Category: RKBA
Staunton City Council puts Second Amendment discussions on work session agenda
Hobie! Can you keep us informed?
STAUNTON, Va. (WHSV) — Thursday’s Staunton City Council work session agenda includes consideration of a discussion about the city’s Second Amendment status, focusing on whether or not to allow a public hearing on the topic of becoming a ‘Second Amendment Sanctuary.’
Staunton City Council
While members of the public have voiced their opinions on the issue at regularly scheduled Staunton City Council meetings in recent weeks, Councilwoman Andrea Oakes said the council has not had any type of discussion as a body of government yet.
“We normally do not have a public hearing for a resolution, so in order to allow the public hearing, the council has to be in the majority vote to allow it, and that’s what I want,” Oakes said.
The Second Amendment status has not been on the agenda for the past few meetings, but community members still showed up to voice their opinions during the ‘matters of the public period’ period.
Around two dozen people spoke on Jan. 10, with the majority speaking against the idea of the city adopting a resolution, but others speaking in favor of the resolution and against proposed bills in the General Assembly.
Oakes said having an official public hearing for the people of Staunton would allow council to have a better idea of what the people want, and how the council should move forward.
Oakes said she’s in favor of having the discussion.
“Having it as a public hearing would put it on the record. I will be official. We will advertise it so everyone will know about it, and then we will have a proper venue, where folks can come out, have a platform and have their voice heard,” Oakes said.
If the council is able to agree to have a public hearing, Oakes hopes it will happen at the council’s next meeting in February.
Fighting off assaults on Second Amendment
Had 22,000 people showed up in Richmond, Virginia, to demand stronger gun control laws, it is a safe bet that proponents of them would pronounced the crowd to be conclusive proof most Americans want such restrictions.
But when a group estimated at that size demonstrated on Monday against new firearms ownership limits, some gun control advocates insisted the crowd was small — and evidence not many people worry about Second Amendment rights.
“I was prepared to see a whole lot more people show up than actually did, and I think it’s an indication that a lot of this rhetoric is bluster, quite frankly,” commented state Delegate Chris Hurst, a Democrat representing an area in western Virginia. In fairness to Hurst, it needs to be noted he has a personal stake in gun control; in 2015, his television journalist girlfriend was killed in shooting.
More than “bluster” was on display Monday in Richmond, however. As The Associated Press noted, those who turned out to protest what they view as infringements upon Second Amendment rights did so in spite of very cold weather. They came from throughout Virginia, as well as some other states.
Prior to the rally, state officials including Gov. Ralph Northam had expressed concern about white supremacists attending the event. Members of some such groups did attend, according to observers — but the rally passed peacefully. There was just one arrest, of a woman who broke a state law by wearing a mask that covered her face.
What happened Monday in Richmond was a demonstration that many law-abiding citizens — representing millions of other like-minded Americans — are concerned about politicians who continue assaulting the Second Amendment. Officials in the Old Dominion, as well as elsewhere, shoud take note of that.
After Senseless Murder Of Goliath, Philistines Call For Ban On Fully Automatic, High-Capacity Slings
VALLEY OF ELAH—After local homegrown terrorist David slew Goliath with a fully automatic, high-capacity sling, Philistine activists began calling for common-sense bans on the dangerous weapons of mass destruction.
“Nobody needs a sling that holds five rocks just to go hunting or protect their sheep,” said one Philistine woman with pink hair and several face piercings. “This tragedy could have been avoided if only David were forced to use one of the old bolt-action model slings.”
Investigators believe the shepherd boy, radicalized by religious texts, built up an arsenal of approximately five hollow-point, armor-piercing rocks, “a deadly stockpile.”
“Can you imagine if he had opened fire in a crowded market or around the village well?”
Many Philistines offered “thoughts and prayers” to Dagon, but activists continue to insist “your thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
I don’t agree with Karl on many things, but this one he’s got dead bang.
Oh, and the **** censorship is his own.
Oh, and the **** censorship is his own.
I’ve had it with the left — and about half the right.
Rights are negative obligations against the government and other citizens — always.
Rights are never positive obligations; they cannot be.
For example, you have the right to free speech. It is often said that such a right is not “absolute”; that is, you can’t yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater if there is no fire.
That’s a ******ned lie.
You must-certainly can yell “Fire!”
However, if there is no fire, the consequences that rise from that speech are on you.
To say that you cannot in fact yell “Fire!” and that government, or some person has the right to prevent you from yelling “Fire!” is to claim that the government can force you to wear a ball gag in your mouth as a predicate on entry into any theater and that the government can compel you to prove you have one on you and in use before entry, along with arresting you should you remove it while inside.
This is outrageously absurd.
