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Action Alert from GOA

roscoe13

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
1,134
Location
Catlett, Virginia, USA
imported post

Republican Leadership Stymies Virginia Right To Self Defense
-- Pro-gun Delegate seeking discharge petition

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

It is often said that the best defense is a good offense.

And since the politicians in Richmond seem determined to "do
something" in response to the VA Tech shootings, it makes sense to
GOA that doing something should take the form of making it easier for
law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and others when confronted
with deranged individuals.

The Republican political bosses in the legislature can't seem to
understand that, though. Or maybe that's not truly fair to say... it
is much more likely that they DO understand the value of
self-defense, but are too wimpy to put that truth into action.

In other words, it seems they don't care if you die, as long as they
aren't being castigated by the liberal press for being too pro-gun.
They seem to think that being painted in such a manner might cost
them seats in the next election -- even though it has been proven
time and again that gun control is a losing political strategy,
especially in a state such as Virginia.

And the one person who is desperately trying to keep self-defense in
the Commonwealth from advancing is Speaker of the House William
Howell (R-28; delwhowell@house.state.va.us is his e-mail address).

At issue is pro-gun Del. Bob Marshall's campus carry bill, HB 424.
Several states are currently considering such bills, because
self-defense WORKS. And as campus carry bills go, HB 424 is actually
one of the least controversial. (You can read this short and concise
bill at http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+HB424 on
the legislature's website.) It's a "faculty" carry bill that doesn't
address the issue of students carrying at all, and only applies to
those faculty members who have a valid carry permit. Of course, GOA
would much prefer that ANY law-abiding citizen not be restricted from
carrying anywhere they go, but at least HB 424 is a solid step in the
right direction. It adds no new restrictions to current law and could
very well save lives in the future.

Not that Speaker Howell cares one whit about saving lives. In fact,
insiders report that he not only doesn't want the bill to pass, he is
actively working to block it completely!

HB 424 is currently in the House Militia, Police and Public Safety
Committee. Sources indicate that Speaker Howell has instructed the
committee to make sure the bill dies -- to not even give it a
hearing, much less a vote. He wants it to go away entirely. And at
least in the committee, he will probably get his way!

But Bob Marshall is pro-gun and more than willing to buck his party's
leadership to advance gun rights in Virginia. He understands that
self-defense is far more important than partisan politics.

He also knows that, while the Speaker is undoubtedly the most
powerful member of the House, he is NOT an omnipotent monarch. The
rules of the legislature take into account that a recalcitrant
Speaker might look to thwart the will of the People, and a remedy is
provided.

That remedy is known as a discharge petition. Basically, if enough
delegates demand that a bill be brought for a vote on the floor of
the House, the vote must take place -- regardless of whether the
Speaker, a given committee, or any other entity would prefer
otherwise.

Marshall is determined that his campus carry bill be given an
opportunity to advance, and has laudably committed himself to the
extraordinary step of seeking a discharge petition. That can be a
very lonely road to walk... UNLESS a number of other delegates look
around and say "Hey, he's right, I'll join with him."

And that's where you come in.

Even if you do nothing else at all in this legislative session to
support Virginia gun rights, PLEASE urge your delegate to support Bob
Marshall's discharge effort on HB 424.

And it's not enough that your delegate assure you he or she will
"vote for" the bill given the chance -- he or she must ACTIVELY
support the discharge procedure in order to force that vote in the
first place.

So please, take action right away after you finish reading. Then,
tell every pro-gun Virginian you can what is happening and encourage
them to act as well.

Taking action is simple enough: drop your delegate an e-mail message.
You'll even find some suggested text below that you can copy and
paste into your message to make it that much easier.

To identify who your delegate happens to be and to obtain an e-mail
address for him or her is equally simple, thanks to the power of the
internet.

You can look up your delegate at:
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform

Once you know who you are dealing with, go to:
http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView
and click on the name to obtain an e-mail link.

Simple.


----- Suggested text to copy/paste into an e-mail or fax -----

Dear Delegate,

I am very disturbed that Speaker Howell has refused to allow Del.
Marshall's self-defense bill, HB 424, to even be considered in
committee.

As recent events in Colorado have shown, self-defense WORKS. An armed
responsible adult can single-handedly stop a deranged individual from
killing dozens.

Happily, Bob Marshall understands that self-defense is more important
than partisan politics, and is seeking to discharge the bill -- no
matter what others in his party might prefer.

Certainly you aren't against the concept of lawful self-defense, are
you? And even if you do think you have justifiable reasons for putting
my life at risk, shouldn't the legislation at least be considered on
its merits?

Please ACTIVELY work to support Del. Marshall's effort to discharge
HB 424. And that means saying you will support the bill "if given a
chance to vote for it" simply is not enough... I respectfully request
that you do everything in your legislative power to force that vote.

Sincerely,


****************************

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mercutio545

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
469
Location
VA
imported post

Granted, HB 424 allows faculty members to carry, but doesn't HB 1371 allow everybody to carry, including students? Why have I heard pretty much nothing about this in the past weeks? Seems like one of the most important bills out there.
 

vrwmiller

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
1,043
Location
Virginia, USA
imported post

So, I sent an email to my Delegate, Jackson Miller urging him to support Marshall's discharge efforts. I did not use the form letter sent out by GOA, but personalized it since Jackson and I have gotten to know each other and have spoken with one another on multiple occassions.

Here is his response to my email:
I appreciate you sending me your thoughts on HB 424 (Higher educational institutions; possession of concealed handguns by faculty members).

In serving the people of the Commonwealth it is of paramount importance to me that I hear from the citizens of our district. I value your opinion, and agree that an armed citizenry is the best way to prevent situations similar to what occurred at Virginia Tech last year.

As always please don’t hesitate to contact me if there’s anything further I can do to serve you better. Also, please feel free to contact my aide, Bryan Fumagalli, if he can assist in any way.

Once again, thanks for contacting me, and please do stay in touch.

Sincerely,
Jackson Miller
[font="Default Sans Serif,Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"][font="Default Serif,Times New Roman,Times,serif"][/font]

[font="Default Serif,Times New Roman,Times,serif"][/font]
[font="Default Serif,Times New Roman,Times,serif"]On the note of HB1371, It was included in several VA-ALERTS from VCDL with links to contact your legislatures on it. I did request my legislators to support this bill.[/font]

[font="Default Serif,Times New Roman,Times,serif"][/font]
[font="Default Serif,Times New Roman,Times,serif"]According to LIS, it has been referred to the Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety.
[/font]

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