Va. gun owners go ballistic after NYC sues dealers

USA Today reports:

Virginia gun enthusiasts aren't backing away from a scrum with the Big Apple.

They're calling it the "Bloomberg Gun GiveAway," named for Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City, which has sued more than two dozen out-of-state gun dealers and fired up gun owners in the process.

Until March 31, customers who spend $100 at one of two Virginia stores become eligible to win a handgun or rifle in an April drawing, courtesy of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights organization.

"We decided to step up and take care of our own," says Philip Van Cleave, the League's president. "We're trying to drive business to these stores to help them cover the financial cost of being sued."

The drawing is in response to two lawsuits filed by New York City in federal court last year against 27 out-of-state gun dealers who allegedly sold weapons later used in crimes committed in the city from 1994 to 2002.

The dealers, who are based in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia, sold firearms to private investigators hired by the city who were engaging in straw purchasing.

That's a transaction in which one person fills out the paperwork for another who is actually buying the gun. It is a violation of federal law to sell a gun when there is a reasonable belief that it is not for the person who claims to be the buyer.

Seven of the stores have settled with the city, agreeing to a court-appointed special master who will monitor them, mayoral spokesman Jason Post says. They must also receive training to prevent illegal sales in the future.

In May, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was reviewing whether the city acted legally. The city's hiring of investigators to conduct sting operations could be illegal, Department of Justice spokesman Bryan Sierra told the Associated Press on Thursday. "Potential legal liabilities" arise when civilians do the work of law enforcers, he said. The department has decided charges are not warranted against the dealers in the sting.

Asked recently about the Virginia raffle, Bloomberg said, "If they think that this is funny, I don't think that the parents or the spouses or the children of those that get killed with illegal guns would find that very entertaining."

Van Cleave says his group is just trying to help small businesses being unfairly targeted.

Many Virginia gun owners see the lawsuit "as nothing more than a political stunt that's costing people their business and in turn hurting gun owners," he says.

Dennis Alverson, who has owned Old Dominion Guns and Tackle in Danville, Va., for 27 years, is one of two store owners participating in the giveaway.

"We are fighting it," he says of the litigation. "We do everything possible to promote or sell the guns legally. … Once the gun leaves the store, we have no control over it."

We suggest Virginia owners sue Bloomberg for racketeering.We also suggest it's time for Congress to pass explicit legislation stating all individuals have the right to bear arms voiding any state or local ordinance.