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Friday, November 30, 2007

Falls Church Wants More Gun Control - Supports D.C. Gun Ban

Monday night, the Falls Church City Council adopted a “priority position” to ask the General Assembly to pass a law empowering local governments to pass their own gun control laws. The Falls Church City Council hopes the shift in control of the State Senate to Democrats will make it more likely that their wish will come true.

In a statement issued by the Council, the city officials said, “The City supports changes to state law to allow local governments to create a weapons-free environment in publicly owned facilities,” the Council statement said, noting that the position is supported regionally and is consistent with legislation Fairfax County pursued last year.

I've got some bad news for the folks in Falls Church. Even if they were successful in getting such a bill out of the State Senate (and I am not convinced that it would even with the new majority in the Senate), do they really think it will make it out of the House?

In a related action during the meeting, a member of the Council asked the City Attorney to draft an “amicus brief” from the City to support the District of Columbia’s gun ban as the case goes before the U.S. Supreme Court.

You can read more about the actions of the Falls Church City Council here.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Presidential Politics Hits Virginia on February 12, 2008

Virginia will hold a presidential primary for both the Republican and Democratic parties on February 12. In a previous post I mentioned how the only pro-gun Democrat running for President is New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. If you are a Democrat and want a pro-gun candidate representing you in next year's election, he is your only choice.

On the Republican side, there are several pro-gun candidates, some of which are what are known as "second-tier" candidates (candidates in single digits in the polls) but of the front runners, only former U.S. Senator Fred Thompson is truly pro-gun based on his past record. If former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee pulls an upset and finishes in the top three in Iowa on January3rd, he would vault into the first tier and join Thompson as a truly pro-gun candidate. Of the others in the top tier, I don't think I need to remind you of Giuliani's past where he called the NRA extremists or former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's signing into law a so-called "assault-weapons" ban. Senator John McCain has generally been with us but even he has a couple bad votes - namely campaign finance reform that took away the NRA's ability to communicate with gun owners 60 days before a general election, and his vote to end gun shows as we know them.

Senator Thompson has not been shy about promoting his pro-gun record - visiting gun shows and gun shops while on the campaign trail. This Associated Press (AP) report talks about Thompson's discussion of the differences between him and his top tier rivals on the issue of the Second Amendment.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

DGIF Reviews Hunting with Hounds

For those of you who hunt deer or other game, but especially deer, using dogs, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has launched a review of the practice in the Commonwealth. Focus group meetings will be held around the state during November and December and are being conducted by Virginia Tech. A very small number of hunters who are not practicing good ethics have caused trespass complaints from property owners which sparked the review. Accordind to DGIF, the goal is “To provide diverse opportunities for hunting with hounds in Virginia in a manner that is fair, sportsmanlike and consistent with the rights of property owners and other citizens.” The process includes many avenues for hound hunters to participate, such as focus group meetings with individual stakeholder groups, a survey conducted through the Department’s web site, opportunity to review all developments, public meetings, and by letter or e-mail. About half of the focus groups will be made up of bear, deer, fox, and raccoon hound hunters. The remainder of the focus groups will be populated by landowners, government representatives, other hunters and outdoor enthusiasts. If you are a hound hunter, make your views known during this public process. Go to www.dgif.state.va.us/hunting/hounds for more information about how you can participate.

Kaine Joins Attacks on Gun Shows

Anti-gun Governor Tim Kaine has now joined the former superintendent of the Virginia State Police and Chairman of the Virginia Tech Review Panel, Gerald Massengill, in calling for closing the so-called "gun show loophole." Kaine explained his support on his monthly radio call in show by saying the "loophole" leaves an opening for felons and mentally ill individuals to have access to guns. He said, "You either want felons to have guns or you don't. You want people who are mentally adjudicated to be dangerous to have guns or you don't. If you don't want them to, then you ought to close that gun show loophole." As a side note, while he said he wants the "loophole" closed, he is not ready to say if he will expend any political capital to see that the effort is a success.

