Category: RKBA

Gov. Northam Declares a State of Emergency To Keep Richmond Safe From Hordes of Law-Abiding Citizens

It’s Lobby Day in Richmond on Monday. It’s an activist and engaged citizen’s best day and probably one of the more annoying ones for those politicians in Virginia’s state legislature.

It’s very different this year. For the first time in nearly two decades, the state is run by Democrats. They control both houses of the legislature and the governor’s mansion. It’s hell on Earth. Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun activities have paid off. It took a few election cycles and a ton of money, but the houses flipped. It’s also a not so subtle reminder that the Virginia Republican Party needs to wake the hell up. We have a supermajority in the House of Delegates. What has been going on out there? Nearly a quarter of VA’s State Senate races had no Republican opponent. I don’t care if some of these races were kin D+50 districts, you must challenge, and you must find people who can win statewide. It’s been ten years since the VA GOP got someone who can win. After a decade of mismanagement, this is what we have now; a Virginia legislature aimed at turning us into Maryland.

In keeping with this day of civic engagement, the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) plans to swarm the capital with their people demanding lawmakers end their anti-gun push. It’s no secret that Democrats are gunning for a hardcore, anti-Second Amendment agenda with this new session. The VCDL is a state-based gun rights group, but they’re excellent. They’re organizing multiple buses to get their people to voice their concerns and opinions to their representatives. And this has apparently made Gov. Ralph Northam very nervous. He’s declaring a state of emergency, banning firearms on capitol grounds over threats or something (via WaPo):

Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday announced a temporary ban on firearms and other weapons on the Capitol grounds, saying he was responding to “credible intelligence” about potential violence at a gun-rights rally planned for Monday.

The governor said he will declare a state of emergency from Friday evening to Tuesday night and prohibit weapons on the Capitol grounds, including firearms, sticks, bats and chains.

“We’re seeing threats of violence,” Northam (D) said at a news conference. “We’re seeing threats of armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol.”

He asked that non-essential state employees not come to work Monday, a state holiday that is the traditional citizen lobbying day during the General Assembly session. Legislative staffers are normally on duty since the legislature is in session on that day.

As Democratic lawmakers vow to pass a variety of gun-control measures, Monday’s rally has drawn interest from militias and extremist groups across the country, raising security concerns in Richmond. On Friday, a Democratic-majority legislative committee banned weapons inside the Capitol and an adjacent legislative office building.

[…]

The governor began his announcement by stating his belief in the right to debate, assemble and bear arms. But he said authorities had “received credible intelligence” — some gathered via “dark web channels used by white nationalists outside Virginia” — that groups with “malicious plans” were planning to attend the rally.

Townhall has been to VCDL’s 2016 rally on Lobby Day. There were no neo-Nazis. There are no such people in VCDL as far as I can see. This is a rally in support of freedom, the Constitution, and the Second Amendment That was not what Charlottesville was about.

This is insane. Folks, it’s not news, but Democrats hate us.

They hate people who support gun rights, gun owners, Republicans, and anyone who isn’t from Northern Virginia or the Richmond area. First, white nationalists and gun rights activists are not the same. The former has always been around. The former will always be in the extreme minority. This isn’t going to be like Charlottesville.

At the same time, maybe what could be gleaned from this is that Democrats know they might have awakened a sleeping giant in the state when it comes to constitutionally protected rights to firearm ownership. If this is the reaction from the governor concerning hordes of law-abiding citizens descending into Richmond for Lobby Day, then it provides for some pretty sad commentary. At the same time, he’s a Democrat—they will always disappoint.

Michael Bloomberg Discovers America is Bigger Than New York

It’s Wednesday and Michael Bloomberg is on a farm in Minnesota. Nobody, including him, knows why.

Minnesota in the winter is a long way from Bloomberg’s Bermuda estate where he spent much of his time as mayor of New York City, and, if he were to win in 2020, would spend his presidential term. While fighting a war on coal, the billionaire environmentalist crusader liked to jet over on Fridays to his waterfront estate in Bermuda to escape the New York City winters and then jet back again on Sundays.

“We should understand how big America is,” Michael Bloomberg told a reporter. “I’m here to learn about another part of the country.”

