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Speaking of the VNG . . .

I wonder how many patriots will be practically indistinguishable from them?

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Not to be negative, but what are the chances that the Dems can get enough votes for that if they agree to grandfathering?

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Isn't the entire purpose of this to say you can't take my rifle?

Now we are worried about confiscation of our good guns?

But are ok if they take our 2nd tier guns?

I think once you lock and load then walk into downtown Richmond the decision to comply has already been made.

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Part II

For those unaware, Delegate and Speaker-Designee Eileen Filler-Corns position and office in the Virginia State government is roughly the equivalent to Nancy Pelosi.  Speaker of the House (designee – will take that office in January), former House Minority Leader, now House Majority Leader.  She has sway and she has quite a bit of power and influence within the state legislature.

There’s more than a bit to write as to the conversation, so I’ll keep it as brief as possible.  As I mentioned before, my attempt to record the convo failed miserably.  The following is compiled from memory, my notes and the parts of my recording that I could decipher.  Rather than make it a transcript, I’ll lay it out as to the statements made:

After making introductions, we shook hands and sat at a table, with her aid standing nearby.  She had an ipad set up in front of her, tilted towards her like a monitor, and she’d occasionally type stuff on it.  Probably texting with her aide, who already knew where I stood on things where he was feeding her info, and also probably adding me to more lists.
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Ma’am, I’m here to discuss my extreme concerns with the myriad of anti-gun legislation introduced into the upcoming legislative session.  I’m sure you’re aide has briefed you on my position with this, since he and I spoke for some time already.  No change in her expression or attempt confirm/ deny as to my statement.

I am here to ask you to please withdraw support for these draconian bills.  I implore you to use your speaker-ship to urge your fellow delegates and senators to withdraw support as well.

I am your typical, law-abiding resident of Virginia and citizen of the United States.  I, along with millions just like me, walk the straight and narrow.  I may exceed the speed limit occasionally, but I, and many others like me, put great effort into abiding not only to the rule of law, but to a polite social contract that is guided by morality.

If these bills are passed, and are made into law – I, and millions of Virginians just like me, will become felons overnight.  Not by any wrong doing of my own, but by writ and the stroke of legislative pen, all in the name of an overzealous pursuit of misguided ideology.  If respect for the law and reverence for the consequences for having violated that law is what keeps us law abiding, what then, is the inevitable outcome, when we are now labeled felons?  What is left to maintain peace and order, once the threat of criminality is removed?

***At this point, the aide interrupts and lets me know my time is up and that others are waiting their turn***

My response to that was:  I waited 45 minutes as well, I'm almost done and it's very important that we are able to fully conclude our mutual concerns here.  Del. Filler Corn looked at me, up at the aide (sayinig get him outta here with her eyes), back at me and I continued speaking, ignoring the aide as if there hadn't been an interruption.

What we have seen since the introduction of the myriad of anti-gun bills is an incredibly outpouring by regular, every day Virginians.  We have seen 87 of 95 counties along with numerous cities and towns, adopt some form of 2nd Amendment Sanctuary resolution.  That is 91% of the Commonwealth.  That is sending a very clear and decisive message to Richmond.  Both Gov Northam and AG Herring have engaged in some very inflammatory rhetoric, and followed up by doubling down on it.  This further fans the flames of discord.  The people of Virginia are up in arms over this, and I mean that literally – people are taking up arms over the actions of the legislature.

On the same hand, people are having open, unveiled conversations regarding everything I just said.  The people are making plans for the inevitability of draconian, unconstitutional laws being enacted.  As Richmond’s intention is no longer veiled, neither is the peoples response.

From the introduction of these sweeping bills to today, we have seen people come together like never before.  There is no leader to this reaction – it is everyday Virginians trying to have their voices heard, and their communities supporting and defending them.  It’s incredibly clear which side of this legislation that the people of Virginia, as a whole, are on.  History can teach us things.  The old cliché of those who do not learn from it, are doomed to repeat it, is very much relevant to this conversation.  These are the Intolerable Acts of our time.

Again, please, I ask for your help in withdrawing support for these bills, letting them die in committee and allowing cooler heads to prevail.  Given what we are facing, is that something you will support?

Her responses:

Blah blah blah. Pre-written talking points. Literally!  Best of all, her actual response to my closing statement asking for her support was:

"There is a lot of unnecessary rhetoric being thrown about right now.  These are common sense measures that are supported by over 90% of the people of Virginia.  Nobody is going to outlaw your guns.  Nobody is going to go door to door and collect them.  There is no need to dig a hole and bury your guns in the back yard (yes, she really said that).  This is all being exacerbated by the Gun Lobby and the NRA.  There really is nothing to worry about – you’ll be able to keep your guns."  (Where have we heard language like this before?)

My response and closing to that was:

Madame Speaker Designee, with all due respect, what you just said is patently false and highlights how you have completely misread the pulse of the Commonwealth.

Instead of listening to the lobbyists, New York funded special interest groups, various polls and aides within the echo chamber that are the halls of the state legislature, you should listen to the message that the people of Virginia are sending – it is loud and it is clear.

The voices you are hearing and the sanctuary resolutions you are seeing passed are from individuals throughout the commonwealth.  91% of the state does not, in fact, want any of this.  There is no lobby, no funding from wealthy individuals feeding any fear mongering – there is no leader or leading entity and the NRA has been unbelievably and disappointingly absent from the conversation.  This is a wholly organic, grassroots effort.  We are standing on a dangerous precipice.  If this legislation continues down its current path and is enacted, there will be a comeuppance.  That is a guarantee, and the result not being known yet, it’s safe to say that it may not be solely political in nature.  We are looking at a defining moment in our history.  To say otherwise is a fool’s errand.

