User Panel
Posted: 10/3/2004 5:55:41 PM EDT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1361-2004Oct1.html?nav=rss_metro
Gun-Toting Protesters Shake Up Falls Church 30 Bear Arms in Council Chamber By David Cho Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 2, 2004; Page B01 It seemed simple enough. Falls Church officials recently drafted a policy that would require city workers to call 911 immediately if anyone stepped onto city property carrying a gun. Police who responded would check to see if the gun was properly licensed and report their findings to city officials. With all seven council members and many residents of this little city inside the Capital Beltway firmly in the anti-gun camp, only a few officials expected any problems with the procedures. Think again. If the intent was to discourage gun-toting in the city, the effort has backfired. About 30 people, pistols strapped to their hips, strode into the council's meeting this week protesting the policy and warning that it violates their constitutional right to bear arms -- and possibly state laws, as well. The group was largely organized by Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun owners group, who drove up from his home near Richmond. He had hardly set foot in Falls Church before, but now, he vowed, the city "is going to be under a microscope." "We weren't paying any attention to them until they did this," he said. "If they try to set some standard like this and we ignore them, then it's going to send the wrong message. . . . But if they violate state law, we are prepared to sue them." The presence of so many pistol-packing citizens at Monday's meeting unnerved council members and, in particular, infuriated council member David Snyder, who denounced their brazen display of firearms as "intimidation" and attacked Virginia's recently enacted laws that limit local control over guns. "It's particularly ironic that everyone on the state, federal and local levels are concerned about gang violence, and yet Virginia prevents local communities from acting against that very violence when guns are potentially involved," he said in an interview. The debate underscores the political divide between Northern Virginia's urban communities and the conservative leanings of the General Assembly, which voted in 2002 to prohibit localities from enacting any regulations on gun use not authorized by the state. Snyder and other council members say they are frustrated by state legislators in Richmond who seem to ignore their public safety needs when it comes to gun issues. "It's an absolutely bizarre situation, where the citizens of Falls Church can't determine the levels of safety that they want on the facilities that they alone have paid for," Snyder added. But gun advocates say the Falls Church policy assumes that people are doing something wrong just because they carry a gun. Kelly Hobbs, spokesman for the Fairfax-based National Rifle Association, noted: "It's common sense to alert the proper authorities about any suspicious activity. But [Falls Church's] regulation doesn't address suspicious activities; it singles out anyone who is carrying a firearm. The concern is that law-abiding citizens will be unfairly targeted, and unnecessary strain will be put on law enforcement resources." City Manager Daniel McKeever said his staff is combing through state and federal laws and is "legally scrubbing" the policy. Since it is an administrative policy for his staff, it does not need a vote by the council to be applied, he said. The issue was prompted when a library worker asked McKeever in July whether people were allowed to bring guns into the library, he said. "The policy simply says if somebody comes onto our property with a firearm, call the police," McKeever said. "If there's a violation, the police will make that evaluation. That's all we're doing. We're not trying to violate any laws that are on the books." The sight of 30 people bearing arms at a council meeting was intimidating, several council members said. "It was unnerving," said Vice Mayor Martha Meserve. She added: "Our staff is supposed to be on alert to look for suspicious activity, to look for terrorists, and now they're being told that if they question someone carrying a weapon, they are harassing people. You can't have it both ways." At the same time, Falls Church's efforts will motivate gun advocates, said Van Cleave. "It is going to backfire," he said. "It's perfect for my side. I'm going to go to the General Assembly. . . . What they are doing is not going to go over well with the legislators." |
|
I wish more gun-owners had balls to do that. Most of us are too afraid to make that kind of noise.
|
|
the founding fathers would say that 30 people showing up UNarmed would be disturbing
good job by the gun owners
|
|
|
Government needs to be reminded from time to time that THEY WORK FOR US, THE CITIZENS, not the other way around. WE the PEOPLE are in charge, not them.
|
|
tons of "open carry" walkers protested around Ohio earlier this year to get CCW passed.
The best one was up and down the block at the governor's mansion. |
|
Yup...when I lived in VA, I was a member...worked the booth at gun shows, too...VCDL ROCKS!!! |
|
|
I bet those coucilmen and women shit their pants when they walked in
|
|
Excellent. Even better: the depositions after the lawsuit is filed.
Q. Did you detain Mr. Jones? A. Yes. Q. What did you do? A. I requested his identification so that I could determine whether he was a felon or otherwise barred from possessing a firearm. Q. Why did you do that? A. He had a handgun holstered on his hip. Q. Is that a crime or evidence of a crime under Virginia law? A. No. Q. Did you have any reason to believe Mr. Jones was a felon or otherwise barred from possessing a firearm? A. No. Q. So, you detained him despite the fact that you had no reason to believe he was in violation of any law? A. Yes. Q. Please enumerate your assets. Bwahahahahahahahahaha! |
|
VCDL rocks! Pure and simple.