Likewise, the 2nd Amendment says you have the right to keep and bear arms. It doesn’t say “except when the government doesn’t like it”, it doesn’t say “you must prove you don’t have one by search (whether magnetic, physical or otherwise)” and it does not say “except if you’re someone that has in the past done a bad thing.”
You have the right, therefore, to bear (have on your person) a rifle or pistol at all times.
Now this does not mean that if you use said device in an unlawful manner — that is, you, brandish or discharge it, committing assault or worse, you are not liable for the consequence of doing so. You most-certainly are.
Further, the much-vaunted 14th Amendment which is what prohibits States from passing laws that discriminate in voting on the basis of sex or race, which the “progressive left” loves, also prohibits States and localities from infringing on the 1st or 2nd Amendments or, for that matter, anything else in the Bill of Rights. That’s what “incorporation” IS; it prohibits anything declared in the Constitution from being tampered with by State and local governments. This should have been obvious in the original Constitution but post the Civil War it was being routinely ignored by the States.
Note that the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868, roughly three years after the Civil War ended.
There is a second false statement which is that the Supreme Court decides that what is Constitutional or not in the context of individual rights. THIS IS A ******NED LIE AND ANYONE WHO HOLDS THAT FORTH DESERVES TO BE ARRESTED AND TRIED FOR SEDITIOUS CONSPIRACY IF NOT ACTUAL TREASON.
The reason for this is clear: One cannot acquire jurisdiction over that which one never had.
Most of the Bill of Rights deals with declaring rights that pre-exist government. All government. Not just the United States and its government but all governments throughout the time of Man on this rock. A government can disrespect a right but it cannot grant it because to grant something you must first have it.
The First Amendment is a declaration of pre-existing rights — to speak, to gather for peaceful purpose (such as debate, demonstration and similar) and to worship (or not) as one chooses. No government can grant that as a privilege because it never had any of that to begin with.
The Second Amendment is a declaration of the pre-existing right to self-defense of one’s life and those around you who you happen to choose to defend against any and all who would take said life from either you or they through force. No government can grant that as a privilege because the government did not give you the right to defend life itself; you were endowed with that by the virtue of your humanity. One can only forfeit same in a lawful system by committing one or more acts of equal gravity to your own self-defense, which must be proved.
The Fourth Amendment is a declaration that once you acquire something through lawful means it is yours on an exclusive basis. That is, the government cannot rifle through it at whim. Your right to exclusive possession and privacy of same is absolute with one exception: After a showing of probable cause that it is the instrumentality of an offense against a valid law.
The Fifth Amendment is a declaration that one has the absolute right to shut the **** up. Government cannot compel you to speak even if doing so would incriminate you.
And so on.
The Supreme Court is constituted by the Constitution itself. It is thus limited to reviewing that which is not a declaration of a right that existed before the Constitution.
One cannot acquire a right to do a thing that one never had except by voluntary personal assignment from the party that has it, and in order to be voluntary the assignment cannot be coerced.
As such all firearm laws bearing on the personal possession (keep) or wearing (bear) of personal arms are void. They’re not subject to review by the Supreme Court they are void as if never passed as no court has the right to review them; they never did and can’t acquire that capacity.
That doesn’t mean the government won’t arrest (or shoot) you for violating their void laws. They will and they do — regularly. However, all such acts are those of tyrants, not legitimate government. Period. This is basic logic and no amount of screaming, crying or bull**** will ever change it.
Similarly a law passed to require you to wear a ball gag before going into a theater is void. It is not subject to review by the Supreme Court because the government never had the capacity to interfere with your ability to speak in the first place. Any entity trying to enforce same may thus be lawfully resisted with any amount of force required to do so.
It is not, however, unconstitutional to pass a law which states that should one draw a weapon and commit an act of assault or reckless endangerment with it (e.g. “brandishing”) one can be punished at law, including by a term in prison. Nor is it unconstitutional to pass a law criminalizing yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater if there is no fire.
Note the distinction; the line between that protected as pre-existing rights and not is at the point of an action which exposes others to actual harm. The mere fear that one might unholster a weapon, or yell “Fire!” in the theater does not and cannot trump natural rights. Ever.
The Sheriffs who spoke on camera yesterday have this exactly correct. There is a hierarchy of law. No organ of law may review that which extends above its own creation. The Supreme Court may not review natural laws because they existed before the Court did. A State Court may not review Federal legislation because the Federal Government existed before the State did and in fact chartered said State. The exception is where an entity grants, through entirely consensual process (which it can also revoke) said right of review. In other words The Federal Government can grant to a State Court the right to hear a federal matter — but absent such a grant said right does not exist.
