West Virginia Citizens Defense League: Some Thoughts On Self-Defense And The Law In West Virginia
West Virginia Citizens Defense League:
Most of us who choose to carry a handgun for person protection would probably agree that it is better to carry a handgun and not need it rather than to need a handgun and not have it or, as it has also been stated more succinctly, better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
The basic rule of the use of deadly force in self-defense in West Virginia was articulated by our state Supreme Court in Syllabus Point 7, State v. Cain, 20 W.Va. 679 (1882). Read more
West Virginia 2011 Legislative Session Ends with NO Gun-Related Legislation Passing
From our friends at the West Virginia Citizens Defense League:
The 2011 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature ended at midnight with good news and bad news for West Virginia gun owners.
The good news: Once again, as we have done every year since 2007, WVCDL helped stop every anti-gun bill that surfaced.
The most serious threat we faced this year was HB 2346, which would have significantly expanded disqualifications from firearm possession for domestic violence protective orders issued in ex parte “emergency” hearings where the respondent does not have the right to be heard and vastly expand the categories of “protected persons” with regard to whom a protective order would bar firearm possession.
The bad news: This year, the Legislature did not pass a single bill that could be described has being even mildly “pro-gun.” We were not surprised that neither HB 3125 nor SB 543 were acted upon given their length and the delays in the bill drafting office. However, there were many other smaller, “bite size” bills the Legislature could have taken up to give at least a token gesture to gun owners, but they did not do so. Even the most innocuous bills, such as HB 3087 and SB 387 (relating to retired law-enforcement officers) each passed their respective houses of origin but went nowhere in the other house. Read more
Huff and Puff Gives Platform for L.A. Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of the City of Los Angeles took to the Huffington Post to rant and rave, and promote the group’s anti-gun report that notes that “Crime Guns Crossing Borders and Taking Lives.”
Of course Villaraigosa is quick to note:
“The report analyzed crime gun trace data from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and paints a portrait of states around the country that are the top sources of guns recovered in crimes. In 2009, the ten states that supplied the highest rate of crime guns were Mississippi, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alaska, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Nevada, and Georgia.”
What you don’t hear from the mayor is that, as with the situation with guns recovered in Mexico, only a percentage of firearms from crimes are ever actually traced. So this “study” is highly questionable at best.
Maybe Los Angeles would be better too, if not only guns from those states didn’t travel to the city, but if tourists from those states stopped spending their dollars on all things made in the City of Angeles. Just a thought.
West Virginia Says No to Bloomberg
The New York Daily News reported this week that finally someone in a sovereign state other than New York is standing up to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. The paper notes:
“A legislator there wants to ban the type of undercover stings that Bloomberg has used to showcase illegal gun sales in other states – and throw the mayor’s investigators in jail if necessary.
“‘It’s for us to handle within our own borders,’ said state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, who is running for governor in 2012. ‘We jealously guard our gun rights, and we’re vocal advocates for the Second Amendment.’”
Kudos to Jeffrey Kessler. It is about time someone stood up to Mikey.
Who Guards the Guards: Wheeling Police Change Policy after M-16 is Stolen
SWAT team members in Wheeling, West Virginia will have to head to the department to retrieve their weapons if they’re called in while off-duty. This change follows a recent theft of one of the department’s M-16 rifles from an off-duty officer’s car, reports the AP via PhilyBurbs.com.
Not only is this yet another high-powered weapon that is now on the street, but our faith in the police is once again shaken. This is just the latest example of a police officer’s gun being stolen, and it begs the question as to why any of these weapons were left in the vehicles? Is this just another case of bad judgment? So again, who guards the guards in this country?
