VCDL update 1-27-2018

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Not yet a Virginia Citizens Defense League member? Join VCDL at: https://vcdl.org/join
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VCDL's calendar: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
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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. Article on gun-control bills getting defeated onThursday 2. Governor threatens veto of church carry - funny as Governor brought guns to church a few days ago 3. Misleading title: Guns now "allowed" in Virginia churches 4. [MD] Maryland legislative session is active. MD CHPs are possible to get 5. President Trump's top six pro-gun moments of 2017 6. 2017 Second-Best Year for Gun Sales 7. Yes, the 2nd amendment is for everyone 8. Question of the Day: Does the number of guns someone owns matter?
9. Don’t tell anybody, but accidental shooting deaths are way down 10. Why warning shots are such a bad idea 11. [NY] Woman shoots ex-boyfriend — and she’s taken into custody 12. [GA] 3 armed men break into house - but homeowner also has a gun 13. [IL] IL AG candidate robbed at gunpoint during campaign photoshoot 14. [IL] 2017: Chicago homicides outnumber U.S. military casualties 18 to 1 15. Humor: Mayor declares Chicago crime-free zone, criminals disperse 16. Why can’t we be like France?
17. [BRAZIL] Some Brazilian criminals’ show-off videos

Click to expand...

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Not yet a Virginia Citizens Defense League member? Join VCDL at: https://vcdl.org/join
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VCDL's calendar: http://www.vcdl.org/meetings
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbreviations used in VA-ALERT: http://www.vcdl.org/help/abbr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VA-ALERT archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/727/=now
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10. Why warning shots are such a bad idea
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Thanks to member Billy Huckleberry for sharing this:


https://tinyurl.com/yc8mzgbg

or

https://slowfacts.wordpress.com/2018/01/02/why-warning-shots-are-such-a-bad-idea/


Why Warning Shots Are Such a Bad Idea
By Rob Morse, January 2, 2018

You’ve heard the saying a thousand times. You will never need a gun until the moment when you need one immediately. Like a parachute or a fire extinguisher, a gun is a life saving tool and not a toy. We use a firearm to stop an immediate and lethal threat. That is why we don’t fire warning shots.

You probably heard this in your concealed carry class, but here are the key factors that need to be present to justify using lethal force:

You (or another person being attacked) are innocent. You did not start this fight.

You are in immediate danger. You don’t have time to do anything else but defend yourself.

The threat is credible. Your attacker has the means, intent, and the ability to kill you or cause great bodily injury or harm.

The threat is unavoidable. You can’t step back and lock the door. You can’t step on the gas and drive away.
Your response is proportional or “reasonable.” Is a more moderate response sufficient to save your life?

That reasonable factor gets us into trouble, and I’m going to use a tough example. Suppose a bunch of drunk family members start pushing each other and throwing insults. Your drunken in-laws are threatening everyone. Can you call the cops and walk away, or do you need to kill someone right now to prevent even greater injury? You fire a warning shot to show them you’re serious ... and then you get hauled off to jail.

“But I didn’t want to kill my brother-in-law,” you say. That reaction makes great sense, but either you misunderstood the threat, or a gun was the wrong tool for the job. You used a lethal tool when lethal force was not justified. Putting your hand on your gun, or even threatening to do so, isn’t justified either. By doing so, you’ve threatened to use lethal force. Was your life in danger, or was it really your wallet or your pride?

What you cannot do is use a gun to intimidate someone. That is what criminals do.

That is why warning shots are such a bad idea. You fired a shot and did not mean to kill your attacker. A warning shot says that your life was not in immediate and unavoidable danger. The bullet hole you made is the period at the end of your confession. Don’t do it!

Suppose you’re at an event that has turned ugly. You may have to grab your family and run to your car. That is the best solution because there will be a lethal instrument in any fight where you are involved. You know there will be, because you brought it. That has serious implications.

If you knew your friends or relatives could get out of control, then the prosecutor will tell the jury that you brought your gun and walked into trouble even when you could have avoided the situation. After all, you are the one who brought the gun to the family fight on purpose. The prosecutor has a point. We don’t use a gun to intimidate, but only to stop a lethal and unavoidable attack.

Your gun is a physical tool, not a psychological one.

When should you shoot? Now is the time to think about it. Consider what you should do before the insults or fists are flying. Knowing when to shoot is as important as knowing how to shoot. Just like the physical skill of shooting your target, your judgment training also takes practice.

If you are going somewhere and you think you might need your gun, then don’t go ... and don’t use a warning shot!

