********************
1. We are now on our way to 13,000 on VA-ALERT!
******************************
********************
The number of subscribers to VA-ALERT has nearly doubled in the last
two years! Thanks to everyone who has worked so hard to promote VCDL to
their friends and family members, and participated in VCDL events over
the years.
It is your hard work is what makes VCDL an effective organization and attracts more and more people to join our VA-ALERT list.
******************************
********************
2. Survey USA poll: McDonnell and Cuccinelli leading Democrat opponents
******************************
********************
Interesting polling information on the Governor, LT. Governor, and
Attorney General races here in Virginia. There is a ton of information
about voters and their preferences broken out in the poll.
According to the survey, gun owners prefer the Republican candidates
over the Democratic candidates by approximately 62 to 32 percent,
respectively.
Non-gun owners prefer the Democratic candidates over the Republican candidates by approximately 52 to 43 percent, respectively.
http://tinyurl.com/kka2ng
******************************
********************
3. Sound off on ObamaCare turns into opportunity to promote, discuss 2nd Amendment
******************************
********************
"Guns Save Lives" stickers prove popular, spark debate at Mark Warner townhall meeting at Fredericksburg Expo Center.
Bruce Jackson emailed me this report about passing out "Guns Save Lives" stickers at a recent Mark Warner townhall event.
--
We, myself and the youngest, got there late, about 6:30, and started
passing out the paper GSL stickers. We got about 3/4 through the first
pass when they started. We finished by just making several passes
through. Ended up giving out about 1000. The expo center folks
estimated the crowd to be about 1400. They had set up 2200 chairs.
People asked about the blue GSL stickers I had in my backpack. Sold a few @ $1 ea.
I was approached by one women who stated "My nephew killed himself with
a gun that was given to him by the chief of police so I find your
sticker offensive." She then turned and started to walk off. I asked,
"Are you going to give me a chance to respond?," but she kept walking.
Emotion over logic in action...again.
When it got closer to the end of the event we took a position by the
doors and hawked both the blue (old standard) and the orange (new
round) bumper stickers.
Sold several of each. One person gave $5 for 1 sticker. Another
handed me $20 and walked away. She came back about 10 minutes later
and picked up one.
One woman approached me and made an inverse comparison between the size
of my gun and a specific body part. Funny thing was, my holster was
empty as the event was anti-gun (what is the inverse of zero anyway?).
[PVC: Infinity. Nice complement you got there, Bruce ;-)]
One gentleman approached me and asked "How can you say 'guns save
lives'?" I explained the study by Dr. Gary Kleck. He said he was on
the other side of the issue, but it was something to think about and
thanked me.
Several asked what guns had to do with heath care . . . I need a better
sound-bite for that one. The explanation that health care bills could
easily be used to overrun gun rights was more than many could
comprehend. At least one looked at me like I was talking about space
aliens and stated, "That could never happen!"
Total income for the VCDL $99.00. Total public relations value based on the hundreds of thumbs up received? Priceless!
******************************
********************
4. Virginia Tech announces $10,000 reward for information about killings
******************************
********************
Crime can, and does, happen anywhere and at any time:
Students found shot to death at Caldwell Fields campground.
http://tinyurl.com/kk9taf
www.roanoke.com
Virginia Tech announces $10,000 reward for information about killings
University administrators and members of the board of visitors donated $10,000 for the reward.
By Tonia Moxley
Friday, September 04, 2009
Virginia Tech is offering a $10,000 reward for information that helps
solve the slayings of Tech students Heidi Childs and David Metzler last
week in the Jefferson National Forest.
Childs, 18, of Forest and Metzler, 19, of Lynchburg were found shot to
death on Aug. 27 at the Caldwell Fields campground off Craig Creek Road
in Montgomery County.
Childs was a biochemistry major and Metzler was studying industrial systems engineering at Tech. Both were sophomores.
The couple was last heard from about 8:30 or 9 p.m. on Aug. 26. Police
have said they believe the killings may have been random because
investigators have been unable to find a motive.
Lt. Brian Wright of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said police
are looking for any information that may be pertinent to the case.
Tech announced the reward Thursday afternoon. The funds were donated by
university administrators and members of the board of visitors who have
asked to remain anonymous, Tech spokesman Mark Owczarski said.
"We're hoping against hope it will help provide important information," Owczarski said.
Police have boosted patrols in that area of the county, Wright said.
The U.S. Forest Service has also beefed up patrols in and around
Caldwell Fields and the nearby Pandapas Pond day-use area, said Barbara
Walker of the Blacksburg district office.
Users of forest property are encouraged to travel in groups and inform people of their whereabouts.
"These are good cautions to have any time, but especially right now," Walker said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 382-2951.
******************************
********************
5. Suffolk's city council aims at rifles
******************************
********************
Suffolk's council votes unanimously to leave rifle laws unchanged. VCDL Board member John Fenter is quoted.
Bruce Jackson emailed me this link:
--
http://tinyurl.com/ncmxom
www.suffolknewsherald.com
City council aims at rifles
New rifle rule: Same as the old one
By Tracy Agnew | Suffolk News-Herald
Published Wednesday, September 2, 2009
After lobbying for and gaining the right to set its own rules
regarding the use of rifles in the city, Suffolk's city council chose to make no changes to the regulations on Wednesday.
Council voted unanimously to institute the same law the state had in its code last year.
Three people spoke during the public hearing regarding the new
ordinance, which prohibits the use of a rifle of any caliber for the
hunting of bear and deer in Suffolk, except in the Great Dismal Swamp.
Suffolk is creating its own rifle regulations after the Department of
Game and Inland Fisheries repealed its regulation governing rifle use
in the city, anticipating that it would be replaced by local
regulation.
The ordinance states rifles of any caliber for the hunting of bear and
deer in the city will be prohibited except in the Great Dismal Swamp.
