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Friday, May 30, 2014

Looking Forward to 16th Annual Crush'n Clays

As we come to the end of May, and just two weeks out from the 16th Annual Crush'n Clays event, I thought it a good time to take a look back at last year's event.  VSSA has raised over $281,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital over the last 15 years and with the 16th event also being sold out, we look to add another significant sum to that total.  Even though the main event is sold out, supporters can still donate to the event.  Crush'n Clays is a 501c3 and your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. In the video below, one of last year's attendees, ThatDudeSirraj gives the event a great promo and shares some of his fun.

In this video, event founder and former VSSA President Steve Canale talks about the success of the longest running clay target charity shoot in the country.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Woodrow Wilson Center's Linda Killian Gets it Wrong

In a Wall Street Journal Washington Wire Blog piece this morning titled Joe the Plumber and Gun Control, Linda Killian, senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center, writes about one time congressional candidate "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher's open letter to the families of the victims of Friday's Santa Barbara killings.  She uses that as the jumping off point to claim that the NRA and Second Amendment activists overstate the original meaning of the Second Amendment:
Mr. Wurzelbacher and others insist that their constitutional right to bear arms is sacrosanct. But as Michael Waldman writes in his new book, “The Second Amendment: A Biography,” the Second Amendment was written specifically to provide a mechanism for protecting a young nation from attack through volunteer militias.
I haven't read Mr. Waldman's book but given his background, it's no wonder he takes the view that Killian attributes to him.  It's just as easy for me to provide scholars who have written publications supporting the pro-rights position that the Second Amendment protects an individual right outside of state militias.

But her larger point, based on her sharing a couple of poll results related to background checks, rings hollow.  The killer underwent background checks for each of his firearm purchases.  The fact is, a so-called "universal background checks" would not have stopped the Santa Barbara stabbings and shootings.  Americans sacrificing a portion of their freedom for the feeling that it would make them more secure in a classroom or movie theater, as she suggests they should do, will not change that fact.

California Proposes Gun Control Measure Pushed at December UVA Forum

The New York Times reports that the California legislature is pushing a so-called "gun violence restraining order" bill that would allow family members to notify courts or law enforcement officials if they are concerned that a family member or friend is at risk of committing violence.  The gun ban lobby has been pushing this in state legislatures this year and unveiled the proposal as part of a gun control forum held at the University of Virginia last December.  Sebastian noted the problems with such proposals yesterday:
I want to especially focus on the mental health law in California, especially given Bob Owens piece this morning about how California is going to make it easy for your friends or family who may not like guns to deny you your fundamental rights with no due process. They are proposing to make a means for friends and family to petition to have you denied your Second Amendment rights. How many people you know, coworkers, etc, think you’re nuts just because you own a gun?
The gun ban lobby was not successful in passing such a law in Virginia this year and the Times notes that even though California has some of the harshest gun control in the nation, it could be tough going getting the bill passed and signed by Governor Brown:
Darrell Steinberg, president pro tem of the California Senate, said in an interview on Wednesday that he was not familiar with the details of the restraining order legislation, though he foresaw concerns being raised about civil liberties. Such a bill “would have to be very carefully crafted, because you do not want the law to get into the middle, or just to be used as a pretext or excuse for leverage in an intergenerational family fight,” he said. “You could see the potential for abuse.” 
On the other hand, Mr. Steinberg said: “There might be circumstances where it is appropriate for this additional protection. I think this is worthy of a real serious conversation.” 
If the gun ban lobby is successful in California, look for them to come back for another bite at the apple in Virginia next year.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Barrett: Santa Barbara Massacre Defies Gun Control, Mental Health Proposals

Bloomberg Businessweek's Paul Barrett is not pro-rights.  He does however from swerve into the truth from time to time even if he does throw some snark at gun owners and the NRA in the process.  Today he has this article on the UC Santa Barbara slayings.  Like most of the mainstream media, he lops all of the murdered in with the shootings.  Three of the six slain were stabbed.  It's not till the end of the article when he discusses the comments on the slayings of Richard Feldman in Human Events that Barrett mentions the stabbings. 

