Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Forty House members sign letter backing proposed program added to any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal.
A letter co-written by Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-11th), and signed by 40 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urges Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to support an immediate $200 million gun buyback program in any end-of-the-year fiscal cliff deal. Connolly, whose district includes the national headquarters for the NRA, and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida authored the letter to the House leaders. “Gun buybacks have proven successful in communities across the nation,” Connolly and Deutch said in a “Dear Colleague” to House members. “Adding $200 million to the final compromise on the fiscal cliff could remove as many as one million guns from our streets.” Including the gun buyback program…
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Representatives of three state education agencies issued a rebuttal to Gov. McDonnell's comments about possibly allowing teachers and other school staff to carry weapons.
Virginia educators are concerned about the governor’s interest in allowing teachers and school staff to carry guns into schools, noting that violence prevention isn’t an issue of more guns, but more funding. Officials with three education associations—the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals (VASSP), the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals (VAESP) and the Virginia Association of School Superintendents (VASS)—released a statement Friday. The statement came shortly after the National Rifle Association (NRA) called for "armed security" around schools but was in response to statements earlier this week by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. The education organizations said they appreciate Gov. McDonnell’s efforts to …
Saturday, December 22, 2012
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said.
In an Friday morning press conference, the Fairfax-based National Rifle Association broke its weeklong silence following the horrific shooting of 26 people at a school in Newtown, Conn., and called for a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." "We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," LaPierre said. "Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Virginia governor joins Connecticut governor in plans to remember victims with moment of silence Friday morning at 9:30 a.m.
One week after the tragic shootings in Connecticut at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Gov. Bob McDonnell on Thursday is requesting a statewide moment of silence Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. to remember the victims. McDonnell is joining Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy in calling for a moment of silence. McDonnell is inviting all members of the public to join in the statewide moment of silence, and to join him at the Capitol Square Bell Tower in Richmond, where the bell will ring 26 times during that moment of silence. Twenty-six students and teachers were killed in the shootings that took place on Dec. 14. The governor will speak briefly, prior to the moment of silence. The bell tower tolls each day to call the General Assembly into session. …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Northern Virginia lawmakers will likely introduce or reintroduce gun bills at 2013 legislative session. Is this the year some of them will pass?
In the wake of Friday's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Virginia Sen. Janet Howell (D-Reston) says she will reintroduce a bill that would close the commonwealth's gun show loophole, which allows people to buy firearms at gun shows without a background check. "It's tragic," Howell says about the shooting that killed 20 schoolchildren and six adults. "I don't know whether I'm more angry or sad over it. I have introduced this bill in the past, and so have other people, but I'm hopeful there will be a better chance of passage this year." Closing the gun show loophole is among several gun bills in Virginia that repeatedly have been introduced and died in committee or are otherwise defeated. There are already …
Fairfax store amongst sporting goods chain’s locations to suspend sales of modern rifles.
National sporting goods chain Dick’s has removed all guns from display in their store closest to Newtown, Conn. and suspended the sales of modern sporting rifles in all stores—including the one on Fair Lakes Circle in Fairfax. The move comes on the heels of Friday’s shooting in Connecticut that left 26 people dead, including 20 children. “That’s the right move,” said Charles Long outside the Falls Church Dick’s on Tuesday. “You can’t blame them for what happened but it’s the best thing to do in light of what happened.” In a statement released Tuesday, the sporting good chain said the move was: “Out of respect for the victims and their families, during this time of national mourning.” On Friday, Adam Lanza shot his mother four times while …
John Trimble
9:39 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Another sad political stunt by Connolly. He does have good relations with the press to be able to publish such nonsense with absolutely no research or verification. From the Chicago Tribune: "The surrendered weapons gave a lot of support to the arguments of those critical of gun buyback programs. Some of the guns were old World War II collectibles. Other were rusty Saturday night specials, some … more ›