Hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[fjpro2a]

Am I the only one who realizes that the "open carry movement" is losing ground? What the hell is going on? There are a number of you who want to proceed with States rights. Fine. But for crying out loud, States are making it a "morass' to exercise our rights. I am exaggerating, but it seems as if we can only exercise our rights every other Monday afternoon between 2:00 and 4:30, if we are between the height of 5' 10'' and 6' 3', shoot with our right hand, and walk on the north side of the road. You know what I am talking about. Let's work to make it a complete State preemption in all States. If an activist judge ignores State preemption, let's work to make sure he/she is removed from office. I am frustrated, but it is probably because I am getting up there in age. Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[thebigsd]

Come to Virginia. Problem solved.

On a serious note, the states are exactly where you want the gun rights fight to be. The less the federal government is involved, the better off we are. If you look at the country as a whole over the last decade or so gun rights have greatly improved. Don't let a few wacko states (CA, MD, NY, etc) discourage you.

 

[fjpro2a]

I know, I know

I know my problem would be solved by moving to Virginia or a few other States, but even in Virginia with a 2nd Amendment Governor, a superb Attorney General, and a solid State Legislature, I still read of a few dumb court decisions or rules that "fly in the face of common sense." I know Virginia has complete State preemption, but why do people find it difficult to grasp the word "complete?" I have my house up for sale in NJ, and plan to move to Virginia when it sells, but the real estate market is terrible and I may not be able to sell it for years. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, though.

 

[SouthernBoy]

I know my problem would be solved by moving to Virginia or a few other States, but even in Virginia with a 2nd Amendment Governor, a superb Attorney General, and a solid State Legislature, I still read of a few dumb court decisions or rules that "fly in the face of common sense." I know Virginia has complete State preemption, but why do people find it difficult to grasp the word "complete?" I have my house up for sale in NJ, and plan to move to Virginia when it sells, but the real estate market is terrible and I may not be able to sell it for years. Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, though.

Just don't bring anything "New Jersey" when you do make it down here. Also can you elaborate on your statement, 'I still read of a few dumb court decisions or rules that "fly in the face of common sense."'

As for the rest of it, I'm with thebigsd. Don't want the feds to have anything to do with it.

 

[R50FJ60]

Not sure what your budget is, but right now is a good time to hunt down foreclosures in teh Northern VA area...manassas/prince william county. They adopted the "bulldoze everything in sight" policy, so ive seen a bit of for sale, foreclosure and completly new, yet em,pty houses. Good luck!

 

[Grapeshot]

I know my problem would be solved by moving to Virginia or a few other States, but even in Virginia with a 2nd Amendment Governor, a superb Attorney General, and a solid State Legislature,.......snip........

That has definitely NOT been the case - the state senate has been in the wrong hands. Sen Saslaw created a "death star" sub-committee that single underhandedly killed most of the good gun bills - and the sub-committee was in violation of senate rules!

We are looking to retake the senate with the elections this fall. Then we will be able to advance more legislation.

The cause has progressed greatly over the last decade from may issue to shall issue, restaurant carry, school parking lots and state preemption of gun laws, but the biggest gain of all has been the now general acceptance of OC through the Commonwealth of Va.

 

[lagmonkey]

Not sure what your budget is, but right now is a good time to hunt down foreclosures in teh Northern VA area...manassas/prince william county. They adopted the "bulldoze everything in sight" policy, so ive seen a bit of for sale, foreclosure and completly new, yet em,pty houses. Good luck!

Sad, but oh so true. My wife and I were fortunate enough to score a modest profit when we sold our house out in Spotsy and purchased a house in Fredericksburg we never could have afforded several years ago.

Granted, Fredericksburg isn't Northern VA, not REALLY, but you get the idea.

 

[skidmark]

Rather than keep veering off into the real estate market, let's try to get back to the OP's complaint.

While I think he might be a welcome addition to Free america, he needs to remember he is abandoning the fight in his home state. Discretion may be the better part of valor, but if the issue is worth the fight he will hopefully figure out a way to continue working with or for the folks left behind.

There is already controversy in Virginia about incremental steps as opposed to going whole hog all at once. I admit I'm not all that happy with some of the incremental direction but after having expressed my reasons for not being happy I have nevertheless asserted my support for the proposed action. As much as I hate to admit that the anti's argument of "reasonable restrictions" requires that they take incremental steps towards their ultimate goal I also must admit that we need to pursue incremental steps towards our ultimate goal as well - as long as we do not lose sight of that goal while mired down in the munitia. The journey of a thousand miles may begin with but one single step, but it does require adding all the others to that first one to reach the final destination. Ataining one of our small steps while preventing one of their small steps is a net gain of two steps. At that rate we will get to the ultimate destination quickly enough.

stay safe.