It also is unlawful to discharge a firearm or air gun of .177 caliber
or larger in a densely populated area, within 100 yards of any
structure used as a residence, business or storage facility without the
permission of the owner; within 100 yards of any public street, except
at a permitted firing range; or at or upon the property of another
without permission.
The restrictions do not apply to law enforcement officers engaged in
the performance of their duties, or in any situation in which the
discharge of a weapon is necessary for the preservation or protection
of human life or property. They also do not apply to the use of
muzzle-loading rifles during prescribed open seasons in the city, but
the use of such rifles is permitted only from a stand at least 10 feet
above the ground.
Peggy Ferguson, who lives in the Lake Meade area, said she hoped the
council would come closer to banning the shooting of rifles altogether.
Ferguson came before the council in December 2008 to complain about gun
use regulations after the back of her home was hit
by four gunshots in November.
"Four gunshots were fired at my house," she said."Potentially, if
anybody had been in my backyard, up to four people could have been
injured or killed."
Ferguson said Wednesday she has become fearful of spending time in her backyard or getting out of her car in the driveway.
"I want to live in peace," she said. "I have to worry about whether I'm going to be shot."
Ferguson accused some hunters of being lax in safety standards. She
asked the council to increase the distance people must be from
dwellings before they can fire a weapon.
John Fenter, who was at the meeting representing the Virginia Citizens
Defense League, said he was satisfied with the 8-0 vote, even though
he'd asked the council to delay a vote to research the issue more. He
encouraged Ferguson to report irresponsible hunters to the game
department, to the sheriff's office or to the police department to have
them arrested.
******************************
********************
6. Fairfax Co. police search for mall parking lot attackers
******************************
********************
Who needs a gun in broad daylight in a mall parking lot? Just ask the
man who was knocked unconscious and his arm broken in daylight robbery
in Springfield Mall parking lot.
Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
--
http://tinyurl.com/ko2kbq
Fairfax Co. Police Search for Mall Parking Lot Attackers
09/01/09
SPRINGFIELD, Va. - A man who was brutally attacked in the middle of the day at the Springfield Mall has a warning for shoppers.
Surveillance video shows four men on the verge of a violent mugging in
the Macy's parking lot garage in the Springfield Mall. The man who
survived the vicious mob-style attack wants to protect his identity
because the men who beat and robbed him have not been arrested.
"The next thing you know you're surrounded by criminals [lying]
unconscious in the parking garage. I could've been killed," the victim
said.
He says the incident occurred at 5:30 p.m. on a Friday when he got off
the Metro at the Springfield station. He says he was just steps from
his car parked in the mall garage when he was grabbed by one man and
punched in the face by another.
He says was knocked out unconscious for at least 10 minutes. "After I
woke up, there was [an] imprint of his fist in my forehead like right
about there -- you could see four knuckles," he said.
He suffered head injuries and a broken arm and his wallet and cash were missing.
Sources say a similar violent robbery happened days earlier but this
time, police have video of their suspects and a composite sketch of at
least one of them.
"We are concerned that they are out there and we haven't caught them
but we are making every effort to ID these suspects and place charges
on them," said Officer Tawny Wright of the Fairfax Police Department.
That particular parking lot in the Springfield Mall has been the scene
of violence several times over the past couple of years -- including
the case of an Alexandria woman who was carjacked and later killed in a
crash by her abductors.
Shoppers say they need to know the history of crime to protect
themselves. "It's good to alert people like this so people can be like
watching and talk to each other about it," said James Walbrecht, a
shopper.
The man who survived his attack says he's worried others will become
victims. "I think something really urgently needs to be done about that
place. I don't know what but the way it is right now is not sufficient."
******************************
********************
7. Column: How is campus any different?
******************************
********************
Virginia Tech student decries campus rules barring concealed carry.
http://tinyurl.com/nsxhob
Column: How is campus any different?
by Sam Stephens, guest columnist
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
I feel like I lead a good life. I'm a student at an incredible school
in one of the top 10 engineering programs in the country. I have an
incredible family, any one of which I'd take a bullet for. I have good
friends and just recently I've landed the most amazing girl I've ever
met. But even with all the good in my life, I still can't answer a
question that I deal with everyday. Why do I feel the need to be armed
when I
lead a life that seems so amazing?
It's a hard question to answer when nothing tragic has ever happened to
me directly. Indirectly, tons of things have affected me, but I've
never been in that spot where my life has been on the line.
To a lot of people I come across as knowledgeable about a lot of
things. I know a lot about math, science, how things work, and I think
I know a good bit about my rights and which ones are being slowly taken
from me by this current Congress.
But I cannot pretend to comprehend why someone would take two students'
lives in the middle of their camping trip. No one can answer what was
on Cho's mind when he killed 32 of my classmates, and I will never know
why no one acted when the girl was stabbed and decapitated in front of
her fellow Hokies.
The one thing that I do know is that not a single one of the victims of
these crimes stood a fighting chance. I do know that as soon as I cross
onto campus I can no longer have my weapon on me even though I'm a
law-abiding citizen with a concealed handgun permit.
So why can I legally carry my weapon on one side of the street, but if
I cross it, I'm breaking the law? And why is there a stigma associated
with those of us who legally carry a concealed weapon? A CHP holder
committed none of the aforementioned crimes, yet our universities,
Congress and the news media are against even answering the question of
how legally armed, everyday citizens could have at least attempted to
defend themselves.
I don't feel empowered or manly when I carry. I don't carry because I'm
full of testosterone or so weak I can't defend myself with my hands. My
friends would tell you that I'm a modest person, and one of the nicest
people you'll meet.
It's just a real shame that there are people who would take anyone's
life, including mine, without a blink of an eye. It's just as big of a
shame that I have to leave my right to self-defense at home when I step
on campus when my campus has been the focus of so much senseless crime.
