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virginia citizens defense league
Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself
va-alert
Published 7/16/2026
VCDL held its monthly membership meeting at XCal, on Thursday, July 16th, at 8pm. We discussed what’s happening in the courts in Virginia and in the country; other gun-issues affecting Virginia’s gun owners; and Q&A.
Great turnout:
https://x.com/VCDL_ORG/status/2077906739987398834?s=20
Membership meeting location:
XCal Shooting Sports and Fitness Center
44950 Russell Branch Pkwy
Ashburn, VA 20147
Reminder for future meetings: Come early (6pm-7pm) if you want to shoot and/or eat at the XCal Cafe before the meeting. VCDL members get $5 off a lane on meeting night.
The event is open to the public, so bring friends and family! See you there!
2. A cautionary tale on changing arm braces that come on a factory-made firearm
One of our attorneys suggested that if you have a pistol that came from the factory with an arm brace, leave the brace alone. Do NOT modify or replace that brace (unless that brace is IDENTICAL to the original brace)!
In this Florida case, a gun owner replaced his factory-supplied brace with a different type and is now in a heap of trouble. The police officer, who took THREE HOURS to finally come up with a charge to arrest him, should never have been given a commission and a badge, however.
https://thegunwriter.substack.com/p/special-report-when-florida-police
3. VCDL Volunteers needed for the next Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, July 31 – August 2
VCDL is looking for volunteers to help get the word out at the upcoming Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, July 31 – August 2 at the Richmond Raceway complex.
This isn’t a gun show, but rather it showcases a broader range of products and events available for outdoor enthusiasts. There will be seminars and even a Big Game contest!
This is a great chance to reach out to gun owners and others who don’t go to gun shows!
Please see their website for details:
https://www.sportsmanshow.com/
This is a three-day show and the available shifts will be:
Friday, July 31 (setup), 10a–12p
Friday, July 31, 12p-3p & 3p-6p
Saturday August 1, 9a-1:30p, 1:30p-6p
Sunday August 2, 10a-1:30p, 1:30p-5p
If you're not able to volunteer for this event, the next gun show will be at the Richmond Raceway, August 22 & 23.
For more details and to sign-up to help, contact:
4. Goochland considering allowing a proposed shooting range to open
And you can count on the usually NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) to show up and complain.
5. ACTION ITEM: GOA Warns ATF’s Gun Dealer Rule Rollback Still Leaves Gun Owners Exposed
Here’s the article explaining how the proposed “Engaged in the Business” rule change by the ATF still can leave gun owners in the lurch:
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Here’s where you can comment on the proposed rule change:
https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/ATF-2026-0074-0001
Here is the comment I left on behalf of VCDL:
The modified "Engaged in the Business" rule would still leave gun owners unable to be sure if selling a privately owned gun is lawful. This rule should simply be repealed in its entirety.
6. Gun control is claimed to be urgent, but Virginia has a strong positive rating because it has a low crime rate
All that unconstitutional gun-control passed this year was supposedly necessary for “public safety.”
True to form, that was a lie. Virginia has been doing just fine as far as public safety.
Of course, going soft on violent criminals, while restricting the right of citizens to protect themselves from those predators, will end up making Virginia less safe as time goes on. But that’s the goal. A high violent-crime rate is the excuse to call for increasing gun-control, ultimately leaving the People dependent on the government for protection. Welcome to the “New” England and all hail Queen Spanberger!
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/11/best-states-to-live-in-america-2026.html
Virginia
With just 218 incidents per 100,000 residents in 2024, Virginia had one of the lowest violent crime rates in the nation, according to FBI statistics. Ceasefire Virginia, launched in 2022 under Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares, both Republicans — and continuing under their Democratic successors, Abigail Spanberger and Jay Jones — targets gun violence in 13 municipalities in the Commonwealth with increased penalties for possession and use of firearms by convicted felons. An analysis of the program last year by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Public Policy credited it with a 10% decrease in homicides statewide through 2024, including a 24% reduction in homicides in Ceasefire localities.
2026 Quality of Life score: 189 out of 290 points (Top States grade: B+)
Strengths: Crime, Air Quality, Health
Weakness: Childcare
7. Research Shows the U.S. Has Lower Violent Crime Than Many Peer Countries
Looking at Canada and Australia, they have a lower murder rate, but overall, a significantly higher violent-crime rate, including rape, assault, robbery, and burglary/break-in.
At Real Clear Investigations: Mythbuster: U.S. Much Safer Than Many Peer Nations
8. Article: Why raising the purchase age for semi-automatic rifles is becoming the next major state legislative fight
The gun controllers want to disarm and disenfranchise young adults. That’s wrong both constitutionally and morally. Of course, since when would gun grabbers honor the Constitution or morality?
This is a fight we must take on in Virginia. A lawsuit over the new prohibition on young adults purchasing handguns and AWs is on our to-do list.
9. The exaggeration about schools not being safe
“The odds of a specific K-12 student being killed by an active shooter, in their classroom, on any given school day: roughly 1 in 614 million. A student is more likely to be seriously hurt on the ride to school than inside the building once they arrive. School buses are, per the Department of Transportation, statistically the safest way a kid travels all day. Set foot inside the building and the risk drops again.”
…
“So how did ‘isn't happening to your kid’ become ‘constant, ambient threat’? Not by lying about a single number. By redrawing three categories until the categories did the lying for them.”
The article discusses how the public has been so misled about active shooters in schools.
I would note that it’s all part of the gun controller’s agenda for complete civilian disarmament, by hook or by crook. In this case turning children into a political pawn and our love for our children into an emotional hammer to get us to override logic and facts, allowing the gun grabbers to get their way.
https://chrisabraham.substack.com/p/proportional
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