VA-ALERT: VCDL Mini-Update 7/23/17
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Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
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VA-ALERT archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/727/=now
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1. Update on White House petition for National Concealed Carry Reciprocity
2. Congressional Representative Don Beyer on reciprocity and hearing protection
3. ROFLMAO! Now Katie Couric is actually lecturing the media on the dangers of “fake news!”
4. WAMU to have “neighborhood conversation” on guns in Arlington on Tuesday, July 25
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1. Update on White House petition for National Concealed Carry Reciprocity
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At 4 PM on Sunday, there are now 7,887 signatures. We need over 92,000 more by August 17 for a formal White House response. I am reaching out to national organizations, such as the NRA, GOA, CCRKBA, SAF, etc. and am reaching out to our sister groups, such as Maryland Shall Issue, West Virginia Citizens Defense League, and to other media, such as GunTalk. But we need all hands on deck!
Here is a simple link you can share with people for the petition:
vcdl.org/Sign-The-White-House-Petition
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Long time gun-rights journalist Dave Workman is getting the word out in some of his latest articles:
Concealed Carry Skyrockets to More than 16.3 Million, Report Says
http://libertyparkpress.com/concealed-carry-skyrockets-16-3-million-report-says/
Soaring CCW: Eleven states top 10% carry; more women carry
http://conservativefiringline.com/soaring-ccw-eleven-states-top-10-carry-women-carry/
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2. Congressional Representative Don Beyer on reciprocity and hearing protection
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Congressman Don Beyer, from Northern Virginia, has been responding to his constituents on their requests for his support of National Concealed Carry Reciprocity and also the Hearing Protection Act (makes silencers/suppressors much easier to purchase).
The one thing I can say to his credit is at least he says how he will vote, unlike so many who give the meaningless, “I will keep your comments in mind when I vote on this issue.”
Beyer says he will not vote for either bill. That’s not a good thing, but not a surprise. That said, if he is going to oppose a bill, his facts should be correct and his reasoning should at least make some sense. He fails both tests.
He actually calls both bills, and I’m not kidding, “dangerous.” Dangerous? A bill to protect a person’s hearing is “dangerous?” A bill to allow the most law-abiding group of people the ability to carry in a few more states is “dangerous?” Dangerous for who, exactly?
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Let’s look at Don Beyer’s claims about HR 38 (National Reciprocity) and analyze them.
* Claim: “Gun owners with concealed-carry licenses in one state would be automatically extended those same rights in every other state, no matter the laws of the state they are in.” Facts: Rights are not granted by government (I guess Beyer skipped Government 101). A permit holder would be able to carry in the same locations and have the same restrictions as the permit holders for the host state. Beyer makes it sound like all state gun laws are thrown out and that is completely false.
* Claim: “The bill would abolish gun free school zones, allowing for potentially dangerous or untrained individuals to carry loaded firearms in K-12 schools.” Facts: Not true. It does not abolish the Gun Free School Zone Act (GFSZA). Currently, if a person is in their home state and has a permit, they are ALREADY exempt from the GFSZA! H.R. 38 merely extends that exemption to cover the permit holder when traveling outside their home state.
* Claim: “H.R. 38 would force every state to accept the permits of the other 49, regardless of how minimal those requirements may be.” Facts: That is true, but it’s not actually a problem in reality. More than 20 states are ALREADY accepting ALL permits, including Virginia, and without any problems.
* Claim: “H.R. 38 would jeopardize police safety by placing law enforcement in the compromising position of determining concealed-carry certifications from other states.” Facts: How could a police officer’s safety possibly be jeopardized by merely determining the “certifications” of a permit? I think “police safety” is just being thrown in as a buzzword to scare people. The officer doesn’t have to worry about “certifications.” As long as the officer is presented with a permit from another state, that is all the officer has to see. If the person is from a Constitutional Carry state, where a concealed carry permit is not available or is not required, then a simple roadside warrant check is all that is needed: if the person is not prohibited from owning a gun due to a warrant, previous felony, or other prohibition, then he is legally carrying.
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Now H.R. 367, the Hearing Protection Act:
* Claim: “Buyers are required to pay a $200 transfer tax and comply with a federal background check, as well as submit fingerprints and a photograph.” Facts: Paying a tax doesn’t make a person law-abiding, but it does keep poor people from purchasing a silencer. The background check is basically the same check as when purchasing a firearm. Criminals submit fingerprints and photographs when they are booked. That doesn’t stop them from being criminals.
* Claim: “The bill would allow silencers to be sold on the private market, allowing buyers to completely bypass a background check.” Facts: That is no different than a firearm. But a silencer is merely a firearm accessory!
* Claim: “The noise guns produce is an essential safety feature. In the event of an active shooter situation, hearing and identifying gunshots is often the only way the public can respond quickly to the threat of gun violence.” Fact: Using this logic, removing mufflers from cars and trucks would be a safety feature! The silencer is the safety feature, protecting the hearing of the shooter and others nearby. Silencers are rarely used by criminals because they make the gun pretty much unable to be concealed. Also, silencers merely lower the sound to a safe level for the shooter and others nearby (< 140 dB). The shot can still be as loud as a chainsaw or a jack hammer! A quick trip to the range to hear the sound of a suppressed gunshot and Representative Beyer could have his fear allayed.
