Mark Herring: Why we need a Federal Concealed Carry Permit (FCCP)

If you are not aware Mark Herring is the Attorney General (AG) of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  Just before Christmas he nullified Concealed Carry Reciprocity Agreements with 25 states.  The reasons will be shown later in this post.  Before I get to that I want to bring to light some of Mark Herrings actions as Attorney General that may call this man's discharge of justice into action.  Shortly after being sworn into office in January 2014 Virginia's ban on gay marriage was going before the Supreme Court and AG Herring stated that he would not represent the state in support of the "LAW" because he personally did not support the "LAW".  All my life I have seen this statue at courthouses:

Lady Justice.  The blindfold stands for Justice is Blind, The scales for fairness and weighing of the evidence, and the sword is for punishment.  Nowhere is their symbolism for personal views on a matter.  Also from History and social studies classes Laws are passed by a State or Federal Congress by one side presenting a bill be it Delegates or Representatives which then goes to the Senate then to an Executive be it a Governor or a President who signs it into law.  Then its up to the Supreme Court to decide if it is a just or unjust law when called into question.  Not the Attorney General.  For what I know and I could be wrong is that the AG's job is to defend the laws of the state or the country.

Now on Dec 22nd with the Nullifying of the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Agreement with 25 states the below reasons were what AG Herring stated were his reasons:

Virginia's concealed handgun permit law includes a number of disqualifiers and safeguards designed to prevent potentially dangerous or irresponsible individuals from being able to lawfully conceal handguns, such as:

• An individual who has been ordered by a court to receive outpatient mental health treatment, who has received inpatient mental health or substance abuse treatment, or who has been adjudicated legally incompetent, mentally incapacitated, or not guilty by reason of insanity.
• An individual who is subject to a restraining order, or to a protective order
• An individual who has been convicted of stalking or has pending stalking charges
• An individual who has been convicted of any assault, assault and battery, sexual battery, discharging of a firearm or brandishing of a firearm within the three-year period immediately preceding the application, or has pending charges for any of the above
• An individual who has been convicted of a felony or has felony charges pending
• An individual who has been convicted of two or more misdemeanors within the five-year period immediately preceding the application
• An individual who is addicted to, or is an unlawful user or distributor of, marijuana, synthetic cannabinoids, or any controlled substance.
• An individual who has been convicted of driving under the influence within the three years prior to the application
• An individual who the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, based on specific acts by the applicant, is likely to use a weapon unlawfully or negligently to endanger others
• An individual whose juvenile adjudications would have constituted a felony conviction if committed by an adult
• An alien other than an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence
• An individual who is a fugitive from justice
• An individual who has been discharged from the armed forces of the United States under dishonorable conditions

With the above he nullified the agreements.  (See Virginia Attorney General web page) I really have to throw the BS Flag on the intentions of AG Herring and here are my reasons:

1.  To sell weapons you must first contact Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives and apply for an 01 Federal Firearms License (FFL)

2.  After about 6 months you receive your FFL you start to sell weapons and you do so by state and FEDERAL laws and codes.

3.  Usually before completing the sale or giving said person custody of the weapon(s) you have them fill out a Federal Firearms Transaction Record Part I- Over the Counter ATF Form 4473 (5300.9 Part I Revised April 2012.  This is Universal in all 50 States.  This form is what precludes or allows you to buy a firearm.  If you are not the actual buyer (11a) stops that, If you are under indictment for a felony (11b,c) stops the sale Controlled substance abuser (11e) takes care of that, Mentally defective  (11f) takes care of that.  Discharged under Dishonorable conditions 11g takes care of that.  I can go on with this But everything that is cited by Mr. Herring is listed on the form.  If you can't legally buy a hand gun under Federal Guidelines  then why would you try to get a legal Concealed Carry Permit in any state?

4.  I know that you can lie on a form.  Ladies know what I am talking about 120 on a license when you're 122 or 25 when you're 30 etc etc etc.  However after the paperwork is done the Licensee then must phone it in to the Local Law Enforcement Officer or State Police for a Federal NICS background check.  Which verifies the information on ATF Form 4473  once you get the ok which can be 2 minutes to 72 hours bada bing you can take your gun home.

