Lobby Day 2019 will be held, as always, on Martin Luther King's Birthday, which falls on Monday, January 21, in 2019.  It will run from 8 am to 12 noon.  We will be lobbying in teams from around 8:00 am until 10:45 am, at which time everyone will head to the Bell Tower for our annual Lobby Day Rally, which starts at 11 am sharp.

More details will be provided here and on VA-ALERT as Lobby Day draws nearer.

SPEAKERS

Our list of speakers will be updated periodically, so check back from time to time.  Speakers currently lined up:

Keynote speaker: Mark Robinson is a gun-rights activist whose powerful and passionate address of the Greensboro, NC City Council earlier this year went viral.  He asked City Council when they were going to do something for the majority of citizens, like him, who are law-abiding, and stop blaming and punishing good people every time a criminal misuses a firearm.  Here is a link to the video.  If you haven't seen it, it well worth your time to do so!

Jennifer Bennett survived the Washington, DC Navy Yard massacre in 2013.  The fact that she survived her attempted murder by an insane co-worker is, in itself, a miracle.  She went through many surgeries and a lot of physical therapy.  She believes God left her here for a purpose and she will be talking about survival, resiliency, and overcoming adversity.  To learn more about Jennifer, here is a link to an in-depth story from the Washington Post.

Senator Dick Black has introduced some extremely significant  legislation over the years for Virginia gun owners.  As a freshman Delegate in 1998, he introduced the first bill to repeal the onerous restaurant-carry ban (finally repealed in 2010).  In 2003, Delegate Dick Black had a huge victory when his bill to expand Virginia's firearms preemption protections was signed into law.  Among his many other accomplishments, he has also introduced Constitutional Concealed Carry and in 2002 got an Attorney General's opinion stating that Virginia State Parks did not have the authority to ban concealed handgun permit holders from carrying concealed there.

Delegate Dave LaRock has been a strong supporter fo the right to keep and bear arms during his time in the General Assembly.  In 2018 he introduced a bill to repeal the "good and sufficient" reason church gun-ban.  He has also introduced bills to do things like required that chief law enforcement officers sign off on National Firearms Act Form 4s and removed the requirement for a second form of ID when purchasing a firearm.

Under a 140-year-old law (18.2-283), a person cannot carry a weapon into a place of worship during a service without a "good and sufficient reason" (there is no legal definition of that term).  18.2-283 restricts and complicates the ability of a place of worship to have a comprehensive security plan.

Click here for more information and to send emails to your legislators and the Governor in support of repealing 18.2-283.

2018 is around the corner and, with it, the 2018 Legislative Session.  

As always, VCDL will be taking the lead in protecting the rights of gun owners at the General Assembly.

You can keep track of the bills affecting gun owners, and how you can help with each, using our 2018 Legislative Tracking Tool.

VCDL's National Reciprocity Campaign is now in progress!  The campaign will be conducted in several phases.  This is where we are currently.  If you are just now participating in the campaign, please read all the links below and take appropriate action as directed:

Background

Phase 1 - Contact House Judicial Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte

Phase 2 - Contact Your House of Representatives Member

Phase 3 - Contact The Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan

VCDL sued Katie Couric and other responsible parties for the film “Under the Gun” for defamation in Federal District Court in Richmond, Virginia on September 13, 2016. 

As has been widely reported in the media, the "documentary" contains manipulated footage that makes it look like some VCDL Executive members were totally stumped by a question on background checks, when in reality, they immediately began responding.

Q: What is the status of the lawsuit?

• We are currently filing an appeal with the Federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which will be heard in front of a three-judge panel.  We are appealing a ruling by a federal judge that dismissed our claim because in his opinion we didn't answer Couric's question, and thus the judge felt Couric was free to change our answers to anything she wished without causing harm to us!  That would have set a horrible precedent and we simply could not let it stand.
  

Q: Why did the VCDL file this lawsuit?

• It’s the only way to hold Couric and her people accountable.
• Couric has publicly admitted that the film was misleading and misrepresented VCDL, but the filmmakers refuse to fix it or to stop promoting and distributing it.

Q: What does VCDL hope to accomplish with the lawsuit?

• Hold the filmmakers accountable for misleading audiences and misrepresenting the organization.
• Compensate VCDL and VCDL members who were harmed by the film.
• Set the record straight.
• Advance our mission to defend your right to defend yourself.

Q: How is VCDL paying for the lawsuit and the appeal?

• Contributions from members and non-members alike.
• Please consider making a contribution to help hold Couric accountable and to help VCDL defend your right to defend yourself. Unfortunately, filing such a lawsuit is expensive, but VCDL simply cannot let this manipulation and intentional misrepresentation stand!

Q: Where can I get more information?

• To compare the manipulated video footage and the unedited audio recording, and learn more about the case, click here.
• To read the actual complaint that was filed, click here.

To contribute to VCDL, please click here.

If you want to be a part of the winning team working to protect and enhance our rights in Virginia ...