Be that as it may, Barret points out four things that the gun ban lobby and their political allies will likely not mention.  Among those, the NRA and gun rights activists are not to blame for what happened, the killer is to blame.  Also, no gun control would  have prevented the killings.  Next, and I've read varying views on this but I'll allow Barrett some lattitude, the mental health services for this troubled individual worked about as they were intended.  And finally:
We’re stuck. Not in response to all gun crime.  We’re making great strides in reducing ordinary violent crime—the kind that’s related to drug trafficking, robbery, assault, and so forth. Violent crime rates in most places in the U.S. are down 50 percent or more since the early 1990s. But we’re stuck when it comes to the premeditated suicide-massacre. A disturbed but presentable young man who lacks a criminal record and decides to shoot up an elementary school, movie theater, or college campus on his way to destroying himself generally will not have trouble obtaining firearms. This is the Second Amendment trade-off, as it has come to be interpreted in the 21st century: access to firearms in exchange for the danger of mass shootings.
Two years ago, University of Houston Professor Kyle Scott wrote about the role a moral compass, or lack thereof, plays in crime.  It's worth revisiting in light of what we know about Friday's killings.

Blumenthal Calls Wants to Revive Senate Background Check Bill

On Sunday's CBS Face the Nation, Connecticut U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal called for the U.S. Senate to revive the "expanded" background check bill after the Friday stabbing and shooting deaths at UC Santa Barbara:
“I really since hope that this…unimaginable, unspeakable tragedy will provide an impetus to bring back measures that would keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people who are severely troubled or deranged like this young man was,” he said. 
It's been pointed out half of the victims were stabbed, and the firearms were purchased legally in a state the Brady Campaign considers the model for gun control.  It has also been pointed out that there were warning signs regarding this troubled individual.  Given what we know about the incident, someone please tell me how the gun control measure in question would have stopped what occurred at UCSB? Oh wait, Blumenthal acknowledged as much:
“Obviously not every type of gun violence is going to be stopped by laws out of Washington, but at least we can make a start,” he said. “I’m going to urge that we bring back those bills, maybe reconfigure them to center on mental health, which is a point that we can agree. We need more resources to make the country healthier and to make sure that these kinds of horrific, insane, mad occurrences are stopped. The Congress will be complicit if we fail to act.” 


So, in state that has stricter gun laws than those of the federal government, this type of incident occurred, and we are supposed to believe that more federal gun control would stop at least some of these from happening?

Friday, May 23, 2014

Associations Now Review of NRAFreestyle's Noir

Rob Stott of Associations Now has an unbiased look at NRA Freestyle's Noir.  As part of the piece, Stott spoke with Sarah Sladek, founder of XYZ University and author of The End of Membership As We Know It who told him:
“Groups have to be willing to be authentic and take some risks, but the other piece of it is have a solid grassroots plan,” she said. “If an organization tries to force sharing of content, it doesn’t always work. So, I’ll advise groups to bring in a younger focus group and get their perspective before sending anything out. Get their feedback.”
Going to someone like Colion Noir, who already had a following for his firearm related You Tube videos, NRA has met the authenticity part.  Sladek also told Stott:
“In this case it would be, ‘Who within our membership is younger and has a great network socially, loves the NRA, and would be willing to share our videos and really promote us and be the on-the-ground advocate for us?’” Sladek said. “Those are usually the types of campaigns that do really well, because other people jump onboard when they see key influencers and thought leaders sharing content. They admire that and then they want to share it too.”
It was refreshing to see a piece that spent its time talking about the NRA's outreach effort rather than picking the video apart and taking gratuitous swipes at the NRA and/or Noir and Amy Robbins.

Let's Hope This Is The Last Time We Have to Deal With This

A great deal has been written on the Open Carry Texas (OCT)/Chipotle incident and the resulting policy announcement by the restaurant chain (not really a change in policy, just fodder for the gun ban lobby to claim it was a victory).  I wasn't going to add to the discourse but after reading an article that was posted on Wednesday over at Legal Insurrection, I thought I would share the article and one of the point's made by the author.

First, for those not familiar with Virginia law, The Code of Virginia is silent on open carry, which means it is not prohibited.  I know people who carry handguns openly and do so in a safe non-threatening manner.  Chances are, most people would not know if the person carrying is a private citizen or an off duty police officer.  For the most part, there are few issues in Virginia with open carry.  I don't personally know anyone who carries a modern sporting rifle openly in public but it has been done in Virginia.  VSSA supports the right of law abiding gun owners to carry as they believe is best for their circumstances.  This writer also believes, as NRANews host Cam Edwards says, gun owners should be good ambassadors for the 2nd Amendment.  The vast majority of us are.  There is however that small percentage (see the above) that doesn't help our cause.

