Virginia Citizens Defense League
| Motto | Defending Your Right To Defend Yourself |
|---|---|
| Formation | October 1994 |
| Type | NGO |
| Location |
|
| Leader | Philip Van Cleave |
| Website |
www |
The Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) is a grassroots, pro-gun organization.
Efforts
VCDL doesn’t have a paid lobbyist. Instead, VCDL relies upon the voters in each legislative district to contact their legislators. VCDL focuses its efforts on promoting gun-friendly legislation in the Commonwealth, especially in regards to concealed carry and ensuring that localities comply with state law.
The VCDL website provides a history of the organization's legislative advocacy.
In May 2007, VCDL made news by organizing the Bloomberg Gun Giveaway drawing. The drawing was designed to help two Virginia gun dealers fight Mayor Mike Bloomberg's attempts to drive them out of business through lawsuits. The drawing was originally scheduled for April 19, 2007 at VCDL's regular public meeting, but due to the massacre that occurred at Virginia Tech earlier that week, the drawing was postponed until the next public meeting on May 17.
The Washington Post ran a series of stories on how Fairfax County politicians worked to try to stop the Bloomberg Gun Giveaway, including an article on May 16, 2007.[1] In August 2007, VCDL filed suit to compel Fairfax County to drop its efforts to declare the drawing illegal.[2]
VCDL also made headlines by leading the successful campaign to compel the Roanoke Times to take down their online searchable database of Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) holders.
VCDL operates a free email alert service, known as VA-ALERT, to keep interested persons updated on legislation and local issues.
References
- ↑ "Weapons Giveaway Might Be Illegal"
- ↑ "Gun rights group challenges Fairfax decision on auction". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 2016-03-23.