County courts (and Sheriffs) often have the explicit right to execute and prosecute under State laws. But that’s a grant of power from the State — which it can also revoke.
However, no State government can pass a law constraining the 2nd Amendment nor can the Federal Government empower a State to do so because the Federal Government never had the right in the first place.
One cannot delegate that which one does not possess.
Period.
‘GOV. RALPH NORTHAM SHOULD APOLOGIZE TO VIRGINIA GUN OWNERS,’ SAYS CCRKBA
BELLEVUE, WA – Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam should apologize to the thousands of gun owners who turned out Monday for their annual, and peaceful, Second Amendment rally, and to the thousands more his hysteria kept away, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
“Following a peaceful gathering of law-abiding gun owners protesting the gun control extremism of Northam and his Democrat colleagues in the General Assembly,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb,” Gov. Northam should beg forgiveness from every Virginia resident his Chicken Little drama both offended and demonized over the past several days.
“Northam’s paranoid emergency disarmament order ignored years of peaceful tradition and treated Commonwealth gun owners as common criminals,” he continued. “It appears to us that his true motive was not public safety, but discouraging as many angry Virginia grassroots activists as he could from participating in Monday’s rally.
“How many more thousands of Virginia citizens did not attend Monday’s peaceful rally because of the governor’s alarmist rhetoric about possible violence,” Gottlieb wondered. “We will likely never know the answer, but what we do know is that this anti-rights governor and his Democrat cronies now in control of the Assembly are worried about the hornet’s nest their gun control crusade has kicked repeatedly since the November election.
“Today’s huge turnout in Richmond, and last Friday’s rally in Olympia, Washington sent a message that America’s law-abiding firearms owners are not about to just go quietly in the night,” he observed. “After months of demonization by Democrat presidential candidates, and a winter’s worth of gun control threats from Virginia’s new Democrat majority, the wrath of citizen activists has been sparked.
“Ralph Northam owes his citizens an apology,” Gottlieb stated. “His gun-hating hysteria has spawned a remarkable Second Amendment Sanctuary movement that we support and hope to see expand in the months ahead. Grassroots gun enthusiasts are fed up. We are tired of being treated like second-class citizens because we defend the Second Amendment that Northam would like to destroy.”
RICHMOND, Va. – Thousands of gun owners and gun rights supporters gathered Monday at Virginia’s Capitol for a “peaceful day to address our Legislature” that appeared to generate none of the violence feared by some state leaders.
Many demonstrators, opposed to proposed gun restrictions, openly displayed military-style semiautomatic rifles. Other wore orange “Guns save lives” stickers as the crowd chanted “USA” and sang the national anthem. Signs read “Come and take it” and “Second Amendment Sanctuary.”
But despite warnings from Gov. Ralph Northam and law enforcement that out-of-state hate groups and militias may incite violence, the protest did not grow heated. Police estimated the size of the crowd at 22,000 – including 6,000 people inside Capitol Square – and only one arrest was reported.
Police said Mikaela E. Beschler, 21, of Richmond, was charged with one felony count of wearing a mask in public after being warned twice before against wearing a bandanna covering her face. Beschler was released on her recognizance.
“The sheer numbers here speaks for itself,” he said. “I hope our legislators will back off. Today was the civil rights march of my life.”
Tom Rohde, 49, of West Point, said he was happy to see no violence.
“You got thousands of guns and not a single bullet fired,” he said. …….
At least six suspected members of a violent neo-Nazi group were arrested last week in Maryland and Georgia. Authorities feared three of the men planned to try to incite violence at the rally.
On Monday, law enforcement helicopters buzzed overhead as state, city and Capitol police kept a wary eye on the crowds. Barricades lined the streets and many shops were closed.
Virginia Lobby Day Rally Finishes Up Without Issue
Anti-gunners painted a very bleak picture of what was set to happen today in Richmond. They spun warnings of white supremacists and domestic terrorism. It was enough that anyone would have concerns, even if they knew the Second Amendment community wasn’t interested in such things. All it would take is just one deranged individual to make everything we’ve worked toward go away.
Yet things are wrapping up in Richmond and, thankfully, it was as uneventful as such a thing can be.
As noted earlier, our own Cam Edwards was there. Serving as one of the speakers for the rally, he gave me a call when he finished up to give me his impressions of the event.
“I think that the important takeaway here is that we really did see an incredible turnout on the part of Virginians,” he said via a phone call earlier today. “I have no idea how many people are here but the entire downtown area is just full of second amen supporters. and, you know, people have smiles on their faces and determination and resolve.”
Of course, the focus of much of the media has been the defiance, and that’s not without a slight bit of legitimacy. As Cam noted, “I have seen a few we shall not comply signs, these are folks who are trying to send a message to the lawmakers in Richmond that Northam’s gun control agenda is the wrong move. I just hope that lawmakers listen to the voices of this incredible movement.”
