I just heard on radio news that legislation to close the gunshow loophole has been voted through in VA. That means no more private sales at VA gunshows without background checks.

It passed committee, barely. I doubt it will make it out of the house. Let's hope so at least.

BULLSHIT!

Here's a link.

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Read.aspx?ID=4335

Woohooo 1 more step to becoming a true bluetrad state which means I'm one step closer to saying "Fuck it; I'm heading to Texas(or Utah)"

I just hope I can hold out for atleast another year so I can position "my forces" just right at work so they'll let me work out of a home office. I could do my job on a cruise ship in the Med if I wanted to, as long as I had a data up link to the company's network.

But i was told gun control was sooo unpopular right now.[>:/]

What is the VCDL doing about this so far?

This will keep berserk Asian college students from decapitating one another how?

It's passed committee...if you live in VA.....CONTACT YOUR DAMN REPRESENTATIVE!!!


EDIT: VCDL has an alert out with links to your representatives.

is Va. a good gun law state?

It is considered a threat if you say "Vote for this and you won't be in office this time next year?"

yes, va is a free state.  high caps, private transfers, shall issue ccw, all nfa good to go

Compared to the Dictatorship of NY? Hell yeah!

If you live in the Commonwealth or are of like mind, please join or donate to the Virginia Citizen's Defense League, the VCDL*.

Here is the alert that went out today from the VCDL on this item:

http://www2.vcdl.org/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/vcdl/vadetail.html?RECID=3864001&FILTER=
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT:  http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

GUN SHOW BILL PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE!  WE NEED TO STOP IT.  ACTION  
ITEM AT END OF THIS ALERT.

Several Senators changed their vote from last year and voted by the  
narrowest of margins (8-7) to pass Senator Marsh's gun show bill, SB  
1257, out of committee today. :-(

After Senator Marsh explained his bill to the committee, Marsh called  
the Secretary of Public Safety to speak on the bill's behalf.  After  
the Secretary spoke, Senator Stolle grilled him and got the Secretary  
to admit that he had no data to back up his claim that Marsh's bill  
was needed to stop criminals from getting guns at gun shows.

Each side then got 10 minutes to speak.

The antis, who believe that every word they say is golden and should  
be savored by all in the room, as usual went way over time.  They  
would either be droning on and on or they would be like anti-gun Abby  
Spangler (Stop Easy Guns) and scream at the committee, drowning out  
anti-gun Senator Howell who was trying to tell Abby her time is up,  
and threaten the committee members with political holocaust if they  
don't vote for Marsh's bill.

Also speaking in favor of Marsh's bill was the Virginia PTA.  Parents  
- if you are a member of the PTA, it is definitely time to get out of  
that organization.

Senator Creigh Deeds then offered an amendment that would exempt CHP  
holders from having to do a background check when purchasing a firearm

from a private seller.  It also exempted antique firearms from needing

a background check.

Sorry, Senator, but that is unacceptable.  We are not going to support

a "divide and conquer" plan.

The amended bill still REQUIRES most gun owners to have a mandatory  
background check when purchasing a firearm in a private transaction.

And the damage to the gun shows having to setup all kinds of  
procedures to handle those background checks for those who aren't  
exempted will be just as bad as it would be without the exemptions.

Just because some of us would be exempt means nothing.  Permit holders

will NOT abandon non-permit holders and embrace gun control.

Senator Edwards offered to completely replace the modified bill with  
one that simply allowed for private sellers to have the OPTION of  
running a background check on the person they were selling a gun to.

That bill substitution failed.

Finally the bill came up for a vote with the Deeds amendment.  Before  
the vote, Senator Norment chastised the antis for their behavior.  He  
said that they hurt their own cause.

Norment looked at the antis and said that he did not appreciate being  
threatened politically.  He then said that he would vote for Marsh's  
bill anyhow!!!

So Norment basically gave the antis a signal that if they were abusive  
toward him, they would get their way.

Even anti-gun Senator Saslaw dressed down the anti-gunners - that's  
how bad they were.

Here is the vote.  Three Senators who claim to be pro-gun sold  you  
out - Quayle, Norment, and Deeds.  The rest who voted wrong, always  
vote wrong:

Voting anti-gun:

Marsh (D), Salsaw (D), ***Quayle (R)***, ***Norment (R)***, Howell  
(D), Lucas (D), Puller (D), ***Deeds (D)***

Voting pro-gun:

Stolle (R), Edwards (D), Reynolds (D), Cuccinelli (R), Obenshain (R),  
McDougle (R), Hurt (R)

––

Two other gun bills came up this morning, with more shenanigans by  
Senator Marsh, the committee chairman.

