Received the following from VCDL today:
Patriot Services was a great dealer who mainly worked the gun shows. It is sad to see a local business go under, but to close shop because of what amounts to financial extortion is just plain disgusting.
stay safe.
skidmark
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg continues his attack on
Virginia gun dealers!
Frustrated with his own inability to control violent criminals in
NYC, Bloomberg wants to export NYC style gun control to Virginia.
Instead of restoring the rights of the citizens of his City, he wants
to intimidate Virginia gun dealers, invade YOUR privacy, and restrict
YOUR Rights!
Gun manufacturers and distributors are now protected by Federal law,
so dealers are in the gun-haters cross-hairs. And dealers don't have
deep pockets.
In Virginia, four dealers have been targeted. Under crushing
pressure from Bloomberg:
-- one has settled (Cole's in South Boston - VCDL is still analyzing
the settlement to decide what action we will take)
-- one has closed their doors forever (Patriot Services in
Richmond)
But the good news is that two are standing up to Bloomberg and
fighting to keep their businesses using their own resources. These
stores could use your business:
-- Webb's Sporting Goods in Madison Heights
-- Old Dominion Gun and Tackle in Danville
As you know, Bloomberg hired private investigators to do an end-run
around Federal and Virginia law enforcement, by running his own
personal 'sting' operation, hoping to find dealers who 'appeared' to
be allowing 'straw' purchases. Why are the Virginia State Police
silent on this?
Whatever evidence Bloomberg has on the four Virginia gun stores, he
won't provide it to anyone, INCLUDING the BATFE!
Evidence? I'm betting he doesn't have anything.
But that doesn't matter at all. What he is doing is civilly suing
gun dealers for large sums of money, forcing them, under the threat
of bankruptcy, to either shut down their business or to give in to
Bloomberg's Draconian demands, long before anything even comes to
court!
That is what happens when someone with massive public funds, and no
scruples, decides to bully a small company.
What does Bloomberg want? He wants to film all the gun store's
customers and to be able to see all the paperwork for the dealer's
gun sales over a THREE YEAR period! He wants to see YOUR
information. He wants to be able to apply crushing penalties on the
gun dealer for any infraction. And any infraction starts the three
year clock all over again! I promise you that that clock will NEVER
stop.
Bloomberg is no fool, he knows that it is just a matter of time
before even those stores that sign an agreement with him are going to
go under for lack of customers who are willing to give up their
privacy.
IF WE DON'T STOP HIM NOW, BLOOMBERG WILL BE COMING AFTER MORE AND MORE DEALERS
Unless you want Bloomberg to decide who can buy and sell guns in
Virginia and how they sell them, we had best stand together and stop
him NOW. I was hoping some of the national gun organizations would
step forward and join this fight, but if they have, I am not aware of
it. So VCDL is going to pick up the ball and run with it.
** THE VCDL GUN DEALER LEGAL DEFENSE FUND (GDLDF) **
The VCDL Board of Directors has authorized me to do something that
VCDL rarely does - ask you for money (other than your annual dues, of
course).
Effective immediately we have created a fund that will help defray
the cost of litigation for Old Dominion in Danville. We will also
help Webb's, should that become necessary down the road (Webb's has
insurance helping currently). There's nothing we can do for the
other two gun stores now. Also, we do not plan on helping
non-Virginian gun dealers. We leave that to our counterparts in
other states.
You can contribute to the legal defense fund in three ways:
1. Via the VCDL web site:
http://tinyurl.com/rlwkb
After entering the amount and clicking 'Continue,' you need to enter
"Gun Dealer Legal Defense Fund" at the bottom in the "Message to
Seller (Optional)" field.
2. Mail us a check made out to "VCDL" with "Gun Dealer Legal Defense
Fund" written on the comment line. Mail to:
Virginia Citizens Defense League
Attn: GDLDF
P.O. Box 513
Newington, VA 22122
3. At gun shows there will be a jar on the table labelled either
"Gun Dealer Legal Defense Fund" or "GDLDF." Just drop in cash or a
check.
** STAND WITH US! **
I can't speak for the other states, but with VCDL members standing
shoulder-to-shoulder, Bloomberg will rue the day that he ever tried
to attack gun owners and gun dealers in Virginia.
Mayor Bloomberg -- take your disdain for our RIGHT to keep and bear
arms back to New York City and stay there! Virginians will NOT be
intimidated and we will NOT bow down to you. If the People of
Virginia could stand up and fight a tyrannical king who tried to
disarm us 225 years ago, we can certainly handle a two-bit politician
from New York City trying to do the same today.
--
NOTE: Contributions, gifts, or membership dues are NOT deductible as
charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes.
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms to be an essential human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
Patriot Services was a great dealer who mainly worked the gun shows. It is sad to see a local business go under, but to close shop because of what amounts to financial extortion is just plain disgusting.
stay safe.
skidmark
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