Any part of the country that isn’t New York City is a whole other world to the big city titan. That might be why he stumbled into Martin County which Trump had won by 67.5%. Even by primary standards, there aren’t many Democrats here. Hillary only got 2,733 votes. Campaigning for Somali votes in Hennepin County would have made more sense. But as far as Bloomberg is concerned, any place outside Manhattan is farm country. And that goes double for Minnesota.

So here he was riding a tractor on a farm in the greatest presidential campaign vehicular moment since a tank ended the Dukakis dream.

“We eat and live based on what you do,” he told a soybean farm family. “And I think it’s easy for us living in big cities to forget about the rest of the world.”

Bloomberg didn’t need to travel all the way to Minnesota to meet farmers. There are plenty of them in upstate New York. But the billionaire, having just recently discovered the existence of both Minnesota and farmers, was eager to impress the media with his common touch. And be photographed in the general vicinity of farm equipment while remaining completely clueless about farm country.

Later in Akron, he would tell an audience, “I just came from a farm, a soybean farm, in the coldest place — you have no idea how cold it is out there.” It was 9 degrees. In other words, winter.

His pitch to farm country was more unions, a $15 minimum wage, and community college. It’s the same as his New York City pitch. And he’s already spent almost $2 million on ads selling himself to Minnesotans. That’s been followed by awkward campaign stops in which he tries to relate to people who don’t work for him. It’s a skill that Bloomberg, who is better at buying elections than winning them, has yet to master.The politicians who endorse him walk behind him, deferentially trailing the billionaire munchkin as he strides toward the photographers or his private jets, like the hired help that they are.

And the private jets are there waiting to take him away from the scary world outside New York.

His mid Western campaign stops begin and end in New York City. Bloomberg may occasionally jet to the “rest of the world”, but then he gets back into his private jet and returns home to New York for bedtime.

The planet, according to him, may be on the verge of an environmental catastrophe, but the end of all life on earth is no reason to have to spend a night on a lumpy mattress in a Minnesota Marriot. 

The “Get It Done Express” bus with the Bloomberg 2020 logo is misleading. The only thing that bus is getting done is diverting attention from how many polar bears each Bloomberg plane trip kills.

The death of the planet is a small price to pay for being able to sleep in his Gilded Age townhouse on 79th Street. Coal miners may be driven out of work and into the streets, but Bloomberg must be able to recline on his $1 million Georgian Chippendale couch, play with his antique snooker table, and enjoy his foyer paved with rare Egyptian marble even if the oceans rise, the seas sink, and all the polar bears perish.

“Too much wealth is in too few hands, and it’s concentrated in too few places,” Bloomberg told farm country, seemingly deaf to the fact that some $58 billion of it is concentrated in his hands.

The billionaire says things like this because someone told him it was a good idea. Just like somebody told him that he should ride a tractor. Or get Judge Judy to campaign for him. Or visit Akron.

In Akron, he told an audience of a few hundred people that they needed more immigrants.

“We want to build on things. We want to build on things that already exist,” he said robotically, like a space alien trying to communicate with earthmen.

Then he vowed to take away everyone’s guns.

Bloomberg’s nationwide campaign is built on blowing a fortune on ads accompanied by inept pandering. A black marching band introduced him in Atlanta. He had dinner with Katy Perry at a Beverly Hills restaurant. In Illinois, he brought in disgraced Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to tout job training for all the people who would be put out of work by his radical environmentalist agenda.

Bringing in an Obama hack widely despised on both sides of the political aisle, whose most recent political activism consisted of urging parents to keep kids out of school until gun control laws are passed, was another brilliant move by a campaign that was thrown together on a billionaire’s last-minute whim.

Bloomberg showed up in Texas vowing to bring in more immigrants and refugees. “America is not New York, I understand that,” he told Texans. And then laid out a plan for making Texas into New York.

Just to make himself feel more at home, he brought along grating New York City television personality, Judge Judy. The reality television star has six homes from which she has been known to commute by private jet, but none of them are in Texas.Why Judge Judy? All the other celebrities were already taken.

Behind the awkward photo ops in places he’s never been to before, like farms, diners, and the state of Minnesota, is the same old campaign he ran in New York City with the same old nanny state tics.

“You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place,” he told Alabamans.

It doesn’t occur to him that people in Alabama might be less likely to agree with that than New Yorkers.

