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

06/29/08 - VCDL Update 6/29/08 - Part 1

VCDL UPDATE 06/29/2008 - Defending your right to defend yourself 1. Reminder: Alan Gura at VCDL meeting on Thursday, July 17th in Annandale 2. Meeting on Waterfowl Hunting; Wed, July 9; 7-9p.m.; Belle View Elementary 3. Seemingly Safe Place--Location of Fatal Double Shooting 4. Richmond Times Dispatch: "Who needs to have an AK-47?" 5. Right down the street in Suffolk 6. Victim of attempted sexual assault in Virginia Beach warns others 7. Mayor Daley goes berserk regarding 'Heller' 8. Newly crowned Miss Tennessee chooses self defense 9. Guns in DC -- no gun stores, but look who has a license 10. Five people dead in Henderson, KY, plant shooting 11. New Jersey gun rationing bill targets victims, interferes with law = enforcement 12. Salt Lake Tribune: Time to grow up and put your guns away 13. LTE: Cherry picking [statistics] does not reach the truth 14. News Tribune of Tacoma, WA: Argument for concealed weapons in parks isn't convincing 15. Gun shows and events! ************************************************** 1. Reminder: Alan Gura at VCDL meeting on Thursday, July 17th in Annandale ************************************************** Mark your calendars! Alan Gura, the Virginia based attorney who headed up the District of Columbia vs Heller case that the U.S. Supreme Court just ruled on, has = graciously agreed to address the VCDL meeting on Thursday, July 17th! Let's pack the house! This should be a very informative meeting, giving you the rare chance to ask Alan some questions about DC vs Heller directly. The meeting room can hold 150 people, so be sure to come early. The meeting is being held at the Mason Government Center in Annandale and will be called to order at 8:00 PM. Fellowship begins at 7:30 PM. The meeting is open to the public, so bring your friends and family. After the meeting, fellowship will continue at a local restaurant. If = you plan on carrying at the restaurant, Virginia law will require that = you open carry. Location of the meeting can be found at: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings.html ************************************************** 2. Meeting on Waterfowl Hunting in NOVA; Wed, July 9 ************************************************** Should waterfowl hunting be allowed near communities along Northern Virginia's Potomac River shoreline? Learn the rules. Get your questions answered. Meeting on Waterfowl Hunting in Northern Virginia (hosted by the Virginia Department of game and Inland Fisheries to explain current policies and how they are enforced). Wednesday, July 9 7 -9 p.m. Belle View Elementary School 6701 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria DGIF Contact: Jerry Sims, Wildlife Regional Manager, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 1320 Belman Road, Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401; Jerry.Sims*dgif.virginia.gov; tel. 540-899-4169 Friends of Dyke Marsh Contact: Glenda C. Booth, gbooth123*aol.com; 703-765-5233 The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is hosting this meeting in = response to a request from Virginia Delegate David Englin (703-549-3203), Delegate Kris Amundson (703-619-0444), Senator Toddy Puller (703-765-1150) and Senator Patsy Ticer (703-5499-5770). ************************************************** 3. Seemingly Safe Place--Location of Fatal Double Shooting ************************************************** If you want to understand how cold-blooded murderers think, here's a good article to read. Pray that you never come up against someone like these guys. As VA-ALERT editor Paul Kent pointed out to me, with this kind of criminal "easy money" is all that matters, with no limitations on killing innocents to get it. Remember to try to keep as much distance between yourself and a suspicious stranger as possible. Don't give the stranger an excuse to = approach you by carrying on a conversation with them or agreeing to give them a light or some change. "I don't have a light. Please keep = your distance as I don't know who you are!" Be alert, keep your gun where you can access in quickly. Member Shawn writes, "It really emphasizes that peaceful people need to be armed as a fact of real life, against violent people." http://tinyurl.com/6odpf9 Murder Suspects Describe Two Killings in $2 Robbery Fox News Wednesday, June 25, 2008 The men arrested in the slayings of an aspiring Christian singer and his colleague at a Texas recording studio said in a chilling jailhouse = interview the victims were killed at random in a robbery that netted only $2. Cousins James Broadnax and Demarius Dwight Cummings, both 19, face capital murder charges in the deaths of singer Matthew Butler, a father of two, and Stephen Swan, his employee, outside Butler's Christian recording