All of this of course flies in the face of three federal studies that provides convincing evidence to the contrary. And, never mind the fact that Cho, the Virginia Tech shooter, did not acquire his guns at a gun show, and he went through a background check.

The only possible thing that could have been done that might have prevented the shooting (and even this may have had little impact) must be done at the federal level. Laws known as Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), both of which have to do with what personal medical information can be provided to a family member, tied the hands of Virginia Tech in their ability to communicate with the parents of Cho that their were potential problems based on his behavior.

Cho had been receiving medical attention while he was in high school and his parents were happy with the progress he was making and they did not want him to attend Tech for that reason, believing that on such a large campus, he would regress. Unfortunately, because of FERPA, due to the fact that Cho was and adult, the school could not inform his parents about the incidents that led him to be referred for mental health treatment.

In short, gun shows had nothing to do with the events that led up to the shootings or the terrible events of April 16. Gun shows are simply an easy target upon which the gun banners have waived their sights.

The full article about Kaine's remarks can be found here.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Supreme Court and D.C. Gun Ban

While I was on vacation, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) agreed to hear the appeal of the D.C. Circuit Court's decision overturning D.C.'s handgun ban. It was widely expected that this decision would not be announced until after Thanksgiving but the Court announced the decision to hear the case on Tuesday - two days before the holiday. Over the holiday weekend, a number of OP/EDs were published - many supporting the individual rights interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Some of the best were in the Wall Street Journal. In the event you have not seen them, I am providing the links to the public articles (some can only be accessed by subscribers).

Second Amendment Showdown

Guns and the Constitution

Court Sets its Scope on Handgun Ban

Justices to Weigh Handgun Ban (WSJ article on decision to hear case)

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Disney and Guns

As you have noticed, posting has been light. I took the family on a Thanksgiving vacation to Disney World. It was refreshing to see that Disney has not been infected by the usually anti-gun tendencies of other theme parks. You can still buy fake guns in all of the four Disney parks. While many toy stores and discount stores have stopped selling cap guns like many of us played with as kids, sales are alive and well at Disney World.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Red's Trading Post Saga

I try to post on items directly related to Virginia gun rights or of interest to Virginia gun owners. I think this is one such item. The number of Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealers has been reduced dramatically since the beginning of the Clinton years, and the Bureau of Tobacco, Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has been directly involved in this phenomenon. There is a direct relationship between the number of gun dealers and the availability of firearms for law-abiding citizens.



Readers of the VSSA blog may be familiar with the ongoing battle between BATFE and Red's Trading Post in Idaho but if you are not it is worth a few minutes visit tothe blog of Red's owner, Ryan Horsley. Red's Trading Post is a longtime staple of the business community in Twin Falls, Idaho and Ryan is continuing the family business against the unlimited wallet (i.e. yours and my tax dollars) of BATFE.



Ryan has been featured on NRA News several times as well as numerous other news outlets that report on gun related news. Check Red's blog for regular updates on this abuse of power by the ATF Seattle Field Division.

No news from SCOTUS on DC Gun Ban Case

The Supreme Court's orders announced Tuesday, November 13, did not mention any action on District of Columbia v. Heller (formerly known as Parker v. District of Columbia) or on the related petition by the plaintiffs who were denied standing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Any guessing about the reasons for the delay would be just that. This means, based on the Court's current calendar, the next possible date for an announcement on the case would be November 26.

VSSA will post any updates here as we receive them.

Chairman of Virginia Tech Panel Endorses Closing "Gun Show Loophole"

The chairman of the panel appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to investigate the Virginia Tech shootings said Monday the nation must stop the spread of guns.

Former Superintendent Gerald Massengill spoke at a meeting of the Virginia Center for Public Safety, a gun control group affiliated with the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Massengill gave an overview of the panel's report on the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech.

According to press reports in the Richmond Times Dispatch and the Newport News Daily Press, He focused his remarks on gun control laws, including requirements for purchasing firearms, and campus policy recommendations in the panel's final report.