 

[since9]

I have my house up for sale in NJ, and plan to move to Virginia when it sells, but the real estate market is terrible and I may not be able to sell it for years.

One thing you might consider comes from an article I read a while back about home swaps. You might be looking to move to Virginia, but there are Virginians wanting to move to New Jersey. If you both own homes of similar value, you can arrange to swap them for the difference in value, and refinance both mortgages in the process. The article mentioned a website, too, but it might be on the message forum of a for sale by owner website.

I hate using realtors, but a savvy realtor can hook you up with someone moving to your area who might like your house. In my mind, it's not worth the 6% of the value of the home.

 

[since9]

The cause has progressed greatly over the last decade from may issue to shall issue, restaurant carry, school parking lots and state preemption of gun laws, but the biggest gain of all has been the now general acceptance of OC through the Commonwealth of Va.

Grapeshot, you mention an increase in the general acceptance of OC. In your opinion, has the Va Tech massacre helped further the understanding of the need for private citizens to be armed? Or has it hurt it? I know a bit of both, but in which direction has it been more pronounced?

 

[thebigsd]

Grapeshot, you mention an increase in the general acceptance of OC. In your opinion, has the Va Tech massacre helped further the understanding of the need for private citizens to be armed? Or has it hurt it? I know a bit of both, but in which direction has it been more pronounced?

Well, I am not Grapeshot but I'll take a stab at this one. I think the VT incident has had little to no effect on the guns rights movement in Virginia. The antis tried to drum it up and it didn't work for them. The majority of folks are no longer buying into the guns are evil mantra. I feel the VT incident has turned into more evidence for our side of the situation.

 

[Grapeshot]

Grapeshot, you mention an increase in the general acceptance of OC. In your opinion, has the Va Tech massacre helped further the understanding of the need for private citizens to be armed? Or has it hurt it? I know a bit of both, but in which direction has it been more pronounced?

There are IMO considerably more people that understand that disarming people benefits no one but the criminal.

In saying "general acceptance" I mean more understanding, awareness by the general population and less ignorance of the laws and who the good guys are. I think the pendulum has swung our way and continues to do so more and more each day, but I don't feel that the various mass homicides have made people mad enough at the right sources. Those sad events caused some people to see more clearly but hasn't moved them far enough to productive action. Don't see that there has been any expansion of negativity towards the cause/right to self-defense though.

We still have work to do re self-defense on campus - that will be a major campaign for VCDL starting soon. We must make people understand - it is the only way that lives can be saved - it is the right thing to do.

 

[fjpro2a]

Thanks, Sklidmark

I do get frustrated when someone posts an important question, suggestion, opinion, etc., and then the responses start to veer off in every direction. Thanks for responding to the original intent of my post. If and when I move from NJ to Virginia, I would be honored to be an addition to Free America. Although I want to leave NJ for a number of reasons (over-regulation, high taxes, anti 2nd Amendment culture, acceptance of corruption in NJ Government, etc.), I am not (in my opinion) abandoning the fight in my home State. I have written letters, sent emails, and spoke with politicians, have talked to numerous friends and acquaintances on the importance of the 2nd Amendment, and would stay in touch with those left behind.
Anyway, I believe there are good incremental steps and good substantial steps. What concerns me are those incremental steps backward eroding our hard fought for and won rights. I don't want the good guys losing site of that. As I said, my frustration is in part due to my advancing age. I won't stop defending our rights, though, whether it be a verbal response to someone, a march, an email campaign, and even a donation though that is getting harder and harder these days.
Thanks for being there, skidmark. You give inspiration to guys like me, and I mean that.

Rather than keep veering off into the real estate market, let's try to get back to the OP's complaint.

While I think he might be a welcome addition to Free america, he needs to remember he is abandoning the fight in his home state. Discretion may be the better part of valor, but if the issue is worth the fight he will hopefully figure out a way to continue working with or for the folks left behind.

There is already controversy in Virginia about incremental steps as opposed to going whole hog all at once. I admit I'm not all that happy with some of the incremental direction but after having expressed my reasons for not being happy I have nevertheless asserted my support for the proposed action. As much as I hate to admit that the anti's argument of "reasonable restrictions" requires that they take incremental steps towards their ultimate goal I also must admit that we need to pursue incremental steps towards our ultimate goal as well - as long as we do not lose sight of that goal while mired down in the munitia. The journey of a thousand miles may begin with but one single step, but it does require adding all the others to that first one to reach the final destination. Ataining one of our small steps while preventing one of their small steps is a net gain of two steps. At that rate we will get to the ultimate destination quickly enough.

stay safe.