January 25, 2000

Dear Virginia Gun Rights Supporter:

With the recent tragedies in Colorado and Georgia, our Right to Keep and Bear
Arms is under renewed attack. When the Virginia General Assembly convenes
(as I mail this) LATER TODAY, there will be many efforts to place even more
onerous restrictions on this Right.

It gets worse:

The elections for the Virginia General Assembly are over and according to the
NRA, there are 60 A-rated Delegates (out of 100) and 21 A-rated Senators (out
of 40) in the Virginia General Assembly. That’s more than enough to pass=20
pro-gun legislation in the Legislative Session that begins Wednesday, isn’t=20
it? I thought so too, but we were WRONG!

According to reliable sources in Richmond, the Republican Leadership plans to
kill all pro-gun legislation in committee. That’s right, they are working to=20
KILL all pro-gun legislation!

FORGOTTEN ARE THE PROMISES OF THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP THAT
IF WE GIVE THEMA MAJORITY, THEY WILL PASS OUR BILLS!

In 1999, the Republican excuse for hiding from pro-gun legislation was that
they didn’t want to jeopardize their chance at gaining control of the
legislature. Now that the Republicans are in control, their excuse for doing
nothing is that they are afraid that pro-gun votes may cost them control of
the General Assembly. Or they say there aren’t enough votes on the House
floor to pass pro-gun bills. Yet, the NRA says a majority of both the house
and Senate are A-rated. WHAT GOOD ARE THEY IF THEY WON’T PASS GOOD BILLS?

That’s why it’s critical for you to contact key legislators NOW! The future
of your Right to Keep and Bear Arms is in your hands.

Since the late 1800s, concealed handgun permit holders could and did legally
carry in businesses that sold alcohol for on premises consumption without any
problems at all (according to the Virginia State Police). In 1995, the
legislature stripped that away from permit holders. VCDL has been working to
repeal this 4-1/2 year old ban on legal concealed carry. In fact, in 1998,
VCDL’s bill to repeal this restriction passed the Virginia Senate, only to
die in and antigun House committee.

VCDL has also been working to fix Virginia’s concealed carry reciprocity
language that the NRA has characterized as “the most severely restricted
reciprocity language in the nation.” So far, only one (1) state has
established reciprocity with Virginia, yet there are six (6) other states
that unilaterally recognize Virginia’s concealed handgun permit.

In addition, VCDL is working to eliminate the grandfathered local gun contro
l=20
laws that place law abiding gun owners at risk of arrest due to a patchwork
of different local restrictions.

But the Republican Leadership wants you to wait years before they will even
consider these and other important common sense pro-gun legislation.

Speaker of the House, S. Vance Wilkins, holds the key to passing pro-gun
legislation this session. As the Speaker of the House, he can control
whether a bill lives or dies in committee. He needs to hear from you. Today.

Please do the following three things:

Call Delegate Wilkins at his capital office (804-698-1024) and politely, but
firmly, voice your support for pro-gun legislation passing this year.

Come to the Richmond Meeting of the Virginia Citizens Defense League on
January 26, at 8 PM at the Chesterfield Library. Learn what YOU can do to
help pass good legislation! It is a little known fact that a dozen letters
makes our Virginia legislators sit up and take notice! So few people bother
to contact them, that when you do, you make a HUGE impression!

Remember, if pro-gun legislation dies in committee this session, it was
because Speaker S. Vance Wilkins, allowed it to die. It will be because the
Republican Leadership, including Governor Gilmore, think you have no where
else to go, so your wishes may be ignored!

Please come to the SECOND VCDL Meeting in Central Virginia:

THIS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, at 8 PM VCDL will hold a meeting of its members
in the Richmond area. Of course, as always, guests, and members of thepublic.
The meeting will be an opportunity for Central Virginia members to
meet and discuss legislative issues, THE VCDL BILLS WE NEED TO PUSH, the ban
on concealed handguns at Richmond International Airport, and to have
questions answered about concealed carry in general. All members and the
general public are invited to attend.

Henrico County is ILLEGALLY collecting $55, five dollars over the legal
maximum as set by the Virginia General Assembly. We will discuss the actions
needed to fix this problem. We will even address the fingerprinting of LAW
ABIDING citizens wishing to exercise their right to carry a concealed
handgun. WHY are we treated like common criminals in some jurisdictions, and
like human beings in others? Even LIBERAL Fairfax County in Northern
Virginia does not treat its citizens as criminals!
___________________________________________________________________

The meeting is being held in Chesterfield County at the Clover Hill Public
Library at the intersection of US Route 360 and Deer Run Drive.

Clover Hill Public Library
6701 Deer Run Drive
Chesterfield, VA 23112
804-739-7335
Gather at 7:30 PM. This will allow some fellowship, and allow us to meet on=
e=20
another, and help the meeting start on time.
8:00 PM, Thursday, October, 21, 1999
___________________________________________________________________

Directions to the meeting:

Northside: From I-95 north take the I-195 south exit and, WHILE STILL ON THE
EXIT RAMP, bear left on the exit ramp. The right lane takes you to I-64
west, so keep left. Take I-195 south to the Powhite Parkway. After crossing
over the James River you will pay a 35 cent toll. Stay on the Powhite (VA
Route 76) until you pay a 75 cent toll. Take the next exit which is VA-288
south. Proceed about two miles and take the first exit on US-360 west.
Proceed about 1.8 miles to the library on the left. The library is directly
across US-360 from Hardie’s.

Downtown: Take US-360 west. Once you pass the exit for VA-288, the library
is 1.8 miles on the left.

Southside/Petersburg: From I-95, take VA-288 west. Exit on US-360 west.
The library is 1.8 miles on the left.

West: Take I-64 east to I-95 South. Use the directions from Northside.

East/Hampton/Williamsburg: Take I-64 west to Richmond. Tale I-95 south, to
I-195 north. Exit on VA-76 south and follow the rest of the directions from
the Northside, OR take I-95 south to US-360 (US-60, TO US-360) west. Follow
the directions from Downtown.

Please feel free to bring your family. Since the meeting is in a library,
those less interested may use the library.
___________________________________________________________________

It is UP TO US. We all need to get together and try to pass good
legislation, and to roll back bad legislation. We MUST tell the Republican
Leadership that we INSIST that do what they have promised for years, PASS
GOOD GUN LEGISLATION ONCE THEY HAVE THE MAJORITY! We cannot forget we got
Concealed Carry Reform in 1995 under a Democratic controlled legislature.
it was a Democrat’s bill!

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

With your help, we can continue to restore the rights of Virginia’s
law-abiding gun owners.

Sincerely,

Ward W. Fetrow, III
Director

PS. Feel free to check us out on the web at http://www.VCDL.org

PPS. Please come to our meeting on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26 at 8:00 PM. We are
gathering at 7:30 for fellowship, a chance to meet each other, and so the
meeting may begin on time.

I really want you to meet our Vice President, Philip Van Cleave, of
Midlothian. He is leading up our Legislative Campaign this year, and has a
great deal of GREAT information for you!

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 civil rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the right to keep and bear arms an essential civil right.

VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org

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