Posted: 8/8/2007 7:19:09 PM EDT
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Straight from the horses mouth: ********************************************************** 1. ACTION ITEM: Lt. Governor Bolling wants more input on guns! ********************************************************** IMPORTANT *TWO-PART* Action Item EM Bob Marcellus sent me this email: -- www.100ideasva.com/?page=ideas&type=VIRGINIA_VALUES Lt. Governor Bill Bolling's "100 Ideas" website now has THREE new ideas dealing with guns under the "Values" section : Idea #9 "Exempt concealed Weapon Permit holders from FOIA" (ONLY 24 comments posted so far!) Idea #10 "Repeal the restaurant ban" (NO comments yet!) Idea #11 "Prevent Colleges and Universities from restricting Gun Owner rights" (NO comments yet!) VCDL members have done a great job of posting the first 85 comments on idea #2 "Protect the Second Amendment". Excellent postings and volume. Lt. Governor Bolling is attempting to use the idea page as a basis for a popular platform for Virginia, much like Newt Gingrich's contract with America. This is an important opportunity that we must not let slip by us! Please go to the website and let's flood it with pro-gun comments so that the first comments seen by the press and the general public are as positive and as well done as those on idea #2 "Protect the 2nd Amendment" Bob -- After commenting on the above items, let's send Lt. Governor Bolling an email to encourage him to push forward NOW with these important items! Email address: [email protected] Suggested message: -- Subject: Please help Virginia move forward now with gun rights ideas! Dear Lt. Governor Bolling, Thank you for putting forward important ideas on your "100 Ideas" web site that deal with improving and protecting the right of Virginia citizens to keep and bear arms! But with lives at stake, I urge you to do whatever you can to push those ideas forward in the next General Assembly session! Please work with VCDL and other pro-gun groups to repeal the restaurant ban, allow adult college students and faculty with concealed carry permits to carry on campus, and generally protect our right to keep and bear arms. Thanks, again, for standing side-by-side with Virginia's gun owners! Sincerely, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR ADDRESS] |
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I actually just submitted two ideas which I think would be great for Virginia; I just hope I'm not the only one who submitted these ideas: 1) Implement Castle Doctrine - We should not be forced to make every attempt possible to flee when in fear of death or grievous bodily harm before being authorized to use deadly force in defense of our own lives. 2) Pass legislation which prohibits the filing of civil lawsuits by criminals (or their surviving family members) against individuals who utilized deadly force against them when it was determined that the use of such force was justified. Too many law-abiding and armed citizens who utilize deadly force in defense of their own lives or the lives of third parties are being sued either by the surviving criminal or the criminal's family for "damages" resulting from the use of that force, even when its use was justified and saved one or several lives. I would LOVE to see those two ideas (which are already in place in other states) on our own books. _MaH |
I just have a couple of quick points in relation to this statement. 1: Virginia effectively already has the castle doctrine. It exists in the jurisprudence of the court systems. While it would be nice to have it codified, it already exists in Virginia. 2. I am sure you know distinction, but your statement about the castle doctrine is a little misleading. Everything you state is correct, but you left off one important phrase "while in ones home." The castle doctrine only removes the requirement to retreat or flee while you are in your home, it does not remove this requirement while you are outside of the home. |
As long as you did nothing to provoke the encounter, there is no duty to retreat. If you did anything to provoke it or help bring it about then you have to retreat.
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