I want to echo that last sentiment.
Virginians deserve better than what Northam has given them. Today, thousands of Virginians spoke with one voice.
YouTube Removes Livestreams of Richmond Gun-Rights Rally
As thousands of Second Amendment protesters flocked to the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond on Monday, YouTube livestreams of the protest started freezing or getting flat-out removed from the video platform.
“This video has been removed for violating YouTube’s community guidelines,” YouTube explained after taking down live coverage of the gun rights rally from WUSA9, a news channel in the Washington, D.C. area…….
Whatever your position on gun rights, media outlets should be able to cover a Second Amendment rally without getting blocked by YouTube. Carrying guns is not an illegal activity and protests like this should not be censored.
YouTube’s action against the Richmond gun-rights protesters is only likely to incense Second Amendment activists. Like Gov. Ralph Northam’s effort to crack down on gun rights, this censorship will only help turn Virginia red again.
so lets post some pictures, gathered off the internet.
Looks like a pretty inclusive bunch of people doesn’t it?
An Open Letter To All Those Attending Virginia’s Lobby Day
While I’ll be speaking at the Lobby Day rally scheduled to take place Monday morning at the state capitol alongside individuals like Stephen Willeford of Sutherland Springs, Texas, Dick Heller, Antonia Okafor, and more, I want to say a few things to everyone attending before the event begins.
First, to all of my fellow Virginia gun owners who showed up at your county supervisors and city council meetings to urge them to support the right of the People to keep and bear arms and declare their community a Second Amendment Sanctuary, thank you. I know that many of you are traveling a long way to make it to the capitol. For many of you, this may be your first time attending a Lobby Day. You may be very new to citizen activism, but you’re making a difference.
You know how unique this movement has been over the past two months. It hasn’t been led or directed from above. You’re not taking any marching orders from anyone. You heard about what was going on with Democrats and their gun bills from your neighbor, at the grocery store checkout, or maybe your local gun store owner. You organized with your friends and family and were thrilled to see a packed house at your next local government meeting. You may not even have been able to get in the door yourself, and strained to listen to what was happening while standing in the cold December night. You didn’t leave until you heard the roar of the crowd as the Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution was approved, and you cheered along with hundreds of your neighbors on the steps of the county courthouse.
I’ve stood with you on those steps. I’ve seen you helping your kids with their homework in the foyer of the Louisa County administrators building. I’ve heard your impassioned pleas for lawmakers to focus their efforts on fighting violent crime and repairing our mental health system instead of targeting you and other legal gun owners. I know how important this effort is to you, and that you are bringing that same spirit with you to the capitol for Lobby Day. I salute you and thank you for all of your efforts and I urge to you stay politically engaged after you leave the capitol and return home. We still have a long legislative fight ahead of us, but this is also an election year, and we need to be as involved as possible from now through November to ensure that candidates who will protect our rights win election.
You are the heart and soul of this grassroots movement of civic engagement and peaceful protest. And unfortunately, your success is being recognized not just with a huge amount of media attention, but with unwanted attention from those who would co-opt Lobby Day for their own purposes, be it benign or malignant.
Republican and Democratic leadership in the Virginia legislature were given a security briefing on Friday, and while the lawmakers cannot disclose the information that they’ve learned, Republicans didn’t come out afterwards proclaiming that they hadn’t heard anything that rises to a credible threat. Instead, GOP lawmakers released a statement on Saturday morning decrying any attempt by violent agitators to cause unrest.
My statement on Monday’s 2nd Amendment rally in Richmond: pic.twitter.com/41imrpW6Ey
— Todd Gilbert (@cToddGilbert) January 18, 2020
Del. Gilbert is right when he says some individuals are going to try to subvert what your grassroots movement has created, and honestly, I’m as angry at them as I am at the lawmakers who are trying to infringe on our rights.
So let me now address those few individuals who may be planning on attending Lobby Day to do something other than peacefully lobby lawmakers to reject Governor Ralph Northam’s unconstitutional gun control agenda. You’re not needed, you’re not wanted, and you won’t be welcomed.
The gun owners of Virginia who are lobbying their lawmakers don’t believe that the right to keep and bear arms is a right of the Right, or a right of the whites, or of any other specific demographic. It is the right of the People to keep and bear arms that shall not be infringed. We are advocating for the human right of self defense and our constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, and for nothing else. We stand together regardless of color, class, or creed in support of those rights. This is not an insurrection or a violent protest. This is not an opportunity to clash with anyone, whether it’s the alt-right or antifa. Lobby Day is an act of civic engagement on the part of thousands of Virginia residents. If you have any other agenda planned, don’t come at all.