Bloomberg is ready to blow $1 billion on a nationwide campaign in places he’s never been to and making a play for the hearts and minds of voters that he’s unable to understand or relate to. While his campaign spends a fortune on ads and staff, its message is the same one that he ran on in New York City. It’s a sales pitch of free stuff, more unions, a war on coal, gun bans, and nanny state politics.

And for voters who like that sort of thing, there are better 2020 candidates serving it up.

Riding a tractor and spending a billion won’t change that.

Even Bloomberg doesn’t seem especially convinced by his own candidacy despite all the cash he’s spending to finance it.

In Chicago, a woman told him, “We need somebody like you.”

“If you say so,” he answered.

Florida Carry Wins Lawsuit Against Broward County

FLORIDA CARRY PRESS RELEASE
January 14, 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FLORIDA CARRY WINS LAWSUIT AGAINST BROWARD COUNTY FOR BLATANT VIOLATIONS OF FLORIDA’S LAW THAT PREEMPTS LOCAL GUN CONTROL
Tallahassee, FL – Florida Carry, Inc. has emerged victorious in their lawsuit against Broward County and County Administrator Bertha Henry in which they sought a permanent injunction to protect the rights of law abiding gun owners from the county’s multiple illegal ordinances that burden nearly all aspects of firearms ownership, use, transfer, and possession.
“Broward County has ignored repeated attempts since 2011 by Florida Carry to gain its compliance with state law and left us with no choice but to file this case,” said Florida Carry Executive Director Sean Caranna. “Let this case serve as proof that when local officials refuse to stop breaking the law in order to deny the rights of Floridians, Florida Carry will act to demand that people’s rights be protected.”
Since 1987 the Florida Legislature has preempted firearms law and issued state-wide licenses to carry for self-defense. Florida Carry has prompted the repeal of anti-gun ordinances and regulations in over 200 Florida jurisdictions, including municipalities, counties, colleges and state agencies. “Usually the jurisdiction is responsive to our notification that there is a problem and no lawsuit is necessary,” noted Caranna. “Unfortunately, that was not the case with Broward County.”
In his ruling Judge Carlos Rodriguez granted Florida Carry’s request for summary judgement and permanently enjoined Broward County from enforcing their illegal gun laws. Florida Carry was also awarded reimbursement of legal fees.
Florida Carry won a similar case against the University of North Florida (UNF) in 2011. In Florida Carry v. UNF the First District Court of Appeal ruled that “The legislature’s primacy in firearms regulation derives directly from the Florida Constitution… Indeed, the legislature has reserved for itself the whole field of firearms regulation in section 790.33(1)…”
“It is a rare and unfortunate circumstance when local government leaders decide to willfully break state law, despite the personal penalties. When local officials are willing to knowingly violate the law in order to suppress the rights of law-abiding gun owners, they can expect that we’re going to make them pay for it.”

Biden: I’ve beaten the NRA. Time to get rid of their ammo.

I’m sitting here watching Joe Biden’s most recent propaganda video against the NRA. I keep asking myself why Democrats insist on blaming the firearms-related tragedies on the existence of guns themselves and why they refuse to acknowledge that behind every shooting, every bullet fired at an innocent civilian, there’s either a person with severe mental and/or substance abuse issues or a straight up criminal who would commit an act of evil no matter what weapon they employed.

How can they not understand that no matter how illegal you make a gun, no matter how many restrictions you put on a person’s background check, if they want a gun, they’re going to find a way to get a gun? And when they’re the only ones that have a gun, in gun-free zones where there are no good guys around to take them on, that’s when good people get hurt.

Why can’t they see that? I ask myself.

And then, sitting at my desk watching Joe Biden speak, it hit me:

Joe Biden and other civil rights abolitionists don’t want to admit out loud that the problem is a diminished mental health system in our country because then they have to actually do something to fix it.

They don’t want to admit out loud that criminals will not lay down their arms simply because the law says so, because then they can’t control people with fear.

The same thing can be said for “bail reforms.”

The more criminals they let out of jail, the more innocent people get victimized. And the more innocent people get victimized, the more they look to their leaders for protection. And the more protection leaders can give us, the more people rely on them. And more reliance on leaders means more power for them as well.

If the mental health crisis in America is fixed, if they admit that they’re not in control of criminals with guns, then not only will there be less people with mental issues (which means less votes for them), but then the entire population will know for certain that it needs its own protection.

