ZeSpectre
Member
Washington Post
also from the comments section, one of my all time favorite posters (sarcasm)
You know, I've been to several VCDL meetings with hundreds in attendance, all were armed, and yet somehow nobody ever killed anybody, not even once. Isn't that just amazing?!?
NYC Vows to Continue Va. Gun Probes
Group to Protest New York Mayor Tonight With Gun Raffle
By Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 17, 2007; 3:02 PM
RICHMOND, May 17 -- New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's top law enforcement adviser vowed today the city will continue to target Virginia gun dealers, despite a high-profile protest against the mayor planned for tonight in Fairfax County.
John Feinblatt, the mayor's criminal justice coordinator, said in an interview that Bloomberg won't hesitate to expand New York's crime control efforts into Virginia when he suspects gun shops are selling weapons illegally.
"This isn't about gun control. This is about crime control," Feinblatt said. "This is not about New York versus some other part of the country. We are just going to do what it takes to keep New Yorkers safe and keep our police safe."
At 7:30 p.m. tonight, the Virginia Citizens Defense League plans to hold a "Bloomberg Gun Giveaway" at the Mason District Government Center in Annandale to protest New York's decision to sue seven Virginia gun dealers.
The city filed the lawsuits after it sent undercover agents into the stores to make straw purchases, where one person legally buys a gun for someone else. Feinblatt said New York police have traced weapons sold by those seven Virginia dealers to 137 crimes in the past eight years. Virginia is the top source of out-of-state guns used in New York crime, city officials said.
The defense league will hold a drawing for a semiautomatic pistol and hunting rifle in defiance of Bloomberg.
Feinblatt called the event "a publicity stunt and a joke."
"But for us," he added," it is no joking matter. It is deadly serious."
Philip Van Cleave, president of the league responded, "I consider our basic civil rights to be no joke and the right to be able to protect yourself is also a life and death situation."
Earlier this year, Virginia passed a law outlawing Bloomberg's gun stings in the state unless the agents are supervised by a state or federal law enforcement official.
"We have abided by the law in the past. We will abide by the law in the future, but we are not going to compromise our responsibility to keep our people safe," Feinblatt said.
He added, "Guns don't know borders" and "don't respect state lines" so the city won't hesitate to "go after people breaking the law in Virginia or another state."
also from the comments section, one of my all time favorite posters (sarcasm)
JackStraw3457 wrote:
I am confused as to why the Post keeps running comments from Van Cleave, the obviously deranged leader of the Citizens' Defense League. This is a guy whose mental illness makes him believe that he "must" carry a gun and all times and believes that the only way we will all be safe is if everyone has a gun. PEOPLE WITH GUNS KILL. When you read anything about Van Cleave it becomes apparent almost immediately that he is laboring under a serious mental illnes... the one in which his every waking moment is filled with dreams of being able to pull out his gun and kill another human being. It is clear that Virginia needs to impose a mental health requirement before anyone can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon and/or openly carry. STOP THE MADNESS.
You know, I've been to several VCDL meetings with hundreds in attendance, all were armed, and yet somehow nobody ever killed anybody, not even once. Isn't that just amazing?!?
