- Nov 11, 2009
- 30,960
From the email:
VCDL Lobby Day 2022: a deeper look into the decision to forego the rally
Nobody looks forward to the Lobby Day rally more than the Board and Executive Members of VCDL. That said, the rally isn’t Lobby Day’s raison d'etre. Lobbying has always been the purpose of the day, with the rally being an added, fun bonus.
Someone asked VCDL a reasonable question about why we didn’t try to do a rally at the Bell Tower this year.
The answer is simple: we didn’t consider getting a permit to hold our rally at the Bell Tower because we would have to do so under the sometimes purposely onerous, unreliable and last minute rule changes of the Northam/Bloomberg Administration. We also wanted to find a way to have an armed rally, but just couldn’t find a way before the clock ran out.
Some of you may have forgotten the dirty trick that the Northam/Bloomberg Administration pulled a year ago when we were trying to book our slot at the Bell Tower for the 2021 Lobby Day. The slots had already been given away to gun-control groups, who the Administration allowed to apply six months earlier than VCDL was allowed to do!
VCDL then made the decision to do the rolling rally for 2021 instead. The COVID lockdowns ended up causing the gun-control groups to lose their Bell Tower permits after all, so the only group to have a rally in 2021 was VCDL! The way Karma struck down the gun controllers’ was pretty funny. ;-)
In addition, the Northam/Bloomberg Administration made a rule change and now there is a clause in the Bell Tower permit that says if the Governor, a Delegate, or a Senator needs the Bell Tower for one of their own events, they get priority, even if an organization with a permit is only days away from their event. Surely, the Northam/Bloomberg Administration wouldn’t do that to VCDL? <eye roll>
Actually, they can deny or revoke a permit up to the start of the event or even during the event. This can be because the Governor or a Senator or Delegate "needs" the area, there are more people than the permit specified (!), there are not enough Department of General Services (DGS) or Capitol Police resources to cover the event, or if the DGS finds the event to be disruptive to the function of the government, which is pretty subjective. https://dgs.virginia.gov/globalasse...rolled-property-event-permitting_july-2021.pd
Rest assured that VCDL plans to hold Lobby Day rallies in the future. For now, let’s not get distracted, play the hand we’ve been dealt, turn our anger about the horrible infringements that have been passed the last two years into action by attending Lobby Day, and focus on getting some very bad gun laws repealed that put peaceful gun owners in unnecessary peril.
Gun owners and gun organizations across the county watch what VCDL does in Virginia, because we show what can be done and how it can be done. As long as our members stay active and engaged, determined that we will not let gun control stand unchallenged, VCDL will continue to lead the way. Virginia gun owners are the best and I'll be proud to stand amongst you on Lobby Day.
VCDL Lobby Day 2022: a deeper look into the decision to forego the rally
Nobody looks forward to the Lobby Day rally more than the Board and Executive Members of VCDL. That said, the rally isn’t Lobby Day’s raison d'etre. Lobbying has always been the purpose of the day, with the rally being an added, fun bonus.
Someone asked VCDL a reasonable question about why we didn’t try to do a rally at the Bell Tower this year.
The answer is simple: we didn’t consider getting a permit to hold our rally at the Bell Tower because we would have to do so under the sometimes purposely onerous, unreliable and last minute rule changes of the Northam/Bloomberg Administration. We also wanted to find a way to have an armed rally, but just couldn’t find a way before the clock ran out.
Some of you may have forgotten the dirty trick that the Northam/Bloomberg Administration pulled a year ago when we were trying to book our slot at the Bell Tower for the 2021 Lobby Day. The slots had already been given away to gun-control groups, who the Administration allowed to apply six months earlier than VCDL was allowed to do!
VCDL then made the decision to do the rolling rally for 2021 instead. The COVID lockdowns ended up causing the gun-control groups to lose their Bell Tower permits after all, so the only group to have a rally in 2021 was VCDL! The way Karma struck down the gun controllers’ was pretty funny. ;-)
In addition, the Northam/Bloomberg Administration made a rule change and now there is a clause in the Bell Tower permit that says if the Governor, a Delegate, or a Senator needs the Bell Tower for one of their own events, they get priority, even if an organization with a permit is only days away from their event. Surely, the Northam/Bloomberg Administration wouldn’t do that to VCDL? <eye roll>
Actually, they can deny or revoke a permit up to the start of the event or even during the event. This can be because the Governor or a Senator or Delegate "needs" the area, there are more people than the permit specified (!), there are not enough Department of General Services (DGS) or Capitol Police resources to cover the event, or if the DGS finds the event to be disruptive to the function of the government, which is pretty subjective. https://dgs.virginia.gov/globalasse...rolled-property-event-permitting_july-2021.pd
Rest assured that VCDL plans to hold Lobby Day rallies in the future. For now, let’s not get distracted, play the hand we’ve been dealt, turn our anger about the horrible infringements that have been passed the last two years into action by attending Lobby Day, and focus on getting some very bad gun laws repealed that put peaceful gun owners in unnecessary peril.
Gun owners and gun organizations across the county watch what VCDL does in Virginia, because we show what can be done and how it can be done. As long as our members stay active and engaged, determined that we will not let gun control stand unchallenged, VCDL will continue to lead the way. Virginia gun owners are the best and I'll be proud to stand amongst you on Lobby Day.