I've read some good commentary on the incident depicted in the photo above but I think the best comes from the aforementioned piece at Legal Insurrection.  After describing his pro-gun bona fides (shooting since he was aged in the single digits, NRA Life Member for some two decades, and an NRA Instructor), Andrew Branca gives what I think is one of the strongest arguments against the practice of walking into a business carrying an AR-15 or similar long gun in the manner in the photo:
I’ve described my gun rights “cred.” If I’m in that Starbucks, and such an “OCIYF!” crowd strolls in, they’ve brightened themselves considerably on my personal “threat radar.” As is my practice any time such brightening occurs, my first move after having identified the threat is to assess imminence, followed by immediately vacating the area.

That, gentlemen, is the degree of alarm experienced, and evasion performed, by someone with a life around guns, more than a few rounds down the barrel of an AR, an effective personal defensive weapon on my hip, and many years of training and practice in its use.
Sebastian notes that Open Carry Texas has changed their protest protocols.  Let's hope this policy change helps OCT in their cause, and stops causing the rest of us a problem.

Hat tip Gun Free ZoneThe Gun Wire, and Shall Not Be Questioned.

VSSA Highpower Rifle at Creedmoor Cup

The Virginia Shooting Sports Association was well represented at the 2014 Creedmoor Cup held at Ft. Butner, NC, on May 7th.  Long time VSSA shooter Steve Weast from Sandston, relative new shooter Doug Morrison from Smith Mountain Lake and new shooter (to Virginia) Neil Sundberg of Palmira, were joined by Keith Hoverstadt of Raleigh, NC, formed the team. 
Mike Jamison, High Power Chairman from Roanoke, was the coach and Phil Lowrey, VSSA member from Cleveland, OH, kept score.
Keith was the high man for the day with a 491-20 Xs and Doug was right on his heels with a 491-18 Xs.  Steve struggled a little offhand (standing) and the failing light of the late afternoon caused Neil some difficulties.  VSSA finished 5th in the match rifle class.
 
Congratulations to all of the VSSA shooters and special thanks to High Power Chairman, Mike Jamison and Phil Lowrey for coaching the team.
 

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Gun Ownership in America

On the last day of the NRA Annual Meeting The Economist ran this:
The annual meeting of the National Rifle Association, America’s gun lobby, ended yesterday in Indianapolis, attracting 70,000 gun lovers. But it’s not all ammo and AK-47s. Wine stalls and cigar booths were set up. Seminars were held on sausage making and puppy training. Packing in Pink, a gun accessories firm targeting women, offered ladylike holsters and children’s clothes. In short, guns are not a fringe fetish among disaffected Americans but part of its mainstream culture. Survey data by YouGov for The Economist bear this out. More than one in ten women say they own a gun.  Education level has no bearing on ownership, nor does region. Fewer people left-of-centre own guns, yet many do. And the poll offers surprises. Ownership is roughly the same by income, except for the poor, who are less likely to pack. Older people embrace arms more. To be sure, people aren’t always truthful on surveys. But it underscores that gun culture is as much a part of American life as baseball and apple pie.
And it's that last line that will drive the gun ban lobby nuts.  They are doing everything they can to make gun owners look like they something to be shunned.  But the graphic below paints a different picture.

Gun ownership in America is mainstream and women make up the fastest growing segment of the population owning firearms, many of them being moms.  Shannon Watts, Mike Bloomberg, assisted by the mainstream media have the narrative that only their "moms" matter.  Well, they have their moms, and we have ours.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

NRA Freestyle Launches

NRA Freestyle, a web based programming portal launched on Mother's Day with it's first program offering called Noir.  Featuring long-time firearm video blogger Colion Noir and co-host Amy Robbins the program features discussions about firearms and culture.  Mr. Noir has also been an NRANews Commentator for the last year. 

The new web video portal is part of NRA's outreach efforts showing how broad the firearms community is, with this effort being target at millennials.  It has not been without the usual criticism from the left, some of it personally directed at Mr. Noir, but that was to be expected.   Other bloggers have covered that here here and here.

Colion Noir has a strong following outside of his NRA work with over 185,000 followers of his blog and over 220,000 subscribers on his YouTube page.  His video defending the Daniel Defense Super Bowl ad earlier this year had over 2.6 million views.  ABC News has billed NRA Freestyle as a "Netflix-style" multimedia effort to reach out to the "smartphone generation."

