March Gun Sales In Virginia Jump 75% Over March 2019.

The Times Dispatch reports that he Virginia Firearms Transaction Center recorded 80,228 transactions in March.  That's a 75% jump over March 2019 and the highest total for any month on record since state police began tracking the data in 1990, according to mandatory criminal background checks on Virginia gun buyers.

The March number surpasses the previous Virginia record of 75,120 transactions in December 2012, which experts said was fueled by fears of increased gun restrictions after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut.

The March record also adds to what has become Virginia’s longest sustained spike in monthly gun sales ever. It began with December’s 73,849 transactions and continued in January and February with 65,839 and 64,070 transactions, respectively.

State firearm dealers say the surging sales can be attributed to the virus scare, along with the lingering effects of increased gun control measures passed by the Democrat-controlled General Assembly.

With so many first time firearm purchasers, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has created the below resource that will help in making the purchase, and safely storing the firearm at home when not in use.

With indoor ranges still considered "non-essential" by Governor Northam, and most outdoor ranges are private gun clubs, it will be difficult for these new gun owners to receive training (VSSA is working to get the Governor to change his order on indoor ranges).  There are resources however that can be helpful.  Gun Talk Radio's Tom Gresham has the "First Person Defender" video series.  There is also Rob Pincus' Personal Defense Network web site which has numerous free training videos as well as videos behind their pay wall.  While not the same as live fire training, you will learn valuable information from such training videos.  Besides the info graphic above, NSSF has a number of resources for first time gun owners.  If you know someone that has purchased their first firearm and you have access to an outdoor range, offer to take them so they can learn to safely use their new firearm.

Virginia Firearm Sales Level Off to Pre-2013 Levels But Still on Pace to Be Second Best Year in History

The Richmond Times Dispatch has this story today that notes 2014 firearm sales are running approximately 23% lower than the same period in 2013:

Gun transactions have fallen every month from Jan. 1 through the end of July compared with the same period in 2013. Cumulatively, the numbers dropped from 286,480 transactions for January through July last year to 219,491 for this year. 

Firearm sales at 45 gun shows across Virginia also declined during the first seven months of 2014, from 24,870 transactions in 2013 to 20,492 this year, a drop of 21 percent. Gun show transactions represented 9.3 percent of the state’s total transactions through federally licensed firearms dealers.

Last year's sales were driven by the direct assault on our rights by Obama.  But, while sales are down a little less 25% from last year, they are still higher than 2012 and 2014 is on pace to still be the second best year for firearm sales on record:

“While firearm transactions seem to be declining, it’s important to recognize that 2014 is still on pace to be the second-highest year for firearm transactions in Virginia, outpacing 2012 by nearly 5 percent,” said Thomas R. Baker, an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs who specializes in criminology theory and has an interest in gun-related issues.

The number of firearm transactions through the first seven months of 2012 totaled 209,591, compared with this year’s 219,491.

Baker also rather than looking at this year's numbers compared to last year, we should look at the general pattern of firearm purchase over the last several years:

The percentage increase in Virginia gun transactions has grown steadily — in some cases dramatically — every year since Obama has been in office except for 2010, records show. The annual number grew 7.2 percent in 2009, dipped to 3.7 percent in 2010, and then climbed in the double digits over the next three years — 16 percent in 2011, 35 percent in 2012 and 11 percent last year.

It was to be expected that sales would not continue at the pace they set last year.  But it is also clear from the above numbers that firearms sales, at lease in Virginia, are still increasing at a healthy pace, and that's good news for Virginia's firearm retailers.

The Lesson - You Don't Need to Make a Point of Open Carry Carry in a State Where It's Legal

The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that two guys from Chesterfield tried to organize a show of support for open carry but they were the only two that showed up.

More than 300 people were invited on Facebook to walk down Cary Street on July Fourth with handguns, rifles and other so-called “long guns” proudly displayed.

Two showed up — and they were the organizers of the midday event in the family-oriented Carytown shopping district.

As the RTD noted, it is perfectly legal to carry firearms openly in Virginia.  So as one of the people who commented back on the Facebook page of the organizer, exactly what were they protesting?

Arrests Increase in Virginia for Prohibited Persons Attempting to Buy Firearms

The Times Dispatch has the story here.

In 2011, the first year Virginia State Police began tracking gun show transactions, 10.6 percent of the people denied permission to buy firearms were charged with an offense related to being someone legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. That proportion rose to 12.4 percent in 2012 and more than doubled to 27 percent last year.

The State Police noted that not all people denied correspond to a previous crime that makes them a prohibited persons.

