The Legal Eagle-Dec. 2019

Hi all! Welcome to the inaugural installment of The Legal Eagle. This is a space where I will do my best to update you, the members of Buccaneer Gun Club, on issues that we, as firearm enthusiasts and supporters of the Second Amendment, want and need to be aware of.

My name is Tony Huskey. I’m a club member, second amendment supporter, IDPA participant and a current Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL). It is for these and many other reasons that I have an interest in keeping on top of the issues, both public and behind the scenes, that affect your and my ability to maintain and strengthen our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms as we move forward in rapidly changing social and political environments. Now, more than ever, it is vital that we remain vigilant as to the attempts to alter, minimize and even eliminate our ability to live our lives as responsible firearm owners. My goal is for this space to be helpful, informative, educational and objective. If, on occasion, something comes across as opinionated or political, please know that it is not intentional. I am passionate about our rights – all of them! The attempts, by what I believe to be a minority, to reinterpret those rights are bothersome to me and for us all. Please let me know if there is a specific topic of concern or interest that you might like to see addressed here. Your input and feedback are helpful and appreciated. Thanks much to Tami Hahn for all of her hard work on the modernization of our club web site and for believing in the importance of creating and devoting this space to help in ensuring that we can all be aware of the things happening that might affect our Second Amendment rights! With that said, here we go!

Party affiliation doesn’t define everyone’s views on gun rights.

I can assure you that there are Republicans, Democrats, Independents and other views within the confines of the Buccaneer membership. It is our love and enjoyment of the shooting sports that forms our connection. That connection demands that we stay informed! While President Trump generally supports our gun rights, he has, on occasion, shown a potential to give in to political pressures, especially in the cases of firearm related tragedies. As for the 2020 Democratic field, most candidates generally support some form of restrictions on our gun rights. Due to the number of candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, it is a bit hard to pull together. Here is a great link, provided through the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), to a page that helps you find your polling place and outlines the positions of all of the candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic nomination. http://action.gunvote.org/2020candidates/

Elections DO MATTER!

Just look at our neighbor to the north! Virginia may be for lovers, but not gun lovers. As most of you know, the recent statewide elections in Virginia gave the Democratic Party total control of the state legislature and the Governor’s Mansion. There are already bills being “pre-filed” for the new legislative session that will place major restrictions on citizen’s gun rights in The Old Dominion – The Mother of Presidents. Some of those Presidents might be rolling over in their graves with the knowledge of what

their state legislature desires to do to the Rights that they, very early on, worked so hard to guarantee to the citizens of this great experiment in representative government that they created!

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam says that he is about, “Making Virginia safer.” While many in the northern part of the state – those that work in the DC metro area- seem to agree, it seems a though a large portion of the state’s electorate and their duly elected Sheriffs may disagree. They are fighting back hard! This battle will may be precedent setting, with court battles sure to come. We must pay attention to this one and never take for granted the rights we have today, as a single election can change the tide. Elections do matter!