I know the vast majority of the gun owners I’ve seen who are coming from other states are coming with the right frame of mind. You want to stand with Virginians in support, not try to spark off violence that would only enable anti-gun lawmakers to find the support they need for bills that are currently struggling, like Ralph Northam’s gun, mag, and suppressor ban. You know that any violence would only be used by lawmakers to ram through their gun control bills, and you know that means anyone advocating for or engaging in acts of violence are no friend of the Second Amendment or Virginia gun owners. I thank you for standing with us, and hope that you will help to ensure a peaceful and successful event.
Finally, for any Virginia lawmakers who support any of these gun control bills that have been filed this session and who are able to hear or speak to their constituents, I hope that you’ll be able to filter out the noise and the narrative from outside groups and actually listen to what the people you represent have to say. They’re asking you to focus on the real issues that are driving violent crime and the state’s mental health crisis. They care deeply about safe communities, but they know that their legally owned guns aren’t the problem. Many of them can tell you stories of their family members, co-workers, or friends lost to opiates that have flooded the state and killed more Virginians than firearms. They know that a red flag law that takes guns from those determined to be a danger, but leaves them with no mental health treatment, is not a serious solution to the serious problems we face. They also know that the vast majority of the state’s gun owners would be turned into felons overnight if bills like HB 961 became law, and they’re trying to help you avoid making a disastrous mistake.
To everyone attending Lobby Day, I hope that it is an experience that leaves you energized and engaged in the legislative fights we face, the litigation and pushback against any new laws that is sure to come, and the November elections that will be here in the blink of an eye. If you see someone trying to start trouble, let the appropriate authorities know. If someone tries to start trouble with you, don’t engage. Be safe, be kind, and be a good ambassador for our Second Amendment rights and gun owners across the nation.
OLYMPIA — Surrounded by hundreds of cheering supporters at the Capitol steps, Washington Rep. Matt Shea Friday vowed to stand up for the Second Amendment and railed against accusations that he participated in domestic terrorism against the United States.
Shea’s appearance comes amid heightened tensions as House Democrats consider whether to hold hearings to expel him from the Legislature.
The lawmaker often speaks at the annual gun-rights rally. But this year, Shea’s declaration to fight the allegations against him — outlined in a House-commissioned investigation released last month — prompted a display of loyalty to the Spokane Valley Republican and his call to fight for liberty.
But the moment also highlighted the intense anger among some over Shea’s situation.
The Washington State Patrol confirmed Friday it was investigating online threats against House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, of Yelm, who suspended Shea from the GOP caucus.
The House investigation concluded Shea participated in and planned domestic terrorism with his involvement in three standoffs against the government, including the one at Eastern Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. That report has been forwarded to the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In the wake of that report, Wilcox suspended Shea, which resulted in the lawmaker losing his committee assignments. Wilcox also called on him to resign.
Shea has said the report’s findings and allegations are false and slammed the investigation as a “Marxist smear campaign.”
On Friday, Shea told about 500 people gathered for the gun-rights rally that the government has neglected to investigate America’s “real enemies,” anti-fascist groups.
“The real enemies of this country aren’t being investigated, the real enemies of this country aren’t being looked into, the real enemies of this country aren’t being reported on by the media,” said Shea, to cheers.
“The real enemies of this country want to destroy the Constitution, they want to destroy everything we believe in,” continued Shea, who added that he served tours of duty overseas in the military. “And I came back and this is a new battlefield for us, isn’t it?”
Friday afternoon, the Washington State Patrol confirmed it was investigating alleged violent threats made on a Facebook post that discussed Wilcox and the rally.
Open letter to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia:
The traitorous Democrats (but I repeat myself) in the governor’s office and legislature have announced their plans to disarm you and arrest your local elected officials. Whether they carry out those plans to completion over the next few months, or over a period of years, or decades, makes no difference. They have arrogantly announced both their hostile intent and their contempt for the Constitutions of both the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Do not be fooled by the standard Leftist tactic of “Let’s compromise. We’ll let you keep half of your cake. For now.” Whether you have your throats slit or die by a thousand cuts, the result is the same. Because the intent behind the actions of your enemies is the same, and unchanging. Rust never sleeps.
The Democrats want you dead and gone, and your culture not just destroyed but forgotten. To finish the job, they need to take your guns from you. They have already stolen your votes by importing millions of foreigners and federal government drones. They silence your voices from the media. They hide the crimes commit against you in the news. Their corrupt judges rule from the bench with an iron fist in a black robe. They bankrupt you with inflation and debt.
