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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

VSSA's Crush'n Clays - Heroes Like You Can Help Heroes Like These

Everyday heroes don't always make headlines. Most aren't strong, brave or well-known, but these men and women step up to help those less fortunate. You meet them at work, in the grocery store, on the busy street . . . everywhere.

I meet them the 2nd Saturday each June, at Crush'n Clays. These heroes give their time and treasure to benefit the kids of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Crush'n Clays is the longest running shooting charity event that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It is also the longest continuously running shooting charity event in the country. It's success was has been chronicled in the IWLA national magazine, Outdoor America, NRA Club Connection, as well as numerous, websites.

To date, we’ve raised over $230,000. The event wouldn’t be possible without the support of Arlington-Fairfax IWLA, the Virginia Shooting Sports Association and our sponsors such as the National Rifle Association, and Dominick Casciano of Atlantic Healthcare.

Let me introduce you to one of the patients this event benefits.

Nathan is just a year old and is an energetic boy who loves running after his brothers and playing outside.

Nathan's mom couldn't seem to get a picture of her baby without capturing a glint of white in his left eye, she thought her camera was malfunctioning. Her pictures kept coming out the same, and she started to wonder if something was wrong with little Nathan's eye. At Nathan's 6-month checkup, she decided to show one of the photographs to his pediatrician. The doctor took one look at the photograph, and his face turned serious. He recommended she take Nathan to specialists right away.

At the family's local hospital, the diagnosis was made: Nathan had bilateral retinoblastoma, a form of eye cancer. Tumors were present in both of Nathan's eyes, and he would need further care. Crushed, Nathan's parents asked the doctor where they should turn for their son's treatment. The doctor was quick to recommend St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. "We can treat it here, but at St. Jude, they're doing research. They have new treatments," she said. "If it was my child, I would go to St. Jude."

The doctor provided a referral, and within a few days, Nathan and his parents were on their way to St. Jude.

At St. Jude, Nathan received a total of 11 rounds of chemotherapy over the course of eight months. He also had laser treatments when, during treatment, his tumors started to grow back. In spring 2009, Nathan completed treatment and was able to have his no-more chemo party. He returns to St. Jude for regular checkups.

Regardless of whether you can attend this year’s Crush'n Clays” event, please consider making a contribution.

You make a living from what you get, but you make a life from what you give.

Heroes like you can help heroes like these.

Contributions can be made to “Crush’n Clays” and sent to:

Virginia Shooting Sports Association, P.O. Box 1258, Orange, VA 22960

If you would like to shoot in this year's event, click here to register online.

VSSA March E-Bullet Now Available

The latest edition of VSSA's E-Bullet is now online.  Click here to read this issue.

VSSA Strongly Supports Governor's Amendments to Air Rifle Bill, Family Firearm Bill

Earlier this month, Governor McDonnell signed four bills supported by VSSA.  Today, amendments recommended by Governor McDonnell were posted on the LIS and he has recommended amendments to HB1422, a bill that adds one family firearm, not to exceed $3,000 in value, to the list of items that every householder shall be entitled to hold exempt from creditor process in bankruptcy. The Governor also recommended an amendment to SB 757, the "Air Rifle" bill that prohibits a locality from adopting an ordinance that prohibits the shooting of pneumatic guns on private property, with permission of the owner of the property, if reasonable care is taken to prevent a projectile from crossing the bounds of the property.

The Governor's amendent to HB1422 is a minor clarifying amendment and VSSA supports the change.  The amendment to SB757 is a great improvement to the language related to the invalidation of  previous ordinances, and VSSA strongly approves of the Governor's recommendation.  Please contact your delegate and senator and urge them to support the Governor's recommendations to both bills when the Assembly reconvenes on April 6.

The bills signed into law by Governor McDonnell:

House Bill 1552 :Amends the language relating to the issuance of de facto concealed handgun permits. Current law states that if a court does not issue a permit or find that the applicant is disqualified, within 45 days of receipt of the application, the clerk is to certify the application and send it to the applicant. The certified application then serves as a de facto permit until the actual permit is issued or the applicant is found to be disqualified. The bill states that the clerk must mail or e-mail the certified application to the applicant within five business days of the expiration of the 45-day period.  Also, a friendly amendment added to HB 1552 will now provide delivery of the certified temporary application by electronic mail.