Well, if you watch the videos on You Tube, you probably can watch it on your smartphone but you can also watch on your tablet or desk top using the Freestyle web site.  Here's a look at the second episode.

Colonial Shooting Academy Virginia Beach Range Opens

Colonial Shooting Academy, which bills itself as the "Nation's Largest Indoor Range" opened its long awaited second range in Virginia Beach last Saturday. The new range is located at 5070 Virginia Beach Boulevard at Witchduck Road, Virginia Beach, VA is in a vacant 50,000 sq. foot furniture store.  The Richmond range that opened in 2012 was also constructed in a vacant furniture store on West Broad Street. 

The Virginia Beach range has 34 shooting lanes and offers training classes, group events and a tactical range.  Regardless of experience, everyone must watch a  safety video once a year to shoot at the range. The Richmond location was NSSF's 2013 Range of the Year.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Armatix Shills for Smart Guns in Washington Post Op/Ed

Yesterday, the Washington Post published this Op/Ed from Ernst Mauch, managing director of Armatix GmbH.  In the piece, he makes a pitch for why so called smart guns, or at least the ones his company manufactures, are in keeping with America's respect for the right to keep and bear arms and believes gun owners should have the ability to purchase them:
Respect for this freedom to protect your family as you see fit is a major reason I believe that gun owners in the United States should have the right to purchase personalized firearms using high-tech safety features. The reality is that firearm safety has not meaningfully advanced in the past century. Nearly every other industry has transformed its safety features — often multiple times — in that same period. Given how tragic the misuse of firearms can be, guns should be no different.
Most of the commentary I have seen from the firearms community on the subject of smart guns believe it should be a market decision too.  The problem is, New Jersey has a law on the books that mandates only "smart guns" may be sold in the state once such technology is available for sale.  It's the mandate that the firearms community opposes and we don't want to see the rights of our brothers and sisters in New Jersey infringed when one manufacturer comes to the market with one caliber of firearm that currently costs two to three times what a similar firearm without the personalized technology would cost.

But, this is also technology that is not ready for prime time.  As Sebastian pointed out last week:
The problem with smart guns are more fundamental than the shock sensitivity of electronics, and have more to do with the limits of biometric identification and radio frequency identification (RFID). The former is unreliable and slow, and the latter is prone to interference and jamming. There’s also inherent mechanical problems with the smart gun that make the technology very easy for a determined individual to defeat. I had a conversation with some of our opponents on this topic, who argued that automobile anti-theft systems became much more sophisticated, but aside from misunderstanding the problem, I thought it was a reasonable point.
Then, we learned yesterday that Armatix has also applied for a patent for a remote "kill switch." And some wonder why the firearms community is not warming up to the idea of "smart guns."

First Bloomberg, Now "Moms" Want to Instill Fear

Yesterday, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on CBS' Face the Nation "We need to make the National Rifle Association afraid of us." That is apparently the new talking point for the gun ban lobby.  Today, Womensenews.org reports that Representative Carolyn McCarthy said:
"Over the years, I have had many colleagues tell me that they would like to support my bills but are terrified to do so because the NRA would end their legislative careers in the next election," said McCarthy, a New York Democrat, in a phone interview. "To overcome this logjam, Congress must become more afraid of the moms than the NRA." 


So, these people are about instilling fear, and they think "moms" are the perfect weapon. Apparently they don't know how popular these buttons were during the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis this year.
Or that mom and champion shooter Julie Golob started a social media movement of her own around Mother's Day encouraging gun owners to teach their children about firearm safety.
But most importantly, thousands of women continue to turn our for NRA Women on Target clinics like this one held at VSSA affiliated club, Arlington/Fairfax IWLA a couple weekends ago.
Photo courtesy NRABlog.com
I bet there are a lot of moms in that photo.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Bloomberg: We Need to Make the National Rifle Association Afraid of Us