When the soap box has been burned,
When the ballot box has been stolen,
When the jury box has been corrupted,
That only leaves Pandora’s box.May God have mercy upon their souls, for we must have none.
God help us all.
Facing Intense Backlash, Northam Praises NRA Members. NRA Levels Him In Response.
Virginia Democrat Governor Ralph Northam praised NRA members for being peaceful during a press conference on Wednesday as he continues to face intense backlash over his extreme anti-freedom agenda, which has included proposals to ban and confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens.
Northam made the remarks as he declared a state of emergency in anticipation of thousands of the thousands of Virginians that are going to be participating in the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) rally next Monday in Richmond, Virginia.
“Virginia is always open for citizens of our state to meet with the elected leaders peacefully,” Northam began. “That remains the case this coming Monday. Hundreds of Virginians do this everyday.”
“Most recently, earlier this week, the NRA hosted its annual lobby day. Hundreds of Virginians participated, and the day passed without incident. That is what peaceful events look like,” Northam continued. “I thank the NRA for hosting a peaceful event. Now, I call on the Virginia Citizens Defense League and its members to follow the NRA’s example, and make your event a peaceful display too as you have done in the past. Please do not dishonor Virginia or your cause.”
The NRA responded to Northam’s remarks in a statement from Jason Ouimet, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action: “If Virginia Gov. Northam sincerely respects the efforts of the NRA and its 5 million members, he can demonstrate that respect by not infringing our rights.”
https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1217589920459567105
‘God-given right’: Virginia Democrats set off ‘Second Amendment sanctuary’ spree in Florida
Virginia Democrats’ push for new gun controls is having a major ripple effect hundreds of miles south in Florida, where at least 10 counties, fearing their state could be next, have declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”
With residents’ backing, county commissioners have passed resolutions saying they will resist efforts by higher-ups to force gun registration or even confiscation of firearms already in citizens’ hands.
On Saturday, gun rights activists plan to rally at government offices in Santa Rosa County, which lies in the Panhandle section of the state with its dense population of military and veterans, hoping to send a message of support to local commissioners and a warning to the Florida legislature not to follow Virginia’s path…….
Florida’s legislature convened Tuesday, and Second Amendment activists fear they will be playing defense in Tallahassee amid a growing anti-gun sentiment nationwide…………
Second Amendment sanctuaries began to pop up during the Obama administration — though they didn’t adopt the term “sanctuary” until they saw the success of illegal immigrant sanctuary cities, which profess to refuse cooperation with federal deportation agencies.
In Florida, the sanctuaries are mostly symbolic.
For one thing, Florida governors can remove sheriffs from office, an executive privilege that has been exercised often.
“Tallahassee trumps the county,” Santa Rosa Commissioner Bob Cole said.
Still, he said he thinks both the sanctuary status declaration and the establishment of a local militia, however informal, matter.
“It’s not going to change the course of history, but it lets people know if you’re in the mood to move away, you might just want to do that or don’t move here to begin with if you disagree.”
Militias first cropped up in Florida in 1994, and at one time were more prevalent than they are today. Their purpose is to match up with the language in the Bill of Rights, and in particular with the Second Amendment.
Sam Mullins, 57, is a Santa Rosa Militia member along with Mr. Smyly. The two are the organizers of Saturday’s rally at which Mr. Hill and others will speak. Mr. Mullins and his wife carry their militia membership cards and while he, too, understands there is more symbol than substance, he still takes it seriously.
“We’re getting a lot of support on social media and hopefully we’ll have hundreds on Saturday,” he said. “We see what’s going on in Virginia, specifically, and we know the far-left politicians are trying to infringe on the Second Amendment. What they are trying in some other states, we don’t want that to come here.”
Virginia Rising Against The Advancing Political Sickness
Virginia, USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Most gun owners know Mao’s quote, but few remember the entire statement. Mao wrote, “Every Communist must grasp the truth; Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” You can bet that US democrats fully understand this truth and so, hysterically, fear weapons possessed by the voting civilians who have educated themselves about the failures of leftwing societies.
Our Founding Fathers knowingly stole that possibility of a violent coup from any group who might have hopes of trying. We may willingly give away our sovereignty, but it cannot be taken from us.
But the forces of the Left, and of big government, keep trying to disarm the peaceful civilians.
Recently, in Virginia, Democrats gained political power of the Executive and Legislative (House of Delegates and Senate) Branches and quickly prefiled new restrictive firearms laws. We know that the new laws will affect the law-abiding gun owners and not the criminal element in society. They include so-called “assault rifle” bans, Universal Background Checks, and Red Flag Laws.
It would appear that Democrats have an uncanny ability to choose the most harmful path for our society to take, and then, lie about how great life will be when we all obey their demands – NO DISSENT ALLOWED.