Some misunderstand what they are required to disclose on the background check form or unknowingly provide false information, others don’t satisfy identification requirements, and a few are accidentally flagged as being prohibited from buying a gun, among various reasons.

Not suprisingly, when you look at the actual number of denials, the number is quite small compared to the number of transactions.

The number of denials rose slightly from 359 in 2011 to 380 in 2012, but fell sharply to 263 last year.

And when you look at the number os people actually charged, it confirms what the U.S. Department of Justice research arm, the National Institute of Justice found, that very few criminals attempt to get their firearms at gun shows.

Despite last year’s drop in denials, the number of arrests at gun shows continued to climb steadily, from 38 in 2011, to 47 in 2012 to 71 last year.

Thomas R. Baker, a criminologist and an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, who did an intensive study on the number of firearm sales over the last six years and crime rates over the same period, believes that the drop in denials can be attributed to the repeal of "one gun-a-month" because people who attempted to puchase a second handgun before the expiration of the 30 days since their last purchase were listed as denials.  Handgun rationing was repealed in 2012.

He noted that between 2000 and 2012, rejections based on attempts to purchase more than one handgun per month among all commercial venues (including gun stores and gun shows) was the most common source of denial during that period, larger than even denials for prior felony convictions.

While Baker tries to make the case that the numbers should lead everyone to support so-called "universal background checks" the real take away should be when the law is enforced, people who should not be purchasing firearms will be stopped, as they have been increasingly in Virginia.

Senator Creigh Deeds Seriously Injured, Son Dead

Via Richmond Times Dispatch: Deeds critically wounded; son dead from gunshot. Police are still trying to sort out events but Senator Deeds was stabbed and is in critical condition. When we have more details this post will be updated.

Update: Here and here.

Trying Times In Virginia for Gun Control Advocates

Picking up where the paper left off on Sunday,  today's Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) editorial page points to the huge increase in firearm sales in Virginia and the reduction in gun related crime and notes it is indeed trying times for gun control advocates:

Time after time, progressives have greeted expansion of gun rights with dire warnings that the expansion would turn society into the Wild West, and the streets would run red with blood. They said so after the Supreme Court’s two major gun-rights rulings in Heller and McDonald. They said so after the expansion of concealed-carry laws across the country. They said so after Virginia eased restrictions on guns in bars and restaurants.

In every case, gun-related crimes fell.

The RTD points out that facts are stubborn, and the facts show that the liberal claim that mores guns leads to more crime is wrong.
However, the RTD should do a little more homework when it comes to determining just who is buying all those firearms.   

Foes of gun rights might point out, correctly, that the percentage of Americans who own firearms is declining — therefore, the increase in gun sales is owing to existing owners who are buying more guns, not more people buying a gun for the first time.

They should go up the road to Hanover just outside of Richmond and ask Green Top Sporting Goods, the retailer that the paper's database shows sold the most firearms in the seven year span, and ask them just how many were first time buyers.  Or go to Colonial Shooting Academy in the west end of Richmond, and ask just who is taking all of those firearm training classes they teach.  The RTD will likely find what those of us who pay attention to such things know, that, based on information from manufacturers who have compiled data from firearm warrenty registration cards, say that about 25% of the sales are to first time buyers.  That has also been a big reason why you can't find ammo - more people owning firearms mean increased demand for ammo.
WRIC Richmond News and Weather -

Richmond Times Dispatch Bought By Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway Subsidiary

The Richmond Times Dispatch (RTD) reports that all but one of Media General's newspapers have been sold to a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, BH Media Group.  Media General is the holding company for the RTD.

The newspapers being purchased by BH Media Group include 63 dailies and weekly titles in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama, in addition to digital assets, including websites and mobile and tablet applications. The newspapers also have a substantial commercial printing business.

“In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper,” said Warren Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. “The many locales served by the newspapers we are acquiring fall firmly in this mold and we are delighted they have found a permanent home with Berkshire Hathaway.”

It will be interesting to see what the change in ownership means for the direction of the local newspaper in the future.The RTD is considered conservative compared to other newspapers in Virginia.  The editorial page has long been opposed to the various gun ban schemes put forward by the gun ban lobby and their supporters in the General Assembly.

Michael Paul Williams Misses the Point

Where do I start?  The below screed from Richmond Times Dispatch commentator (I refuse to refer to him as a reporter because most all of his articles are slanted to his point of view) Michael Paul Williams is so filled with hate toward gun owners and out right ignorance of the issue of self-defense,  I almost hesitate to include the video in the post.  But it is good to see and hear how our opponents view us and how they present themselves.