A federal Concealed Carry Permit may be the answer.  I don't like the federal government meddling with anything.  They'll just screw it up.  However when you have cases like this where AG Herring nullifies an agreement between states on his own personal whim and strips thousands of their privilege to carry between states it might not be a bad idea.

Not only did he do a disservice to people from other states but also to Virginians.  Here is the definition of Reciprocity:

reciprocity is a social rule that says we should repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.

My original State Concealed Carry Permit was with the State of North Carolina.  Originally when it was issued there was no reciprocity agreement with anyone.  Then in 2002 (?) the first reciprocity agreements were issued and printed in "The Fayetteville Observer" and one of the guidelines noted from the NC Legislature was that Permits would be honored from other states "ONLY" if their state honored a NC permit.  Well that tells me since a NC CCP is not honored here they aint gonna honor a Va. permit there.

AG herring in his letter of suspension of Reciprocity Agreements stated that the states now suspended from carrying in Va did not meet the strict guidelines set forth in Va.  What a laugh!  Just to the south the guidelines are more stricter in NC!  When I got mine in NC I went to a 2 day class, learned a lot about Laws, etc etc.  Instructors are state certified.  When pulled over you have to tell a cop that you are a concealed carrier and that you have a weapon in the car.  Here in Va  You only have to be an NRA certified weapons instructor.  There are no state guidelines or course requirements. If you are a Veteran, or Active Duty Military you get a concealed carry permit.  If you go to a hunter safety course you get a concealed carry permit.  Go to a 1 hour class at a gun show and you get a permit.  However when you get your permit issued by the county clerk of the court and you sign it you are vowing to follow all Virginia codes and Laws covering Concealed Carry but no one can give you a copy of said laws and codes or let alone find them.  You don't have to tell a cop that you are a concealed weapon carrier and that you are armed.

We are all issued Drivers Licenses after showing some degree of competency in driving a motor vehicle.  We then can go to other states and are fully aware that if we break the laws of said sate that we can be prosecuted.  I would like to see Mr Herring ban out of state drivers licenses next.

In closing if you are from the affected states call your State Leadership and tell them not to let in any Armed Security Details for AG Mark Herring or Governor Terry Macauliff.  If you live in the Common Wealth of Virginia Give AG Mark Herring a call and let him know how you feel (804) 786-2071 and then call Terry Macauliffe and let him know what you feel about his Buddy's gun rights denying deal.(804) 786-2211

BTW I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and my personal best wishes for a Happy New Year.

SURESHOT PRECISION MARKING = A SURESHOT PRECISION RIP OFF

     This past fall I had decided to build an AR pistol and selected a parts kit from Sportsman's Guide for a 7 1/4 inch barrel.  Upon receiving it I immediately put the barrel assembly together which took me all of 45 minutes.  Then I started researching the rules both legal and nature for completing the lower receiver.  At this point I found out that legally if the receiver hasn't been worked on anyone can do the engraving.  I also found out that it is better to get the engraving done, then do the machining, and then do the anodizing process to the receiver.

     I started looking around trying to find a company that specialized in 80% lower receiver engraving, and came upon Sure Shot Precision Marking out of Northridge Ca.  Other companies that I looked at that did laser engraving looked like they used a crayon laser engraver vs the clear sharp images that Sure Shot was advertising.  So I went with sure shot and what a mistake it was.

     On Oct 3rd I filled out the online form, and through paypal paid these guys $77.45 for the engraving and immediately mailed off the lower.  06 Oct someone signed for the receiver, and after a few days I called just to ensure that everything was good as far as the receiver, and to verify the information.  I got their voicemail left a message.  I have not heard from this company, their web site closed down, their phone was disconnected, at which time I found another Number and still no call backs. 

     Now I am out the $77.45 along with the 85.98 which I paid for the lower.

     In November I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the Business Consumer Alliance.  To no avail.  They can't find these guys either.

     Now I'm at the next step as advised from BBB I contacted the California Attorney General.  Hopefully they will be able to contact these clowns or at least tell me that they have been arrested or what happened to their business.

     If you have been ripped off by Sure Shot Precision Marking contact www.ag.ca.gov and file a complaint.  if you are thinking about doing an AR build don't use this guys