Liberals don’t want to submit unarmed to the anarchy of the criminals, but they want to allow for the tyranny of the innocent.

Much like Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany.  As much as the left shames anyone for talking about it, when Hitler disarmed the “unreliable” population (i.e. Jewish people) and loosened the restrictions for “normal” citizens (i.e. other German people), he took away the Jewish ability to fight against the rise of the Third Reich.  He rendered them defenseless.  And he exposed them to the tyranny of the regime.

Biden and other Democrats are pushing hard for a repeat of that disarmament. ……….

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!

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.

VA Committee Approves Gun Bills On Party Line Vote

After a chaotic morning at the state capitol in Richmond, and despite huge turnout from thousands of gun owners, Virginia Democrats approved a number of gun control bills in a key committee hearing Monday.

The Senate Judiciary Committee meeting was supposed to begin at 8 a.m., but was delayed more than an hour thanks to the long lines to get in the doors of the capitol. New rules banning the lawful carrying of firearms in the capitol and office buildings led to new security measures, which in turn led to lengthy delays and annoyed staffers and citizens. Meanwhile, some Democrat staffers were apparently able to bypass the required security.

After folks cleared the long security line, they were then told that Democrats were requiring an equal number of supporters and opponents of the gun bills to be seated in the committee room, despite the fact that those opposed to the bills far outnumbered gun control supporters…………

Meanwhile SB 16, Sen. Dick Saslaw’s sweeping gun, magazine, and suppressor ban, was struck from the record, which means there will be no further action on the bill. Instead, Democrats will focus their efforts on HB 961, a slightly modified version of Saslaw’s legislation that “allows” gun owners to maintain possession of their banned firearms if they register them with the Virginia State Police. The ban on magazines that can accept more than 10 rounds, as well as lawfully purchased suppressors, remains in the House version of the so-called “assault firearms” bill.

Va. Senate committee strikes ‘assault weapons’ bill, advances other proposed gun laws

They were moving the ‘Overton Window’ so the rest of their anti-gun proposals would seem more ‘reasonable’.

RICHMOND, Va. (WHSV) — One of the most controversial gun control bills proposed in the Virginia General Assembly has been killed, while others passed out of committee on Monday morning.

Senate Bill 16, proposed by Sen. Richard Saslaw, would have expanded the definition of “assault firearms” under Virginia law, outlawed their possession, and outlawed the the selling or transfer of any firearm magazine with a capacity for more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

In the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday morning, as hundreds gathered outside the Virginia Capitol for a gun rights rally, Saslaw requested that his bill be pulled from consideration.

According to media outlets present at the meeting, committee Democrats unanimously voted to dismiss the bill. Republicans all abstained from voting after arguing that it was too late to dismiss the bill since it had already been docketed.

The vote came after a contentious start to the committee’s meeting, in which Sen. Mark Obenshain requested that no votes on gun control bills be passed due to the absence of Republican Sen. Stanley.

However, Democrats in charge of the committee pressed ahead as long lines of people worked their way through security outside the capitol to get inside, following a new rule passed last week barring firearms from the building.

After the committee voted to strike SB 16 from consideration, votes moved ahead on other proposed gun legislation.

Committee members voted on party lines, 9 to 5, to combine Senate Bills 22 and 69, which both would institute a “one gun a month” law for Virginia limiting citizens to one handgun purchase within any 30-day period, and moved those out of the committee.

Senate Bills 12 and 70, both of which would establish mandatory background checks for any transfer of firearms, including private sales, were combined as well and moved forward out of the committee.

Also on 9-5 party line votes, the committee reported SB 240, establishing red flag laws, out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Each of those bills will move forward to the Virginia Senate for further consideration. To become law, they would need to pass the Senate, then pass the House of Delegates, then have any differences from the different chambers resolved and voted on, and then be signed into law by Gov. Ralph Northam, who has pledged to pass new gun laws since the Virginia Beach mass shooting last year.

Common-sense gun control?

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

 

NRA Handing Out 30-Round Mags in VA to Fight Northam Gun Ban

The NRA will be handing out 1,000 30-round magazines in the Virginia Capitol City of Richmond Monday as part of the fight against Gov. Ralph Northam’s (D) gun grab.