Massengill has never been a proponent of gun control and he is quoted in the article as saying he has always been a strong supporter of the Second Amendment but he is now spitting our Brady Campaign talking points like he has been in the room when they are written.

For instance: "we cannot allow the proliferation of guns to continue like they're continuing" or "more-thorough background checks on gun-show purchases are needed in Virginia, if only to reduce the availability of guns for illicit purposes."

As former superintendent of the State Police, Massengill should be familiar with the fact that multiple federal government studies prove gun shows are not a source of "proliferation" for "crime guns." For instance :
  • The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) 2001 report "Firearms Use by Offenders," the largest such study ever conducted by the government, found that less than 1% of U.S. "crime guns" come from gun shows.
  • A 2000 BJS study, "Federal Firearms Offenders, 1992-98," found only 1.7% of federal prison inmates obtained their gun from a gun show.
  • A National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 1997 study, "Homicide in Eight U.S. Cities," reported less than 2% of criminal guns come from gun shows.

Further, Second Amendment scholar David Kopel has written that all three of these studies are consistent with a mid-1980s study for the NIJ, which investigated the gun purchase and use habits of convicted felons in 12 state prisons. The study (later published as the book Armed and Considered Dangerous) found that gun shows were such a minor source of criminal gun acquisition that they were not even worth reporting as a separate figure.

As to the claim in the RTD article that "35% of dealers at gun shows do not possess a federal firearms license" - you can only get to that number if you include all of the vendors who are not selling guns (e.g., vendors who are selling books, clothing, or accessories) as "dealers."

VSSA will continue to vigorously fight any attempt to regulate private sales at gun shows or anywhere else for that matter.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Election Post Mortem

The votes have been cast and the unofficial results have been announced. So what does all of this mean. Clearly, in the State Senate, the Democrats won control for the first time in a decade and claim a 21-19 majority. In the House of Delegates, the Republicans lost a handful of seats but remains in the hands of a pro-gun majority with a healthy number of Democrats joining a vast majority of Republicans that are staunch supporters of the Second Amendment. The House will remain the firewall against any gun control law that might make it out of the Senate.

There are two ways to look at the change of power in the State Senate. First, when you look at just the number of senators that are strong supporters of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, last night's results are somewhat a wash. We started with 21 Senators that were NRA "A" or "B" rated candidates that we could regularly count on (Bell, Blevins, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Edwards, Hanger, Hawkins, Houck, Martin, McDougle, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, O'Brien, Quayle, Reynolds, Ruff, Stolle, Stosch, Wagner, Williams) to support the rights of Virginia gun owners.

At the end of the night, we ended with 20 candidates that were rated by the NRA as either "A" or "B" candidates (Blevins, Cuccinelli, Deeds, Edwards, Hanger, Houck, Hurt, Martin, McDougle, Newman, Norment, Obenshain, Quayle, Reynolds, Ruff, Smith, Stolle, Stosch, Vogel, Wagner,). Plus you have to count the loss of "F" rated candidate Jeannemarie Devolites Davis to "C" rated Chap Petterson as a somewhat positive outcome. This means that should a gun control bill make it to the floor and it ends in a 20-20 tie, pro-gun Lt. Governor Bill Bolling will cast the tie breaking vote. Should one or two of the 20 mentioned above that are less firm in their support flip on one or two votes, as stated above, the House of Delegates will be our final firewall.

The second way to look at this is the committee structure. The Democrats will now control the committees. The two committees that see the most gun related bills are 1) Courts of Justice and 2) Local Government. The Democrats that are in line to take over the chairmanship of both committees are both anti-gun. The majority of the members of the Courts committee are pro-gun but the Republicans will loose one member and the Democrats will gain one. At this point it is any one's guess who they will put on the committee and if that will be one of the pro-gun Democratic senators not already on the committee, the "C" rated Chap Peterson, or a vehemently anti-gun newly elected Northern Virginia senator.

Local Government was more evenly divided among pro-gun and anti-gun senators. This is the committee that range protection bills are likely assigned. Last night's results could negatively impact the ability to control local governments with legislation at the state level as it relates to protecting gun ranges and the right to shoot on private property.