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg appeared on CBS's Face the Nation today to talk gun control.  The Hill has the report here.  Bloomberg continued his usual twaddle about how the NRA instills fear in elected officials:
“We need to make the Congress understand that the vast preponderance of the public does not want criminals, minors or people with psychiatric problems to be able to buy guns,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “And we've gotta make Congress understand that and vote that way.”
What Bloomberg needs to understand is that gun owners have no desire for criminals or anyone else who shouldn't have a firearm to get them.  The problem is, nothing that Bloomberg and his gun ban pals have proposed would prevent those people from getting access to firearms.  Then, Bloomberg said this:
“We need to make the National Rifle Association afraid of us,” he has said.
Finally, he trotted out the talking point about how 80% of the public, including gun owners want more gun "regulation."
“Not control, not banning, just regulation. And this is true of gun owners as well as non gun owners. Eighty percent of all gun owners think we should do this,” he said.
I wouldn't exactly say that gun owners are "afraid" of Bloomberg, but we certainly know that he is a threat to our rights.  That's why we need to make sure we continue to tell our elected representatives that we oppose any legislation that infringes our rights.  And, while we're at it, we need to invest a little of our money to counter a lot of Bloomberg money by joining or renewing our NRA membership, and joining or renewing membership in our state associations that are on the front lines in state legislatures.




Friday, May 16, 2014

Sussex County Sunday Shooting Ban Repealed for 60 Days

The Sussex County Board of Supervisors held their regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, May 15.  During the meeting, County Attorney Mike Packer discussed the concerns raised by gun owners and hunters related to the ban on Sunday target shooting passed as part of a larger noise ordinance change on April 17th.  He said that if an emergency ordinance is approved, the board can "repeal" the section dealing with Sunday shooting (Section 5). He also said the matter would have to come back before the Board within 60 days because an emergency ordinance would expire in 60 days. Any permanent change would require a public hearing.  There was some discussion about how the Board exempt gun noise and not loud music but Vice Chairman Robert Hamlin responded  that loud music and gunfire noise is not the same.
I don't own a gun but I have a problem restricting a person's right to use their gun.
Maybe someone should ask Mr. Hamlin why it took a public outcry by gun owners and hunter to figure that out since he voted for the ordinance in question.

Sussex-Surry Dispatch reporter Mike Campbell reported live via his Twitter feed that Board Chairman Eric Fly once again confirmed this was a direct attack on Sunday hunting.

After discussion closed the Board voted by emergency ordinance to repeal the section of the noise ordinance that banned shooting on Sunday.  That repeal is in effect for 60 days and the Board has that long to hold another public hearing on permanently repeal that part of the ordinance.  VSSA will continue to monitor this situation and keep members and gun owners posted.

Hat Tip Mike Campbell with the Sussex-Surry Dispatch.

Fashion Designers Taking Notice of Women Gun Owners

WRIC TV 8's web site had this story about how fashion designers are taking notice of the increasing number of women who own firearms for self-defense and are designing clothing to allow them to carry their firearms.
No matter where you stand on state gun laws, there does appear to be a market for women looking to tote their guns around. Karen Bartuch, a former Chicago police officer and president of the Women's Tactical Association in Illinois translated her love of guns into her own company, AlphaGirls, which sells jewelry and hair accessories that double as self-defense weapons and also offers gun-training classes. "We are girly girls who like fashion, but we like guns too," Bartuch told the Chicago Tribune.
Bartuch was also interviewed on NRANews' Cam and Company yesterday.



Bartuch is not the only designer incorporating women gun owners' needs into their business:
Another designer, Sarah Church, presented an entire collection of gun-hiding garments at the Firearms & Fashion Show. One hooded dress with a zipper down the front (pictured above) allows for quick and easy access to a gun holster beneath the garment. "This is a dress you could wear anywhere, anytime. You can use high heels to dress it up or boots to dress it down," Church said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune. "And when you're carrying a gun underneath, no one will know it." The dress retails online for $165.
With stories like these, it becomes even harder for the gun ban lobby to paint gun owners as not mainstream.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Wall Street Journal: Poll Shows Why Gun Control Looks Impossible

The Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire reports that a new poll shows while some specific measures may have polled well on the gun control side after the Newtown school shootings, there was never a true national out cry for new federal restrictions. It appears that those ever important "moderates" that Republicans are told they need to appeal to are part of the reason for this:
The vast majority of all Americans – 93% of liberals, 84% of moderates and 72% of conservatives — favor expanding background checks, which now are required for guns purchased from licensed dealers but not in private sales or at most gun shows. But 58%of  self-described moderates still say existing gun laws are sufficient to keep their community safe.