The NRA used a Sunday night tweet to explain that Magpul Industries — a renowned magazine and firearm accessory maker — sent 1,000 magazines to the gun rights organization in order to have them given out to pro-Second Amendment Virginians on Monday.

Monday is January 13, the day on which the NRA has asked its members to flood into Virginia Senate meetings and ensure that pro-Second Amendment voices drown out those calling for gun control.

https://twitter.com/NRA/status/1216550061221588992

VA Democrat’s Bill Would Make Owning Legally Bought Suppressors a Felony

A bill put forward by Delegate Mark Levine (D) would make it a felony to own legally purchased firearm suppressors in Virginia.

Suppressors fall under the purview of the National Firearms Act of 1934, which means the sale of the devices is overseen by various federal agencies…

Under Levine’s bill, H.B.961, Virginians who have undergone the legal process to acquire a suppressor would be labeled felons after the passage of a six-month grace period in which suppressors can be transferred to persons out-of-state who are allowed to own them, destroyed or rendered inoperable, or surrendered to a “state or local law enforcement agency.”

On January 9, 2020, Breitbart News reported that Levine’s bill also makes it a felony for Virginians to possess legally purchased AR-15s and “high-capacity” magazines. Virginians who own AR-15s — and other rifles that Democrats describe as “assault weapons” — would be able to apply to the state police for an ownership license, which would allow them to keep their guns and avoid the felony charge.

Levine’s bill stipulates that the state police would put together a database of all “assault weapon” owners in the state, based on license issuance.

Virginia lawmakers ban guns at state Capitol in first of many expected firearm votes

Virginia lawmakers voted Friday to ban guns in the state Capitol building, the first of what is expected to be many votes on gun control legislation now that Democrats have retaken control of the statehouse for the first time in over 25 years.

Anyone with a concealed carry permit was previously allowed to bring a gun into the Capitol, although firearms were banned in certain parts of the building, according to The Associated Press.  Democrats have said the new law is a safety measure, and Democratic Governor Ralph Northam previously outlawed guns in some state buildings.

Virginia Democrats have said they plan to make gun control a priority. An assault weapons ban, red flag laws and universal background checks have all been proposed. In a Facebook video posted Tuesday, Northam insisted “our eight pieces of gun legislation don’t threaten the Second Amendment.”

“We have no intention of calling out the National Guard,” Northam said. “We’re not going to cut off people’s electricity. We’re not going to go door to door and confiscate people’s weapons. We’re going to pass common sense legislation that will keep guns out of dangerous hands and keep Virginia safer.”

Republicans are opposed to the new laws and municipalities across the state have declared themselves sanctuary cities for the Second Amendment. Virginia Beach, where 12 people were killed in a shooting rampage at a municipal building in May 2019, earlier this week adopted a resolution declaring itself a “Second Amendment Constitutional City.”

Pro-gun rights advocates are planning on holding a rally at the Capitol in Richmond on January 20. Philip Van Cleave, the president of one of the lead organizers, Virginia Citizens Defense League, labelled reports that suggested it would be an “armed protest” as “totally inaccurate.”

An Open Letter to Those Who Would Do Away With the Second Amendment

The fallacy that by severely restricting the sale and ownership of firearms as a means of curbing violence in America is easy to discredit, in fact, we need look no further than across our southern border.

Did you know that there is only one gun store in Mexico, guarded by armed military personnel? And it takes months of paperwork to even have the chance to buy a gun.

If you are not law enforcement or military you are lucky to procure a .22. The common people in Mexico have about as much chance of being adequately armed, enough to protect themselves and their families, as they are of winning the lottery.

And even if they are able to jump through all the hoops, getting ammunition is another steep mountain to climb.

In other words, the rank and file citizens of Mexico – for the most part – are not armed and have no hope of being armed.

Now, that is not to say there are not plenty of guns in Mexico. The dope dealers and cartels have an abundance of guns of any and every caliber they want, in fact, the paramilitary security forces the cartels use to enforce their will are about as well-armed as a combat soldier in the field.

Now how were these guns obtained in a country with one gun store and such impossible requirements to buy firearms?

The black market, of course.

Unfortunately, many of them are purchased in the United States, a fact that is seldom – if ever -mentioned or maybe even known, by the gun control crowd and something strict border security and shutting down rogue gun dealers could help curtail.