You know they’re lying when they rant about a safer society. Virginia AG Mark Herring promised, “The law is the law … What we’re talking about here are laws that will make our communities and our streets safer.”
Virginia’s Governor, Ralph Northam is selling the proposed laws as a path to a better society. He says, “Things like universal background checks… getting rid of bumpstocks, high volume magazines, red-flag laws…are common-sense pieces of legislation… and because of that Virginia will be safer.”
We all know that restrictive gun laws do not work as promised because of the thriving black market. We all know that peaceful societies do not result from restrictive laws.
Gun banners know they are intentionally lying, but at least this Democrat lie is fully outdated. Gunowners no longer react to it the way Northam thinks they will. We are finished with such lies.
Democrats then made a great error. Feeling drunk with power, they gleefully leaked their intent to use government power to implement those laws. Virginia Rep. Don McEachin said, “…the governor may have to nationalize the National Guard to enforce the law.”
Virginians quickly responded. As of this writing, almost all of Virginia’s 95 counties have declared themselves to be Second Amendment Sanctuaries, where the new laws would not be enforced.
As per Philip Van Cleave, President of Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), even some blue counties, like Accomack County, where Gov. Northam was raised, have declared themselves a Second Amendment Sanctuaries.
Although Democrats have used the word ‘sanctuary‘ recently to indicate that they would not abide by laws with which they disagreed with, the Democrat Attorney General Mark Herring refused to accept the legality of these new events. He declared, “localities and local constitutional officers cannot nullify state laws and must comply.” Now, isn’t that just like the current breed of Democrats?
He is hypocritically wrong! The passion of Virginians can nullify those laws with their ballots, their juries, and with massive civil resistance and disobedience. If Dems think they can essentially eliminate police protections required by society, which is not a Constitutional Right, gun owners can nullify laws designed to prevent legal gun possession and self-defense, which is a Constitutional Right.
However, if Virginians fail, and Dems successfully impose these restrictive laws and regulations on firearms owning Virginians, the way Gov. Cuomo did in New York State, the Democrats will be emboldened to continue the trend of passing even more restrictions, also the way Cuomo did.
Cuomo recently signed into law four more “gun safety bills.” touted as “significant progress…advocated for over many years” by the gun banner New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
In New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, a.k.a the SAFE Act, which became law in January 2013. It was a law banning new so-called ‘assault weapons’, requiring registration of grandfathered weapons, universal background checks, unless between family members, and many other restrictions. Its purpose was to create a database of NY State long gun owners.
In New York, 52 of 62 counties passed angry resolutions, and many upstate law departments intend to not enforce the SAFE Act provisions. A very large majority failed to register their grandfathered weapons. Only 23,847 people registered 44,485 guns. It is estimated that up to one million guns, or more, are still not registered.
But those NYS gun owners are no longer law-abiding citizens. If discovered, say during divorce procedures, because an Order of Protection was issued, they face the possibility of years in jail.
We still do not know how well Virginians will fair, in staving off this Constitutional attack. A march is planned, and hopefully, a groundswell of well-led and organized opposition will spring up.
The forward-thinking Philip Van Cleave (VCDL President), told us in a recent interview, that they “hope, at the end of all of this, to roll back some of the useless gun laws all across this country, including New York.”
It will be about the character and resolve of the gun owners who are the Commonwealth of Virginia. Are they up to the task? Mr. Van Cleave thinks so.
We should all be rooting for and supporting them.
How they act will affect the rest of us.
Gun applications in New York Jewish community spike to nearly 1,000% after Hanukkah attack
Applications for gun permits are surging in New York’s Rockland County after five Orthodox Jews were stabbed at a Hanukkah celebration at a local rabbi’s home.
The Rockland County Clerk’s office reported a nearly 1,000% increase in gun permit applications in the week following the Dec. 28 attack. The county clerk received 65 new gun permit applications, according to the New York Post. Before the attack, the office received an average of about six applications a week.
All but five of the new applications originated from the town of Ramapo, where the attack took place. Ramapo contains several heavily Jewish communities.
“A lot of people are worried, especially the large Hasidic and Jewish community in Rockland County,” said Erik Melanson, who owns Precision Gunsmiths in Rockland County. “I have had rabbis come in. Some of the rabbis already have concealed carry [permits].”
Several thousand gun owners turned out at the temporary General Assembly Building on Monday, January 13! The hearing room was divided into two areas – the larger area for gun-rights supporters and the other was a smaller area for gun-control supporters.