And when asked if there should be more government regulation of gun purchases, just 53% of moderates agree. For liberals, the figure is 78%.
The Journal notes that the poll is skewed toward Democrates because:
Only 26% of Republicans consider themselves moderate – just ask former Sen. Richard Lugar (R., Ind.) – while 37% of Democrats use the label.
That's a good thing.  We need Democrat voters to support gun rights too if the next generation is to have the same rights we now enjoy.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Is Brat's Challenge to Eric Cantor More Symbolism than Substance?

That is what is inferred in the last paragraph of a recent Jeff Schapiro article in the Richmond Times Dispatch:
Brat acknowledges that defeating Cantor is the longest of long shots. Turning out 600 people for a district convention is one thing. Turning out 6,000 voters in a district-wide, open-to-all primary is quite another. Brat’s people do believe they can deeply wound Cantor, by holding his majority in the primary to the low double-digits. That would be fighting fire with fire.


For all the talk that "conservatives" think Cantor has strayed off the reservation, he still has an American Conservative Union score of 84 for 2013, which is the second highest score in the Virginia delegation.  Cantor also had an A+ rating from the NRA-PVF in 2012 and he has done nothing in the last two years that would likely change that (the NRA-PVF has not posted ratings for the June 10th Primary as of this writing).

But, if those who have an axe to grind with Cantor could "wound" him by holding his vote total below say, 60% (the % of the vote he usually wins in a general election) then they could claim a "moral" victory and hope to find a candidate in two years who could raise money and give Cantor a real run for his money.  The last time that happened was in 2000 when he won the nomination against an under-financed State Senator Steve Martin.  Unlike Brat however, Martin had worked the district hard for years expecting Cantor's predecessor, Thomas J. "Tom" Bliley would retire at some point.  That primary was the last time Cantor had a close race.

The anti-Cantor forces scored a small victory this past Saturday when the chairman of the 7th Congressional District Republican Committee was defeated for re-election.  It adds to the number of local committees taken over by the Tea Party since 2012.  Their next battle will likely be to change the nominating process from primary to nominating convention.  That task will be as difficult as taking out Cantor in a primary since state law gives the incumbent the say in how he will be re-nominated.

There is a lesson in this for gun owners.  No one expected the incumbent chairman to lose.  Bearing Drift noted after Saturday's 7th District Republican Convention that he lost because "status quo" conservatives were sitting on the sidelines.  The Tea Party folks were energized enough and showed up on a beautiful Saturday in Richmond to win a narrow victory.  Gun owners can never get complacent lest we meet the same fate.

Friday, May 9, 2014

How Friends of NRA Helps the Shooting Sports in Virginia

NRA Field Director David Wells was on Sportsman Channel's NRANews Cam and Company yesterday talking about how the Friends of NRA program helps the shooting sports in Virginia.



You can find out about FNRA events near you by clicking here.

House Appropriations Subcommittee Defeat Amendment by Anti-gun Moran

During the mark-up of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill yesterday, Virginia anti-gun Congressman Jim Moran offered an amendment requiring federally licensed firearm retailers to run background checks on their employees.  The amendment is unnecessary as even Moran admits that many retailers already voluntarily run background checks on employees.  The amendment failed on a party-line vote.

Thursday, May 8, 2014

NSSF Honors Matt O'Brien for Efforts for Helping Make Sunday Hunting a Reality

From the Free Lance-Star:
Last week, NSSF honored O’Brien’s dedication and commitment at a reception in Richmond that included many of the Sunday hunting supporters who worked so hard for passage.

“This was the first time NSSF has given such an award. Matt’s work was what made me want to find a way to recognize him. The only other award we give each year is Legislator of the Year. I envision this to become a yearly award for a very worthy recipient,” McGuigan said, adding “I’m not totally sure we will have someone each year to measure up to what Matt did.”
Congratulations Matt, and all Virginia hunters who now have the option to hunt on Sunday if they own or know someone that will allow them to hunt on private property.

Free Treestands

VSSA just received an email that a Virginia sportsman has three ladder treestands and a ground portable stand that I would like to donate to a hunting  or shooting club.  These are located on a farm in Winchester, VA. and he is willing to meet the interested party to help with the dismantling.  Interested parties can email Drew.

Update: Drew has informed VSSA that the stands have been spoken claimed.