******************************
********************
8. LTE: Competence is a key component in gun ownership
******************************
********************
http://tinyurl.com/km2t7n
www.roanoke.com
Competence is a key component in gun ownership
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Dan Casey must be one of those idiotic people he wrote about in his
recent Sunday column ("Getting permit was the easy part," Aug. 30 [
http://tinyurl.com/l4m57c]),
otherwise, he could have easily not wasted his time finding out how a
responsible, law-abiding citizen would go about getting a concealed
carry permit in the first place.
He didn't need to spend his time complying with the law and waiting to
be issued his permit. Instead, he could simply carry his loaded handgun
holstered on his hip in plain view. Open carry in the commonwealth of
Virginia is not prohibited.
He could have made that decision in the privacy of his own home, while
he nursed a six-pack if he liked. Or he could have chosen to do like
the common criminal does and not bother to comply with the law in the
first place.
Common sense dictates that one would take the necessary time to become
familiar and proficient with a handgun before carrying it concealed or
open. Demonstrating competence is the first step to being proficient
and responsible. Now that Casey has a concealed carry permit, I hope he
doesn't carry a handgun until he becomes proficient.
KEN GORSKY, JR.
Retired Chief of Police Former Firearms Instructor
******************************
********************
9. LTE: What is the issue with concealed weapons?
******************************
********************
http://tinyurl.com/km2t7n
What is the issue with concealed weapons?
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Re: Dan Casey's column, "Getting permit was the easy part" (Aug. 30):
I do not understand the point of this article. I see no difference
between an idiot (as Casey puts it) getting a concealed weapons permit
who does not know how to use a handgun and the same idiot buying a
handgun and strapping it on his side, out in the open.
I would have to agree with Chris LaCivita that anyone wanting to get a
firearm of any type, concealed or not, should use common sense.
I think Casey has issues with anyone having a concealed weapons permit.
That's what I get out of the article. I, for one, do not need the
government to tell me if I have enough common sense. Maybe Casey does.
OPHUS A. HUTHERSON III
GLADE HILL
******************************
********************
10. LTE: Carrying concealed weapons decreases crime rates
******************************
********************
http://tinyurl.com/n9pv3c
Carrying concealed weapons decreases crime rates
Friday, September 04, 2009
Re: "Would more guns solve the gun problem?" Aug. 16 letter:
Bob Willis' pitiful attempt to poke fun at the people who have the
right to carry a concealed weapon clearly shows that he is no comedian.
The screening process for such a license results in only law-abiding
citizens receiving them. The crime rate is almost zero for this group.
The ones to fear are the criminals who misuse guns, just as the people
who drive drunk misuse motor vehicles. The government-run news media
would proclaim it to high heaven if someone with the right to carry a
concealed weapon misused that responsibility.
The answer to Willis' question is, yes. In every locality where the
right to carry a concealed weapon has been tried, crime has decreased.
Willis should read the excellent book "More Guns, Less Crime."
Liberals make a big to-do about tax tea parties and town hall meetings
over Obama Care bringing out crowds of angry people. If liberals keep
trying to take away our Second Amendment rights, guaranteed by the
Constitution, they have not seen the scope of the protests it will
cause.
GLENN WATSON
MAX MEADOWS
******************************
********************
11. LTE: Good to know about lax gun laws
******************************
********************
Come on in, Susan - the water's fine!
http://tinyurl.com/n9pv3c
Good to know about lax gun laws
Friday, September 04, 2009
Thank you for having the guts to publish Dan Casey's column, "Getting
permit was the easy part," on Aug. 30. I had no idea that our gun laws
were so lax, and I, for one, really appreciate your paper opening our
eyes to this.
Again, thank you, Roanoke Times, for publishing Casey's article on concealed weapons.
SUSAN WOODS
ROANOKE
******************************
********************
12. RTD improperly used "gunman" slur
******************************
********************
Tom Mosca III emailed me this, hitting the nail on the head. Heck,
I've even seen a reporter call a person who had STABBED someone a
gunman!
--
Dear Philip,
For the record, emotionally charged, "politically correct"
misinformation/imprecise technical terminology should always be
challenged and corrected ...
Yesterday the front-page headline of the Richmond Times-Dispatch read
"GUNMAN SHOT BY POLICE DIES." Who was the "gunman?" Apparently a police
officer shot someone. Is the police officer the gunman? If not, why not?
The reason is because "gunman" is a slur, intended to associate us with
criminals. In my opinion it is no less distasteful than a racial slur.
Imagine, if you will, the newspapers putting the race of a criminal in
place of the word gunman. Would there be an outcry?
I am a gunman, and you are a gunman. We are not criminals or terrorists.
Take care, Tom
******************************
********************
13. Pro-gun opinion piece in the Washington Post
******************************
********************
Deborah Jane Anderson emailed me this:
http://tinyurl.com/m2p4x6
Gun Owners' Next Victory in D.C.
By Robert A. Levy
Washington
The Supreme Court, in District of Columbia v. Heller, declared that
Washington's 32-year ban on all functional firearms violated the Second
Amendment. Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion, however, applied
only to possession of guns in the home. The court did not address, and
was not asked to address, firearms carried outside the home. That's the
issue posed in a new lawsuit against the District by Tom Palmer
(disclosure: my colleague at the Cato Institute) and four other
plaintiffs -- represented by Alan Gura, the lawyer who successfully
argued Heller before the court.
After Heller, the District relaxed its ban on residents seeking "to
register a pistol for use in self-defense within that person's home."
But D.C. law still states that "[n]o person shall carry within the
District of Columbia either openly or concealed on or about their
person, a pistol, without a license." Currently, the city affords no
process by which to issue such a license. A first violation of the
carry ban is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and imprisonment for
up to five years.
