Gerry Connolly is the Democrat Congressman in Virginia's 11th Congressional District. This race had not been on the radar until the last week because it has been a safe Democrat enclave (rated as a +10 D) since Republican Tom Davis retired from congress several years ago. But last week my email inbox started exploding with email from people like former Governor and NRA Board member Jim Gilmore and others touting Republican Suzanne Scholte. Then, I saw this post yesterday over on Guns and Curves. It's an open letter from a Scholte supporter taking Connolly to task for his "War on Women" attacks:
The real irony here is that your Republican opponent is not only a woman but is an Award Winning Human Rights Activist. She even was awarded the President’s Volunteer Service Award this year from President Obama. Scholte has fought for human rights and women’s rights in the United States and abroad. She has been the President of the Defense Forum Foundation since 1988.
And he hasn't stopped there. Connolly is a big gun ban supporter. Because Scholte supports the rights of law abiding gun owners, he has gone on the attack on this issue too. The open letter also included this graphic:
Connolly is running the typical 2014 campaign talking about birth control and how his opponent wants to ban access to it. He has done little for his district so he has nothing positive on which to run. Will Connolly get swept up in what is looking more and more like a GOP wave? Given the demographics of the district, it will be tough for Scholte to pull it out, but it appears Connelly thinks she might, so he is pulling out all to stops to scare voters that she is an extremist.
Breitbart has the story here. It seems while the former congresswoman is doing her best to make her push for gun control a central issue in the mid-term elections, she is having trouble getting candidates in tight races to join her:
In part by design, but also in recognition of the country's political landscape, not a single candidate in this year's midterm elections for statewide or federal office appeared with Giffords as she made her way from Maine to Washington state over 10 days.
Giffords has focused her activity on nine states, including Washington which has an initiative on the ballot that would make the act of an instructor handing a firearm to a student a crime without a background check. All you need to know about just how uphill her challenge is, is this quote:
"If this happened in March or December or any other time, we'd have asked other politicians to join," said Marti Anderson, an Iowa state lawmaker who helped organize a Giffords event in Des Moines. "But it's risky 15 days before an election."
While gun control ranks near the bottom of concerns for most voters this election, there are a few exceptions. Colorado and Connecticut, where major restrictions on the rights of gun owners were rammed through each legislature in response to the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, have pro-rights activists energized to defeat both governors.
Groups like the one Giffords heads, and the multiple organizations Bloomberg funds have gobs of money but they don't have what the pro-rights community have; grassroots. Money is important but people vote. We are less than a week out for the election. Now is the time to double down on efforts to help those candidates who support us.
The Virginia Gun Collectors Association will hold their next show at the Prince William County Fairgrounds November 8-9, 2014. Saturday hours: 9am - 5pm Sunday hours: 9am - 4pm. Admission is $7.00 per day or $10.00 for a weekend pass.
The
Virginia Gun Collectors Association is focused on
firearms and firearm related equipment at their shows. They maintain a
no junk policy and a positive collectors atmosphere. What you will find at the show are knowledgeable vendors with quality firearms, as well as ammunition
and shooting supplies. The VGCA provides a firearms evaluation table where experienced
collectors will provide you with an estimate on your firearm's value and help
you learn about your current collection pieces.
Sales
tables cost $65.00 each and Display tables are FREE. No sales may be conducted
from Display tables. If you have any special needs, questions about available
tables or show rules, please contact Rick Nahas, Show Administrator, at
571-215-8761 or via email at jet53sw@aol.com.
There is ample free
parking, and food service for breakfast and lunch is available. There are local
motels in Manassas for those who are visiting from out of town. You
do not need to be a member of VGCA to reserve a table at the show. If you are
interested in reserving one or more tables, please return a completed table application along
with a check for the proper amount made out to V.G.C.A. You may request tables
to be held for you over the phone but reservations cannot be confirmed until
VGCA receives your signed application and check.
