Those Non-Existent New Gun Owners

We've been told by folks like the Brady Campaign that all those record breaking gun sale numbers are driven by existing gun owners, that we have less people owning firearms than ever before.

But Fox Business has this report that gives a different picture:

Retailers surveyed by the NSSF, a trade association for the firearms industry, reported that 25.8% of their customers were first-time firearm buyers in 2012. That reflects a slight improvement over the prior year’s 25% but a large jump from 20.8% in 2010.

Tom Gresham gave similar data on his Gun Talk program yesteday.  During a conversation with a caller, Gresham estimated that the number of people owning at least one firearm is over 100 million, about 30% of the nation's population.

Herring Attacks Obenshain for Pro-2nd Amendment Votes in First AG Debate

At their first debate since Senator Mark Herring won Tuesday's Democratic Primary,  Herring wasted no time in throwing out the ususal talking points of extremist to attack State Senator Mark Obenshain.  The Richmond Times Dispatch reports:

“On a lot of issues, the two of us could not be further apart,” Herring said, attacking his opponent’s past proposal to require women to report miscarriages to police. “Mark Obenshain stands for the prism of radical extremism.”


Herring said in recent weeks, "a lot could be heard about the fiery rhetoric” by E.W. Jackson, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, “But in the state Senate, Obenshain has put this ideology to work.”

Obenshain, taken aback by the attack resisted responding in kind:

“I want to make sure we have safe communities, that Virginia continues to be a job creation engine and one of the best places in the country for businesses to strive,” Obenshain said.


“I will fight to make sure that we fight gang violence in communities and schools, and fight human trafficking, which is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world,” he said.

Gun control was also discussed in the debate:

Herring called out Obenshain for his opposition to tougher gun control legislation. “We need to do what we can to reduce gun violence in Virginia. We got to get serious about it, the time for action is now,” Herring said, pushing for tougher background checks and the closing of the gun show loophole.


Obenshain countered that imposing further restrictions on law abiding citizens in Virginia is not the solution. “I wouldn’t be able to give my hunting rifle to my son without a background check,” he said.

There is a clear choice for gun owners in all three of this year's state wide races.

NRA Responding to Attacks on Pryor

The Hill reports that the NRA is running ads in Arkansas in response to those by Bloomberg which attack Senator Mark Pryor for helping block legislation aimed at criminalizing private firearm sales.

NRA has taken similar steps to aid Senator Kelly Ayote in New Hampshire.  Pryor however should not take this as an indication that NRA will give him a pass in the 2014 election according to The Hill.

Virginia Primary Post Mortem

Some thoughts on yesterday's Democrat and Republican Primary.  Two longtime GOP Delegates, Beverly Sherwood, and Joe May, lost.  Some may call them upsets but when you dig a little deeper in to the numbers, there were several problems each of them faced and neither seemed to completely respond.

Let's start with Sherwood, who lost by 78 votes.  This is the first election in which she has run after redistricting.  She acquired new parts in Warren County and she lost those by a total of 94 votes.  Clearly, she should have done more to introduce herself to these new voters.  Bev was a good friend to Virginia's gun owners, chairing the Militia, Police, and Public Safety Committee for a number of years.  Her opponent, Mark Berg has indicated he opposes infringements on our 2nd Amendment Rights.  This should be a wash in terms of our support in  the General Assembly.

Joe May too had new territory in his district as a result of redistricting and he too lost those precincts (in Frederick County) badly.  Delegate May was considered more or a moderate than Delegate Sherwood.  The insurgent nature of their opposition was helped by the fact they both voted for the tax increases in the new transportation bill this last session.  Some will likely say it resulted in their defeat, but three other incumbents who were challenged and won, also voted for the transportation bill, so it it played a roll in May and Sherwood's defeat, it was likely just one of several factors.  May was so so on our issue earning a "C" rating from the NRA in the 2011.  IT is interesting to note that of the two incumbents that lost, Joe may received the second largest number of votes of the incumbents (2200), but lost by the largest margin (15 points).

Both Delegate Todd Gilbert and Bobby Orrock won, Gilbert with 92% of the vote and received the largest number of votes of any of the incumbents (3655).  He also voted against the transportation plan.   Orrock defeated Dustin Price by 13% and received 1366 votes.  Speaker of the House Bill Howell was also challenged but like Gilbert, handily defeated his opponent with 92% of the vote.  Both Orrock and Howell voted for the transportation bill.