In the House of Delegates, "A" rated incumbent John Welch, III, lost to "F" rated Robert Mathiseson. In an open seat to replace retiring "B" rated Leo C. Wardrup, Joseph Bouchard, who did not return his NRA questionnaire, defeated "A" rated Chris Stolle. In an open seat that had been held by the retiring "B" rated Vincent F. Callahan, Jr., Margeret Vanderhye, who also did not return the NRA questionnaire, defeated "B-" rated Dave Hunt. Another open seat, "C" rated Michele B. McQuigg, who stepped aside to run for Clerk of Circuit Court, "D-" rated Paul Nichols defeated "A" rated Faisal Gill. On the positive side however, "B-" rated Manoli Loupassi defeated incumbent "F" rated Katherine Waddell. So, we have a net loss of three pro-gun House members, mostly in the northern Virginia area of the Commonwealth.

The loss of the Senate means it will be a challenge to advance pro-gun legislation. VSSA will be watching as legislation begins to be filed and will be working with the Association's lobbyist to map out a strategy for the next two years.

The support of VSSA by Virginia's gun owners is even more important than ever given last night's results. In the coming days I will be posting about the outlook for gun rights in Virginia as the demographics continue to shift in the state. If you are not a member of VSSA, you can join by downloading an application and mailing it today. Our strength is in our numbers and we need everyone to let their voice be heard.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Talk Show Host Glen Beck on Gun Control

Courtesy of YouTube, Glen Beck discusses the presidential campaign and gun control on his CNN show after appearing at the NRA's Celebration of American Value's event.

Richmond Ice Cream Store Manager Not Charged

David Felding got a bit of good news yesterday. The Richmond grand jury impaneled to decide if Felding should be charged in the shooting of Jerome Davis declined to indict Fielding in the shooting. But, according to the Richmond Times Dispatch, his father said the pain, trauma and tragedy of that evening may never be over.

Fielding fired 11 shots at Davis, who entered the store waving a BB-gun version of a 9 mm handgun and demanded money. Two of the shots struck Davis, one of them in the back, fatally wounding him as he fled the premises.

Yesterday, the Richmond commonwealth's attorney's office presented evidence for a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm. The five-member panel concluded that Fielding's actions were a justifiable and excusable form of self-defense. At least four grand jurors must vote for an indictment.

According to police, Davis entered the Baskin-Robbins about 9 p.m. on Sept. 6 and demanded money from the register. Fielding, the shift manager, handed over bills and change totaling less than $100.

Investigators said Davis ordered Fielding, another employee and the lone customer in the store to move back toward the storage area. Nobody realized Davis' gun was a fake, Herring said.
Once in the back of the store, however, Fielding produced his own 9mm gun from his waistband. Fielding then moved toward the front counter of the store and opened fire, causing Davis to flee.
Herring said there was no evidence that Davis turned around once he fled.

Davis, whose extensive criminal history included several robbery convictions, was found by police a couple of blocks away, bleeding to death near the front porch of his home in the 2900 block of Cherokee Road.

While the media likes to portray people who carry a firearm for self defense as trigger happy cowboys, the fact is, we never make the take the decision to do so lightly and if we are forced to fire, it has implications that could haunt us the rest of our lives. So is the case with Mr. Felding who Herring said was "extremely remorseful and crying," upon being told that Davis had died.

The panel's decision ends one of the most hotly debated shooting cases in the city's recent history. After the shooting, a neighborhood watch representative in Stratford Hills gathered more than 500 signatures on a petition supporting Fielding. The South Richmond business corridor has been hit by a surge in armed commercial robberies this year.

Prosecutors initially considered pursuing manslaughter charges in the case, but they decided to present evidence of reckless discharge when it could not be determined whether the fatal shot that killed Davis was one of three fired inside the store or among the eight fired when Fielding ran outside to pursue Davis.

Herring is apparently no fan of people defending themselves. He was quoted in the RTD saying "I think everyone understands that having more people firing more weapons increases the probability of unintended harm."