House Bill 1856: Allows a concealed handgun permit holder to obtain a replacement permit in the event that the original permit is lost or destroyed. The permit holder would be required to submit a notarized statement to the clerk of the court that the permit was lost or destroyed and pay a fee not to exceed $5, and the clerk would be required to issue a replacement permit within 10 business days. The replacement permit will have the same expiration date as the original permit.

House Bill 1857: Clarifies that a member of the military may provide permanent orders assigning him to the Pentagon for purposes of providing documentation of residency when purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer.  It corrects a problem caused by the federal government where some military personnel who are attempting to purchase a firearm in the Commonwealth are being turned away because their permanent duty orders have assigned them to the Pentagon, which lists its official address in Washington, D.C., despite being located in Virginia. HB 1857 will clarify existing law and include the permanent orders to the Pentagon as criteria for required documentation of residence.

Senate Bill 1213/House Bill 1501: Provides that the State Board of Elections, in cooperation with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, will make mail voter registration application forms available where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

Please email the Governor and thank him for signing the above bills.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Story That Just Won't Go Away

One has to wonder if President's Obama's efforts to find "middle ground" on gun control is an effort to divert attention from this colossal mess at ATF.  If that was his intention, it's not working.  While DOJ has been trying to get gun control and gun rights supporters to sit down for discussions on keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals, members of Congress have been asking for answers on how ATF did just the opposite - allow large numbers of firearms to "walk" across the border and end up in the hands of drug cartel members.

This from Fox News:
Congress and the Department of Justice appear to be headed for a showdown this week over documents detailing Operation Fast and Furious, the botched gun running sting set up by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that funnuled more than 1,700 weapons from Arizona to Mexico.
Fox reports that Obama has spoken for the first time and said that while the program may have been a "serious mistake" he did not authorize it (big surprise that admission).  Senator Charles Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa want to know who knew what and when.  So far, DOJ has not been forthcoming with the documents.



It should be noted that CBS News was the first to break this story and to stick with it. NRANews picked up on CBS' coverage and has done a great job of following the story. Fox is now covering the story but most of the mainstream media are still silent.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Richmond Times Dispatch Calls Out Obama on Gun Control Move

Unlike many newspaper editorial boards, the RTD editorial staff is no friend of gun control.  They have regularly opined on the uselessness of gun control - especially the attempts to close the so-called "gun show loophole."  Yesterday the RTD ran an article on open carry advocates and today's editorial page calls out President Obama for his Kumbaya gun control sessions.

A couple of weeks ago, as a follow up to the President's op/ed in the Arizona Daily Star, the Department of Justice (at the urging of the administration) had this great idea (they thought) to call in stakeholders on the gun issue to try and work out some "commonsense" measures to keep criminals and other prohibited persons from getting their hands on firearms.  DOJ invited gun ban groups, gun rights groups (including the NRA), representatives of the retailers, and law enforcement to come and talk to DOJ in separate sessions.  The gun ban groups met with DOJ representatives on March 15th and laid out their usual list - closing the "gun show loophole," banning "high capacity ammunition magazines," and reinstating the so called "assault weapons ban."  Representatives for the retailers were said to have accepted the invitation, but the meeting scheduled for March 18th was postponed.  Representatives from law enforcement groups met with DOJ on March 25th, and sources say they told DOJ that the administration had to get out in front on the issue and even offered to give cover to the administration by being the ones to make the first move.
 
The NRA was invited to participate as part of the "gun owners/civil rights" stakeholder group.  NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre declined by saying why should he or the NRA sit down with people who have spent their entire lives trying to restrict the rights of gun owners.  The RTD concurred, saying why indeed, and analogized the invitation to the reaction that Planned Parenthood might have if invited to find "middle ground" with the Pro-life movement to reduce the number of abortions.
But while the come-let-us-reason-together approach gets less use in politics than it should, there are realms where it is merely a sham. Pro-choice and pro-life activists can agree on abortion only to the extent that they avoid the real issue — by agreeing, for instance, that it is wise to reduce unintended pregnancies. On the fundamental question of what should be done once an unintended pregnancy occurs, however, they have starkly incompatible views — and asking either side to meet the other halfway is just plain silly. If abortion-rights activists concede that abortion is not a right and may be limited in whatever manner lawmakers deem appropriate, then they have not met the other side halfway — they have conceded the entire argument. The same goes for pro-life advocates if they concede the fetus is part of a pregnant woman's body rather than a separate individual.
What the RTD really had right is something pro-rights activists have said for years regarding how the NY Times and Washington Post clamor for restrictions on the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
The president is fond of speaking about "common sense" gun restrictions. To supporters of the Second Amendment, that is like speaking about "common sense" press restrictions in the context of the First — which forbids any restrictions at all. There is nothing particularly noble about compromise when it calls for someone to compromise his principles.
As is usually the case, the RTD editorial was right on target.