The take away from these incumbents is to never be complacent.  Elected officials aways have to be doing outreach for new supporters and new blood in their organizations.  Gilbert clearly did that based on the high number of votes he received.  Orrock may want to make sure he is doing that outreach.  While he won handily, he got half the votes of about a two thirds fewer votes than Gilbert.

As for the Democrats, they had two state wide offices up for primary voters yesterday.  They decided to go with known candidates - State Senator Ralph Northam for Lt. Governor and State Senator Mark Herring for AG.  Northam beat back an Indian-American, Aneesh Chopra, who ran on a strong platform of gun control.  While Northam is no friend to gun owners (he has a "D" rating from the NRA), he was fending off charges of being a shill for the NRA.  When a candidate tells you that his "D" rated opponent is a shill for the NRA, you get the idea just how anti-rights the guy making the charge is.

In the AG's race, State Senator Mark Herring (also an NRA "D" rated candidate) soundly defeated former Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Fairfax.  In choosing the known quantities,  state Democrats opted not to go with the "diverse" ticket many thought they would choose, and chose three white males for statewide office.  Not that that should make a difference but since Democrats are always pointing out how the GOP has no diversity on their national and Virginia statewide tickets, the irony is not lost on this writer.

Virginia gun owners have a clear choice this election.  Do we go with the candidates that have a solid record of supporting our rights (Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Obenshain) and their ticket mate who expresses strong support for our rights (E.W. Jackson) or do we opt for three candidates that for the first time in a number of years do not shy away from telling us just how they want to restrict our rights (McAuliffe, Northam, and Herring).

Now let's get to work and help the guys who stand with us.

Primary Day in Virginia

Today is Primary Day in Virginia.  Gun owners in the 15th House District should vote for Delegate Todd Gilbert.  In the 54th House District gun owners should vote for Delegate Bobby Orrock.

Democrats running for state wide office are also holding a primary today.  If you live in a district that has both a Republican and a Democrat primary, you can only vote in one.

On a related note, over at Bearing Drift, John Fredericks offers some interesting points on the Lt. Governor's race and the primary between Obama's former technology czar, Aneesh Chopra, and Democrat State Senator Ralph Northam.  Chopra has been running hot and heavy on gun control.  This from today's Virginian Pilot:

In political mail and online, Chopra has highlighted instances when Northam voted for measures he said weaken local gun buyback programs and water down concealed-handgun permit standards, among others.

And this from today's Richmond Times Dispatch:

With few visible ideological differences between the candidates, Chopra recently cranked up the heat by going negative, depicting Northam as a shill for the National Rifle Association.

Last year, Northam had voted with the Republican-friendly gun-rights group on legislation to shield from prosecution property owners who shoot and kill nonthreatening intruders.

But last week, Northam underscored his support for legislation that would close the gun show loophole, keep the one-gun per-month limit, and keep guns out of bars. “I received a ‘D’ rating from the NRA by standing up to the gun lobby,” he said.

Regarding Frederick's post over at Bearing Drift, the below tidbit from the RTD article mentions something that Frederick mentions - if Northam is elected Lt. Governor in November, he could be responsible for keeping the Senate in GOP hands because his seat would then be open and it is a swing district that Governor Bob McDonnell won by 57 percent in 2009.

Northam — and his Senate-colleague Herring — also may be stonewalled by several Democrats fearing that their Senate seats might fall into Republican hands if they are nominated and win the election. It is possible that this concern will bring several votes for Chopra and Fairfax.

No matter who wins, gun owners will have a clear choice in all three state wide races this year, and it won't be the Democrat candidates.

VA GOP Withdraws Request for CHP Holder Information

The Richmond Times Dispatch reports today that the Republican Party of Virginia has withdrawn its request for information for the Commonwealth's estimated 270,000 concealed handgun permit (CHP) holders.  According to the RTD, the GOP sited the estimated cost of $120,000 for the information, based on the initial estimated costs they had received from some of the circuit court clerk offices.  This who had responded to the GOP request estimated that pulling the information requested would cost $1000. 

In his letter today, Reedy said many of the clerks provided cost estimates for retrieving and delivering the requested data, and “unfortunately, the average costs for producing these documents based on the information we’ve received so far would be more than $1,000 per office.”

“At an estimated cost of more than $120,000 for mailing addresses along, this method of communication is simply no longer cost effective,” he wrote. “Instead, we will work with other pro-Second Amendment groups to find ways to reach voters with critical information.”

It was likely as much a face-saving decision as a financial one however.  A number of people have expressed opposition to the request and believe it to be hypocritical given it was a GOP Senator, Mark Obenshain, who was responsible for making sure the information would become private and no longer accessible in individual clerks offices beginning July 1.

NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

The Virginia GOP repeated that it was only trying to build information for out reach to voters. They will now have to rely on pro-rights groups to reach out to their members the get the information out. It is suggested that the candidates have a presense at every gun show between now and election day to insure gun owners know that all three of the Democrat candidates have made comments supportive of increased gun control.

Virginia GOP Requests CHP Data Before Obenshain Bill Becomes Law

Nothing really new here.  For years before the Roanoke Times caused this to be an issue, candidates in Virginia (usually Republicans) would submit a FOIA request to the State Police to get the list of Virginia Concealed Carry Permit (CHP) holders to use for targeted mailings.  It is likely some of the various gun rights groups in Virginia (there are three including VSSA) would do the same thing (I know of at least one group that sent a mailing to me in the name in which my permit is issued, not the name in which I am commonly known). 

Then in 2007, the Roanoke Times, being too cute by half trying to make a point about open government, published the complete list on their web site, thus violating the privacy of over 100,000 Virginians, including some with protective orders or law enforcement, and putting their lives at risk.  After a firestorm of criticism, the paper took down the list.  The Attorney General at the time (Bob McDonnell) issued an opinioin stating that the information could not be released by the state police.  The information however was still available to enterprising individuals upon request at individual circuit court offices, which issue the permits. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star would publish names of those issued permits but no other information.  Activists have long disapproved of this practice.

This year, after a long battle, the General Assembly passed legislation preventing the information from being released, effective July 1.  Ryan Nobles with NBC 12 reports today that the Republican Party of Virginia has requested by letter, the information for the state's approximate 250,000 CHP holders for use during this year's election. The GOP sent letters to all of the Commonwealth's circuit court offices. Nobles quotes the party spokesman:

"Virginia Republicans have a proud history of defending the Second Amendment, and we are working actively to ensure that voters who are concerned about Second Amendment issues stay informed about Democratic efforts to limit our right to keep and bear arms," said RPV spokesman Garren Shipley.

Nobles reports that not everyone is pleased with this and one permit holder her found out has asked a judge to deny the request.  That interview will be featured at 11:00 PM tonight.

Stating the Obvious - Gun Control Does Not Stop Criminals

In this USA Today article from earlier this week, Camden, New Jersey Police Chief Scott Thomson stated the obvious:

If people want to talk about guns, Thomson pointed out that desperate people on the streets can easily work around the many gun laws in place.

The article was a profile of the crime ridden city of Camden, in a state that the Brady Campaign says has the 2nd strictest gun control laws in the country, New Jersey.

NRANews.com host Cam Edwards spoke with J.D. Tuccille of about the article and a related Reason.com blog post.

Hat tip to NRANews.

Zero Tolerance Policies Intent is Indoctrination

John Lott has more at: Evidence that the Zero Tolerance approach on guns in schools is actually done to change students' views

Are Firearms the New Tobacco?

Politico has the story here.

“The complexity and frequency of gun-related violence combined with its impact on the health and safety of the nation’s residents make it a topic of considerable public health importance,” said Alan Leshner, chairman of the study committee and chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He said the proposed research could lead to policies that will reduce gun violence, similar to other public health successes in “lowering tobacco use, accidental poisoning and motor vehicle fatalities.”

Much of the "zero tolerance" nonsense we have seen in the last couple of weeks is nothing more than trying to change the attitude or "brainwash" the public on the issue of firearms, much like Eric Holder suggested in the 90s.  This attempt to politicize research is more of the same.

VSSA Training Team Offering Free Training to Virginia Teachers

Beginning July 1, 2013, the VSSA Training Team will offer free NRA certified pistol training to any teacher in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  This training meets all the requirements for a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) in Virginia.  You can come to the team in Fairfax, or they can set something up with a local range where you are.  All you need is access to a range and a classroom.  Everything else will be provided.  Contact our training team lead, Tom Ciarula at Tom-C@Cox.net to make arrangements.

VSSA Board of Directors Candidates Wanted

VSSA is seeking candidates to run for the Board of Directors.  Candidates must be either a VSSA Life Memer or have been a member for five consecutive years.  The nominating committee is seeking candidates who have an interest in various shooting disciplines, but who especially have an interest in continuing a strong state association.  If you are interesed in running for this year's Board elections, pleas contact Joe Primerano at: Joe.Primerano@myvssa.org as soon as possible.  The nominating Committee will be making their recommendations to the membership soon.