His disdain for gun owners and the NRA seeps out with every word. But his comment about anyone needing to carry a firearm to their church service for protection might want to consider finding another church illustrates just how ignorant he is. It's not that a person feels the need to defend himself against a member of his or her church, it's about protecting yourself and fellow congregation members from wackos like this and this.

In related news, anti-rights State Senator Don McEachin said yesterday that he would fix this with legislation next year.

McEachin says places of worship should not have to put up signs specifically banning weapons from their premises. He also suggests the Attorney General is ruling via "fiat," because the General Assembly refused to consider a bill that would have loosened the law regarding guns in church.

Sadly, the response of people like Williams and McEachin is predictable.

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.

News and Advance Pushes for Closing So-called "Gun Show Loophole"

Today's News and Advance has an editorial today titled "Reflecting the Will of the People?" that takes the General Assembly, and specifically the House Militia Police and Public Safety Committee, to task for annually killing legislation that is aimed at closing the non-existant "gun show loophole," using the results of a poll conducted in December by Christopher Newport University (a similar poll was released by CNU during the General Assembly session last year).  The lastest poll claims that 80% of the respondents support background checks on all firearm purchases at gun shows. 

Media General News Service reported recently that a survey of 1,097 Virginians conducted in mid-December found that more than eight out of 10 respondents would favor a law that requires the purchasers of all firearms at gun shows to go through background checks.

That’s more than 80 percent. Usually when you get 80 percent approval on a given proposal, it becomes law. But not in the General Assembly of Virginia.

Who's to blame according to the News and Advance?  You guessed it, legislators influenced by "well-funded lobbying interests" including the NRA.

One way the majority uses the rules against measures that have broad public support is to assign the bill to a committee with the assurance that it will not get out of that committee and that only a few delegates have to vote against the measure to kill it for the session. That is especially true in subcommittees, where only a few delegates can kill the bill.

Last November, the News and Advance's sister Media General publication, the Richmond Times Dispatch, editoralized about the so-called "gun show loophole" after the Washington Post's series "The Hidden Life of Guns" which traced 341 of the guns used in the 511 incidents in which law-enforcement officers have been shot during the past decade. The RTD looked and the numbers provided in the Post series and concluded the following:

There is simply little proof that gun shows provide a significant proportion of the guns used to commit crimes, including homicides.

The RTD concluded that until there is more hard evidence of the connection between guns used in crime and guns sold at gun shows by private sellers, any bills directed at curbing private sales should meet the same fate as they have in the past.  The News & Advance should heed the advice of its sister newspaper.

Times Dispatch Live Chat with Creigh Deeds Wednesday

The second "Ask the Candidate" live video chat will be held Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. on TimesDispatch.com with R. Creigh Deeds, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate. You can submit questions in advance for Deeds at News@TimesDispatch.com. Be sure to put "Ask the Candidate" in the subject field.

Attendence Brisk at Richmond Gun Show Over Weekend

According to the Richmond Times Dispatch, some 5,700 folks walked through the door at the Richmond Gun Show this past weekend. About 4,000 people attended the same show last November.

Seller Terry Coffman told the RTD that sales were so brisk on Saturday that he had little left to sell on Sunday. Coffman, who is with Georgia Arms in Villa Rica, GA, said his sales have "skyrocketed" in the two weeks since the election and attributes the election of Obama as a major reason.

Virginia gun control activist Alice Mountjoy told the RTD that gun owners are just "paranoid" and have nothing to fear because Obama "respects the Second Amendment." No offense Alice but I know your politics and I don't think you have the best interest of gun owners at heart.

The RTD reports that according to the State Police, there was a 22.8 percent increase in background checks in October, compared with the same month in 2007. So far for the year there is an increase of about 12 percent in the number of checks from January 1 to Nov. 1, compared with the same period last year.

One of the draw backs of the increased sales appears to be that the higher volume is causing delays in state background checks.

UPDATE: More on the increase in gun sales with this CNN story featuring a Manassas VA, gun shop.

Obama and the NRA Ads

Senator Barack Obama last week sent "cease and desist" letters to television stations running the NRA ads aimed at debunking Obama's stated support for the Second Amendment. Obama for his part told a group in Jefferson County Ohio last week that hunters and sportsmen had did not have to fear him taking their sporting guns. Today, a group of Missouri Democratic prosecutors and sheriffs have formed a "Truth Squad" to "target anyone who lies or runs a misleading TV ad during the presidential campaign."