Open Carry or Concealed Carry

The Richmond Times Dispatch weighed in yesterday with an article on the topic of open carry.  They interviewed an activist with one of Virginia's other pro-rights groups as well as gun owners who expressed views supporting open carry as well as some who prefer concealed carry.
And some owners said if they wear guns, they keep them concealed as a way to respect the public's concern.

"You don't want to make people nervous by having a gun hanging on you," said Sam Slate, 57, of Midlothian, who has a concealed permit and was practicing shooting at Dominion Shooting Range Inc. in Chesterfield County last week.

His neighbor, J.R. Smith, 62, added, "You want to be subtle."
The usual malcontents on the anti-side also dragged out the worn out arguments against law abiding citizens carrying firearms.
Gov. Bob McDonnell has added two new locations to the list. In January, he approved the open carry of guns in state parks, where concealed weapons have been permitted for years for those with a permit. Public consumption of alcohol in parks is still forbidden.

Last year, he rejected the restaurant industry's concerns and approved legislation that allows gun owners to carry loaded, concealed weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol, but only if they do not imbibe. Openly carrying a gun into restaurants was already permitted, if frowned upon by bartenders.
Gun-control advocates say both decisions fall into the gun lobby's strategy to increase the number of places where guns are allowed.

"It is an attempt to make what is abnormal seem normal," said Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Washington-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence and vice president of The Virginia Center for Public Safety.
Horwitz also used the opportunity to push the gun ban crowd's favorite issue:
Gun-control advocates, like Horwitz, say they have made little headway with their argument that there are certain places guns don't belong, including locations where alcohol is consumed or children are present. The National Rifle Association is a powerful opponent, he said, and his organizations must carefully pick their battles.

He has focused efforts on closing Virginia's so-called gun-show loophole, which allows buyers to purchase from unlicensed sellers without having to go through a criminal background check. He said the loophole means guns are being sold to felons, who by law are not allowed to purchase guns.
The pro-rights community is not in lock step on the issue of open carry.  While it is probably safe to say that most pro-rights activists agree we have the right to carry openly, some believe openly carrying to make a political point is not the best way to win non-gun owners to our side of the issue.  VSSA supports the rights of gun owners to carry in the manner they believe best allows them to protect themselves and their families and that should be the reason one carries - not to make a political point.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

NYTimes: NRA Says No to DOJ Gun Policy Meeting

The New York Times reports this morning that the administration is calling together stakeholders from both the pro-rights and gun ban lobby to discuss how to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and "others who should not have them" but that NRA will not participate, likely dooming anything that may come out of the meetings.
On Tuesday, officials at the Justice Department will meet with gun control advocates in the first of what will be a series of meetings over the next two weeks with people on different sides of the issue, including law enforcement, retailers and manufacturers, to seek agreement on possible legislative or administrative actions.

The effort follows Mr. Obama’s call, in a column on Sunday in a Tucson newspaper, to put aside “stale policy debates” and begin “a new discussion” on ways to better enforce and strengthen existing laws to keep mentally unstable, violent and criminal people from getting guns.
As is usually the case, President Obama has no plans to take the lead in proposing further gun control legislation, instead choosing to leave the heavy liftting to others.  It is understandable why NRA wants no part of doing Obama's job for him.
“Why should I or the N.R.A. go sit down with a group of people that have spent a lifetime trying to destroy the Second Amendment in the United States?” said Wayne LaPierre, the longtime chief executive of the National Rifle Association.
First up for the meetings are the gun ban lobby.  No doubt they will recommend that the administration push renewal of the so-called "assault weapons ban" and closing the non-existant "gun show loophole."   Also scheduled to attend separate meetings are pro-rights groups, retailers, and law enforcement.  It is unknown whether other pro-rights groups other than the NRA were invited, but even if they were, NRA carries the clout on Capitol Hill so if they do not attend, it is unlikely anything will come of the meetings.