Remember that polls are simply a snapshot in time but National Review's Jim Geraghty has shared the enterprising work of Sean Trende of UVA's Center for Politics that looks at the likelihood that a candidate with a certain percentage lead in the polls at this point in an election will go on to win. Jim then looks at what Trende's chart tells us about the close races and the chances the GOP will send Harry Reid packing his office and moving to the minority leader's office in the Capitol. First the good news:
Let’s start with the good news for Republicans.
In Arkansas, Tom Cotton is enjoying a 5.5 point lead. 86 percent chance of victory!
In Colorado, Cory Gardner has a 4 point lead. 91 percent chance of victory!
In Alaska, Dan Sullivan has a 4.3 point lead. 91 percent for him, too!
In Kentucky, Mitch McConnell has a 4.4 percent lead.
In Iowa, Joni Ernst has a 2.5 point lead, right between 2 and 3. Oooh, a 70 to 77 percent chance of victory!
(In Louisiana, Bill Cassidy has a 4.8 percent lead in a head-to-head matchup, but that race is almost certain to go to a runoff. Put that one aside for now.)
In case you were wondering, in South Dakota, Mike Rounds has a 9.8 percent lead in the RealClearPolitics average, but it would be 3.5 if you only used polls conducted in October. So you can interpret his odds of victory as either 97 percent or 91 percent if you round up to 4.
Here’s the kind of intriguing news for Republicans: In Kansas, “independent” Greg Orman’s lead is eight-tenths of a percentage point in the RealClearPolitics average. Rounding that to one, we find on the above chart that Orman has… a 44 percent chance of victory. Yup, somehow having a one-point lead 13 days from Election Day is actually a bad sign. However, by 12 days, the chance of victory with a one point lead jumps up to 88 percent; by a few days later, it’s down to 68 percent.
Georgia Michelle Nunn’s lead in the RealClearPolitics average is 0.4 percent. So she’s not even on the chart. Bump her up to one point for the sake of argument, and she’s in the same spot as Orman.
Then he looks at the not so good news:
In North Carolina, Democrat Kay Hagan has a 1.6 point lead, which we’ll round up to 2 points. Bad news, Thom Tillis, that’s a 70 percent chance of victory for her!
In New Hampshire, Democrat Jeanne Shaheen also has a 1.6 point lead, which comes to a 70 percent chance of victory. Considering how steadily Scott Brown has closed these past weeks, you have to wonder if this is one of those 30 percent cases.
Every other Senate race has a 6 percentage point margin or higher.
This is a nice but not quite ideal scenario for Republicans. Assuming neither Georgia or Louisiana are resolved on Election Night, let’s assume Republicans lose the seat in Kansas and gain seats in Montana, South Dakota, West Virginia, Arkansas, Alaska, Colorado and Iowa. That’s a net gain of six seats! But as great as that sounds, it would give Republicans 50 seats and Democrats 48. If Democrats win both runoffs, they could keep control of the chamber by having Vice President Biden break the ties. If Cassidy wins the December runoff, Georgia’s January runoff becomes moot to control of the Senate.
If you are not a political junkie, then it probably doesn't matter to you whether we will be following run off elections through Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it matters which party controls congress. We know what Harry Reid has done to gun owners. By changing the rules of the Senate, he has allowed Obama to pack the federal courts with anti-rights judges. It is in the best interest of gun owners that Harry Reid and his band of cohorts are sent into the minority, thus making it harder for Obama to appoint more anti-rights justices to the courts. And the only way to do that is if all gun owners in states with U.S. Senate races turn out and vote for the candidates who support our rights.
In the below video, firearms instructor Rob Pincus notes that if you have a defensive rifle, you should know how to use it as an aiming device in unorthodox situations. If you can’t use your sights for any reason, a laser aiming device can help you predict where your bullets will go. Pincus demonstrates the use of a Crimson Trace Railmaster Pro green laser in situations where you have low contrast for a sight, or red-dot can’t be used or is broken, or in situations where you cannot get the rifle into a traditional shooting position.