I was not in the store when this occurred. All I know is what was in press accounts. If they are accurate, Felding likely would have benefited from additional firearms training before deciding to carry a firearm. But, most "BB" guns look very real these days and I am not going to condemn his actions to protect himself and those in the store against a repeat offender.

You can read the complete RTD report here.

Today is the Big Day

This is an important election and every gun owner needs to get out and vote today. You can find the VSSA supported candidates in contested races in our post from yesterday.

Monday, November 5, 2007

VSSA Supported Candidates

Tomorrow is election day and your vote is very important if we are to maintain our pro-gun majorities in the House of Delegates and the State Senate - but especially the State Senate as there is a 50/50 chance that chamber may change party control. If that happens, every important committee chairmanship will flip to anti-gun northern Virginia State Senators. This includes the Senate Courts of Justice - the committee that most all gun related legislation is assigned.

The following is a list of districts that have contested races. VSSA supports the candidate listed in these important contested races and we urge all gun owners to vote for these candidates if you live in one of the House of Delegates or State Senate Districts listed below.

State Senate Contested Races
District 1 - (R) TRICIA STALL
District 11 - (R) *STEPHEN MARTIN
District 13 - (R) *FREDERICK QUAYLE
District 15 - (R) *FRANK RUFF
District 17 - (D) *R. EDWARD HOUCK
District 19 - (R) ROBERT HURT
District 20 - (D) *W. ROSCOE REYNOLDS
District 22 - (R) RALPH SMITH
District 23 - (R) *STEPHEN D. NEWMAN
District 24 - (R) *EMMETT HANGER, JR.
District 26 - (R) *MARK OBENSHAIN
District 27 - (R) JILL HOLTZMAN VOGEL
District 29 - (R) ROBERT FITZSIMMONDS
District 33 - (R) PATRICIA PHILLIPS
District 37 - (R) *KEN CUCCINELLI
District 39 - (R) *JAMES K. O'BRIEN

House of Delegates Contested Races
District 1 - (R) *TERRY KILGORE
District 5 - (R) *BILL CARRICO
District 6 - (R) *ANNE CROCKETT-STARK
District 7 - (R) *DAVE NUTTER
District 8 - (R) *H. MORGAN GRIFFITH
District 9 - (R) CHARLES D. POINDEXTER
District 11 - (D) *ONZLEE WARE
District 13 - (R) *ROBERT MARSHALL
District 14 - (R) *DANNY MARSHALL
District 16 - (R) DONALD MERRICKS
District 19 - (I) *LACEY PUTNEY
District 21 - (R) *JOHN WELCH, III
District 26 - (R) *MATT LOHR
District 28 - (R) *WILLIAM J. HOWELL
District 31 - (R) *L. SCOTT LINGAMFELTER
District 34 - (R) DAVE HUNT
District 40 - (R) *TIMOTHY HUGO
District 52 - (R) *JEFF FREDERICK
District 56 - (R) *BILL JANIS
District 59 - (I) *WATKINS ABBITT
District 67 - (R) MARC CADIN
District 72 - (R) JAMES MASSIE
District 78 - (R) *JOHN COSGROVE
District 83 - (R) CHRIS STOLLE
District 87 - (R) HENRY GIFFIN
District 88 - (R) *MARK COLE
District 94 - (R) *GLENN ODER
District 96 - (R) BRENDA POGGE
(*indicates incumbent)

Please go to the polls and vote for the pro-gun candidate tomorrow. Turnout is projected to be extremely low and your vote will be more important than ever.

Friday, November 2, 2007

More on Roanoke Times Banning Gun Ads

Last week I posted about the Roanoke Times refusing to run ads for the Roanoke Valley Gun Show that was held at the Civic Center last week end. Bill Cochran has written about it on his Times’ “Field Reports” blog that the refusal to run ads for the gun show was a result of the newspaper tightening its policy on firearms advertising where they will only accept gun and accessory ads from licensed firearm’s dealers only.