Senator Watkins's bill that would make raise the gun purchase  
background check tax by 150%, SB 1166,  also passed.  Senators  
Cuccinelli and Stolle grilled Senator Watkins on his bill.  The  
committee chair, anti-gun Senator Marsh, did not allow any public  
input and the bill passed out of committee without allowing me to  
comment on it.  This bill is bad and needs to be stopped.

Here is the vote on SB 1166.  Four Senators who claim to be pro-gun  
voted wrong - Quayle, Norment, Stolle, and Deeds.  The rest who voted  
wrong, always vote wrong:

Voting against gun owners - Marsh (D), Saslaw (D), ***Stolle (R)***,  
***Quayle (R)***, ***Norment (R)***, Howell (D), Lucas (D), Puller  
(D), ***Deeds (D)***

Voting with gun owners - Edwards (D), Reynolds (D), Cuccinelli (R),  
Obenshein (R), McDougle (R), Hurt (R)

––

Finally, Senator Marsh's concealed weapon bill that makes various  
changes to Virginia's concealed weapon laws came up today.  Senators

Norment and Stolle grilled the witness for the bill, Lt. Col. Robert  
Kemmler with the Virginia State Police.

Stolle suggested that the *requirement* for training be dropped!

The committee discussed what that might do to reciprocity and they  
decided to investigate that and look at the idea again next year.

The committee did vote to drop the wording that bans online training,  
as suggested by Senator Stolle.  Senators Stolle and Cuccinelli tried  
to substitute Cuccinelli's wording that specifically says that online

training is OK, but that was rejected.

I stood up to speak on the bill and Senator Marsh was about to start  
the vote without giving me a chance to speak.

Senator Reynolds stopped the vote to make sure I had a chance to speak

- Senator Marsh looked like he had just ate a huge lemon.  He wanted  
desperately to ignore me and it didn't work. ;-)

I objected to out of state permits and non-resident permits that  
already have photos be required to show yet another form of photo-id.

The bill, minus the wording banning online training, but with the  
absurd double photo-id requirement still in tact, passed out of  
committee unanimously.

––––––-

ACTION ITEM ON GUN SHOW BILL

This is the third time in history that the gun show bill has made it  
out of committee - in this case it just barely squeaked out.

As in the past, we need to make sure that the bill dies on the Senate  
Floor and time is of the essence.

We NEED TO contact our Senators and make sure that friends, family,  
and coworkers do the same.

To send a message to your Senator to kill Marsh's gun show bill, SB  
1257, click here:

http://tinyurl.com/crdopj

––

URGENT ACTION ITEM FOR CONSTITUENTS OF DEEDS, NORMENT, QUAYLE

If you are a constituent of Senator Deeds, Norment or Quayle, you need =

to let them know that their support for gun control is unacceptable.

Here is their email addresses and phone numbers:

Creigh Deeds
district25*senate.virginia.gov
804-698-7525

Thomas K. Norment
district03*senate.virginia.gov
804-698-7503

Frederick M. Quayle
district13*senate.virginia.gov
804-698-7513

Suggested email:

Senator,

As a constituent, I am very disappointed in your vote to support gun  
control.  Senator Marsh's bill SB 1257,  which forces background  
checks on all private sales at a gun show, is still a bad bill, even  
with an exemption for concealed handgun permit holders and antiques.

This bill is going to damage an important business in Virginia, gun  
shows, and will have nothing to show for it in reduced crime.

Instead, it lays the foundation for a private sale registration scheme  
requiring all private sales no matter where they take place to go  
through a dealer.

I urge you to drop your support for this atrocity and vote against the  
bill on the Senate Floor.

Please let me know what you are going to do to correct your bad vote.

Sincerely
[YOUR NAME]
[YOUR ADDRESS]



––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-
***************************************************************************

*About the VCDL:
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) was founded in October 1994 as the Northern Virginia Citizens Defense League (NVCDL). The group experienced enormous growth in membership statewide and was incorporated as VCDL in May of 1998. VCDL is a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians and, most importantly, the proposition that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental Human Right.

Even if you can't or won't join right now, click here ( http://blog.vcdl.org/ ) to use their system to quickly and easily send an email opposing the bill.



It only takes 10 seconds.

RESIST

Email sent to my guy, Senator Quayle.  Not happy.

Edited to amend my thoughts after seeing his name supporting this bill.  He had my vote in the past, just lost it now.  Just sent him a second email expressing my outrage and imploring him to correct his error.

sounds like your vdcl is about as useful as our isra

Email sent, damnit!

+1 that's funny.

just joined!!!!!!!!

going to send letters tomorrow!!!!!!

The good news is that the way VA is going, I won't have to move out of MD anymore for more freedom.  I'll have all I'm ever going to get right here.

I joined VCDL.