They are a classic example of what can be achived on a grass roots level! They remind me of a State version of GOA. No compromise!! Edit to say: Every day I am safer because of VCDL. |
|
yeah really, big mistake on the city's part |
|
|
I'm a proud member of VCDL and by far, it is the most effective pro-gun organization I've ever been involved with. We have accomplished so much at the state level. VCDL should be a model for other state and national pro-gun organizations.
|
|
One of my few pet peeves with NoVA. It tends to get a little elitist at times. |
|
|
I think they should set up a rotating schedule to have a gun wearer enter every 30 minutes. Then make sure the clerks call police - everytime. After a few days of two 911 calls every hour the police would have some talks with the .gov people.
Fritz |
|
|
||
|
I used to have to deal with peoples cable from there. Alot of people with some real issues about thinking they are better then everyone else. I dont care if someone works in DC you should have paid the bill and your service would be working |
||
|
+1 While I don't live in VA, I am a member of VCDL. They were instrumental in getting VA's new non-resident and reciprocity provisions changed. I visit VA on business and for pleasure often, and now, thanks to VCDL, I can legally protect myself while doing so. When I saw what they have accomplished, and where they are going, I felt complelled to join. |
|
|
Particularly in Falls Church city which is actually vastly different than the rest of Falls Church. They have their own library system, their own school system, their own public transportation. Imagine how much all of that would cost a city which is *maybe* a couple of miles square (and I doubt it's even that big). It also tells you the avarage income of the residents. Someone's got to pay for all of that stuff so the good people of Falls Church city don't have to sully themselves going to a Fairfax county public library. |
||
|
That's why its' called OCCUPIED Northern Virginia! |
||
|
Folks need to consider the bumper sticker "The 2nd Amendment Ain't about DUCK Hunting".
Gov types SHOULD feel intimidated! The 2nd is about keeping THEM under OUR control. |
|
My sister lives in McClean, and believe you me, you ain't whistling Dixie. There is a decidedly "We're better than the hicks in the rest of the state" attitude about the place.... |
||
|
I'm glad this is getting recognition - people in Virginia are taking an active part changing things at a State and local level and it's paying off! If any of you in Virginia are not members of VCDL, you should really consider joining (www.vcdl.org)
You may want to change the title of your thread, though. Even though the newspapers claimed we staged a protest and were an organized group, in actuality it was just ~30 people who all showed up to the same event who were not organized and not there to intimidate. VCDL has an alert e-mail system to let people know about meetings such as this so many Virginia citizens found out about the meeting. Since we passed complete preemption on July 1 this year you can carry into any public premises not prohibited by Federal law. It is very common to have 30-50 openly armed people in the General Assembly when firearms laws are heard. The only reason this made the news is because it was in occupied territory and they don't want to give it back! The councilmembers exemplify exactly why we passed preemption - to keep people like them from imposing their personal biases or phobias on all of us. It's been a great year in Virginia!! Black Fox |
|
Occupied NoVa, I like that. And Mickey Mouse, cool idea for a bumper sticker (or helmet sticker for the motorcycle folks). I'd put it right next to my "Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my gun one," and wedge the "I see the Fuck Up Fairy has visited us again" sticker in there too.
|
|
Yes, we have balls aplenty. That's why I joined. The VCDL has done a great deal to educate police and .gov officials about the law, and wherever we find pre-emption violations we go after them. Guns in the hands of the law abiding are NO threat. It is high friggin time that these little piss-ant .gov officials learned that. BTW -- Comparing the VCDL members to "Armed gangs" will most certainly get Mr. VanCleave's dander up. We are not armed criminals. We are citizens who pay taxes, go to church, contribute to the community and to society, and only use violence as a last resort. The mere comparison is an insult to the citizens of our Commonwealth. If we are an "armed gang" then the police are an even bigger and more dangerous one. After all, that "armed gang" can buy machine guns. |
|
|
+1 VCDL...ROCKS! More gun rights groups should do this kind of thing. I'd be all in and would gladly spend some personal time at protests like this. |
|
|
Yup, or Yuppie I should say. Wish I had known about that little shendig..it would have been worth taking the ime off from work! |
|||
|
Haven't lived here long, huh? Just kidding! VCDL rocks! |
|
|
|
Smokycity wrote:
Well, actually, it already IS a bumper sticker.Available from Citizens Committee RKBA, Liberty PArk, 12500 N.E. Tenth Pl., Bellevue WA 98005 www.ccrkba.org/ They have other good ones and they only cost $ .50!! |
|
|
I'm still waiting for my VCDL membership packet. I need to give them a call.
|
|
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.