March 18, Governor Bob McDonnell (R) signed into law three VSSA-backed pro-rights bills which had unanimously passed both chambers of the General Assembly this session. In addition, Governor McDonnell signed "Hunter-Voter" legislation into law on March 16. All four pieces of legislation will become effective on July 1, 2011.

The bills signed into law by Governor McDonnell:

House Bill 1552:Amends the language relating to the issuance of de facto concealed handgun permits. Current law states that if a court does not issue a permit or find that the applicant is disqualified, within 45 days of receipt of the application, the clerk is to certify the application and send it to the applicant. The certified application then serves as a de facto permit until the actual permit is issued or the applicant is found to be disqualified. The bill states that the clerk must mail or e-mail the certified application to the applicant within five business days of the expiration of the 45-day period.  Also, a friendly amendment added to HB 1552 will now provide delivery of the certified temporary application by electronic mail. 

House Bill 1856: Allows a concealed handgun permit holder to obtain a replacement permit in the event that the original permit is lost or destroyed. The permit holder would be required to submit a notarized statement to the clerk of the court that the permit was lost or destroyed and pay a fee not to exceed $5, and the clerk would be required to issue a replacement permit within 10 business days. The replacement permit will have the same expiration date as the original permit.
 House Bill 1857: Clarifies that a member of the military may provide permanent orders assigning him to the Pentagon for purposes of providing documentation of residency when purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer.  It corrects a problem caused by the federal government where some military personnel who are attempting to purchase a firearm in the Commonwealth are being turned away because their permanent duty orders have assigned them to the Pentagon, which lists its official address in Washington, D.C., despite being located in Virginia. HB 1857 will clarify existing law and include the permanent orders to the Pentagon as criteria for required documentation of residence.

Senate Bill 1213/House Bill 1501: Provides that the State Board of Elections, in cooperation with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, will make mail voter registration application forms available where hunting and fishing licenses are sold.

Please email the Governor and thank him for signing the above bills.

Two more pro-rights bills, House Bill 1422 and Senate Bill 757 passed by the General Assembly have been amended by the Governor and will be taken up at the reconvened session on April 6th.  More information on the amendments will be coming in a separate alert.

VSSA members will soon receive a complete update on the 2011 Session from VSSA President Dave Myers.

On March 17th, the Sussex County Board of Supervisors and Sussex County Planning Commission held a joint meeting to consider a shooting range ordinance crafted by the Planning Commission.  For reasons known only to the Commission, they appear to want to close any opportunity to open a new range or to allow current ranges to expand its operation.  Once again, it was the Board of Supervisors that stood up for gun owners and sent the ordinance back to the commission for further study.

While this result is positive, unfortunately, the Board did not kill the proposal outright - they simply sent it back for study. VSSA has been following this issue for over a year and has sent several alerts out to members asking them to contact the Board to oppose proposed restrictions.  VSSA will continue to monitor the issue and will let gun owners know when your action is required again.

Special thanks to Tim Drury of Airfield Shooting Club for his help in getting information on the proprosed ordinance. 

One has to wonder if President's Obama's efforts to find "middle ground" on gun control is an effort to divert attention from the colossal mess at ATF known as Operation Fast and Furious.  If that was his intention, it's not working.  While DOJ has been trying to get gun control and gun rights supporters to sit down for discussions on keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals, members of Congress have been asking for answers on how ATF did just the opposite - allow large numbers of firearms to "walk" across the border and end up in the hands of drug cartel members. Read more here.
  

Cam Edwards Discusses CBS News Story About ATF Whistleblower John Dodson

Unlike many newspaper editorial boards, the RTD editorial staff is no friend of gun control.  They have regularly opined on the uselessness of gun control - especially the attempts to close the so-called "gun show loophole."  Yesterday the RTD ran an article on open carry advocates and today's editorial page calls out President Obama for his Kumbaya gun control sessions. Read more here.

The Richmond Times Dispatch weighed in  on the topic of open carry on Sunday with this article.  They interviewed several gun owners who expressed views supporting open carry, and some who prefer concealed carry.  They also spoke with gun-ban group representatives.  Read more here.
  

Rappahannock Pistol and Rifle Club NRA Youth Sports Fest - April 16, 2011

American Legion 2011 Air Rifle Match Program - April 30, 2011 - Multiple Locations

Women on Target Clinic - June 4, 2011 - Airfield Shooting Club

13th Annual Crush'n Clays - June 11, 2011

Virginia State Outdoor Conventional Pistol Championship -  Fairfax Rod and Gun Club - June 25-26, 2011 - Contact John Hollingshead at: fairfaxBE@gmail.com for more information.

Hunters Pistol and Smallbore Hunters Pistol - Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club - September 24, 2011 - Contact: Augie Kowalik at augiensusie@msn.com

Cowboy Lever Action Rifle Silhouette - Cavalier Rifle and Pistol Club - October 22, 2011 - Contact: Augie Kowalik at augiensusie@msn.com

Norfolk County Rifle Range Match and Practice Dates

Piedmont Sportsman Club Shooting Schedule