Pilot Online reported yesterday that the Virginia Beach City Council approved an amended anti-gun proposal Tuesday night to be included with their legislative requests for the 2015 session of the Virginia General Assembly. The chief of police, who requested that the council make the request, said this isn't about gun control but a way to make it easier to reunite the owner with his or her lost or stolen firearm:
The agenda item - one of 26 recommendations by the council - came at the behest of police Chief Jim Cervera, faced with the exact problem Frost described. Cervera said the proposal is an administrative change to make it easier to reunite gun owners with their property, not a gun control initiative.
One has to ask, if this is simply a way to reunite the owner with their stolen property, why was the first request to make not reporting a Class 1 Misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail, and now an undetermined civil penalty? I had the opportunity to discuss the issue yesterday with Cam Edwards of NRANews's Cam and Company.
Virginia's U.S. Senate race is considered a long shot to send Mark Warner back to the private sector. But the real prize in 2014 has always been seeing the GOP sending Obama's gun ban supporting Harry Reid packing his majority leader office to the minority. While many pundits point to signs that the prize is within reach, this article in The Hill should energize gun owners and other voters wanting to turn back many of Obama's unpopular polices to work that much harder until the votes are cast. The article specifically talks about the Colorado U.S. Senate race but could be about any of the races that the GOP are close to winning. It's never over until it's over and a good number of election laws that allow voting by mail and to register right up to election day give our opponents the opportunity turn out their voters.
Every registered voter received a ballot in the mail last week, giving both Republicans and Democrats the opportunity to follow turnout in real time and pester holdouts. Coloradans can also register to vote through Election Day, allowing for the possibility that both parties could increase turnout.
Democrats boast that their ground game is better than ever.
So, whether you live in Virginia where the challenger has a hard road ahead in the final two weeks, or Colorado, North Carolina, South Dakota or Kansas, now is the time to get out and do everything you can to see your candidate win, and see Harry Reid lose his job as Obama's top Lieutenant in the U.S. Senate. You can find an NRA Campaign Field Rep or Election Volunteer Coordinator in your area and volunteer to help by clicking here.
The VSSA Annual Meeting was held Saturday, October 18, at the Arlington/Fairfax IWLA. There was a lot of shooting going on throughout the day and we had some winners who received plaques for showing their skills. The winners were:
Archery: JR Wingfield Shotgun: Joe Turner Air Rifle: John Duran Pistol: JR Wingfield Rifle: JR Wingfield Top Gun: JR Wingfield
The drawing for the Annual Raffle was also held and the winners were:
1st Place: Winner of the Sig P938 pistol: Wes Newbrough 2nd Place: Winner of the Henry Golden: Joe Turner 3rd Place: Winner of the $100.00 Bass Pro Gift Card: LW Cowley
In September, VSSA noted that the Virginia Beach City Council planned to request the General Assembly pass a law that would allow them to charge any gun owner who had their firearm stolen with a class one misdemeanor if they did not report it to police within a certain amount of time. WTKR reported yesterday that the Council and chief of police heard 100% negative feedback on the proposal, causing the council to amend their request.
Council still wants to charge gun owners a civil penalty which still makes them a victim twice. Gun owners in Virginia Beach need to turn out in force at the council meeting to voice opposition to the amended proposal as well. It will do nothing to prevent crime but will be an attack on lawful gun owners.
Opponents of Washington state's Initiative 594 (I-594) have been pointing out that the simplest of transfers among gun owners would be impacted by the 18 page law if it is approved by voters. Most recently San Juan Island Sheriff Sgt. Scott Brennan wrote about how residents on the island off Washington's coast would be negatively impacted if the initiative passes:
This means if you want to sell your long time neighbor John that shotgun he has always admired, you, John and the shotgun have catch the ferry to the mainland and drive to a licensed gun dealer in Anacortes or Mt. Vernon.
You have to register the gun. John has to fill out background check papers. You have to pay a ‘reasonable fee’ (whatever the gun dealer wants) You then both go home and wait.
Then 10 days later, you, John and the shotgun again catch the ferry back to the mainland and go back to the dealer, where John finally pays you and you get to hand him the shotgun. That’s SALES.