+++

This article was first published at Second Call Defense in 2017.


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11. [NY] Woman shoots ex-boyfriend — and she’s taken into custody
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In New York defending your life runs a distant second to having the proper permit to own a handgun. Life in a communist state.

https://tinyurl.com/y97ycqks

or

http://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/0...er-door-and-shes-taken-into-custody-heres-why


NYC woman shoots ex-boyfriend after he kicks open her door—and she’s taken into custody. Here’s why.
By Dave Urbanski, January 3, 2018

A Brooklyn woman shot her ex-boyfriend in the neck after he kicked open her apartment door — but the woman who defended herself was taken into custody, police sources told the New York Daily News.

What happened?

Marlon Womack, 30, kicked open his ex-girlfriend’s door just after 6 p.m. Saturday, police told the paper.

The 52-year-old woman, who sources told the Daily News is Tonya Wooten, was standing at the threshold with a handgun, police added to the paper.

Wooten fired and hit Womack once in the neck, sources told the Daily News.

Womack was rushed to a hospital where he was in stable condition, police said to the paper.

Why did police take the woman into custody after she defended herself?

Wooten recently moved from North Carolina where her .40-caliber handgun was legal, the Daily News said.

But Wooten didn’t have a New York gun permit, police sources told the paper.

Wooten was taken into custody, police told the paper, and charges were pending early Sunday.

Womack allegedly has an extensive criminal history, the Daily News reported.


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12. [GA] 3 armed men break into house - but homeowner also has a gun
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Remember that just because you are armed doesn't mean you can't get shot by a bad guy. Seeking cover is important if there is time to do so. Picking the right time to engage, or perhaps not engaging at all, are sometimes options.

https://tinyurl.com/ycgprg43

or

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/...as-a-gun-and-one-crook-finds-out-the-hard-way


Three armed men break into house - But homeowner also has a gun—and one crook finds out the hard way By Dave Urbanski, January 10, 2018

A Georgia homeowner was asleep around 3 a.m. Monday when he heard a crash at the back door of his Lawrenceville home, police told WSB-TV.

The homeowner went to investigate — and brought along his gun.

Good thing, too. The three men who broke into his home were armed as well, police told the station.

A shootout ensued, WSB reported, which left the homeowner with a gunshot wound to his leg.

The three intruders ran off, police added to the station — but one of them didn’t get very far. He collapsed and died in a nearby yard, police told WSB.

The unnamed dead man had been shot, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Frederick Saldana told the Gwinnett Daily Post. Police are searching for the other two intruders, the station added.

The homeowner was waiting for officers in his front yard, police told WSB, adding that they applied a tourniquet to the homeowner’s leg and paramedics took him to a hospital. His condition isn’t known, the station added.

“I’m kind of surprised to be honest,” a neighbor who didn’t want to be identified told WSB regarding the incident. “It’s a situation I would never want to be in. It is an unpleasant thing, and I just didn’t expect to wake up and see all this stuff happening on my street.”


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13. [IL] IL AG candidate robbed at gunpoint during campaign photoshoot
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Think the Illinois Attorney General candidate will now wake up to the reality that is crime? I'm not betting on it. Safety in numbers and in daylight? Not so much.

Thanks to member Tom Mosca for sharing this:


https://tinyurl.com/y7db24dl

or

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...nt-in-chicago-during-campaign-photoshoot.html


Illinois AG candidate robbed at gunpoint in Chicago during campaign photoshoot By Brooke Singman, January 12, 2018

A Democratic candidate running for Illinois attorney general was robbed at gunpoint Thursday during a campaign photoshoot in Chicago.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Aaron Goldstein, 42, and members of his campaign team were approached by three men in their early 20s. One of the men had a handgun and demanded Goldstein and the campaign aides turn over the camera equipment and other personal belongings, including their cell phones, which they did.

According to the Tribune, law enforcement sources confirmed that they had no one in custody and did not release a description of the suspects.

Goldstein’s campaign manager Robert Murphy, who was not with the candidate at the time, explained that he was taking promotional campaign photos with an “in-the-neighborhood kind of” message, according to the Tribune. The incident took place in Albany Park.

Murphy, a Chicago committeeman, told the Tribune that no one was harmed during the robbery, and that the campaign was assured by the police that the robbery was not a targeted act.

Goldstein, Murphy and campaign spokespeople did not respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Goldstein's campaign Facebook page posted a link to the Tribune article, with the comment: "Thank you all for your concern, well wishes, thoughts and prayers. My team and I are all good."