Gun owners filled up their side of the room quickly, while the gun controllers side was still pretty empty. To make it looked like they had more people and not look so pitiful, a search for gun-controllers in the waiting line outside the meeting room doors was conducted. Countless gun owners in the line were skipped over in the search for more gun-controllers. Whenever a gun controller was found, they were allowed to go into the meeting room, but no more gun owners were allowed in.
Sheriff Scott Jenkins of Culpeper County and Sheriff Richard Vaughn of Grayson County were in the room in support of gun owners. Sheriff Jenkins spoke twice during the hearings.
The meeting was chaired by Democrat Senator John Edwards. The Republicans on the committee pointed out multiple mistakes and even rules that were broken in the running of the committee, but the Democrat-controlled committee ignored the complaints and lurched forward anyhow, rules be damned.
Republican Senator Bill Stanley, who could not be at the hearing due to a trial he had to attend, had been promised by John Edwards that no gun bills would be heard on Monday, but Senator Edwards went back on his word and gun bills were heard anyhow. Senator Mark Obenshain brought up that broken promise, but to no avail.
Each side was only given 5 minutes total to speak on each bill.
The first gun-control bill to pass out of committee was SB 69, a one-handgun a month bill, which reinstated the last version of that law before it was repealed. Senator Saslaw’s version of that same bill, SB 22, was rolled into SB 69 and SB 69 was passed out by a partisan vote of 9 to 5. Republican senators Mark Obenshain and Ryan McDougle put up strong resistance, as did speakers who pointed out that the law had been a failure, but to no avail.
Next up was SB 70, a Universal Background Check bill. Saslaw’s version of the same bill, SB 12, was rolled into SB 70. A substitute bill was then offered for SB 70, which made the background checks only apply to sales of guns and not transfers, which fixes the problems with letting a friend or family member use one of your guns without you being constantly present. However, it still strips an 18, 19, or 20 year old from being able to own a handgun, since a dealer cannot process a handgun purchased by federal law for someone that age. Also, a background check would have to be run on all sales, even sales to immediate family members, friends, etc.! SB 70 passed by a partisan vote of 9 to 5.
Senator Barker’s Red Flag Law bill, SB 240, was eviscerated, as all the flaws and dangers of that bill were brought up by Republicans Obenshain, McDougle, and Chafin on the committee, as well as by the pro-gun speakers. None of the concerns were addressed and the bill was passed by a partisan vote of 9 to 5.
Finally, SB 615, SB 450, and SB 505, all of which allow localities to pass various gun-control ordinances, were rolled into a substitute version of SB 35, making SB 35 an omnibus bill that destroys preemption by allowing Virginia localities to create a confusing set of local gun-control laws. Again, speaker after speaker spoke against SB 35, but it passed by a partisan 9 to 5 vote.
The gun-control bills that passed out of committee will now head to the Senate Floor to be voted on in a few days. VCDL will have an acton item shortly to bombard Senators with calls and emails encouraging them to opposed the four bills.
Elections have consequences and we are in a real fight to protect our rights.
Editor:
As a marginally fair-minded person, I sometimes place myself in the shoes of others to better understand their thought process. Lately, I’ve been thinking about gun control and how other people’s shoes perceive various solutions:
1. There can’t be guns in “gun-free zones.” When an armed criminal with mayhem in mind sees one of these signs, they naturally sigh “Aw, shucks” and slink back to the basement to re-examine their lives. It follows that home defense is best ensured by posting “Gun-Free Zone” signs in one’s yard, and perhaps on the front door. When you advertise that your family is completely unarmed, imagine all the nice new friends who’ll come to visit.
2. Arming teachers will make those young punks think twice. Nobody gets more annoyed at school shooters than teachers, and discipline is part of their job. (What do the sheriff’s “resource officers” know about kids, anyway?) So what makes better sense than strapping a .38 to the shop teacher’s hip and sending him swaggering forth to clean up Dodge City? Those smartypants students will think twice before joining running gun-battles in the school hallways against a platoon of sharpshooting French teachers! Plus, those quick-draw contests in the teachers’ lounge will be a fun break from second-period civics classes (bor-r-ring!)
3. If insane gun-toting gunmen didn’t have guns, they wouldn’t use guns to shoot people, insanely, with their guns. This is the sort of analytical logic that I really go for. Still, I’d take it a step further and outlaw the knives, including machetes, Swiss Army knives and so-called “butter” knives. Candlesticks and frozen pork loins are also lethal weapons, as are “assault anvils” that can be dropped from tall buildings onto pedestrians’ heads. People don’t kill people, inanimate objects kill people! If these Second Amendment gun nuts are so fired up about “rights,” let’s not dismiss the constitutional right of cognitively disadvantaged nonconformists to follow their impetuous dreams.
Thanks for your attention. Gotta go, “Live PD” is about to start.
David Christovich,
Woodstock