So, in essence, we can say that with the exception of law enforcement, military and a handful of people who can either bribe or game the system, practically all the guns in Mexico are illegal.

Now, let’s look at what effect such ultra-restrictive gun laws have had on crime.

Between 2000 and 2012; 215,000 people were murdered. In 2012 Mexico had a murder rate of 21.5 per 100,000. In 2018 there were 33,341 murders and it is expected, when the 2019 statistics are complete the number will be even higher.

Violent incidents, armed robbery, etc… increased from 5.2 million in 2017 to 6 million in 2018.

One of every 10 women in Mexico has been a victim of sexual assault ranging from groping to rape and there are 120,000 rapes a year, one every four minutes making Mexico the number one nation for sexual violence.

Nearly 1,200 kidnappings happened in Mexico in 2018.

Mexico is among the most popular sources and destinations for international child abductions and has one of the least effective systems of protecting and returning internationally abducted children within its borders.

Politics in Mexico are, and basically always have been, as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks and as corrupt as a mafia horse race.

There is simply so much money generated by the drug trade that by means of buying off or intimidation the drug cartels do practically anything they want to without fear of official intervention.

Some of the most gruesome murders of the century have been committed in Mexico, mass graves, grisly, hideous show murders as warnings to informers, politicians and law enforcement officials who refuse to cooperate.

So now we arrive at the crux of my article.

What have all these super stringent gun laws done to protect life in Mexico?

If you will be honest, you’ll have to admit that it has done the opposite.

It has armed the criminals who have no regard for any law and will obtain weapons by whatever illegal source available to them while leaving the law-abiding citizen without the means to protect themselves.

This policy has created and encouraged the rise of the powerful cartels, who, for all practical purposes, control the country.

Now, the most important question of all.

Do you not understand what happened in Mexico and do you not believe that the same thing, or something very similar, could happen in America?

Can you not see that when you take away the means of protection from law-abiding people, it is not going to reduce the gun population among the criminal element one half of one percent.

In fact, it emboldens them.

It has been proven over and over that about the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun, and no matter how vehemently self-serving politicians may contest this, the fact, and it is a fact, remains irrefutable.

In fact, the next time you see Bernie, Uncle Joe, Elizabeth or any of the other anti-gun candidates, ask them “If good guys having guns is bad, why do you always have armed security with you?

What do you think?

Pray for our troops our police and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America — Charlie Daniels

Hero Jack Wilson Will be Awarded “Governor’s Medal of Courage”
While Democrats are memorizing Iranian terrorists Republicans are rewarding American heroes.

While Democrats are memorizing Iranian terrorists Republicans are rewarding American heroes.

Governor Greg Abbott will present the “Governor’s Medal of Courage” to the brave man who stopped a gunman during a deadly shooting at a church in North Texas last month.

On Monday, January 13th Gov. Abbott will host Mr. Wlson at the Governor’s Mansion to present him with the Governor’s Medal of Courage. The medal is given to civilians who display “great acts of heroism by risking their own safety to save another’s life.”

It is the highest award given to civilians by the Governor and nobody deserves it more than Jack Wilson.

 

Virginians Are Warning Of Civil War, But This Isn’t New

Things are tense in Virginia, to say the least. With Democrats having complete control of the state government, Governor Ralph Northam sees a golden opportunity to hammer gun rights activists in his state. After all, he needed a gun control win to completely overshadow the blackface scandal that plagued him for months, and he didn’t get it.

Now, somehow, he’s got the legislature and he’s going to make it so no one even thinks of “Coonman” anymore.

Unfortunately for him, though, there are those in the state that are warning that things may well get beyond Northam’s control and the usual suspects are freaking out over it.

Thousands of Virginia residents have shown up at meetings across the state to try to block Democrats from enacting new gun laws, with some gun rights supporters openly discussing violent resistance and civil war.

The backlash to gun control in Virginia is being fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation, and some observers worry that the escalating rhetoric may spark violence.

When Democrats won control of Virginia’s state government for the first time in 26 years in November 2019, they pledged to pass a series of standard gun control laws, including universal background checks and bans on military-style “assault weapons” and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The agenda was no surprise: state Democrats had run for office on a platform of gun violence prevention, backed by funding from national gun control groups.