Goldstein is running for attorney general to replace Lisa Madigan and is part of a crowded field of eight vying for the Democratic nomination.


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14. [IL] 2017: Chicago homicides outnumber U.S. military casualties 18 to 1
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Chicago is the constant reminder that gun control doesn't work.

Thanks to member Montford Oakes for sharing this:


https://tinyurl.com/ycb8xtwb

or

https://www.cnsnews.com/news/articl...icago-homicides-664-us-military-casualties-37


2017: Chicago Homicides Outnumber U.S. Military Casualties 18 to 1 By Michael W. Chapman, January 2, 2018

(CNSNews.com) -- There were 664 homicides in Chicago in 2017 and, for comparison, 37 casualties in the U.S. military in its myriad operations around the globe. That's according to data from the Chicago Tribune (link: http://crime.chicagotribune.com/chicago/homicides) and from the Department of Defense's (link: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/Search/casualty/) press office.

The Chicago deaths are for the period Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 31, 2017; the military deaths are from Jan. 1, 2017 through Dec. 22, 2017, which is the latest update on casualties by the DoD posted so far. (There may have been a few more military casualties in December.)

From the data available, it shows that Chicago suffered 17.9 times more homicides than the U.S. military worldwide -- combat and non-combat related deaths -- last year.

For Chicago, 664 homicides -- murders by shooting or other means (not including suicides) -- averages to 1.8 homicides every day of the year.

For the U.S. military, some of the deaths were combat related and some were non-combat related. For instance, the first death, on Jan. 7, 2017, was a non-combat related incident. Spc. Isiah L. Booker, of Cibolo, Texas, who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, died in the incident, which is under investigation.

On Jan. 29, 2017, Chief Special Warfare Operator William "Ryan" Owens, 36, of Peoria, Ill., died in "the Arabian Peninsula of Yemen, of wounds sustained in a raid against al-Qaida," said the DoD (link: https://www.defense.gov/News/News-R...partment-of-defense-identifies-navy-casualty/).

On April 8, 2017, Staff Sgt. Mark R. De Alencar, 37, of Edgewood, Md., was killed in the Nangarghar Province of Afghanistan when "his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small arms fire during combat operations," reported the DoD.

U.S. troops have been fighting in Afghanistan since October 2001, more than 16 years ago. U.S. troops have been in Iraq since March 2003, more than 14 years ago.

The Chicago homicides are monitored and documented by the Chicago Tribune staff 24 hours a day, according to their website, "Crime in Chicagoland."


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15. Humor: Mayor declares Chicago crime-free zone, criminals disperse
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Editor note: The Babylon Bee is Your Trusted Source For Christian News Satire - this should make you smile!


Thanks to member Montford Oakes for sharing this:


https://tinyurl.com/ycx76wrj

or

http://babylonbee.com/news/mayor-declares-chicago-crime-free-zone-criminals-disperse/


Mayor Declares Chicago Crime-Free Zone, Criminals Disperse By The Babylon Bee, January 4, 2017

CHICAGO, IL—Immediately upon Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s recent declaration of the entire city of Chicago as an official “crime-free zone,” every criminal in the city suddenly and miraculously left the urban area, according to a statement released by the city council.

“We declare every part of the city of Chicago a crime-free zone,” Emanuel announced in a Thursday appearance on CBS This Morning. “It is now physically impossible for any crime to be committed in our great city, because we declared it a zone of peace and harmony and criminals have no choice but to abide by our new rule.”

Emanuel claimed he didn’t want to resort to such extreme legislative measures, but as the crime situation in Chicago didn’t seem to be getting any better, his hand was forced.

“I finally decided to use the strongest weapon at our disposal: declaring things illegal,” he said.

Stunned onlookers claim the second the legislation banning any criminals from the city was signed into law, dangerous gangsters, conniving drug dealers, and thieving hooligans fled the city on foot, as though compelled by some kind of strange, alien force.

“Witness the awesome power of declaring things to be banned and watching them instantly disappear into nothingness!” Emanuel said.

At publishing time, Governor Jerry Brown had taken a page from Emanuel’s book, declaring Hollywood a “perversion-free” zone and immediately ending all ongoing sex scandals in the city.


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16. Why can’t we be like France?
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Yeah, no thanks.

Thanks to EM Greg Trojan for sharing this:


https://tinyurl.com/yaqobygf

or

http://www.independent.org/pdf/research_articles/2013-04-22-halbrook-fordham-france.pdf


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17. [BRAZIL] Some Brazilian criminals’ show-off videos

Click to expand...