virginia citizens defense league

Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself

va-alert

Published 08/07/2025

It’s with a heavy heart that I report that Executive Member Harold (“Mac”) Macklin has died at the age of 70, due to declining health.

While not a gun owner himself, Mac believed fervently in the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  He was extremely well studied on that subject and the laws dealing with it.  When his health was better, he would help with VCDL lobbying efforts at the General Assembly.

I personally knew Mac from the early 1980s, when I moved to Virginia from Texas.  Our shared interest was a computer language called APL.  We lost track of each other until the late 1990s when I was active with VCDL, where we had another shared interest:  the RKBA.

Godspeed, Mac.

Pro-gun organizations such as the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the NRA, GOA, etc. exist to protect the right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms, as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.  These pro-gun organizations are not subversives and their websites should not be classified under the “weapons” category.  Protecting the Constitution, which includes the Bill of Rights, is part of the oath that everyone in the U.S. military takes and is a shared goal with gun-rights organizations.

The gun-control groups are working against the Constitution by trying to erode or eliminate the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  That said, they have the right to free speech and to believe whatever they want to believe.  I am not suggesting that we reverse the situation and allow gun-rights websites while banning gun-control websites.  But the current one-way road is not fair nor is it acceptable.

I urge you to adjust the DoD policy to require that websites pertaining to peacefully protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms not be banned or censored from DOD servers.

Sincerely,

Philip Van Cleave

President

VCDL MEMBER-VOLUNTEERS ARE NEEDED AT THE RICHMOND GUN SHOW - August 23 & 24, 2025

The next gun show will be August 23 & 24 at the Richmond International Raceway, 600 E Laburnum Ave, Richmond, VA 23222. If you are unfamiliar with the location, you can find it easily on google maps or at the link below.

The website for the show is:
https://www.showmastersgunshows.com/richmond-gun-show-.html

As before, VCDL will have two booths at this event and we need member-volunteers to talk about protecting and defending our right to defend ourselves.

NO previous gun show or event experience is required, only your enthusiasm and dedication to help VCDL grow stronger.

Don't forget that many vendors will give discounts to volunteers!

Sign-up to volunteer for one or more of the following shifts:
Friday, August 22 - afternoon set-up - 5:00pm-6:00pm 
Saturday, August 23 - morning shift - 9:00am-1:00pm 
Saturday, August 23 - afternoon shift - 1:00pm-5:00pm 
Sunday, August 24 - morning shift - 10:00am-1:30pm 
Sunday, August 24 - afternoon shift - 1:30pm-5:00pm

For more details and to sign-up to help, contact: 
John Gosney, VCDL Coordinator, Richmond Area:
gunshows.richmond@vcdl.org

5. vcdl virtual membership meeting this sunday, august 10

VCDL will have its monthly virtual membership meeting this Sunday, August 10th, starting at 8pm.  Pat Webb, Jim Snyder, and Bruce Jackson will be reporting from the GOA G.O.A.L.S. show in Knoxville, Tennessee.  (Actually, Jim and Bruce were having too much fun, and couldn't make the broadcast!)

Here are the links to join the meeting.  You can post in the chat area during the meeting if you have any questions you would like to have answered.

Watch the recorded stream here: https://www.youtube.com/live/8rZONwRjuGk

6. another sad example of why you should carry at home

This happened in Rockingham County and shows why having a gun on you or within easy reach while at home (or anywhere else for that matter) can be the difference between life and death.  I’m glad the homeowner survived, but I am so sorry that he lost his wife.  Had he had immediate access to his firearm, instead of having to fetch it from a vehicle, perhaps things would have ended differently.

https://www.ammoland.com/2025/08/virginia-man-shoots-knife-wielding-intruder-who-fatally-stabbed-his-wife/

7. [ar] and a sad example of why you should carry even in the wilderness

And if you have children, never forget that you have a duty to protect them foremost:

Man Charged Over Murders of Husband and Wife While Hiking with Their 2 Young Daughters in Arkansas

8. supreme court decision affects gun owners when interacting with police [video]

This unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision affects both the 2nd and 4th Amendments.  It says that when police use deadly force, everything that happened up to the event, during the event, and after the event, must be taken into consideration to determine if deadly force was justified.  So, for example, if a police officer puts himself in a dangerous position he didn’t have to be in and then uses deadly force when things go wrong, that might affect whether his use of deadly force was really justified or not.

Previously, the police were judged solely on what was happening the instant they used deadly force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmAQ9Y5omFw

9. sydney sweeny is a shooter and a good one at that! [video]

This young lady has so much going for her… and she’s a damned good shooter, too!  Look at her big smile when she finishes shooting all those mean, old steel-plates that stupidly tried to sneak up on her.  Anyone who wishes to do Sydney any harm would be very wise to watch this video and think again:

https://www.outkick.com/culture/sydney-sweeney-taran-tactical-pistol-video

10. what states will likely recognize federal gun rights restorations

VCDL Board member and firearms attorney, Gilbert Ambler, has a video talking about what states he expect will and won’t respect federal gun-rights restorations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hxQYFnGLHSY

11. [il] gun buy-up ends up putting a glock into the hands of a violent juvenile

Gun buy-ups (not buy-backs, as the police never owned these guns) are a joke, but the gun control crowd loves to virtue signal.  In this case, the gun buy-up in Chicago ended up putting a Glock into the hands of a 16-year-old criminal after the gun “disappeared” in a police station.

Language warning as Colion Noir is justifiably flabbergasted at this whole situation:

https://youtu.be/XVbJ5Dsn6-Y?si=8QLVvOCCWQMGU4ZJ

12. [il] concealed carrier stops two mass shooters!

There have been a lot of concealed handgun license holders in Illinois saving innocent lives.  This is just the latest example.  The Illinois legislature should take note and 1) reduce their ridiculously high licensing fee and 2) get rid of all the gun-free zones in the state.

https://abc7chicago.com/post/harvey-shooting-today-child-among-7-shot-14400-block-des-plaines-street-officials-say-suspect-killed-ccl-holder/17415754/

13. [mi] michigan chp holder who stopped mass stabber from fleeing speaks out

14. meanwhile in australia...

Socialist and communist societies require their subjects to be disarmed so government has complete control.  Not just by making guns illegal, but knives and any other defensive weapon, too.  Australia is headed down a very dark road, following England’s lead.  Not all guns are banned yet, but they are working on it.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/australian-state-rolls-out-machete-disposal-bins-ahead-ban

15. rofl! jim acosta interviews ai avatar about gun control

Acosta is seeking attention in the worst way.  Joaquin Oliver, if he were still alive, and not an avatar, might well say that gun-free zones, including those at schools, are a dumb and dangerous idea.  An armed teacher might have been able to save many lives, since the armed resource officer was cowering outside, letting the rampage continue unabated.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/jim-acosta-blasted-social-media-after-interviewing-ai-avatar-parkland-shooting-victim