VSSA Club Home to Olympians and National Champions

On November 23rd, Arlington/Fairfax IWLA, a VSSA affiliated club, held a reception for two members who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics,  Gold Medalist Ginny Thrasher and Lucas Kozeniesky.  Both Thrasher and Kozeniesky are Fairfax natives and both are products of the Arlington/Fairfax air rifle program.  The Fairfax Board of Supervisors presented the two with resolutions recognizing their accomplishments and Congress Woman Barbara Comstock present Ginny with a Congressional Resolution.  Attendees were treated to hamburgers and hotdogs by the club.

Ginny Thrasher and Lucas Kozeniesky with Bucky Sills, Congresswoman Barbara Comstock and Fairfax Board Member Pat Herrity

Congressman Barbara Comstock presents Ginny Thrasher with Copy of Congressional Record recognizing Thrashers accomplishment.

Ginny Thrasher with Bucky Sills

Kozeniesky and Thrasher with Fairfax Board members Kathy Smith, and Pat Herrity

NRA-ILA Campaign Field Rep Now in VA 10th District

Are you currently doing everything you can to help elect pro-gun candidates in 2014? Are you ready to Stand and Fight against the Obama/Bloomberg multi-million dollar anti-gun machine?  NRA-ILA currently has an active Campaign Field Representative in the 10th Congressional District where Pro-rights candidate Barbara Comstock is running to success retiring Congressman Frank Wolf and her name is Tiffany Bambeck.  If you live in the 10th District, Tiffany needs your help!  With less than 90 days left until the November 4^th general election, and the increasing importance of early and absentee voting, we don’t have time to waste.

First , please take a minute to visit www.NRAILAFrontLines.com.  This website has been set up so that NRA FrontLines™ supporters can find upcoming events, volunteer for specific activities, register to vote and recruit additional pro-gun volunteers to join our efforts.

Second, tell your family, friends and fellow firearm owners and help us grow the NRA-ILA FrontLines™ volunteer network as gun owners unite to elect pro-gun candidates who will continue to fight against the anti-gun agenda of Obama and Bloomberg. 

The activism of VSSA and NRA members and volunteers is our greatest asset and there has never been a more critical time to get involved.  There are few things more rewarding than watching the election returns knowing you made a real difference in preserving our freedom for future generations.

It's important that we keep our pro-rights majority in Congress.  Please click the Fronlines link above, sign-up and volunteer today.

Washington Post: 10th District Candidate Comstock Under Fire from Both Sides on Gun Rights

The Washington Post has a piece on the 10th Congressional District Republican nomination race to replace retiring Representative Frank Wolf.  The Post reports that Delegate Barbara Comstock is under fire from both the gun ban lobby and from another candidate on the right for her position on firearm freedom.

Last week, Del. Barbara J. Comstock voted for a bill that would make it easier for teachers to bring guns onto school grounds. Democrats pounced, accusing the Fairfax County Republican of being “reckless” and out of step with Northern Virginia. The next day, Del. Robert G. Marshall (Prince William) joined the race for the Republican nomination to succeed retiring Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R) in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, and he immediately accused Comstock of doing “nothing” to lead on gun rights and other issues important to conservatives.

The attacks from the gun ban lobby are to be expected, but exactly what is Delegate Marshall talking about? Complicating matters is the fact, according to the Washington Post, people in the district that are associated with the Tea Party have pegged her as being the "Establishment" candidate.  So, let's look at Comstock's record on Second Amendment issues.

Delegate Comstock was elected in the tidal wave of 2009 that swept Bob McDonnell into the Governor's Office.  Since that time, she has had the opportunity to vote on some important pieces of legislation affecting Virginia's gun owners. A quick search of the Legislative Information System shows since 2010, Delegate Comstock has been on the right side of important votes including repeal of the ban on carrying concealed in family restaurants like Applebee's and Olive Garden that serve alcohol as well as food, repeal of handgun rationing, bills that allow the transporting of firearms in vehicles for those who chose not to get a concealed handgun permit, and a host of other pro-rights bills, and a host of others.  During last year's election, the gun ban lobby targeted Comstock late hoping to pull off an upset.

It could be that Delegate Marshall is measuring her commitment based on the number of pro-rights bills she has introduced.  A better measure on where she stands on our firearm freedom is whether we can count on her when the going gets tough, as it did during last year's campaign.  By that measure, she passed because she did not back down on her previous votes protecting the rights of Virginia's gun owners.

VSSA can't speak to other issues on which Delegate Comstock has voted since 2010, but on the issue that is the mission of this association, Delegate Comstock is counted among our true friends, and attacks on her record on Second Amendment issues are baseless. 

Comstock to Seek 10th Congressional District Seat

Virginia state delegate Barbara Comstock has made it official that she will seek the seat being vacated by Representative Frank Wolf in Virginia's 10th District.  So far, she is the only serious candidate seeking the seat.  State Senator Richard "Dick" Black has set up an exploratory committee but has not made a decision to run.  The only other announced candidate on the GOP side is White House crasher Traeq Salahi.

Comstock is solid on the Second Amendment.  She earned an "A" rating from NRA in last year's election.  Among the pro-rights votes she has cast since her election in 2009 are the repeal of the ban on carrying concealed in restaurants and repeal of handgun rationing. 

Delegate Comstock won re-election by 422 votes last year, after former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg donated to her opponent late in the campaign.

Larry Sabato's "Crystal Ball" Predicts GOP Holds House of Delegates

Due in large part to gerrymandered districts, the bulk of the GOP's House of Delegate's majority is safe next Tuesday.  There are 45 uncontested races and an additional 12 with incumbents only facing independent candidates or "third party" candidates some of which are candidates who have put no effort into the race.  Some of the contested races are in Northern Virginia and due to the fact the region has turned so reliably blue (or at least purple fading to blue), that is where the GOP could end up losing if they lose any seats.  The GOP also stands to pick up a Democrat held seat in Southwest that is being vacated by the retiring Delegate Joe Johnson.  This from Geoffrey Skelley over at Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball.

To refresh, there is still no chance that Democrats will win a majority of the chamber’s 100 seats. Republicans presently hold a 68-32 edge (counting one independent caucusing with the GOP), giving them an impregnable advantage in the House. Even more helpful to Republicans is the fact that the only sure-fire pick-up in the House is going to be a Republican one in HD-4, an ancestrally Democratic district in southwest Virginia currently held by retiring Del. Joe Johnson (D). The GOP is the only party fielding a candidate there.

There are about a dozen seats in districts President Obama carried in 2012 that are currently held by Republican Delegates.

Courtesy Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball

The race drawing the most attention is the Northern Virginia district currently held by Barbara Comstock.  In 2012, Obama narrowly carried this district.  Mayor Michael Bloomberg has dropped $100,000 into the Democrat's campaign, after being "badgered" by Kathleen Murphy to help her out.  And with all the talk about Bloomberg's money in the Governor's and AG's race, his real target is turning out the Democrat vote to help sway the close legislative races to his side. Democrats are also working hard to get turn out up to where it was in 2012, believing (probably accurately) that if they can get Blacks and young voters to show up in the off year (which typically is not the case) then they can win.  Bloomberg knows he can't change the overall make-up of the House of Delegates, but he understands incrementalism.  If he can win a handful of races, and also claim to be on the winning side in the Governor's race, he adds to the narrative that gun control is a winning issue if candidates will only run on it.