Does the Constitution mandate that the nation's capital allow firearms
to be carried outside the home? The right to bear arms, the court said
in Heller, is an "individual right unconnected to militia service." To
"bear" means to "carry." More specifically, when used with "arms," the
opinion said, "bear" means "carrying for a particular purpose --
confrontation." Nothing in that formulation implies a right that can be
exercised only within one's home.
Indeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, although she dissented in Heller,
cited Black's Law Dictionary to suggest in a prior opinion that the
Second Amendment entails a right to "wear, bear, or carry ..... upon
the person or in the clothing or in a pocket, ..... armed and ready
..... in a case of conflict with another person." That language, says
Michael O'Shea in the West Virginia Law Review, "reads like a literal
description of the practice of lawful concealed carry, as engaged in by
millions of Americans in the forty-eight states that authorize the
carrying of concealed handguns."
Of course, Second Amendment rights, like First Amendment rights, are
not absolute. Scalia was careful to note that "nothing in our opinion
should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the
possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws
forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools
and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and
qualifications on the commercial sale of arms." Lawyers call such
statements dicta -- a statement not necessary to the holding and,
therefore, not binding in other cases.
Nonetheless, dicta can be important. Gura, for that reason, took pains
to fashion his new complaint to fit Scalia's framework. The Palmer
lawsuit acknowledges that Washington "retains the ability to regulate
the manner of carrying handguns, prohibit the carrying of handguns in
specific, narrowly defined sensitive places, prohibit the carrying of
arms that are not within the scope of Second Amendment protection, and
disqualify specific, particularly dangerous individuals from carrying
handguns." Restrictions on carrying are permissible, but an outright
ban is not. As Gura put it, the District "may not completely ban the
carrying of handguns for self-defense, deny individuals the right to
carry handguns in non-sensitive places, [or] deprive individuals of the
right to carry handguns in an arbitrary and capricious manner."
Proponents of a total ban have seized on another of Scalia's
pronouncements in Heller. He pointed out that 19th-century courts
considered prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons "lawful under the
Second Amendment or state analogues." That statement, too, is dicta.
Perhaps more significant, open-carry rather than concealed-carry was
the preferred mode of arms-bearing in the 19th century. To be sure,
some states prohibited concealed-carry, but only because they allowed
open-carry -- an alternative that the District probably would reject.
An early Georgia case, for example, upheld a concealed-carry ban but
struck down an open-carry ban. Ditto for other cases cited in Heller.
Essentially, the Second Amendment demands that peaceable citizens be
allowed to carry defensive weapons in some manner. The right to bear
arms can be limited, but it cannot be destroyed.
Prediction: The courts will (and should) invalidate Washington's
unconditional ban on carrying, as well as similar bans in Wisconsin and
Illinois, the only two states to have such bans. Regulations consistent
with the Heller opinion will be permitted. But the Supreme Court has
affirmed that the Second Amendment secures an individual right,
expressly enumerated in the Constitution. That means government has the
burden of demonstrating that its proposed regulations are necessary.
Robert A. Levy is chairman of the Cato Institute and was co-counsel to the plaintiffs in District of Columbia v. Heller.
******************************
********************
14. Washington Post reporter becomes a gun owner . . . well, almost
******************************
********************
A Washington Post reporter required to buy gun for an article was surprised to find out that he liked shooting.
I'm not surprised that he was surprised, though.
Deborah Jane Anderson emailed me this:
--
Philip,
I found this really great story in the Washington Post today. It blew me away, to be quite honest!
Anyway, a reporter for the Washington Post (a young dude -- late 20s,
early 30s) was supposed to just go through the whole process to get a
gun in DC so he could do a story on the process -- but in the end, he
ends up loving the shooting experience, and he decides to keep the gun
permanently. The only problem is that his wife so strongly objects to
having it in the home, he decides to bring the gun back, but still go
to the range to shoot . . . rented guns.
You REALLY have to see the video that accompanies the story, too. To
put it mildly, the video is PRICELESS -- and I think the best part of
the video is when he goes back to the range all by himself! You can
tell he's really HOOKED on shooting!
Never did I think I'd see something so pro-gun in the Washington Post
-- but, today I just have to say, "Will wonders never cease?!"
I'm gonna e-mail the reporter and encourage him to come out to the next
VCDL meeting in Annandale -- and I'm gonna encourage him to move to VA,
too, so that he can FULLY exercise his rights under the Second
Amendment! He needs to be reassured that owning a gun -- and keeping it
in his home for protection -- is the best thing he could do.
Blessings,
Deborah Jane Anderson
http://tinyurl.com/nn9qdt
Get a Gun in D.C. -- Do You Feel Lucky? Not Just Strict Rules Test Your Decision
By Christian Davenport
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
It took $833.69, a total of 15 hours 50 minutes, four trips to the
Metropolitan Police Department, two background checks, a set of
fingerprints, a five-hour class and a 20-question multiple-choice exam.
Oh, and the votes of five Supreme Court justices. They're the ones who
really made it possible for me, as a District resident, to own a
handgun, a constitutional right as heavily debated and rigorously
parsed as the freedoms of speech and religion.
Just more than a year ago, by a 5-to-4 decision, the court struck down
the District's three-decades-old outright ban on handguns -- the most
restrictive gun la w in the country. In District of Columbia v. Heller,
Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court, said the Second
Amendment guarantees the right of an individual to bear arms, not just
Americans in a "well regulated Militia"; the District's prohibition was
therefore unconstitutional.
Reluctantly, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration set up a process
through whi ch about 550 residents -- now including yours truly -- have
acquired a handgun. But as my four trips to the police department
attest, D.C. officials haven't made it easy.
Which was exactly their intent. The day the Heller decision was
announced, Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) vowed that the city was
still "going to have the strictest handgun laws the Constitution
allows." Fenty decried the ruling, saying that "more handguns in the
District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence."