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Here is an article by the NRA that takes Beyer to task for his anti-self-defense positions and lack of facts or manipulation of facts to suit his purposes:
https://medium.com/national-rifle-association/wrong-congressman-beyer-self-defense-is-a-right-shared-by-all-law-abiding-americans-10646b10c67
or
http://tinyurl.com/yb6r7v49
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3. ROFLMAO! Now Katie Couric is actually lecturing the media on the dangers of “fake news!”
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You simply cannot make this stuff up.
The New York Daily News, which ran a story on Katie’s fake-news warning, is itself guilty of being fake news because they never mentioned or hinted at Katie’s hypocrisy. But Fox News nailed her on what she did to VCDL and Townhall.com ate her alive:
Townhall.com:
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2017/07/21/katie-couric-are-you-kidding-with-that-remark-about-fake-news-n2357882
or
http://tinyurl.com/ycolchub
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Fox:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/07/20/katie-couric-fake-news-is-ripping-america-apart-at-seams.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/ybstbj9k
Katie Couric: Fake news is ripping America ‘apart at the seams’
“I remember I got sent a lot of stories from friends who were quite educated and were like, ‘Did you see this?'” she told the New York Daily News. “And I would say, ‘Come on, you’re kidding, right? This is BS.'”
She added, “We’re not doing enough of a good job of breaking down complicated issues and helping people really understand them.”
While Couric blasted what she called fake news sites, she avoided placing blame on the mainstream media.
However, she did say the lines between straight news and opinion “have been blurred considerably.”
“[Americans] are so divided that it’s hard for us to come up with solutions and find commonalities,” she said. “And there’s vitriol spewed by both sides at people who disagree with them.”
Couric herself has been accused of reporting fake news. She was hit with a $12 million lawsuit over her documentary “Under the Gun.” Pro-gun activists accused Couric of deceptive editing but the case was dismissed in May.
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And fake news from the New York Daily News:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/katie-couric-fake-news-tearing-america-seams-article-1.3339909
or
http://tinyurl.com/yd3kxjw8
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4. WAMU to have “neighborhood conversation” on guns in Arlington on Tuesday, July 25
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I tried contacting Kojo Nnamdi to see if I could be on the panel, but never heard back from him. The panel consists of two professional gun-control lobbyists, one gun owner, and a George Mason law professor whose bonafides show her to be strongly pro-rights. (I have added some information on the gun owner and the professor at the end of this item.)
The event is open to the public, so it would be good if we had some VCDL members there to ask questions and to wear GSL stickers.
Details:
http://wamu.org/event/kojo-community-neighborhood-conversation-guns-july-25/
Kojo In Your Community: A Neighborhood Conversation About Guns On July 25
Patrick Madden / WAMU
It’s been just weeks since a U.S. Congressman was shot during practice at a Northern Virginia baseball field, and 10 years since the mass shooting at Virginia Tech, one of the worst in our country’s history. The Commonwealth’s gun laws, meanwhile, are considerably less restrictive than they were a decade ago. In communities like Arlington, neighbors have engaged deeply in debates on the issue, ranging from the economics of local gun shops to the legislative moves in Richmond.
As Virginia voters prepare for a statewide election this fall, join Kojo for a community conversation about where the Commonwealth fits into debates about gun rights and gun violence — and how views about these issues shape broader attitudes about politics in our region.
The conversation will be held at Founders Hall on the George Mason University Arlington Campus. The hall is accessible via public transit.
Doors to the event space will open at 6 p.m. and the event will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. The conversation will conclude at 8 p.m.
Please note: seating is available on a first come, first served basis. We will do our best to accommodate all interested parties, but cannot guarantee a seat for all. A recording of the conversation will air at a later date on WAMU 88.5 and will be posted at the Kojo Nnamdi Show website.
GMU’s campus POLICY prohibits carrying weapons of any kind, firearms included.
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More info:
The 90-minute event will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with four ‘conversation facilitators’ but everyone present will be given an opportunity to share their perspective if they wish. The conversation facilitators will be both pro and anti gun control. The conversation would be recorded and aired on WAMU 88.5 FM on Thursday, July 27.
Here are the four ‘conversation facilitators’:
Joyce Lee Malcolm (George Mason University law professor)
Adith Subramanian (Local gun owner)
Colin Goddard (Virginia Tech survivor, activist)
Josh Horwitz (Coalition to Stop Gun Violence)
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Here is information on the the gun owner, Adith Subramanian. I am hopeful that he will do well:
http://wamu.org/story/15/10/30/in_purple_state_virginia_gun_owners_dont_always_fit_the_stereotypes/
And information on professor Malcolm:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Lee_Malcolm
Gun controllers Goddard and Horwitz should be familiar to everyone on this list.
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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