Now a trade journal covering the newspaper industry has picked up the story. The Editor and Publisher wrote that the Roanoke Times' marketing director, Nan Mahone explained “Our tightening policy ensures that firearms advertising in our newspaper is restricted to licensed dealers who are subject to these background checks. The Editor and Publisher story noted that the NRA called the policy “blatantly discriminatory” and urged members and pro-gun citizens to contact the newspaper “to express their outrage.” Like VSSA, the NRA did not call for canceling subscriptions. You will recall that rather than urging a boycott of the newspaper, I suggested that pro-gun advertisers take their business somewhere else and then fax a copy of their invoice to the Times every time they purchased advertising from an alternative source so the paper would see a tangible loss of income.

The Editor and Publisher continues that a newspaper statement on the policy says: “The decision to restrict firearms advertising to licensed dealers was made by the advertising department, with the support of the president and publisher and independent of the news and editorial departments. It was made after careful examination of a loophole in a federal law and consideration of the safety of our community.” As I mentioned in my previous post, the new policy comes months after the paper got in hot water with pro-gun advocates…when it published a list of 135,000 Virginians who had earned Right-to-Carry Permits.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Bloomberg Comes to Virginia to Endorse Davis

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg comes to Fairfax today to endorse vehemently anti-gun self-described RINO (Republican in Name Only) Jeannemarie Devolites Davis. For those down state that are not familiar with Davis, she is the wife of 11th District Congressman Tom Davis. Congressman Davis just bowed out of the U.S. Senate race to succeed Senator John Warner. During the 2007 Session of the General Assembly, Devolites Davis introduced legislation to "close the gun show loophole" but the bill was defeated in the Senate Courts of Justice Committee. She has made gun control a centerpiece of her campaign.

A little background on the state senator; when she was first elected to the House of Delegates, she ran as a right of center Republican and supported the agenda of the conservative House Republican Caucus. Much has changed however since she was elected to the State Senate. For one, her district has voted for Democrats in the last three statewide elections. Rather than make her case as to why a Republican position on issues important to the district would be better than those proposed by Democrats, she has positioned herself as "Democrat Lite." It has been my experience that when voters are given a choice between the real thing and a "knock off" they choose the real thing every time.

It has been proven more than once that people who support gun control do not base their vote on that issue alone. However, it has been demonstrated that a lot of pro-gun voters do base their vote for or against a candidate solely on the gun issue.

Gun owners in the district have a hard choice in a year that conventional wisdom says it is 50/50 that the Senate may flip party control. They have to choose between a Democratic candidate that received a "C" rating from the NRA but if elected would likely flip the State Senate to anti-gun leadership, or an "F" rated candidate that will continue to push gun control but keep the key leadership positions like chairmanship of Courts (the committee where most all gun bills are assigned) in pro-gun hands and thus neutralizing Davis' anti-gun positions.

It should be noted that Devolites Davis was one of only 10 senators (and the only Republican) that voted against HB 2653 - Delegate Scott Lingamfelter's Illegal Conveyance of Firearms bill that put an end to Bloomberg's questionable sting operations against Virginia Gun Owners.

You can read the NY Times coverage of Bloomberg's endorsement here.

Senate District 13 and Guns

The Pilot Online web site has a video voter guide featuring several races in the Tidewater area. One of the races pits longtime state senator Fred Quayle and City Councilman Steve Heretick. The issue of guns is one of the questions answered by the two candidates. Senator Quayle takes the opportunity to detail how the problem that led to the Virginia Tech shooting was not weak Virginia gun laws but instead a breakdown of the court and mental health system. Heretick took the opportunity to read Brady Campaign talking points and says he will introduce a bill to close the non-existent "gun show loophole." VSSA believes Quayle deserves re-election.

You can see the video of the Quayle race here. Click the "enter" button then click the "District 13" tab at the top of the video viewer.

UPDATE:

The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) has downgraded Heretick's rating from "A" to "C" based on the fact that what he said in the video referenced above is different that what he said on his questionaire.