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Thursday, March 27, 2014

Increased Demand for Training Drives Colonial Shooting Academy Expansion to Virginia Beach

Colonial Shooting Academy, which bills itself as "the nation's largest indoor shooting range" is expanding to Virginia Beach, mainly because of the increased demand for firearms training.  NBC12 has the story.
NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

The Importance of Range Protection Laws

Bitter writes on the topic at Shall Not Be Questioned.  We've seen similar situations in Virginia and have written about them here, and here .  Virginia continues to see a migration of people from more populated areas into our rural localities.  Many times, these people complain about shooting ranges near the areas they live, or about neighbors shooting on their own property.  in 2004 former Delegate Bill Janis, at VSSA's request, introduced and worked for passage of a bill that prohibits localities from changing noise ordinances after a range has been approved or a prospective range submits an application.  Unfortunately, many localities try to make prospective ranges go through expensive and onerous processes to open their doors.  When people can't force a range to close it's doors through legislative processes, they will try to bankrupt them in court.  VSSA watches this very closely but it's important that our members let us know when they hear of a local governing board considering shooting restrictions.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Roll Call Primaries 2014 Webinar Today

If you are interested in the hottest primaries for this year's congressional elections, Roll Call has something just for you.  Today at 2:PM EDT Roll Call Associate Politics Editor Kyle Trystad, Stu Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report, Senior Editor David Hawkings and Editor-in-Chief Christina Bellantoni will hold a webinar with in-depth discussion of the House and Senate primaries that begin this spring. This webinar will focus on the top primaries, starting with Kentucky and Mississippi, and how these races influence legislating and what gets done on Capitol Hill.  They will also take questions from participants.  If you are interested in joining on the discussion, just click here to register.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Is Mark Warner Wishing the Old Filibuster Rules Were Still in Effect?

Last Thursday, Jim Geraghty was doing his weekly appearance on NRANews' Cam and Company. During the discussion on the demise of President Obama's nomination for Surgeon General, Geraghty raised the question of whether endangered Democrats wished that Harry Reid had never imposed the "Nuclear Option" for Obama appointees.


It made me wonder if Mark Warner is one of those who might be second guessing that vote to do away with the 60 vote threshold for moving certain items through the Senate.  Warner has spent a lot of time since 2000 remaking himself from the anti-gun left of center liberal chairman of the Democratic Party of Virginia to the "radical centrist" Democrat that supports the Second Amendment, balanced budgets, and bipartisanship. As Governor, he never vetoed a pro-gun bill and in 2004 signed 17 really good pieces of pro-gun legislation.  That earned him an NRA "A" rating in 2008 (but no endorsement as his opponent was also a former governor with an "A" rating that also happened to be an NRA Board member).  Warner probably was just looking for the "A" rating anyway.

Even though Warner has tried to portray himself as bipartisan, he has voted with President Obama and Harry Reid 97% of the time over the last five years.  Most recently, thanks to losing the cover of the filibuster, Warner voted to confirm Debo Adegbile, President Obama's pick to head the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department and an advocate for cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.  This wasn't a case of a defendant needing an attorney to defend him at his original trial.  Adegbile took up the cause of this dirt bag decades after his original conviction for the execution style killing of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner.  Reid miscalculated and was abandoned by the Democrats who are considered endangered this year.  Warner apparently feels confident enough about reelection that even having to vote for the advocate of a cop killer did not cause him to break with Reid and the President.  We likely won't know how he would have voted on the gun ban advocate Surgeon General nominee as Reid did a better job of counting votes than he did with the Adegbile nomination and has pulled it from consideration.

We do know that last year Warner voted for the Manchin/Schumer/Toomey amendment that would have criminalized private transfers of firearms, created a national gun registry and had other negative impacts on gun owners, and he voted to confirm both Sonia Sotomayor and Elana Kagan to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor voted against our rights in the McDonald case. Kagan has not had the opportunity to vote on a Second Amendment case since joining the court but is not considered friendly to our rights based on her time in the Obama administration.