Now, we get into TRANSFERS. Sooo, the deputies want to surprise a retiring officer with a gun as a gift. The gun owner, the gun and the retiring officer again have to catch the ferry and go the mainland gun dealer. We have to register the gun and the ‘surprised officer’ has to do the background check paperwork. We again pay the ‘reasonable fee’.
Then we all get to go home again and wait ten days. Then we again catch the ferry to the mainland, go back to the gun store and finally ‘surprise’ our coworker with his gift (TRANSFER).
Here is one better. I want to loan my friend Gary my break down shotgun for his motorcycle trip to Alaska. We, once again, have to go to the mainland, drive to Anacortes or Mt. Vernon, register the gun, Gary does the background check and we pay the ‘reasonable fee’.
Ten days later we’re back and I get to ‘loan’ him the gun in front of the dealer. Gary has a great trip and comes back three weeks later. After he comes back, we all have to go back to the mainland, go back to the dealer and now I have to fill out the paperwork and pay the fee to be approved to get my own gun back.
What has been the response of proponents to folks that point out these facts? They simply deny it and move on and the media in Washington have been happy to leave it at that. So, it has been left to the new media, in this case, Cam Edwards of NRANews, to go to the 18 page document and confirm what Sgt. Brennan and others have been saying.
These arguments appear to be gaining traction as polls have shown support for the initiative has begun to drop even though supporters have spent millions and still have millions more to spend in the closing weeks. And, gun ban proponent Gabby Giffords will be closing out her "Protect All Women" tour in Washington just before the election. Pro-rights forces have their work cut out for them.
You might ask why Virginians should care about I-594. Virginia doesn't allow ballot initiatives and one half of the Virginia General Assembly is firmly in pro-rights hands and would never pass such a law. But for how long will that be the case? Last week's federal court decision throwing out Virginia's Congressional redistricting could have ripple effects on state legislative districts in the not too distant future. There are voices in Virginia who want a "non-partisan" commission to undertake the task of redistricting every 10 years.
It is not lost on the pro-rights community that I-594 could just be the start of the trouble. Washington is being used as a test to see if the model can be used in other states that allow the initiative process. The forces aligned pushing the bill have far more money than the pro-rights side, not withstanding the claim by the anti-rights folks that the NRA has gobs of money and uses it to beat back "commonsense gun safety proposals." There has been a small family feud in the pro-rights community, with some in Washington fighting I-594 complaining that the NRA is not spending enough to fight the initiative. But the NRA's strength has not been its money, it has been an active grassroots, and the NRA has had staff in the state working with those grassroots supporters for months.
As the information is getting out, support for the initative, which stood at over 70% in the spring, is beginning to slip, though a majority of those polled still support it. Now the NRA is up with a new add that points out that law enforcement are opposed to the measure.
As Sebastianwrote earlier today, let's hope that the ad hits the "low-information" voter and continues to chip away at the support in the final 21 days of the election. Because if this scheme passes, look for it to come to a state near you.
"We're seeing an increase in our corporate groups and events, social folks coming out to do something different, so they may never go out on the track, they may not come to spectate," said Sandy Currie, the VIR Resort Operations Director.
VIR, located close to the North Carolina border in Alton, Virginia, between South Boston and Danville, was recently chosen as one of Car and Driver Magazine’s top six road courses in the nation. The ranges offer folks who may not be race fans another reason to visit the facility. Most of the ranges are 50 to 100 yards but also includes one 1,000 yard range. There is also a 360 degree range.
Earlier this week, Dr. John Lott had this piece on FoxNews.com talking about Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun propaganda and the errors that are inherent in the reports his various groups put into the pubic domain.
Every single report released by Bloomberg’s groups has contained major errors. A new report by the Crime Prevention Research Center has corrected Everytown’s July study on “mass shootings”: again, it is no different – lots of errors, but worldwide publicity touting the erroneous claims.
These errors include things like where an attack occurred, padding numbers to included killings by gang members and including stabbing deaths in their numbers - errors that Dr. Lott told NRANews.com's Cam Edwards yesterday that even his 12 year-old daughter could fact check.