It is clear from Obama's Op/Ed  that his focus, without naming a specific solution, is background checks.  While happy that the President finally chose to address the issue, the gun ban lobby is not exactly thrilled with the mechanism.

The (Brady) campaign's president, Paul Helmke, said he was encouraged by Obama's op-ed article, which he said contained the strongest words on gun control from the White House in over a decade. But he said he was "a little surprised" that Obama didn't mention the assault-weapons ban.


He added, "An op-ed alone's not going to do it, and we're hoping the president is going to show some leadership on this."
We shall see what if anything comes of these meetings, or if it is nothing more than positioning for the coming 2012 election.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

He's Tanned, He's Rested, But is Kaine Ready to Run for Senate?

Roll Call Politics reports that Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine just returned from vacation and this weekend will return to the part of the Commonwealth where he first announced he would run for Governor.  Kaine will attend a tribute dinner for ex-Rep. Rick Boucher in Southwest Virginia, who was upset in last year's election by now-Rep. Morgan Griffith.  Some of the state Democratic party elite believe that Kaine will throw his hat in the ring.
Former state party Chairman Dick Cranwell of Roanoke said he believes Kaine will run. He said ex-Sen. George Allen, who is likely to win the Republican party nod despite facing a primary challenge, should not expect an easy race. Cranwell and others believe President Barack Obama, a close friend of Kaine’s who will attempt to win Virginia’s 13 electoral college votes a second time in 2012, would boost the Democratic candidate on the ticket, and vice versa.

“Tim understands how important it is for the president to carry Virginia in this next go around, and he helps with that for sure,” Cranwell said.
Others closely associated with Kaine also think he will run.  Kaine’s father-in-law, one-time Republican Governor turned Democrat, Linwood Holton, has been urging him to run and Virginia's junior Senator Mark Warner has mounted a more public pressure campaign, telling Virginia Democrats at their annual Jefferson Jackson Day dinner last month that he wants his friend to join him in Washington, D.C.

All of this focus on Kaine underscores the fact that Democrats believe he may be their only candidate with the opportunity to hold on the the seat currently held by Jim Webb.

But this is sure, no matter who is the nominee of either party, the fate of the senate race will closely tract the outcome of the presidential race in Virginia.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Public Hearing and Vote on Sussex Range Restrictions Set for March 17th

The Sussex County Planning Commission and the Sussex County Board of Supervisors (BOS) will hold a joint public hearing to consider passage of a new ordinance regulating gun ranges in Sussex County. It should be noted that the planning commission is the originator of this proposal, not the BOS.

While couched in language to make it appear that the planning commission is only concerned with the safe operation of shooting ranges, the real intent becomes clear when you read the requirements to open a new range - that purpose is to make the task so onerous and expensive that no one would seek to open a range in Sussex County. It would also make expansion of existing ranges all but impossible. Eventhough the proposal grandfather's existing ranges, any existing range seeking to expand would likely lose their grandfather status. They would then have to abide by the onerous and costly process set forth in the proposal.

In addition, while the propsoal states that the county may submit any range proposal to the NRA for comment, the county would reserve the right to dismiss comments in favor of new ranges.

In short, this proposal is an all out attack on new and existing shooting ranges in Sussex County. You can view the full proposal here.

Your attendance at the March 17th Board of Supervisor's meeting is needed to defeat this proposal.

This is becoming an all too familiar story in Virginia. Recreational shooters, firearm enthusiasts and land-owners are being driven away from their shooting sports heritage by bureaucratic hurdles and red-tape.

If you are a gun owner living in Sussex County or you shoot competitively or for fun at a club or range currently located in the county, it is important that you attend this public hearing and voice your opposition to this proposed ordinance.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

What: Joint Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Shooting Ranges in Sussex County, Virginia.

Where: Sussex Central High School Auditorium, 21394 Sussex Drive, Sussex, VA 23884.

When: March 17, 2011 at 6:00 PM.

If you are unable to attend, please contact the Board of Supervisors and respectfully urge them to oppose this ordinance.

