Virginia Citizens Defense League address Virginia Tech review panel

[Liberty1]

From a VCDL e-mail alert http://www.vcdl.org/ :

"Two VCDL members and I (Philip Van Cleave) addressed the Virginia Tech Panel on Wednesday. Here were my remarks:

--

"When seconds count between life and death, the police are only minutes
away."

As an ex-deputy sheriff who served proudly in Texas, those words are
hauntingly true.

In a violent confrontation the only people guaranteed to be there are
the criminal and his victim. In fact, if the police arrive in time
to save the victim from death or harm, that victim has won the most
important lottery of his or her life. Thirty-two innocent, decent
people were taught that final lesson the hard way.

Citizens have been carrying concealed handguns with permits in
Virginia for well over a decade now. Currently there are over
140,000 such permit holders in Virginia.

This much can be said of them: they can be trusted.

We've heard the same tired rhetoric from police officials and others
before - that there will be blood in the streets and drunken
shootouts if people are allowed to carry handguns. That is exactly
what the General Assembly was told when they were considering
legislation to make Virginia a 'shall-issue' state for concealed
handgun permits back in 1995.

The naysayers have long since been proven to be completely wrong. In
fact permit holders can be shown to be the most law-abiding of any
group of citizens.

The kind of person who goes through all the hoops to get a permit
isn't the kind to walk around drunk or to pull a gun to settle
arguments. Instead permit holders quietly carry their concealed
handguns day-in and day-out without incident.

There is no logical reason for higher-educational institutions to
prohibit the carry of firearms for self-defense, either by staff or
adult students who have concealed carry permits. The school building
that they are in is just that - a building. It is absolutely no
different than any other building. A criminal can come and go as he
pleases - there is no magical barrier that keeps out evil.

It is not the government's job to interfere with an adult's right to
self-defense - life is too precious, and too short, for that.

The next time someone decides to take innocent lives on one of our
campuses; let's make sure that the victims will have a fighting
chance to survive. That, in and of itself, will serve as a strong
deterrent to those who would harm us."

[Liberty1]

TOP COPS WHO DISGRACED THEMSELVES
by Dave Vann Executive Member, VCDL

At the Fourth Public Meeting of Governor Kaine's Independent Virginia
Tech Incident Review Panel, in Charlottesville, Va. on July 18, 2007,
four of Virginia's top law enforcement officers disgraced themselves,
their badge and the uniform they wear.

Chief Don Challis, William and Mary Police Department; Chief Michael
Gibson, University of Virginia Police Department; Chief Robert
Dillard, University of Richmond Police Department and Chief Mike
Yost, Williamsburg Police Department all stood before the Review
Panel and stated that students and faculty should never have the
means to defend themselves. They rationalized this by saying that
students traditionally forget where they put their books so it's only
logical that they would misplace a gun. Further, they stated that
students drink to excess and guns and alcohol don't mix.

I caught up with Chief Yost in the hallway after he spoke. After
everyone finished glad handing him I introduced myself as a former
LEO and then said that he should be ashamed of himself. He turned
the brightest shade of red I've ever seen and stammered "why"?
Here is the back and forth we had:

Me: You just said you would rather have 31 law abiding people
murdered then have them be able to defend themselves.

Yost: That's not what I said.

Me: Yes it is. Did you not just say, in there, that students and
faculty who have concealed handgun permits should not be allowed to
carry guns on campus?

Yost: Yes.

Me: Then you would rather they be murdered without a chance to save
their own lives. What gives YOU the right to take away the means to
self defense from ANYONE?

Yost: (stammering, stuttering)

Me: You are a disgrace to the badge you wear. You're supposed to
protect lives and instead you want to ensure that students and
faculty are defenseless.

Yost: I'm trying to have a logical discussion with you about this.

Me: Logical? What is logical about 31 people being murdered and not
being able to defend themselves? We're not talking about children.
We are talking about adults, 21 and older. Some over 40 and YOU say
they shouldn't be able to defend themselves against someone like Cho.

Yost: Well.......

Me: Yes or no? Should students be able to have the means to defend
themselves against someone who is trying to murder them on campus?

Yost: Given the strict confines of what you asked, NO. There are
too many guns on the street.

Me: Too many guns? Too many for whom? You should be ashamed.
You're a disgrace.

At that point one of the other Chiefs pulled him away and said they
were late for a meeting. Fortunately this was not a he said/he said.
I had a witness standing right beside me the entire time (VCDL Board
member and attorney, Jim Kadison).

This panel is made up of at least four anti-gun people that I know of
right off hand. It was loaded with anti-gun "expert witnesses" and
was geared to find just the outcome that Gov. Kaine wanted it to.
They could have saved all the money they spent traveling and
pronouncing how independent they were and just taken an hour after
they were appointed and reached the same conclusions that they'll
reach in a month or two.

[Piper]

None of this is surprising. I don't want to turn this into a police bashing thread and truthfully it is not my intention, but all those guys are really about is confining what they perceive is power to whom they choose to give it. It's all about control and and how much they feel they have. The more people with the means to defend themselves, the less victims there are and the less justification for additional money they have for all those goodies. Whether you agree with me or not, crime stats can make or break a police budget. So chiefs walk a fine line between keeping their jobs and providing police service to the public while trying to stay within budget. The more money they can justify getting, the larger the margin. And if you notice, the biggest purchases occur near the end of the fiscal year so they have all of those receipts to prove they spent all of the money. So, unfortunately, whether they agree or not, victims justify their existance.....but not too many victims. What is also unfortunate, is when a governing body looks at a lack of crime as a signal that law enforcement can be cut back so that those funds can be used somewhere else. I guess the bottom line is, it's all about the money.

[Fjold]

It's not police bashing. Chiefs are not police officers, they're politicians.

[WokMaster1]

it really saddens me that the CLEOs have that idealogy that no one is allowed to be armed in order to protect themselves. It really breaks my heart. What would it take for these people to pull their head out of their behind?

The law is clear, if a person with a CCW permit breaks the law, he will be dealt with severely. To date, only a very small percentage have broken the law & had their permit pulled. Bear in mind that these are more infractions & not felonies that were commited. There's no bloodbath & no drunken shootouts like the guy said.

I just wished that the victims' families will sue the officials involved in denying the lost ones the right to defend themselves. Not sue the dept or gov't entity but the people themselves. they need to feel the pain & suffering & pay for their idiotic decisions.

Sorry, it just feels like opening an old wound & pouring salt in it. I felt the need to speak my mind. thanks for listening.