NBC12 reports that Attorney General Mark Herring has issued an opinion that exploding (Tannerite) targets are not illegal. The Chesterfield County Commonwealth's Attorney had written a letter to Herring asking whether possession and use of such targets for recreation were illegal after some county residents complained about the use of exploding targets by a group known as Virginia Gun Trader. Since the AG did not offer an opinion about whether exploding targets "might comprise a misdemeanor violation of other statues or ordinances, such as disturbing the peace or any applicable zoning or noise ordinances" it is possible that those who originally made the complaints will seek an ordinance from the county to do just that:
"According to what we see in our nation, and the world today, the noise, the booms, the guns, it is a problem," said Chesterfield resident Juanita Hudgins.
NBC12 - Richmond, VA News
VSSA will continue to watch this issue and let you know if further action is needed.
But there may be a signal in there somewhere: Warner’s vote has a ceiling. In early September, CNU showed Warner at 53 percent. Roanoke College had Warner at 46 percent in late September. The next day, Quinnipiac has Warner at 48 percent (and at 50 in a head-to-head with Gillespie). Now CNU shows Warner at 51.
Warner was supposed to cruise to victory in November. And, while he still has a lead of between 9 and twelve points depending on which poll you choose, the final total will likely be much closer. As Bearing Drift pointed out in the above linked post, a lot of things have to go Gillespie's way for him to pull off an upset. But, the fact that Warner has had to pull out things like "Enron Lobbyist" and other misleading statements in his ads says that Warner knows he is in a fight.
Warner must have thought voting with Obama 97% of the time, for Obamacare after saying he would not support any proposal that made people give up their current insurance, and vote to criminalize private firearm sales and transfers among life-long friends and family members would not come back to bite him. While he has maintained a lead, he is having to work harder to keep his seat.
Finally, Warner worked hard to get the gun and sportsman vote in his 2001 race for Governor. He similarly worked for that vote in his first U.S. Senate race. Neither issue is mentioned on his current campaign web site. The Mark Warner of 2014 is not the Warner of 2001. How self identified conservatives can vote for this guy, as the CNU poll indicates, is a mystery.
NRA mailings and flyers targeting Virginia incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Warner charge that Warner "has supported restrictions on veterans’ second amendment rights."
As proof, it cites the senator’s 2013 vote against an amendment that would have ended a VA policy of submitting the names of veterans it deems mentally unstable to the FBI for inclusion on a national list of people barred from buying guns. People who didn’t serve in the military, by contrast, can only be declared mentally unfit to buy a gun by a judge.
So there’s a basis for the NRA’s claim: Warner voted against abolishing a restriction on buying guns that only affects veterans.
PolitiFact notes that Warner did support an amendment that would open an appeals process but that means veterans would still have their rights taken away and only get them restored after appealing while non-veterans have a judicial process BEFORE having their rights taken away.
PolitiFact's final assessment?
The NRA’s statement is accurate but needs additional information. We rate it Mostly True.
No one should have their rights taken away by a faceless bureaucrat and without due process. Vote Freedom First: Vote Ed Gillespie. Ed needs your help now! Click here to volunteer.
Last week, Dr. John Lott and Fox News' John Stossel discussed the myth that crime committed with a firearm is increasing and other lies that Bloomberg and his affiliated groups spread.
Yesterday this post talked about the new $2 million dollar ad buy by the NRA featuring a survivor of a violent crime while she was in college. The subject of that ad, Kimberly Weeks, spoke with Cam Edwards on Wednesday's edition of Cam and Company on NRANews where she shared why she came forward to tell her story, why she conceal carries, and why Bloomberg should keep his hands off of her, and by extension, our rights.
The Hill reports this morning that the NRA has launched a $2 Million ad buy featuring a survivor of a violent criminal attack telling Bloomberg "you do not have the right to tell me how to defend myself."
This add is in addition to the one released in August that had a heavy emphasis on Colorado complete with the disparaging comments Bloomberg made about one of the higher populated areas of the state. NRA has taken very seriously Bloomberg's promise to spend $50 million to attack our rights. The latest ad puts a personal face on Bloomberg's proposed policies.
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