Under threat of additional litigation, however, the city has already
had to ease some of its initial restrictions by greatly expanding the
range of gun models, including semiautomatic handguns, residents are
allowed to own.
Meanwhile, the battle over the right to bear arms in the nation's
capital continues. The lawyer who won the Heller case recently filed a
federal lawsuit attempting to overturn the District law that prohibits
private citizens from packing heat in public. Earlier this year, Sen.
John Ensign (R-Nev.) attempted to do away with the city's gun
registration requirements.
For now, the D.C. regulations are still in place. That meant that on my
journey to gun ownership, I had to prove proficiency with a weapon on
the range and in the classroom. I had to allow the District government
to fire my gun before I did so its ballistics could be recorded. I had
to vow that I was mentally sound and not under indictment.
In the end, I got my gun. But I keep it locked in a box in my dresser.
Because despite the fact that my government trusts me to own a gun, I'm
not sure how I feel about having a weapon that can send a piece of
metal the size of a thimble hurtling through space with such speed that
it could make someone's head explode.
I've been surrounded my whole life by people who see guns as a cause of
social ill, not a cure. But what if they're wrong? I live in a
dangerous part of a dangerous city. I've heard gunshots from my bedroom
window clearly enough so there was no mistaking them for firecrackers.
And then, about a month or so ago, my wife went out to her car and saw
the glass on the ground and then the shattered window. Nothing can make
you want a gun more than that sickening, helpless moment when you
realize you are more vulnerable than you had thought.
If I lived in Virginia, I'd simply walk into a shop, show my ID, fill
out forms and then wait while the store calls for my background check,
which can take all of three minutes. If I pass, the gun is mine.
Or I could buy a gun from a private citizen and forgo the background
check. No safety course required (unless I'm applying for a
concealed-handgun permit, which is not even an option in the District).
No need to register the gun with the government (unless it's a machine
gun, which is, again, not an option in the District).
In Maryland, the process is more involved (though nothing close to what
you have to go through in the District): There's an application, a
background check, a mandatory 45-minute safety video and then a
seven-day waiting period.
But I live in the District, where the path to gun ownership, believed
by some to be designed to intentionally thwart gun ownership, begins
first with a trip to the police department to pick up the necessary
paperwork. Then there 's a five-hour safety course (four hours in the
classroom, one on the firing range) with one of about 30 instructors
certified to teach the class.
For those experienced with guns, the class may seem unnecessary, even
ridiculous. But I'm grateful for it. I've never fired a handgun. Can't
say I've ever even held one. My experience with firearms is limited to
.22-caliber rifles at summer camp, and a brief dove hunting excursion
in Texas in which I never fired my shotgun.
The course I choose costs $250 (group lessons are cheaper), and is
taught in Temple Hills by Isaiah Abraham, a behemoth of a man who also
works as a Department of Defense police sergeant assigned to the Naval
Observatory. He walks me through the basics: Always treat a firearm as
if it's loaded; keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to
fire; never point at anything you don't intend to shoot. Then there's
this bit of instruction that makes me shudder because I live in a Mount
Pleasant rowhouse with neighbors on either side: Know your target and
what's behind it because bullets can punch through doors and walls.
We go over the parts of the gun so I can identify the difference
between the hammer and the firing pin. Soon I'm learning to load a
.38-caliber revolver with dummy bullets.
From the moment I wrap my fingers around the grip, the gun feels
uncomfortable, unwieldy and so surprisingly heavy that my entire arm
dips a bit as Abraham hands it to me. A toy it is not. As I adjust my
grip, the muzzle dances wildly around, pointing its deadly black eye
all over the room.
Disapprovingly, he takes the gun to show me how to hold it properly,
and in his experienced hands the weapon is immediately obedient. Then
again, guns have long been a part of his life. Growing up in Southeast
Washington, h e saw one of his friends get shot in the head "for candy
money" when he was in middle school. As an adult, he worked as a
security guard in the projects, and later, as a D.C. cop, he patrolled
some of the toughest neighborhoods when crack cocaine was driving up
the homicide rate.
It's a cruel, violent world, he says. Which is why, when we get to the
range, he's going to want me to shoot with my left hand as well. Why? I
ask. "If you get shot in this arm," he says pointing to my right, "I
don't want you to give up."
If I get shot, I think, it's game over. Instead, I just nod and realize
that beyond the safety requirements, general gun knowledge and
instructions on stance, grip and breathing, he's also preparing me to
shoot at another human being. Because, really, isn't that what a
handgun is for? It's not for squirrel hunting -- certainly not in the
District, where the law prohibits me from taking the gun out of the
house unless I'm going to a "lawful firearm-related activity" such as
the shooting range.
That's why Abraham tells me to always aim for the "center mass of your
available target" and to "pick up your weapon as if ready to fire"
because, as he warns, a gun battle typically lasts just a couple of
seconds. That's why the targets on the walls of his office are in the
shape of torsos, some with faces on them, so you're firing at something
that's looking back at you.
And that's why at the range, he wants me to pick up the gun and fire
three shots in four seconds. Which makes my palms sweat even more. My
hands shake, which causes the gun to quiver and Abraham to say: "If I
can just get you to relax. Loosen up."
The first shots are an absolute shock, a full-body experience I feel in
my shoulders, hips and knees. The gun doesn't fire so much as explode,
kicking back ferociously, releasing a hot whiff of air and a bright red
flash from the muzzle. It's louder, more violent and more cannonlike
than I expected, and I realize that part of me is more than nervous.
I'm a little scared.
But also thrilled. There is a rush, a blood-pumping high, which builds
with each shot as the once foreign sensation becomes more familiar and
evokes a basic, even primitive, emotion. Like Zeus throwing lightning
bolts, I control that frightening explosion. I make the red flash. I
make the smoke curl from the muzzle.
