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I'll say this, VCDL, you certainly got Alexandria's attention with the hundreds (the value they used) of phone calls and emails!
But there's good news and bad news relative to the City of Alexandria and WE STILL NEED TO BE AT THE HEARING on Saturday morning.
THE GOOD NEWS FIRST
The Alexandria Police Department has accepted responsibility and totally redone their flyer, providing this explanation:
-
OPEN CARRY :: Last week, the Alexandria Police Department distributed a
flyer regarding open carry laws in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The flyer
was developed to inform Alexandria residents about the rights of people to
open carry in Virginia. It was also developed to alleviate concerns that we
received from the public regarding open carry in Alexandria. APD received
feedback expressing concern about the original document. After a careful
review, APD has issued a new flyer to provide awareness to this issue.
The Alexandria Police Department fully supports people exercising their
rights under Virginia law and we appreciate the public’s assistance and
feedback on this issue. Our initial effort in providing accurate information
fell short of our community’s expectations. We regret having put out
information that may have confused, misinformed or implied that our department was
somehow trying to target law-abiding citizens.
We fully recognize that our success is directly related to the strong
relationship we have with our community. This instance is a great example of
the public helping us when we misstep and the Department listening to
constructive feedback. It is this type of relationship that will elevate the public
’s trust in our ability to serve them with objectivity, fairness and
according to the Constitution and the laws we swore an oath to protect.
-
This is their NEW flyer:
http://alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/police/info/OPEN%20CARRY%20VA.pdfNOW THE BAD NEWS
Two major problems that remain. The first problem is why was the original flyer created in the first place, especially with the inflammatory wording that was used?
The second problem is that while the police department says (above), "...the Alexandria Police Department fully supports people exercising their rights under Virginia law...," what the PD REALLY means is that they support citizens exercising their right to keep and bear arms as long as it is NOT in THEIR police department buildings!
Ladies and gentlemen, that "no guns" sign on the PD's door is flat-out ILLEGAL under 15.2-915.
Here is a link to the sign (thanks to EM Ed Levine for the link):
http://edsfiles.us/images/cityofalexpd.jpgThe City Attorney's office is saying the sign is going to stay. Why? Well, because THEY SAY SO, of course, silly!
Good luck with that, Alexandria.
Right now we have more than 35 gun owners who have told me they will be at the Alexandria hearing THIS Saturday, December 13, at 9:30 AM.
We need a good turnout to send these two messages:
1. Alexandria, we're glad you fixed that horrible flyer. Please make sure that all businesses who received the old flyer get a copy of the new one. Oh, and don't disseminate any more gun-law flyers in the future, please.
2. The "no guns" sign on the PD door is ILLEGAL. It needs to be removed immediately or VCDL will take the City to court under a violation of Virginia's firearms preemption laws. After we win, the sign will come down anyhow, but the City will end up paying VCDL's legal fees, as provided for under the preemption law.
For those wishing to attend, here is the address for the hearing again:
City Hall
Council Chamber
301 King Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
I plan to be at the hearing early to hand out "Guns Save Lives" stickers to the attending gun owners and to present the City Council with VCDL Carry Cards that CORRECTLY report where one can & cannot carry. We'll initially gather inside the front doors, or if that isn't possible, either outside the hearing room or outside the front doors, worst case. As a local government building, carry is allowed if you so choose.
NOTE: VCDL provides VCDL Carry Cards FREE to other police departments throughout the Commonwealth. It's a shame that the Alexandria Police Department is not yet on the distribution for these informational cards because it would have saved them a lot of embarrassment over their flawed flyer.
I look forward to seeing you there Saturday morning.
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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 Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page:
http://www.vcdl.org
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