Blackwater District
Wayne M. Harrell
406 Jasper Lane
Post Office Box 1
Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-2603

Courthouse District
T. Wayne Birdsong
116 Nicholson Drive
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Home: (757) 899-3806

Henry District
Rufus E. Tyler Sr.
25359 Blue Star Highway
Jarratt, Virginia 23867
Home: (434) 246-4246
Office: (434) 634-2490 or (804) 834-3522

Stony Creek District
Charlie E. Caple, Jr.
12038 Palestine Road
Stony Creek, Virginia 23882
Home: (434) 246-2602

Wakefield District
C. Eric Fly Sr.,
Vice Chairman
38411 Rocky Hock Road
Wakefield, Virginia 23888
Cell: (757) 647-8190
cefly@seamcorp.net

Waverly District
Harris L. Parker,
Chairman
300 Barkley Place
P.O. Box 616
Waverly, Virginia 23890
Home: (804) 834-3136

Thursday, March 3, 2011

New Mayors Poll of Virginians on Guns Flawed

The Richmond Times Dispatch is reporting today that Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) released a poll of Virginians that says a large majority support stiffer gun regulations.
•84 percent of Virginians support requiring gun dealers to notify police when someone fails a background check.
•88 percent of Virginians support a law to require background checks for all guns sold at gun shows.
•85 percent of Virginians support tracking the bulk purchase of semi-automatic assault rifles.
First, most everyone knows you can get the outcome you want from any poll simply by the way the question is asked.  Add to that the fact that the poll was conducted by Democratic polling firm Hart Research, and one can quickly determine that the questions are most likely more favorable to an anti-rights perspective.  In addition, the regions of the state where the respondants live are not identified in the polling data provided by MAIG.  So, if the respondants were slanted toward urban areas or Northern Virginia, one would expect responses more favorable to gun control.

The MAIG Poll asked  questions for everyone, then had specific questions of people surveyed in certain states, including Virginia.

While the MAIG press release noted that there was some support for stricter gun laws in Virginia regarding the sale of firearms, when you look at the results of the poll, there was actually a larger percentage of Virginia respondants (46%) that said they should stay the same than thought they should be stricter (42%).

On the Federal legislative front, New York U.S. Senator Charles "Chucky" Schumer used the occasion of the poll results release to introduce the "Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011."  The legislation would require federal agencies disseminate records on people who are prohibited from purchasing firearms, such as felons, drug abusers and the mentally ill. It also would require background check on private sale of firearms.

In the lead of to the 2012 election, the gun ban lobby is doing everything they can to get President Obama to take a more prominent role in pushing their agenda.  The fact that Chucky Schumer is now introducing legislation in the U.S. Senate, it appears that the leadership of the Democratic Party is ready to once again step into the issue and push the agenda too.

I will be discussing the poll on today's NRANews' Daily News at 5:00 PM.

Correction: The documents provided by MAIG regarding the Poll shows support for stricter regulation of firearm sales to be 55%-35% in Virginia but does not indicate if that is among all respondants or just among the non-gun owning households.  The numbers referenced in the above paragraph refer to the rate of support among gun owning households, which they provided as a separate category to show that "Even in gun households, there is some support for stricter gun laws."

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Public Policy Polling Finds Allen and Kaine Tied

As if to put more pressure on former Democratic Governor Tim Kain to run for Jim Webb's open seat in 2012, Democratic leaning Public Policy Polling (PPP) has released the results of a poll featuring possible matchups between George Allen and several challengers. Kaine fares best with a 47-47 tie with Allen. 
Kaine is slightly more popular than Allen, sporting a 46/38 favorability spread to Allen's 39/40. Both benefit from a pretty unified party base, with 87% of Republicans going toward Allen and 86% of Democrats to Kaine. Allen is able to earn the tie despite the fact that there are likely to be more Democratic than Republican voters in a Presidential year electorate because independents lean toward him by a 50/41 margin.
PPP also ran match-ups between Allen and former congressmen Tom Perriello and Rick Boucher. Both lose to Allen according to the poll but PPP surmises that may be due to lack of name recognition.  Most people presume that Allen will be the GOP nominee but he already has one challenger for the nomination, Tea Party leader and former Allen staffer Jamie Radtke.  There is also talk that Delegate Bob Marshall and Prince William County Board of Supervisor Chairman Corey Stewart may jump in.  The conventional wisdom is though that the anti-Allen votes on the right will be spilt between multiple candidates and Allen will win the primary.  If however Radtke ends up being the only candidate in the race, anything can happen as we saw when Webb upset Allen in 2006.

Hat tip to Roll Call Politics.