Plus, it turns out I'm a decent shot.
I get several in the bull's-eye. I'm no expert, but with each round,
the gun feels more comfortable. The test feels like a game -- an adult
version of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.
I completely forget that the gun I'm holding is a deadly weapon.
By the end, I find myself having so much fun that I ask for the target
to be moved back. For my last test, I want to try shooting two to the
body, one to the head, which is more difficult than going for the
bull's-eye in the middle of the target.
I hit the body twice, but miss the head.
Later, studying my target, Abraham says I pass, which is a huge relief.
But he points to a bullet hole a few inches to the right of the head.
"That's an innocent bystander," he says.
It may be legal to own a gun in the District, but you still can't buy
one within the city limits. At least not in a gun store because there
are none. Instead, you must make the purchase in one of the 50 states
and have the weapon transferred into the custody of one man: Charles
Sykes, who plays an odd role in the transaction.
As a licensed firearms dealer, he could, theoretically, sell guns. But
he chooses not to because "I don't want to have to carry an inventory,"
he says. "Too much liability." Instead, he's the middleman, the only
licensed dealer willing to help D.C. residents acquire handguns, a nice
little side business for which he charges $125.
So I head out of the city to Maryland Small Arms in Upper Marlboro.
After shopping around a bit, I settle on a used Taurus Model 85
.38-caliber revolver. I like it because it's just like the one I used
during my instruction, though smaller. And at $275, it was a relatively
cheap beginner's gun, even though the dealer tacks on a $35 fee for
transferring it to Sykes.
But the only thing I can bring home is the receipt. Only Sykes can
bring the gun into the District, which he does two days later. The
following week, I meet him at his office in An acostia, and we fill out
the registration form. Then he hands me paperwork from the federal
Department of Justice that asks, among other things, if I am a
"fugitive from justice" or if I have ever "renounced" my U.S.
citizenship.
Next, I have to go to the police station -- my second visit -- to get
fingerprinted and pass a 20-question exam that covers D.C. gun laws, a
hurdle neither Maryland nor Virginia requires. Then I have to wait 10
days -- considerably longer than in Virginia or Maryland -- while
police run a criminal background check.
Only then will the gun be mine.
The assumption from the beginning was that I would never keep the gun.
This was to be a solely journalistic exercise: See what it takes to get
a gun in the city. My editor, who had to persuade higher-ups at The
Post to allow a reporter to expense a handgun purchase, assumed I'd
sell it back when I was done reporting. My colleagues assumed that as
well. My wife insisted on it. (I believe her exact words were: "There's
no way you're bringing that thing in the house.")
Guns are dangerous, especially in an urban environment. I've read the
horror stories, and even wrote one a few years ago about the 3-year-old
son of a White House Secret Service agent who shot and critically
wounded himself with his father's .357 semiautomatic.
The chances of something bad happening with a gun in the house might
very well outweigh the chances of using it effectively in that
kill-or-be-killed situation. What's more likely: a Plaxico
Burress-esque accidental discharge or a wild-eyed murdering-rapist
crack addict breaking into the house?
"Criminals prefer unarmed victims," read a bumper sticker I saw at a
gun show a few weeks ago in Chantilly while mulling whether to keep the
gun. Better to have and not need than to need and not have, I was told
again and again by gun owners.
While I'd love to believe I will never need, my wife and I have often
seen drug dealers in our alley doing their business. To no avail, we
have called the police. A couple of years ago, a neighbor was nearly
abducted in front of her house. And then my wife's car was broken into
while parked directly behind our house. Which led to another of the
should-we-move-to-the-burbs discussions that have become more frequent
of late. Once again, we talked about better lighting and alarm systems.
But is that enough, I wonder. Even with the fastest of 911 responses,
isn't a gun the only real protection in a doomsday scenario?
Still, I'm torn. Say the murdering-rapist crack addict is charging up
the stairs, coming to get us. Would I, as he raises his gun, be able to
fire mine? The District can make me take a five-hour class and pass an
exam. But none of that ensures that in the heat of the moment my hands
won't be shaking so badly that I send a bullet hurtling not into the
center mass of my would-be assailant but instead into the bedroom of my
neighbor's teenage son.
All of which raises perhaps the most difficult question of all: Does
the gun indeed provide a much-needed layer of security in a dangerous
city, or does it merely provide the perception of security?
After the 10 days, my background check complete, I go back to the
police station (Visit 3) to pick up my registration, now stamped
"APPROVED" in red ink. But that's only the first step in what becomes
yet another series of gun-related errands that eat up three hours of my
Monday. With my approved registration in hand, I have to go back to
Sykes's Anacostia office, where he then turns the gun over to me.
When I get to my car, I put the gun in the trunk because the law says
it cannot be "accessible from the passenger compartment of the
transporting vehicle." I'm still not done. Next, it's back to the
police station (Visit 4), this time so they can fire the gun and put
its ballistics on file, which will help them identify the firearm if
it's ever used in a crime.
Then, finally, I can take it home. Two weeks after it began, the journey to gun ownership is over.
Unloaded and locked in a box, into the dresser it goes, in between my jeans and sweaters, out of view but not out of mind.
The act of firing the gun is a genuine thrill, and the gun itself is, I
realize, an alluring work of art. The metal is sleek and smooth, the
trigger tight, the sight a precise, simple and altogether new way of
looking at the world. I take the gun -- my gun -- out of the box and,
knowing it's unloaded, pull the trigger. I love that satisfying snap as
the hammer drops and the cylinder clicks into place, ready to fire once
again. The gun's weight, once solely the cause of angst and discomfort,
now feels impressive.
My wife is adamant that that thing can't stay, and makes a compelling
case that it's more likely to cause harm than to save us from it. And
the more I think about keeping it, the more I'm convinced that the
range is where the gun belongs. Not here at home, where it feels out of
place, an intruder that shakes our sense of peace more than bolstering
it.
