park? ************************************************** With a .45 caliber gun, nonetheless! Bruce Whitehouse emailed me this: -- From foxnews.com: http://tinyurl.com/325uo2m Backpackper Shoots, Kills Grizzly in Alaska Park Published May 31, 2010 | Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Officials say a backpacker shot and killed a grizzly bear with his handgun in Alaska's Denali National Park. Park spokeswoman Kris Fister says man and woman reported that they were hiking Friday evening when the bear emerged from trailside brush and charged the woman. Fister says the man fired nine rounds from his .45 caliber, semiautomatic pistol at the animal, which then stopped and walked into = the brush. On Saturday, rangers found the dead bear about 100 feet from the shooting site. Rangers say it was the first known instance of a grizzly bear being shot by a visitor in the wilderness portion of Denali. ************************************************** 30. 79 year old goes on a rampage at an AT&T store ************************************************** Guns save lives. In this case an off-duty LEO stops a killer starting = a rampage. EM Dave Hicks emailed me these two items: -- Long story short, he brings a list of 6 names of people he wants to kill. Shoots the first (survived) and was shot and killed by an off- duty LEO. From wktv.com: http://tinyurl.com/3yy9qd3 Shooter with hit-list shot dead in AT&T store By DAVE DELLECESE Story Created: May 27, 2010 NEW YORK MILLS, N.Y. (WKTV) - Abraham Dickan, 79, of Utica, was angry with the employees at AT&T in New York Mills - anger that he had shown = them many times before, but never in the way he did on Thursday, May 27. Shortly before 1 p.m. on that Thursday afternoon, Dickan walked into the cellular phone store on Commercial Drive, with a .357 magnum in his hand, and a list in his pocket containing the six names of the AT&T store employees to which he was holding such deep anger, and planned to kill as a result. 'The suspect had no prior history,' said Lt. Troy Little of the New York State Police. That man with no prior criminal record walked into the store and shot Seth Turk, a store employee who was doing no more than working at a computer at his job. Authorities believe Dickan could have been even more successful with his list of six victims, if not for the instantaneous actions of Rome Police Officer Donald J. Moore, who was off-duty, but in the store as a customer at the time of the shooting. 'He heard and sees the gun, draws his weapon, and fired,' Lt. Little said of Officer Moore's reaction. Officer Moore was carrying his own .40 caliber handgun. 'It's his own personal choice,' said Moore's boss, Rome Police Chief Kevin Beach. 'We do encourage our officers to carry off-duty.' 'Due to the actions of Officer Moore, Dickan was only able to fire at Mr. Turk,' Lt. Little said. Dickan was killed at the scene, and Turk was injured, sent to St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Utica for surgery, where he remained Thursday evening in critical condition. It wasn't the first time that Dickan had been in the AT&T store and given the staff trouble. Authorities said that he had been in the store numerous times in the past, even brandishing a handgun to employees. Those actions resulted in police reports being filed by the = employees of the store, and Dickan losing his pistol permit for that gun. However, authorities said the gun in which he used in Thursday's shooting was a new gun - one he did not have a permit for. Lt. Little said that Dickan had been upset from the prior incidents with employees in the store, re-affirmed by the letter found on his person by authorities that expressed his anger, along with the names of the six employees he intended to kill. State Police said that no court order of protection had been filed against Dickan, but the store had 'banned' him, requesting that he not = return to the premises. The handful of fellow people in the store - customers and employees - fled the scene to the outside, as well as to the neighboring Harley- Davidson Store for refuge. State Police said they were unable to pinpoint where the original 911 call came from, because of the high number of calls from employees, customers, and passers-by. Those calls were responded to by a flurry of law enforcement agencies, = with at least 26 police cars on the scene shortly after the shooting, as well as emergency vehicles and ambulances. Those agencies included, = but were not limited to New York State Police, New York Mills Police Department, Rome Police Department, Oneida County Sheriff's Department, Whitestown Police, and Edwards Ambulance. State Police, the lead agency on the investigation, said that they hope to speak with Turk once he recovers from the surgery, as he would = be the only one in close enough proximity to have taken part in any verbal exchange with Dickan before the shooting.