As Governor, Warner had to work with a Republican House and Senate.  He was able to carefully cultivate the bipartisan appearance under such circumstances.  Since joining the Senate, he has voted in a more partisan manner.  It remains to be seen if his yet to be determined GOP opponent will be able to capitalize on this more partisan record and give Warner a run for his money.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Feinstein asks Obama to Ban Import of Semi-Auto Rifles

Katie Pavlich has the story here.  The list of things Feinstein has requested be banned from import include:
Prohibit importation of all semi-automatic rifles that can accept, or be readily converted to accept, a large capacity ammunition magazine of more than 10 rounds, regardless of the military pedigree of the firearm or the configuration of the firearm's magazine well;
Prohibit semi-automatic rifles with fixed magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds;
Prohibit the importation of the frame or receiver of any prohibited rifle, regardless of whether it is incorporated into a fully manufactured firearm.
Prohibit the practice of importing assault rifles in parts and then constructing the rifles once they are in the United States by adding the requisite number of American-made parts;
Prohibit the use of a "thumbhole" stock as a means to avoid classification of a rifle as an assault rifle; and
Prohibit the importation of assault pistols, in addition to assault rifles.
NSSF has also asked that gun owners contact their senators and urge them not to sign on to the letter to the President.  Please contact Senator Warner and Senator Kaine and polite urge them to decline signing Senator Feinstein's letter.  Remind Senator Warner that he is up for re-election this year and that you will pay close attention to what he does on this issue.

NJ GOP Establishment Disses Lonegan

This isn't Virginia related except to the extent that what happens in Congress will have an impact on Virginia gun owners, but there does appear to be some similarities to Virginia GOP committees in their mass meeting/convention processes of late.

There is an open seat to to replace retiring NJ Representative Jon Runyan (R) in the 3rd Congressional District.  Last year's U.S. Senate candidate Steve Lonegan is one of the candidates running to replace Runyan.  While Lonegan lost to Cory Booker, he won the 3rd Congressional District, a district that Barack Obama carried in 2012.  So, Lonegan felt he had a good chance to win the seat.  Unfortunately, according to Roll Call, there was a setback Wednesday night.
New Jersey Republicans avoided a nightmare scenario Wednesday night in the highly competitive, open-seat race for the 3rd District.

Ocean County Republicans endorsed former Randolph Mayor Tom MacArthur as their preferred nominee. The endorsement comes five days after the Burlington County GOP also backed MacArthur.

In 2008, the two county parties supported different Republicans for the nod and lost the 3rd District. In hindsight, many Garden State Republicans blame the party’s loss on that feud over the GOP nominee.

But this cycle, MacArthur has defeated two other contenders — Tom’s River Councilman Mo Hill and former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan for the local GOP’s backing. As a result, MacArthur is the odds-on favorite to win the GOP nomination versus the likely Democratic nominee, Burlington County Freeholder Aimee Belgard.
Lonegan was a favorite of the Tea Party in his campaign for the U.S. Senate last year.  Firearm range owner and NRA Board Candidate Anthony Colandro was also a prominent booster of Lonegan's during last year's campaign.  Lonegan recently appeared on Gun for Hire Radio which Colandro also produces to talk about the current campaign.

There were apparently some shenanigans in the county convention process, not unlike has been the case in Virginia GOP mass meetings this year.
Meanwhile, Lonegan supporters were disgusted with the convention process, which they dismissed as unfair. The candidates were barred from addressing the convention and Ocean County Republican Chairman George R. Gilmore seemed to forget Lonegan in his introduction of the contenders.

“I’m still in the race, Mr. Chairman,” Lonegan called out from the audience.

Peter and Beatrice Humphris, 83 and 82, respectively, of Berkeley came armed with homemade placards bringing attention to what they asserted was a rigged fight.
Lonegan remains undeterred.  We shall see if the establishment endorsements mean victory in the primary as Roll Call suggests is usually the case.