Maybe it's the wrong decision, maybe I'll later regret it, but the gun
is going back. And so am I . . . to the range, where I'll shoot rented
firearms. I think I've found a new hobby.
--------
Mike Friedman emailed me this link to the video of the Washington Post
reporter buying his gun and learning how to shoot, which accompanied
the above story:
--
Philip:
I'm sure you've seen this video but if you didn't.... here you go.
http://tinyurl.com/ns7sqn
******************************
********************
15. Accidental discharge in Danville, VA restaurant
******************************
********************
A retired police officer accidentally discharges a gun at a funeral
luncheon in Danville, injuring 4. It will be interesting to see what
actually happened, as guns don't "just go off."
http://tinyurl.com/l8nfx4
ABC news 13
Gun Goes Off at Funeral Luncheon
08/31/09
reporter: Sarah Bloom
producer: Amy Foster
Danville, VA - Things took a strange turn at a funeral luncheon on
Monday in Danville, after a gun fired in the restaurant injured four
people. It seems to be an accidental shooting.
It happened at Libby Hill Restaurant.
Police said preliminary evidence shows a retired police officer, attending the funeral, was carrying a gun.
The man- 73-year-old John William Martin Jr.- stood up, his gun went
off, and a bullet hit the floor. Officials said the bullet shattered
when it hit the ground and the shrapnel hit the legs of four people at
the table.
Luckily, a doctor was there and able to help with the injuries. Four
people were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Employees said it sounded like someone dropping a dinner tray, and
despite the unusual situation, no one was too alarmed. William Wyatt
at Libby Hill Restaurant said, "The employees went out to figure out if
maybe something had turned over. It seemed relatively calm, so
everybody evidently figured out what had happened relatively quickly."
Chief Philip Broadfoot with Danville Police Department said, "It
doesn't happen easily. This is a freak kind of accident. Exactly to
find out exactly what happened and how the gun went off."
Martin served as a Danville police officer for 32 years.
No charges have been filed, but the investigation continues.
As for Libby Hill restaurant, it is open for service. Service actually continued through the entire incident.
******************************
********************
16. Appomattox man charged in Campbell County invasion
******************************
********************
Elderly woman gagged, home ransacked - who needs a gun at home?
http://tinyurl.com/n52jou
Appomattox man charged in Campbell County invasion
Dave Thompson
Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: August 27, 2009
At least one Appomattox County man is facing charges in connection to a
home invasion in Campbell County on Tuesday evening where an elderly
woman was gagged and her house ransacked, officials said.
Capt. L.T. Guthrie said deputies obtained an arrest warrant for Donald
Eugene Collier III on Wednesday, but he was not in custody Wednesday
evening.
Guthrie said at about 5:15 p.m., three male suspects arrived at the
home on Marshall Mill Road, off of U.S. 501 near Gladys, and approached
an elderly male resident outside the house.
The suspects, Guthrie said, claimed they were taking a survey for a
school system, and one carried on a conversation with the resident,
distracting him
so the other two could enter the house.
Once inside, Guthrie said, the two other suspects gagged the man's
wife, forcing her into the house's bathroom while they rummaged through
the house.
The suspects fled the scene in a white Chevrolet pickup, Guthrie said.
Later Tuesday evening, an Appomattox County deputy noticed the truck on
Red House Road (Virginia 727), Guthrie said, but the subjects had fled
on foot, leaving the truck running.
Officials searched the area, even using the state's Med-flight III helicopter, Guthrie said.
The sheriff's office received a report that the suspects had been
picked up and taken from the scene in a white vehicle, Guthrie said.
The investigation led to officials obtaining the warrant for Collier, charging him with robbery and abduction, Guthrie said.
He said officials have identified a second suspect, but no warrant had been issued Wednesday evening.
In March, another elderly couple was bound and robbed at their home north of Rustburg, off of U.S. 501.
Christopher Bryant Nowlin and Delphine Yvonne Scott, of Gladys, were charged in that incident.
------
http://tinyurl.com/mgu4r4
Second suspect charged in Campbell County home invasion
By Carrie J. Sidener
Published: September 1, 2009
Charges have been filed against a Lynchburg man in connection with a
home invasion in Campbell County last week where a woman was gagged
while her home
was ransacked.
Warrants have been obtained for Jeffrey Dejuan Page, 39, said Capt.
L.T. Guthrie. He is not in custody. Neither is Donald Eugene Collier
III, 18, of Appomattox, who also faces charges in the crime.
Page is wanted on charges of malicious wounding, abduction and robbery;
Collier on charges of robbery and abduction, Guthrie said.
Around 5:15 p.m. on Aug. 25, three men approached an elderly man
outside his house on Marshall Mill Road, off U.S. 501 near Gladys.
The three men claimed they were taking a survey for the school system,
Guthrie said. While one distracted the man with conversation, the other
two entered the house, gagged the man's wife and forced her into a
bathroom while they
rummaged though the house, Guthrie said.
They left the scene in a white Chevrolet pickup, Guthrie said.
Later that evening, an Appomattox County deputy noticed a truck
matching that description on Red House Road, Guthrie said, but the
subjects ran, leaving the truck running. They reportedly had been
picked up in a white vehicle, Guthrie said.
******************************
********************
17. Fredericksburg home invasion
******************************
********************
Open backdoor led to early evening robbery - who needs a gun at home while watching television?
http://tinyurl.com/npsofk
http://fredericksburg.com
City man arrested in home invasion
A Fredericksburg man was arrested Friday shortly after he beat, tied up and robbed a man in his home, police said.
Date published: 9/1/2009
BY KEITH EPPS
A Fredericksburg man was arrested Friday shortly after he beat, tied up and robbed a man in his home, police said.