…

Some of these activists have warned of violenceif Democrats push forward with gun control. Multiple Democratic lawmakers have reportedly received threats, including death threats. At heated public meetings across the state and in long social media comment threads, some gun rights supporters are openly discussing the possibility of civil war. Many have warned of the need to fight back against “tyranny” or have compared Democratic lawmakers to the British forces during the revolutionary war. “I really do think we may be on the brink of another war,” one speaker told a crowd of at least 800 people in Pulaski county, the Roanoke Times reported.

Here’s the thing, though. This talk of a civil war isn’t new. We’ve been talking about this for years as a warning that if anti-gun zealots come after our guns, they’re going to have a bad time of it.

This is nothing new.

However, it’s also important to note that we’ve also been pretty clear that there’s a line in the sand and, thus far, no one has crossed it. Right now, bills have only been proposed. Nothing’s passed and nothin’s signed. It’s just a lot of rhetoric. As long as Northam and company bear in mind that this is a topic that yes, a lot of people will go to war over, we shouldn’t have a problem.

We on this side have been clear about what will set us off. The problem is that Northam and company don’t seem to really care to listen. There’s been nothing from his side to tell Virginian gun rights activists that their concerns will be accounted for. Instead, we’re seeing a lot of “we won, you lost, suck on it.”

Yes, there are warnings of civil war, but that war isn’t inevitable. It’s up to Northam, though, to decide if he really wants to push people so far that they don’t feel they have any other choice. It’s all on him and his allies in the legislature.

It’s not too late to settle things down.

100,000 gun owners to fight new Virginia bans: ‘We’re not the problem.’

Some 100,000 Virginia gun owners who have rallied at county and town meetings for “gun sanctuaries” on Thursday began “bombarding” state Democratic lawmakers eager to use their new majority in Richmond to push through new restrictions and bans.

“Now it’s time. Now we’re going to melt down their phones, explode their inboxes on their email. We’re going to bombard them more than they’ve been bombarded,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, which is leading the gun sanctuary movement.

On Thursday, he issued an “alert” to supporters to start lobbying lawmakers in Richmond against gun control. He said that the new anti-gun laws from Democrats are “pouring in like a waterfall.”

Later this month, his group is also organizing its annual “lobbying day” that is expected to draw dozens of buses full of supporters from around Virginia as well as from 13 states as far away as Texas, Florida, and Connecticut.

“They picked a fight with a set of people who are tired of it. We’re tired of being the whipping boy. Every time somebody shoots up a bunch of people in a gun-free zone, they come after us, and we’re tired of it. We’re fed up, and we’re not giving up any more. We’re not the problem,” he told Secrets.

Democrat Bill Mandates Licensing of All Virginia AR-15 Owners

A bill from Delegate Mark Levine (D) mandates all Virginia AR-15 owners acquire a license of ownership from the state.

Those who do not acquire a license yet remain in possession of AR-15s will be labeled felons.

Levine’s legislation, HB 961, applies to AR-15s and all guns which Democrats refer to as “assault firearms.”

Levine defines an “assault firearm” as “a semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material with a fixed magazine capacity in excess of 10 rounds.”

He also notes certain cosmetic traits that place a certain gun under the “assault firearm” classification:

An “assault firearm” means  a semi-automatic center-fire rifle that expels single or multiple projectiles by action of an explosion of a combustible material that has the ability to accept a detachable magazine and has one of the following characteristics: (i) a folding or telescoping stock; (ii) a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the rifle; (iii) a thumbhole stock; (iv) a second handgrip or a protruding grip that can be held by the non-trigger hand; (v) a bayonet mount; (vi) a grenade launcher; (vii) a flare launcher; (viii) a silencer; (ix) a flash suppressor; (x) a muzzle brake; (xi) a muzzle compensator; (xii) a threaded barrel capable of accepting (a) a silencer, (b) a flash suppressor, (c) a muzzle brake, or (d) a muzzle compensator; or (xiii) any characteristic of like kind as enumerated in clauses (i) through (xii).

If Levine’s bill passes the state legislature and is signed into law, current AR-15 owners–and owners of other so-called “assault firearms”–will have a grace period in which to acquire license from the state. 

Levine uses the summary of his bill to note that “any person who legally owns an assault firearm on July 1, 2020, may retain possession of such assault firearm after January 1, 2021, if such person has obtained a permit from the Department of State Police to possess an assault firearm in accordance with procedures established in the bill.”