VCDL Scores! Go Team!

Early morning email.
CDL throws some weight at Manassas City Council meeting:

It's 3:45 AM, I'm still wired, there could be 'type-os' in this (sorry). I simply don't know what better sums it up than "!!WOW!!"
There were way over 100 VCDL members and supporters at the Manassas City Council meeting tonight.

The Manassas City Council members were clearly shocked by the numbers.

The Mayor led off by saying that he could not remember ever seeing such a large crowd for **anything** they had done before!

I brought 40 'Guns Save Lives' badges that were distributed in minutes, leaving over half of the people without a badge.

We not only filled up all the seating (100 seats - about 95% of them VCDL members), we lined BOTH walls and ran out into the hall!

A good portion of the members were open carrying during the meeting.
No uniformed officers in sight (but there were some plain clothes officers in the audience).

I led off, taking 10 minutes to describe the situation, describing the problem with officers who would abuse their power to coerce the restaurant owner to kick the 7 innocent gun owners out, and calling for the SEVERE reprimand or FIRING of Officers Chad Hyland, Rickey Clodfelter, and Tina Pannell. Hyland and Clodfelter for their total disdain for law-abiding gun owners and coercing the restaurant owner into kicking out the gun owners, and Pannell because as a SUPERVISOR she should have known better and put a stop to the 'kicking out the good guys' situation. I did say that a demotion would be acceptable for her, but that she clearly was not an acceptable supervisor.

When I was finished, the Mayor read a letter from Chief Skinner, saying, fairly enough, that he couldn't comment as there was an active investigation into the matter.

I was followed one speaker after the other for over 1.5 hours - each person getting three minutes!

The speakers were all superb, showing City Council, in no uncertain terms, that none of us are 'assclowns.'

Also THREE of the 7 gun owners at Tony's that fateful night spoke.

The Mayor was very congenial and several speakers made a point of thanking City Council for making the audience feel 'at home' (but still asking Council to fix the problem at hand). We had speakers come from over 200 miles away and a good share were Manassas residents, too!

After the meeting, 30 of us headed over to a local IHOP for a meal.

Everyone was jubilant - as we all had felt the power and comradery in the City Council Room that night. For many this was their first experience going from a gun-rights supporter to a gun-rights activist. Caution! I don't think there is anyway to go back, either.

Member Matt Gottshalk was there making a professional quality video which will be online in a day or two for those of you who would like to see and hear key parts of the meeting. He will cut it down to 6 speakers - myself, Jim Snyder, Dennis O'Connor, and three of the seven people at Tony's Pizza that fateful night in January. I will send an alert when the video is ready to view.

Channel 4 (NBC) in NoVA already ran a story on the meeting at 11 PM.

The Potomac News story covering the meeting is below. It is very well done and includes a picture to put things in perspective.
Reporter Elisa Glushefski explains the Virginia open carry laws in the article, too - an additional bonus!

In case you are wondering about my elaborate hand gesture - I was turning to ask all gun owners who were in support of VCDL's position to raise their hand.

They did and, boy, was that a lot of hands in the air!

BTW, this was the single biggest turnout for a VCDL action at any city, town, or county government meeting ever! We can turn out 60 members under good conditions, but over 100 is way beyond the norm!
Tidewater held the record when we attended a Norfolk City Council meeting some years ago, but Northern Virginia has just thrown down the gauntlet big time!

As long as we can turn out lots of gun owners for things such as this and, standing shoulder-to-shoulder, do what we did so very well tonight, we will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in Virginia.

GOOD WORK, VCDL! I'M PROUD OF YOU!

That is seriously cool!

Well TCC'ers...

Looks like we have an example to stand up to when one of (or a group) of us gets "the treatment".

Count me in on any situation like this for any of you.


MM

yup......... me too as well as many others from what I have seen

Makes me wonder about mass showings at places (like MOA) and open carrying. If 200 pistol packing folks get off the train at the same time the notorious #5 line lets off another 30 into the MOA transit center it could make for a very interesting morning.

Anyone remember those bizarre random internet things where suddenly a large group of folks all wearing say, pink caps, would just materialize in a public place? Quite a lot of fuss over nothing.

The term is "flash mob."



Fun, sure, but I can't think of a positive outcome.

Got that right!

I think it would do much more harm than good. There is no need for a massive "in your face" display.

How about an open carry TCC B'fast Once the weather gets warmer

I have to say that send chills up my spine. I hear of the same comments being iterated to children in the public school system, but it goes something more like this:

"There is no need for the 2nd Ammendment anymore..."

Respectfully, please understand, it's never about need. It's about being free men under a country of laws that support your freedom to do as you choose for whatever reason, so long as it does not affect others.

In fact, I might go so far as to say a massive, in your face display is needed, if one is wishing to make a public or political statement.

Well here is the start of the children's indoctrination:

L'Eggo My Lego

Some Seattle school children are being told to be skeptical of private property rights. This lesson is being taught by banning Legos.

A ban was initiated at the Hilltop Children's Center in Seattle. According to an article in the winter 2006-07 issue of "Rethinking Schools" magazine, the teachers at the private school wanted their students to learn that private property ownership is evil.

According to the article, the students had been building an elaborate "Legotown," but it was accidentally demolished. The teachers decided its destruction was an opportunity to explore "the inequities of private ownership." According to the teachers, "Our intention was to promote a contrasting set of values: collectivity, collaboration, resource-sharing, and full democratic participation."

The children were allegedly incorporating into Legotown "their assumptions about ownership and the social power it conveys." These assumptions "mirrored those of a class-based, capitalist society -- a society that we teachers believe to be unjust and oppressive."

They claimed as their role shaping the children's "social and political understandings of ownership and economic equity ... from a perspective of social justice."

rest of the article: http://www.techcentralstation.com/

Wow. Scary magazine: http://www.rethinkingschools.org/

People really <strike>think</strike> emote this way.

Excuse me ?
Reading further it also says elementary schoolchildren (up to age 12,roughly, right?). I think expecting kids this age to understand these terms and concepts is ludicrous..........playing with lego's and the above terms don't jive with me.

I suspect that most of the kids had no clue what the teachers were speaking of.

That stuff is truly creepy...

That's a good line for the burglars to use as they walk off with the teachers' DVD players.