The incident occurred about 6:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of Charles Street, city police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said.
Bledsoe said a neighbor called police after hearing the victim screaming for help.
The neighbor went outside and saw the victim on his front porch. The victim told her that someone was inside his home.
The suspect then walked out of the home with an armload of items,
Bledsoe said. When he noticed the neighbor, he walked back inside.
The suspect then left through the back door. He was apprehended a short time later in the 1200 block of Sophia Street.
Bledsoe said the victim told police he was in his living room watching
television when a man he didn't know walked in an open back door.
He asked the victim for money and was told several times to leave,
Bledsoe said. He then attacked the victim, hitting him several times in
the head area.
Police said the suspect then tied the victim's hands behind his back
with an electrical cord. He then punched and kicked the victim again.
He then went through the victim's home and took several items, including tools, a cell phone and the victim's wallet.
The 45-year-old victim told police he was finally able to free himself. He said the ordeal lasted about 25 minutes.
The neighbor gave police a good description of the suspect. Craig Owen
Vaczy, 30, was arrested a short time later. The victim's wallet was
recovered.
Vaczy, who has a long criminal record, was charged with robbery,
abduction, malicious wounding, burglary, destruction of property and
possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also served with an
outstanding warrant from Spotsylvania.
Vaczy was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail under no bond.
******************************
********************
18. RT LTE: Why does it always have to be about color?
******************************
********************
The media is quick to (wrongly) highlight race in gun debate:
http://tinyurl.com/npzfvn
Why does it always have to be about color?
Re: Donald Johnson's statement about the gentleman in Arizona, a
Republican state, milling around with weapons because, as he said, they
"still have some freedoms" ("Secret service slacking on protecting
president," Aug. 22 letter):
When will Johnson acknowledge the fact that he, too, has freedoms in
this country? The freedoms he enjoys may not be what I enjoy, but if
they are legal, who am I to tread on his freedoms and his rights or he
to tread on mine?
Many people today throw out the race card, and I am sickened by it.
Perhaps Johnson may want to broaden his horizons to include other than
the mainstream
liberal media that showed only a picture of an AR-15 semi-automatic
rifle thrown over a shoulder without any part of the picture showing
that the gentleman carrying the rifle was indeed African-American --
though I am betting if you asked him, he would be happy to say he is
just an American.
My guess is this won't be printed by our local, anti-gun liberal newspaper as they, too, hate guns.
WARREN R. BURCH
TROUTVILLE
******************************
********************
19. Washington Times Editorial: False reports about guns
******************************
********************
CBS and MSNBC paint false picture of gun owners
http://tinyurl.com/nrn4us
EDITORIAL: False reports about guns
CBS and MSNBC peddle phony stories about arms, race and violence
By THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Monday, August 31, 2009
Many media outlets have misfired about guns.Countless newspapers and
television networks -- from CBS to MSNBC -- have misreported that
conservative protesters are threatening President Obama with guns at
public events. It hasn't happened.
In Portsmouth, N.H., a man carrying a gun, William Kostric, joined an
Aug. 11 health care protest. This was blocks away and hours before Mr.
Obama's town-hall meeting in that city. Mr. Kostric was given
permission to be on church property where the protest occurred and was
not at the place the president visited. What most of the coverage left
out was that Mr. Kostric didn't carry his gun only for the protest; he
legally carries a gun with him all the time for protection.
While the media regularly used terms such as "hotheads" to
mischaracterize the situation, the coverage ignored that union members
who opposed the protest had attacked Mr. Kostric and a friend, kicking,
pushing and spitting on them. Despite violence against him by Mr.
Obama's supporters, Mr. Kostric did not draw his gun or threaten anyone.
On the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric asked, "Are we really still
debating health care when a man brings a handgun to a church where the
president is speaking?" Deliberately or not, she got the facts wrong.
As we know, Mr. Kostric did bring a gun to the church, but the
president was not there and never was scheduled to speak there. Mr.
Obama spoke at a separate event at a local high school at a different
time. Not letting facts get in the way of her hysterical story line,
Ms. Couric linked Mr. Kostric's gun to "fear and frankly ignorance
drown[ing] out the serious debate that needs to take place about an
issue that affects the lives of millions of people."
In another case in Arizona, a black man staged an event with a local
radio host and carried a semiautomatic rifle a few blocks away from
another Obama town-hall meeting. According to the radio station, the
staged event was "partially motivated to do so because of the
controversy surrounding William Kostric." This occurrence was not an
example of an outraged gun-toting Obama protester, but a stunt to
garner attention for a shock jock. Of course, this inconvenient truth
was ignored by most news outlets.
MSNBC misrepresented the facts to try to back up a bogus claim about
racism being behind opposition to Mr. Obama's agenda. On Donny
Deutsch's Aug. 18 show about the Arizona town-hall meeting, the
producers aired a clip of the anonymous black man carrying the
so-called assault rifle -- but the network edited the tape so the man's
race was obscured. Truth be damned, MSNBC anchor Contessa Brewer said,
"There are questions whether this has a racial overtone. I mean, here
you have a man of color in the presidency and white people showing up
with guns strapped to their waists." Another commentator on the same
show worried about the "anger about a black person being president."
The supposed result: "You know we see these hate groups rising up."
MSNBC's irresponsible behavior is more than just bad journalism; it
sows distrust between races. Ernest Hancock, the radio host who staged
the event, was hoping to get some free publicity for himself and his
show. Whatever one thinks of this PR stunt, it had nothing to do with
race. MSNBC misrepresented a black man carrying a gun as a white man to
invent a racial dynamic that didn't exist.
Media disinformation about guns is a sad sign of the drastic action
liberals will take to undermine support for gun rights for law-abiding
citizens. It's also an indication of liberals' extreme desperation as
Mr. Obama's agenda unravels.