Update: Bitter shared this information.  Wonder if this played into the thought processes of GOP leaders in the 3rd District.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

McAuliffe's First Veto Aimed At Gun Owners

You may recall that Governor Terry McAuliffe tried to amend HB962, a bill that simply clarified current law related to storing a loaded firearm in a compartment in a vehicle or boat.  McAuliffe's amendment would have completely changed the meaning of the bill.  HB962 clarified current law by expressly stating that when a loaded firearm is stored in a closed container in a vehicle or boat, that the container does not have to be locked.  Former Governor Bob McDonnell signed that into law in 2010.  However a few localities have caused gun owners some inconvenience because the law was appearently not clear enough because the code currently uses the word "secured" but not "locked."  McAuliffe tried to insert an amendment that would require the compartment to be locked.  The original bill passed both the House and Senate overwhelmingly.  The House overwhelmingly rejected the amendment.  So, he vetoed the bill.  McAuliffe's veto message stated:
I believe the bill as originally passed does not offer adequate protection to our citizens and law enforcement personnel and, accordingly, I veto this bill.
Interestingly enough, because of the way the House dispatched with the amendment, they may not have the opportunity to try and override the veto, which in this case is fine.  Nothing changes.  Those without a concealed handgun permit can still store a loaded firearm in compartment in a vehicle or boat and it does not have to be locked. Does this still open some gun owners up to inconvenience because some law enforcement may not fully understand the law? Probably.  But in the end, McAuliffe tries to tip his hat to Michael Bloomberg and the gun ban lobby and ends up looking like a fool because his veto of the bill changes nothing.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Danville, Lynchburg and Pittsylvania See Rise in Concealed Handgun Permit Applications

WSET TV has the story.  According to the clerk of the Circuit Court, more than 1700 permits were issued in 2013 and there was a 50% increase in both Danville and Lynchburg from 2012-2013.

WSET.com - ABC13

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

CT Congresssman Says McAuliffe Election Proves Gun Control Winning Issue

The Washington Times has the story here:
“Last November, there was actually a battle for the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia where one of the candidates played to the pundits, the cheap cynics, that campaigning against Terry McAuliffe’s position on background checks was his ticket to the governor’s mansion and Terry McAuliffe, to his credit, stood firm,” Mr. Courtney said at an event on Capitol Hill Tuesday honoring the 26 victims of the December 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings.
Maybe Congressman Courtney should stick to representing his constituents and stop trying to analyze Virginia politics.  There was a lot that went in to McAuliffe's victory, the first of which was the fact Cuccinelli ran a terrible campaign.  McAuliffe also avoided talking about the gun issue like the plague until polls started showing him with a double digit lead.  It can be argued that his pivot to gun control had something to do with his only winning by about 2.5%.

I would also remind Congressman Courtney that gun control was a real loser for two recall candidates in Colorado - another "purple" state.  So, go ahead, run on gun control, and let's see just how much of a winner it turns out to be this year.

Moms Demand Misleads in Push to Criminalize Private Sales

If you saw this Moms Demand Action graphic as a stand alone item, you would think that the Virginia Tech shooter did not undergo background checks before he purchased his firearms.
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The Facebook post on their page however explains what happened a little differently.

Even that explanation is misleading.  Virginia law at the time was not clear related to what information had to be added to state databases related to mental health.  And, since the 2007 shooting, Virginia has changed the law and leads the nation in reporting mental health information for the purposes of background checks.  So, maybe Shannon Watts should find another talking point because the Virginia Tech angle is getting a bit worn.

Monday, March 10, 2014

What Happens Next for House Bill 962 on Concealed Handgun in Car

Friday, the House of Delegates rejected Governor Terry McAuliffe's anti-selfdefense amendment to Delegate Ben Cline's bill that clarified that the term closed container in the code section related to storying a loaded handgun in a vehicle or boat does not mean a "locked" container. McAuliffe amended the bill to have just the opposite effect. The House rejected the amendment. Roanoke's WDBJ TV 7 had the story. video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player
If the Governor decides to veto the bill and both chambers do not override the veto, there will be no harm as the bill was just a clarifying piece of legislation. It will mean that the handful of jurisdictions who don't know the law may still cause some short term inconvenience to some gun owners. HB962 was intended to fix that. However, it is already lawful to keep your firearm in an unlocked container in your car, truck or boat.