studio, Zion Gate Records in Garland, Texas. Broadnax and Cummings, speaking to MyFOXDFW.com from the Dallas County = Jail, told the station of their plans to rob somebody the night of June 18. They traveled by train from Dallas to the suburb of Garland because "that's where all the rich white folks stay at," Broadnax said. Their targets turned out to be Butler, 28, and Swan, 26. "I made sure they was dead," Broadnax told MyFOXDFW.com His voice wavering, Broadnax recounted in blood-curdling detail how he = shot the men to death in a parking lot outside the recording studio after Cummings asked for a cigarette. "I just blanked the f--- out," Broadnax said. "I shot him [Butler] and = he stumbled back. I shot the driver [Swan]. He hit the ground, you know what I'm saying, but he leaned up like he was going to try to get = back up, so I shot him in the head. "Then his homeboy, I shot his a-- again, you know what I'm saying, but = he was still trying to run off," he continued. "I knew he was going to = die anyway, but just to make sure - pop, pop." Broadnax said he shot Butler twice in the head. Cummings told the station that he and his cousin had traded an AK-47 as collateral for a pistol to use during what he thought would just be = a robbery. "We didn't plan to shoot nobody and nothing like that," Cummings told MyFOXDFW.com. "No, I take that back. I did tell him we'd probably have = to pop them a few times or whatever. I did. But still, I didn't think he was going to do it." After the men were shot, Cummings said he took car keys and a wallet from Swan, but the wallet contained only $2. "I ain't never seen nobody die like that, you know," Cummings said. "It kind of shocked me, you know what I'm saying. I was shook." The men fled to an aunt's house, where they changed clothes, then stashed the pistol at Cummings' girlfriend's place, according to the interviews. The cousins pawned some tools in Swan's vehicle and changed the car's plates before moving on, they said. Authorities caught up with Broadnax and Cummings on June 20 in Texarkana in one of the victims' vehicles. A third man was in the car and but later was cleared of any involvement in the murders by Garland = police. Cummings, who insisted "I didn't kill anyone," appeared to have some remorse when asked about the crime. "I feel real bad, you know," he told MyFOXDFW.com. "I feel it was wrong what we did." But Broadnax, who described his life as "hell," showed little remorse. "I kind of regret what I did, but things can't change so no use crying = over it," Broadnax said. When asked about what he would say to the victims' families, Broadnax replied, "f--- 'em." A joint memorial service for Butler and Swan was held Monday. ************************************************** 4. Richmond Times Dispatch: "Who needs to have an AK-47?" ************************************************** When it comes to a constitutional right, I don't have to have a "need." Do you "need" to have free speech, Mr. Williams? Owning a mid-power, semi-automatic rifle is "wretched excess"? Perhaps having a computer to write your articles on is wretched excess, too. After all a quill pen would work just fine and the result would be the same. The reporter has bought into the BS of the other side big time. He was clearly skeptical of my answers, even though of all those he interviewed, I'm probably the only one who actually owns and has shot such a rifle. http://tinyurl.com/42oaxk Powhatan teen's slaying raises a question: Who needs an AK-47? Saturday, Jun 28, 2008 By MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Today I didn't even have to use my AK I got to say it was a good day -- Ice Cube No one would mistake the Flat Rock area of Powhatan County for South Central Los Angeles. Homicides are a shocking rarity in this slice of rural Virginia, much less those involving an assault rifle. But Powhatan Sheriff Gregory A. = Neal said an AK-47 is what killed 18-year-old Tahliek Taliaferro. The AK-47 and its imitators have left a bloody imprint on our culture that extends beyond the rap video. "Nearly all, if not all gun shows in Virginia, you can buy an AK-47 knockoff from any seller, any weekend of the year," said Brian Siebel, = senior attorney with the Washington-based Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Taliaferro was slain and a juvenile was injured Tuesday evening. Three = suspects -- Stephanie Reynolds, 19, Ethan Scott Parrish, 24, and Joey Parrish, 17 -- remain at large. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Washington ban on handguns. In the process, it affirmed that a right of individual gun ownership exists. That right should not extend to assault weapons. "It's really only useful for shooting human beings," Siebel said. "You = don't need 50 rounds for target practice [or] for some sort of self- defense situation. And nobody would take one of these guns hunting." Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, says the AK-47's prowess is exaggerated. He said it's a weapon no faster or no more powerful than a hunting rifle; the only difference is it can be loaded with a high-capacity magazine. As for the Powhatan slaying, "I guess when I heard about the AK-47, I just shrugged. . . . [The killer] could have used a deer rifle to the same effect." Well, I say when it comes to guns, we've passed a tipping point in the = balance between rights and wretched excess. The federal assault-weapons ban signed into law by President Bill Clinton expired in September 2004. Six states ban assault weapons, but = Virginia isn't one of them. Van Cleave called the federal ban "a joke." But Siebel says the rate in which assault weapons were recovered in crime dropped 66 percent during the decade when the law was in place. Josh Horwitz, a board member of the Virginia Center for Public Safety, = said the center's focus is on closing the "gun-show loophole" that allows unlicensed dealers -- about 30 percent of the dealers at gun shows -- to sell weapons without background checks. "I can tell you since they lifted the assault-weapons ban, they've become much more prevalent," Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said of AK-47s. "I think the best thing we can do is reauthorize the national assault- weapons ban. But right now, that's difficult. And the Virginia legislature has been notably recalcitrant to pass any new gun-control legislation, even after the Virginia Tech incident." Some gun dealers, where AK-47s are concerned, are going about the business of policing themselves. "We don't handle those kinds of weapons," said an employee at Southern = Gun World on Midlothian Turnpike. "We're so close to the city of Richmond, we'd rather not see those weapons in the wrong kinds of hands." Apparently, one fell into the wrong hands in Powhatan. ************************************************** 5. Right down the street in Suffolk ************************************************** Dennis and I go past this Taco Bell frequently. Luckily the stupid criminal's gun didn't fire and he was caught. The store manager, who looked death in the face and lived because the criminal's gun misfired, chased after the miscreant unarmed! http://tinyurl.com/3k5y8n Crowd chases man into woods after Suffolk restaurant robbery By Linda McNatt The Virginian-Pilot June 24, 2008 SUFFOLK Nobody had to ask for volunteers for the posse that hot-footed behind a robber on Saturday morning. Employees of the local Taco Bell joined in when they saw their manager give chase. Then, a business owner on his motorcycle and several citizens on foot trailed behind. The scene played out about 9:30 a.m. on busy North Main Street. The fast-food restaurant's manager had stopped by to pick up a bank deposit. She was robbed at gunpoint almost as soon as she had her hands on the money. The robber pulled the trigger, but his gun didn't fire, said police spokeswoman Lt. Debbie George. That's when he took off, toward the woods behind the shopping center. And the line of pursuers - between eight and 12 people - took off behind him. The manager was in her car, calling police on her cell phone as she went. Once police arrived, the robber was able to evade them for about 45 minutes, but when he attempted to leave the woods, he was spotted again. A detective and a K-9 officer brought the man to his heels. Police identified the suspect as Deon Gatling, who swore he'd done nothing wrong, police said. Lying in a ravine, however, Gatling wasn't able to hide a Taco Bell bag full of cash that police said was near his feet. Gatling, 19, of Sunbury, N.C., had previously worked for the Suffolk restaurant for about three years, George said. He left there almost a year ago. Capt. Stephanie Burch, head of the Suffolk Police Criminal Investigations Section, praised the citizens' willingness to get involved. The situation, however, could have been dangerous, she said. "This particular suspect was reported to have a firearm, and we would never want to have our citizens injured trying to assist us," Burch said. The handgun was recovered in the restaurant's parking lot, police said. Gatling was charged with armed robbery, attempted malicious wounding and two counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He's = being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail. Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt*pilotonline.com ************************************************** 6. Victim of attempted sexual assault in Virginia Beach warns others ************************************************** This happened around dusk. The woman clearly wasn't expecting a crime = to happen to her, but then, who does? http://tinyurl.com/6ad9k2 June 23, 2008 VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY.com) -- It seems a would-be attacker didn't know who he was messing with. "Bad luck, wrong chick, wrong chick," said Kristy. The 24-year-old says she's not about to let anything come between her and her baby boy, especially not someone trying to hurt her. "I think I probably scared him more than he scared me," said Kristy. Last night, after putting 7-month-old Aiden down, Kristy went to her car to get some CDs when she says she was attacked. "I guess he came up from behind me, grabbed me from the back of my head, pushed my face into the side of my car and put his elbow between = my shoulders, then tried messing with the side of my pants. The whole time I was like please don't kill me," said Kristy. She fought back - "I just knee'd him real quick in the stomach and ran faster than I've ever run in my entire life," she explained. Kristy says she got a close look at the man's face and worked with police to come up with a sketch. Eden Roc Circle in Virginia Beach is = a gated community, but Kristy says one of the gates has been broken for about a week. She thinks the attacker came from a nearby McDonald's, but doesn't blame the apartment complex. South Beach apartments sent out a notice to all residents this morning. "Hopefully they'll get him before maybe he hurts someone else," she said. Kristy says she still feels safe at home, but she will start using her = alarm now. "I have a gun, I'm not real worried about it, if anybody tries to come = in I feel sorry for them," she added. She has one more warning, or rather some cautionary advice for others - "If it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen; prepare yourself, don't be naive," said Kristy. Police in Virginia Beach are looking for a man suspected of attempting = to commit a sexual assault against a woman on Eden Rock Circle on Sunday night. The department issued the following news release describing the incident and the suspect: On Sunday, June 22, 2008 at approximately 8:45 p.m., Virginia Beach Police responded to a report of an attempted sexual assault in the 400 = block of Eden Rock Circle, Virginia Beach. The victim reported that she was leaning into her vehicle to pick some = compact discs when an unknown male pushed her up against her car. The = suspect grabbed at her pants to try and pull them down, but the victim = was able to push him off and run inside to her apartment. The suspect = fled on foot towards the McDonald's on Birdneck Rd. The suspect is described as a white male, 20-25 years of age, 5'6" tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the Virginia Beach Crime Solvers Office at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP (562-5887). Callers remain anonymous and are eligible to receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 if their information leads to an arrest. This case remains under investigation. ************************************************** 7. Mayor Daley goes berserk regarding 'Heller' ************************************************** Mayor Daley, like DC mayor Fenty, is a disgrace. Both are determined to keep innocent people unarmed at all costs, to hell with the Constitution. http://tinyurl.com/6aqqg8 Mayor Daley calls Supreme Court's gun-ban reversal 'a very frightening = decision' High court strikes down Washington D.C. law in ruling that could have implications for similar 1982 Chicago Weapons Ordinance Melissa Patterson and Jeff Coen Chicago Tribune reporters June 26, 2008 An angry Mayor Richard Daley on Thursday called the Supreme Court's overturning of the Washington D.C. handgun ban "a very frightening decision" and vowed to fight vigorously any challenges to Chicago's ban. That challenge was not long in coming. Hours after the high court's ruling was made public Thursday, the Second Amendment Foundation and the Illinois State Rifle Association sued the city and the mayor in an = effort to overturn Chicago's quarter-century ban on handguns. City officials expressed confidence the city would prevail in any court challenge, asserting, among other things, that the 2nd Amendment = as part of the Bill of Rights restricts the federal government and does not apply to state and local governments. "It's a big blow to those of us who believe in common sense gun laws," = Gov. Rod Blagojevich said during an appearance at a West Side community agency to announce a summer jobs program. "And as a result, it's the wrong decision." Earlier, Daley expressed outrage at the 5-4 court decision. "Does this lead to everyone having a gun in our society?" Daley asked while speaking at a Navy Pier event. "If they [the Supreme Court] think that's the answer, then they're greatly mistaken. Then why don't = we do away with the court system and go back to the Old West, you have = a gun and I have a gun, and we'll settle it