Her response

Thank you for sharing your views.  It was nice to meet you.  Have a nice day.

That’s pretty much it.  Everything is falling on deaf ears.

Part III/ Final Thoughts & Observations to come.

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Part III

Some final thoughts and observations:

Throughout my career, negotiation has been a large part of it.  I've done many. Some were successful, some were not.  Some were quite significant, others minor.

Over time, through repetition and trial and error, you develop an ability to sense the other party's reception to your pitch.  It's hard to describe for those who haven't experienced it - it's not a tangible or teachable thing, but the combination of body language, eye and facial expression, how they sit, how they hold their hands, their tone, lots of stuff  all of these things can and will betray the words that come out of their mouth.

That said, I can tell you, with 100%, absolute certainty:

She did not want to hear one word out of my mouth.  Only out of decorum and the public nature of the meeting, did she tolerate my presence and allow herself to hear my opinion.

I sensed true and legitimate contempt towards me on her part.

The finality of the conversation dripped with condescension.

There is a very real smugness, arrogance and air of superiority that just oozes from these people.

This was the very first time I've ever done anything like this. This is the first time I've ever petitioned a politician face to face.  I didnt know what to expect.

One thing is for sure, and I don't know how to quite put this - she (and the rest of these politicians, I assume) is/ are just a different species of human being.  I've sat across from very high ranking C-level folks (and even told them things they don't want to hear, we weren't on the best of terms, etc.), and I never got that feeling.

Can't quite put my finger on what it was, but she just seemed, different.  There was no human connection, no empathy, no emotion whatsoever.  Only contempt. A hidden, seething, something.  It was quite strange really - disconcerting and very off putting.  I felt like I was dealing with a robot or an alien or something, not another living, breathing person.  There just was no... connection.

I'll tell you this, now that I have sat in front of arguably, one of the most powerful people in the VA Legislature -There is no swaying them and they will not stop pushing this legislation.

To simply ignore the factual points I made regarding 2A sanctuaries, the percentage of VA they constituted, people taking up arms, the dire warnings, etc. and to come back with "90% of VA wants this", "It's the NRA/ Gun Lobby stoking fear", "Nobody will outlaw or take your guns".  I mean, seriously?  I just had a decidedly cogent, articulate and polished interaction with you (I won't call it a conversation), and you're treating me like an idiot and pretending not to have heard my (valid) points?

I feel my experience today would have been similar to sitting across from Pelosi during the Obama Care passage.

I'm still going on Lobby Day, in fact, I am more eager now, than ever.

However, I think the tone will be different.

We all need to stay the course and continue to fight.

Even if they pass these abortions of bills in January, they can be pulled back prior to enactment in July.

We need EVERYONE in Richmond on 1/20.  Let them see the folly of their ways.

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Even the MSM would have a hard time ignoring a crowd that large but of course they'd spot a Confederate flag (which I am proud of btw) and call it a white supremist, skinhead,  neo nazi rally

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For those of us who can't attend, will there be any live feeds or do we just wait for the MSM's version?

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For those of us who can't attend, will there be any live feeds or do we just wait for the MSM's version?

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Random thoughts:

-If there's any cell service we could all do FB live videos. Honestly, guys, we're way past the point of secrecy or privacy. I'm sure I'm on a list. Some well-planned FB live videos could give us some good PR. I've said enough on FB under my own name to pretty much make me the first stop in the county if confiscation ever came to TN. Let's use it to our advantage and stop trying to hide. Yeah, easy for me to say from the relative safety of TN.

-An army moves on its stomach. I hope someone's bringing food trucks. And water. And porta potties.

-If 100k+ people show up to this thing it's going to be a circus. It's still 3 weeks off. It's fun to joke about various aspects of it but let's still stay focused on bringing more people. Let's not let reports of high expectations cause people to say 'oh, big enough' and stay home. We need to keep building momentum.

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Random thoughts:

-If there's any cell service we could all do FB live videos. Honestly, guys, we're way past the point of secrecy or privacy. I'm sure I'm on a list. Some well-planned FB live videos could give us some good PR. I've said enough on FB under my own name to pretty much make me the first stop in the county if confiscation ever came to TN. Let's use it to our advantage and stop trying to hide. Yeah, easy for me to say from the relative safety of TN.

-An army moves on its stomach. I hope someone's bringing food trucks. And water. And porta potties.

-If 100k+ people show up to this thing it's going to be a circus. It's still 3 weeks off. It's fun to joke about various aspects of it but let's still stay focused on bringing more people. Let's not let reports of high expectations cause people to say 'oh, big enough' and stay home. We need to keep building momentum.

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Agreed on keep building the momentum and encouraging folks to show up.

I'd also suggest bringing your own provisions for food and water. Even if they have food trucks and such, it'll be a really, really long wait in line. Portajohns may or may not be an issue depending on the people-to-PJ ratio.

All that said, just come and bring as many with you as you can. We need the help and we need the showing of strength.

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Imodium isn't a bad plan if your going to be somewhere for hours on end, with limited bathroom access. Especially if you figure that at least some arfcommers may have a few beers the night before.

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Imodium draws water out if your colon and makes you have to pee more.  Still better than crapping on the street.

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Imodium isn't a bad plan if your going to be somewhere for hours on end, with limited bathroom access. Especially if you figure that at least some arfcommers may have a few beers the night before.

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Imodium draws water out if your colon and makes you have to pee more.  Still better than crapping on the street.

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I would have preferred to have seen it without also getting a concussion, but ya play the cards you're delt.....