Today's Richmond Times Dispatch has a great editorial that explains exactly what the NRA Ads Obama seeks to squash seek to point out. The RTD editors write:

The Democrat seems to have undergone a campaign conversion -- he now claims to have "no intention of taking away folks' guns." But he frequently describes restrictions on gun ownership as "common sense," and his statements supporting gun rights often come with a "but." His record suggests a deep and strongly felt antipathy to gun rights. Rare is the anti-gun measure he has voted against.

He also takes pains to avoid saying he would oppose on principle even the most extreme gun-control proposals. Instead, he says they aren't politically viable. A complete ban on handguns? That is "not politically practicable." Take away the family deer rifle? "Even if I wanted to take it away, I couldn't get it done. I don't have the votes in Congress." Licensing all firearms ownership? "I just don't think we can get that done." He has supported licensing all handgun owners, though, and in 2004 Obama backed national legislation forbidding anyone but law-enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms, even with a license.

One has to wonder if Obama's internal polls in swing states show the the NRA ads are having the intended effect.

Hat tip to the Campaign Spot.

Poll on Gun Ownership in Richmond Times Dispatch

Go here and scroll down the page to vote in the poll.

Man Carrying Gun Legally Causes Stir on Richmond Transit Bus

I have come to expect this in Northern Virginia where many in the population are transplants from areas less gun friendly but I would have thought it would have caused less of a stir in Richmond. The Richmond Times Dispatch web site is reporting that Richmond police "scrambled in several parts of the city" shortly after 10:00 am this morning upon receiving reports of a man with a gun on a GRTC Transit System bus.

The police found the man in question 15 minutes later on East Broad Street and guess what! They discovered that the man was legally carrying the handgun. The news story said that was after a few "anxious moments" trying to determine which bus it was, where it was and whether there was actually a gunman aboard. Note to the uninformed, most criminals don't intent on doing harm don't usually carry a gun in a holster in plain site.

The incident is more evidence the pro-rights supporters need to work to educate the public that when an individual is seen carrying a firearm openly, it does not automatically mean the individual is up to no good.

Virginia Crime Commission and the "Gun Show Loophole"

When the Virginia Senate Courts of Justice Committee defeated Governor Kaine's signature gun control legislation earlier this year - background checks on private sales at gun shows - it threw a bone to the gun ban lobby by forwarding the issue to Virginia's Crime Commission to study the issue. Last week, the Commission agreed to study the issue -- but also made clear it will not issue any legislative recommendations as a result of its findings.

You could have heard the howls of the gun ban lobby all the way to the offices of VSSA in Orange County. Their reaction assumes the study would reach the same conclusions they already have - that gun shows are a major source of guns used in crimes. An unbiased study might come to conclusions showing no need for tighter restrictions and might actually refute arguments for restrictions commonly sought by the gun ban lobby.

According to a Richmond Times Dispatch editorial this morning, the commission hopes to find out (a) how many guns sold at gun shows are sold by individuals who do not have a federal firearms license (private sales), and (b) how many of the guns from that pool are then used in crimes. The RTD asks, "What if it turns out that only a tiny fraction of them are? The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives reports, for instance, that 57 percent of the guns used in crimes are sold by 1 percent of gun dealerships."

A non-biased study might help clear up some common misconceptions. Del. David Albo, the chairman of the commission, said that he doesn't understand "why one person who sells guns has to be federally licensed and another person doesn't. And I imagine no one else in the House of Delegates does, either."

That's easy to answer "Delegate Dave" and you don't need a study for this one - Not all vendors at gun shows sell guns (some sell food and sauces, knives, books, gun safes, tasers, T-shirts, bumper stickers, and other paraphernalia). Just as not everyone that is a vendor at a show sells guns, not everyone who sells a firearm at a gun show is engaged in the business. Some people at gun shows bring a gun or two from their personal collection to sell or trade for a different gun. It is just as absurd to call these folks 'gun dealers' as it would be to require them to have a federal dealer's license to do so.

If there is still a question in the mind what really steams the gun ban crowd, Del. Kenneth Melvin of Portsmouth stated their complaint quite well when he whined, "It might as well be the public policy in Virginia that if you're not a convicted felon, we want you armed to the teeth."

The RTD editorial closes with a warning that should be heeded by every gun owner - "Open hostility to the self-defense rights of law-abiding citizens offers a bracing reminder that those who grow complacent about their liberty are printing a license for others to steal it."

Well said.