Virginia Now Has Mutual Recogition of Concealed Carry Permits with Kansas

The Witchita Eagle reports that the Kansas attorney general’s office announced yesterday Virginia has agreed to recognize Kansas’ concealed carry gun licenses.  A quick check of the Virginia State Police web site shows that Kansas is returning the favor.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/05/07/3443523/virginia-washington-state-will.html#storylink=cpy

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Home School Students Go to the Range in Chesterfield

WTVR has the story.  They went to the Dominion Shooting Range in Chesterfield County to learn about firearms, ammunition and gun safety.  Don't think you would see a trip like this in public school.

Monday, May 5, 2014

SCOTUS Says No to Drake

Probably the best case for a hearing on the issue of carrying firearms outside the home will not be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The story is here. In a one line order, the Court declined to hear the case without further comment. For those not familiar with the case, it was brought by John Drake, who said he needed to carry a firearm because of his job restocking ATM machines. Other plaintiffs included a reserve sheriff's deputy, a civilian FBI employee and a victim of an interstate kidnapping, all of whom were initially denied permits. In New Jersey, permit applications have to be approved by local police and then a state Superior Court judge.

In a 2012 ruling upholding New Jersey's law, U.S. District Judge William Walls wrote that the alternative to the state's "justifiable need" requirement would be granting permits to carry a gun to anyone who felt "the subjective need based on nothing more than 'general fears' to go about their daily lives prepared to use deadly force. Judge Walls said the risks associated with a judicial error in discouraging regulation of firearms carried in public are too great"

The 3rd Circuit upheld Walls' ruling in a 2-1 decision. Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman decented saying in the Heller decision, the Supreme Court recognized that the Second Amendment extends beyond the home and "protects an inherent right to self-defense."

Friday, May 2, 2014

Snark in Economist Editorial on New Pro-Gun Law in Georgia

If it were not for the first paragraph in this Economist story on the new Georgia pro-freedom legislation just signed by Govenor Nathan Deal, it would be a mostly balanced article.
HAVE you ever stood in a steamy, crowded bar, jostling other patrons to catch the bartender’s attention, and thought: “This would be more fun if everyone here were armed”? If so, Georgia is the state for you. On April 23rd Nathan Deal, the governor, signed a law which, he said, “gives added protections to those who have played by the rules”. The National Rifle Association (NRA) called it a “historic victory for the Second Amendment”. Critics call it the “guns everywhere” bill.
I also have to question how they determine if a state has "strentghened" or "weakened" its gun laws.  Virginia is listed as one of the 17 that has stengthened its gun laws since January 1st, 2013.  Virginia has not passed a gun control law since 1993 (handgun rationing) and that one was repealed in 2012.  I don't think most pro-rights activists consider laws that make it harder for mentally ill inviduals to get firearms, gun control in the sense that most of us view it ( i.e. laws that make it harder for law abiding people to exercise their rights).  Laws improving the way that mental health information is reported to NICS passed in 2008 after the Virginia Tech Shooting.  Additional mental health legislation passed this year in the wake of the sad incident where State Senator Creigh Deeds' son stabbed his father then shot himself.  Other than that, not sure to what the Economist is referring.

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Sussex County Sunday Shooting Restriction Update

Sussex County Board Chairman Eric Fly held his quarterly constituents meeting at the courthouse last night and did he get an ear full from gun owners and hunters in attendance. The meeting lasted for just over two hours, much of it dedicated to the noise ordinance. 

As background, on April 17th, the Board was able to slip through a new noise ordinance that all but bans target shooting on private property on Sundays.  It should be noted that Sussex is a very rural county with a few small towns scattered throughout.  It became even more clear during the meeting that this was driven by forces opposing Sunday Hunting:
Chairman Fly also claimed that he had been told by Sunday Hunting lobbyists that the county would see an increase of memberships in hunt clubs:
Not really sure why that was relevant as hunt clubs in that area hunt with dogs and that practice is not allowed for Sunday Hunting.  But the most damning statement against the new ordinance came from the Sheriff:
The aspect to which the Sheriff is referring is section 5 which states:

...that discharge of any firearm between the hours of midnight and 10 p.m. on any Sunday in such a manner as to permit sound to be heard inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house or apartment of another person or as to be plainly audible at a distance of 200 feet or more from its source is not allowed.

Fly stated that he supported the ordinance as written but would discuss Section 5 and two other sections with the County Attorney.  VSSA will continue to monitor this and will let gun owners know if they need to plan to attend the May 15th Board meeting to show opposition and to let the Board know their action will be remembered at the next Board election if the ordinance is not repealed or changed to remove the Sunday shooting restrictions.