in the streets if that's they're thinking." "We think we're such an improved society," he added. "The rest of the world is laughing at us." In finding Washington D.C's law against handgun ownership unconstitutional, the high court determined that Americans have the right to own guns for self-defense and hunting. It was the first time in nearly 70 years that the court had taken up broad questions about the 2nd Amendment's protections of the right to bear arms. The city of Chicago, which has had its own ban on handgun ownership since 1982, had filed a brief with the court in support of the ban in January. City legal officials respond Even before the suit was filed challenging the Chicago Weapons Ordinance, city officials said they believed the Chicago law did not fall under the Supreme Court ruling. "We are confident that this does not invalidate Chicago's ordinance at = this point," said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city Law Department. Benna Solomon, deputy corporation counsel for the city, asserted that the Supreme Court decision applies only to the federal government. Washington D.C., she said, is part of the federal government, but Chicago is an independent home-rule unit of Illinois. "The court notes that it is not required to consider whether the 2nd Amendment also applies to state and local government, and therefore it = does not consider that question," Solomon said. "The court had previously held on three occasions the 2nd Amendment does not apply to = state and local government, and it does not reconsider or even address = that issue in this opinion." "We are prepared to aggressively litigate this issue and defend this ordinance," Hoyle added. In railing against the Supreme Court ruling, Daley stressed the danger = of private gun ownership, especially for the children of gun owners. "We've shown time and time again how many children have been killed in = their homes by guns," he said. "Parents are away, they get the gun. Parents are away, the child takes the gun, runs out in the street and has an argument, comes back and shoots somebody." He also pointed to the high medical and social costs associated with gun violence. District of Columbia vs. Dick Heller began as a group of plaintiffs suing over D.C.'s local gun ordinances, including one barring the registration of handguns by private individuals. Heller was a security = guard at the Federal Judicial Center in Washington who could have a handgun at work but not at home, and his lawyers argued the 2nd Amendment creates an individual right of handgun ownership. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court's ruling that = had dismissed Heller's suit, finding that the 2nd Amendment did protect an individual's right to bear arms. The Supreme Court took the = case and heard oral arguments in March. In Chicago's brief, lawyers argued that state and local rules regulating firearms are constitutional and have had popular support. Chicago's ordinances resemble those of D.C., lawyers for the city acknowledged. "Chicago, like other big cities, has a compelling interest in reducing = crime related to firearms," the brief states. Chicago Police Department statistics show that from 2004 to November 2007 there were 43,685 firearms-related violent crimes in the city. Chicago's top cop responds "From a law enforcement perspective, this [the Supreme Court decision] = will no doubt make a police officer's job more challenging than it already is," Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis said, "particularly since a firearm is used in 75 percent of all murders committed in the city of Chicago." Richard Pearson, spokesman for the Illinois State Rifle Association, said gun-rights advocates are excited about the ruling and believe it will have a wide impact. "I think that's going to impact the de facto Chicago gun ban greatly," = he said, as well as other ordinances across the state. "Those ordinances will either need to be changed or will be in jeopardy from legal challenges." Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the five-judge majority said the Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home." In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons." He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found." Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter. John McGinnis, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law who specializes in constitutional law and served in the office of legal counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice, called the decision "a complete victory" for those who advocate for the rights of individuals to own guns, though it leaves some ground open for a legal = battle. McGinnis said the court clearly stamped approval on the rights of citizens to own "ordinary guns that are in common use," including handguns. McGinnis said he expects a local challenge to the Chicago ban will again head up to higher courts. He estimated that it could take months = for a local challenge to play out. Staff reporters David Mendell and Hal Dardick and The Associated Press = contributed to this report. ************************************************** 8. Newly crowned Miss Tennessee chooses self defense ************************************************** We changed the title of this slightly -- some in the media are just hung up on pejorative references to law-abiding citizens. http://tinyurl.com/3rcwld Gannett News Service 6/24/2008 By NED B. HUNTER nhunter*jacksonsun.com She's a daddy's girl. But don't think this year's Miss Tennessee is a pushover. Ellen Carrington, 21, who was crowned Miss Tennessee on Saturday night, has a concealed weapons permit. "I have a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber," Carrington told reporters on Sunday, "(with a) silver top and black body." A Jackson native and senior at Union University, Carrington decided to = get the permit because she was spending a lot of time traveling to and = from Nashville at night. She said spending time at shooting ranges with her father, Pat, helped create an even deeper bond between the two. Carrington began her first official day as Miss Tennessee by speaking with reporters Sunday morning inside the Old English Inn. She started the conversation by telling reporters that she was still "in disbelief" over her win. The following are her answers to a Jackson Sun reporter's questions: Question: What is one of your goals as Miss Tennessee? Answer: To educate children on the importance of volunteerism. ( Volunteerism was Carrington's platform as a Miss Tennessee contestant.) Q: When did you become interested in volunteerism? A: I started in the ninth grade. I won an award for outstanding community service and realized I had a passion for it. Studies show that if kids get involved in volunteerism just one hour a week, they are less likely to be involved in drugs or destructive behavior. Q: With so many disappointing role models out there, how can you make a difference in young adults' lives? A: Just by being a positive role model and standing against destructive behavior. Q: What was the first pageant you entered? A: Miss Nashville. I was 18. I wasn't interested in pageants until I found out there was scholarship money. (Carrington won $12,000 in scholarship money along with the Miss Tennessee crown. She said it will go to pay off student loans. It took Carrington four tries to win = her first preliminary in a pageant. That was for Miss Madison County. ) Q: How did you overcome the disappointment of losing in the other pageants to keep striving toward your dreams? A: Failure is something that everyone has to overcome in life. Had I ever given up, I would have never been able to ever achieve this goal. Q: How are you going to prepare for the Miss America pageant (which will be held in Las Vegas this year)? A: I need to continue to build my platform. I need to work on my interview skills, too. You can always improve them. Q: Who is the greatest influence in your life? A: My dad. He has supported me and encouraged me. He would do the late- night workouts with me, and get me to do the last leg lifts when I couldn't. Q: Who will you vote for in the next presidential election? A: I'm not sure. Who I will vote for will depend on the debates and the running mates they choose. Q: The ugly rumor mill had it that this was going to be your last Miss = Tennessee pageant, is that true? A: Yes, especially after Friday night. (Because) I thought this was the best Ellen could be, and if it's not God's will, it's OK. (Carrington won Friday night's preliminary talent competition. She also won her preliminary in the swimsuit competition Wednesday.) ************************************************** 9. Guns in DC -- no gun stores, but look who has a license ************************************************** http://tinyurl.com/67zqob Knoxville, TN KnoxNews blog 27 June 2008 So, how does one lawfully get guns into DC? Even after Heller takes effect, it's a tough issue due to zoning: Washington has no federally licensed gun stores, so nowhere in the city can residents buy a handgun legally. Not true, really. There is one licensed firearms dealer in the city. One Josh Sugarmann of the anti-gun shill group the Violence Policy Center. They can be reached at: Violence Policy Center 1730 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Suite 1014 Washington, DC 20036 phone (202) 822 8200 Ask them what they're charging for transfers. If they say they don't do them, remind them that, thanks in part to their kind's lobbying efforts, it is typically viewed a violation of federal law to hold an FFL and not be in the business of dealing firearms. Continued ...