More on Kaine Veto of Self Defense Legislation

I posted on this blog after SB 436 and SB 476 passed that they passed after the window that required the Governor to act before the end of the session. I was mistaken. It has been a while since I have worked in the realm of appointive state Government and my memory is apparently not as good as I thought. Bills that arrive on the Governor's desk more than a week before the session's adjournment fall within a seven-day window of time in which he has sign, amend, or veto them, or they'll become law anyway. Both SB 436 and SB 476 met that requirement.

A number of articles in this morning's papers reported on Kaine's action. This Washington Post report confirmed what I thought; there is a chance the legislature could try and override the Governor's veto of SB 436 and SB 476 before they adjourn on Saturday. I know that Governor Gilmore vetoed a bill during the session in 1998 and the legislature attempted an override during the session and did not wait for the reconvened session (known as the "Veto Session"). With SB 436 standing the best chance for an override, it is possible that Senator Vogel will want to act quickly so as not to give Kaine a month to twist the arms of pro-gun Democrats. The Post reported:

Kaine vetoed his first legislation of the year -- a pair of bills that would have loosened restrictions on where person may carry or place firearms. One measure would have allowed people to keep concealed weapons in cars if the weapons are locked in a compartment or container, even if the owner did not have a permit (SB 436). The other would have allowed people to carry concealed weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol (SB476). Currently, it is legal to carry a weapon into a restaurant
only if it does not serve alcohol.

Kaine said the bills could have endangered law enforcement officers, restaurant employees and patrons.

"I have to make a decision that's best for public safety,'' Kaine said. He said he based his decision on recommendations from the law enforcement community.

Del. C. Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah) called the measures "two very
reasonable bills" and said Kaine showed "disdain for law-abiding gun
owners."

"He is not a strong believer in the Second Amendment," Gilbert said.

Legislators could try to override Kaine's veto this week or when they return for a one-day veto session April 16. Two-thirds of both chambers are needed to override a veto.

This from the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

It was the second time since 2006 that Kaine has refused to sign legislation allowing weapons to be stored in a motor vehicle's locked glove compartment or other vault-like boxes (SB 436). The guns-in-bars proposal had never before made it to the governor's desk.

The Vogel bill (SB 436) stands the best chance of the two of becoming law, despite Kaine's objections. That's because the measure was approved by margins in the House of Delegates and Virginia Senate big enough to override a veto. It cleared the House with 69 votes and the Senate with 31. In the House, that's two better than required for a veto override; in the Senate, four more than the minimum.

A two-thirds vote is required in both chambers for a bill to become law over a governor's veto. The Hanger bill may face tougher going. It passed the House with 62 votes, and the Senate with only 24.

And though both bills generated support among Kaine's fellow Democrats,
particularly those from the countryside, they will likely come under pressure to
sustain his vetoes.

And finally, this from the Winchester Star, Senator Vogel is not please with the Governor either.

"The Governor’s heavy handed approach to kill legislation supported by the overwhelming majority of legislators in his own party demonstrates the power of the anti-2nd Amendment lobby over this governor," she said in the release. "I consider it a sad day for the citizens of Virginia when the governor will side with a small but powerful lobby over the objection of gun owners in Virginia as well as a stunning majority of members of the House and Senate."

VSSA reminded gun owners during the 2005 campaign of Kaine's anti-gun background. He ran saying he supported the Second Amendment and was no threat to the rights of gun owners. His record as Mayor of Richmond said otherwise and we now have proof that those promises of 2005 were empty words. This is a lesson we should remember during this election year.

As for these two bills, gun owners need to put more pressure on the Senators and Delegates than Governor Kaine. Please act now and contact your legislator. You can find out your legislator's contact information by clicking here and completing the form.

VDGIF Hunting with Hounds Study Getting More Attention

I posted on this earlier and since that time, discussion on the Internet among hunters as well as a couple of comments on the earlier post merits another mention. Those who hunt with dogs are very concerned about the process DGIF has created for this debate. The Virginia Deer Hunters Association has a vested interest in this and they sent a letter to their membership in mid 2007 pointing out that a small hand full of unethical individuals are partly to blame for this situation. The vast majority of hunters using hounds are ethical and respect the private property of others. Unfortunately, they are caught up in this and will suffer from any ill effects. But hunters using hounds are also experiencing something that gun owners have been feeling the effects of for the last several years - people new to rural life, complaining about noise - in this case noisy hounds. This article ran on Christmas Eve in the Richmond Times Dispatch and is pretty balanced. This editorial ran on News Years Eve in the Roanoke Times and as usual, has the Times anti-slant with a swipe at hunters, calling them a "paranoid bunch."