Use of Tannerite for Target Practice Sets Off Concern in Hanover County

Hanover is a rural/suburban county north of Richmond. There is a gun club in the area where this occurred, but it is not clear if it was at the Black Creek club or just in the Black Creek community. Where ever it occurred, it is clear there were homes in the immediate area (there are also homes in plain site of the Black Creek Club too). It appears the neighbors intend to complain to the Board of Supervisors. NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cat Fight Between Gun Ban Lobby Groups

It was bound to happen.  Mayor's Against Illegal Guns has become the bully on the block over the last several years because it has had the money, and at times the savvy, to at least make themselves look successful.  At least one gun ban group that has been around longer, and been less successful when it comes to having funding to do what they wanted to do, is starting to get a little jealous.  We now have dueling notices to supporters between MAIG and Brady on the noise from the gun ban lobby related to Facebook/Instagram firearm posts.  Bitter has the story over on Shall Not Be Questioned:
Moms Demand Illegal Mayors, or whatever the two merged groups are called these days, are declaring total victory in the Facebook/Instagram policy statement that any reported post featuring an offer to sell any regulated product privately will generate a reminder to sellers that they shouldn’t violate the law. But the Brady Campaign swiftly sent out a letter to their supporters highlighting that the anti-gun groups didn’t get anything they demanded at all, and this is not in any way a victory. The thing is, the Brady Campaign is right on this, at least coming from a gun banner’s perspective.
So desperate to claim victory is MAIG and their satelite orgainzations, that they take a notice that those posting items for sale (in this case firearms) on Facebook/Instagram should not violate the law, as a smack down to gun owners.  As Bitter points out, in this case, Brady is right.

House Bill on "Celebratory Gun Fire" Emerges from Conference, Passes House Unanimously

Anti-rights Delegate Betsy Carr's HB810 emerged from a conference committee yesterday and was passed unanimously by the House of Delegates.  The bill is named "Brendon's Law" after the nine year-old who was tragically killed on July 4th of last year when some numb-nut discharged a firearm into the air somewhere in the area, and the bullet came down and struck the child in the head.  Authorities still have not identified the individual who discharged the firearm.

As originally introduced, the bill included provisions that would have made it a felony to randomly discharge a firearm into the air, hitting or killing someone, and a misdemeanor carrying a penalty of up to a year in jail if no one is hurt.  It has a companion Senate bill, SB65, sponsored by anti-rights Richmond State Senator Henry Marsh.

Both Bills emerged in a different from when they passed their respective chambers.  HB810 had been changed to a malicious wounding bill, making it much more palatable.  The operative language in HB810 as it passed the House is:
A1. Any person who handles any firearm in a manner so gross, wanton, and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life and causes the serious bodily injury of another person resulting in permanent and significant physical impairment is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
SB65 as amended on the other hand was almost as bad as the introduced version.

When HB810 got to the Senate, it was conformed to SB65, but that was rejected when the bill was sent back to the House of Delegates for approval an the bill went to conference.  The Conference Committee recommended rejection of the Senate substitute and approval of the bill as it passed the House of Delegates.  That report was approved by the House yesterday.  SB65, which was amended by House Courts of Justice to mirror HB810, emerged from the House Appropriations Committee yesterday and should be taken up today or tomorrow in the House. 

Update: The House passed consideration of the Governor's amendment by for the day.  It will be on the Calendar again tomorrow (Thursday).

McAuliffe Amends Cline Bill on Storing Firearms in Vehicles

Governor McAuliffe has used a bill that simply clarifies existing law, to make a statement against self defense.  Delegate Ben Cline's HB 962 provides that for purposes of the exception to the prohibition against carrying a concealed weapon if it is in a secured container or compartment in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel, the term "compartment" includes a console, glove compartment, or any other area within or on the vehicle or vessel that possesses the ability to be closed. The bill also provides that the term "secured" does not require that a container or compartment be locked, but merely closed.  The bill passed both Houses of the General Assembly by large bi-partisan margins (27-13 in the Senate and 70-27 in the House of Delegates).  But Governor Terry McAuliffe amended the bill and sent it back to the Assembly.  His amendment strikes the work "secured" everywhere it appears in the bill and  replaces it with "locked".  

Please contact your member of the House of Delegates and urge them to reject Governor McAuliffe's Amendment.  If the amendment is rejected, McAuliffe's options are to sign the bill as passed or to veto it.