Virginia – -(Ammoland.com)- A few days ago I saw a letter from SEVEN anti-freedom Virginia legislators to the landlord of the property that the new NOVA Armory is leasing in Arlington.
I am truly steaming.
The seven legislators, on General Assembly letterhead nonetheless, are pressuring the landlord to renege on the lease, using a bunch of concocted lies and distortions, including implying that NOVA Armory would be part of a blackmarket and a “magnet for robbery”!
In the letter the legislators also CC businesses in the area, with the clear intent of putting even more pressure on the landlord and exerting additional force and intimidation.
You can read the letter here: https://ed.cx/lyonpark.pdf
The legislators, all Democrats (gee, I’m surprised), involved in sending this thinly veiled threat to a lawful business are:
- Delegate Patrick Hope, 804-698-1047
- Delegate Alfonso Lopez, 804-698-1049
- Delegate Richard Sullivan, 804-698-1048
- Delegate Mark Levine, 804-698-1045
- Senator Barbara Favola, 804-698-7531
- Senator Janet Howell, 804-698-7532
- Senator Adam Ebbin, 804-698-7530
I took a few days to investigate if there were any laws broken (such as tortious interference with a business) or if there were any General Assembly ethics conflicts before putting out this alert, so I could address the issue with as many facts as possible.
The legislators, some of whom are lawyers, danced right up to the line, but didn’t cross it because a veiled threat is not the same as an actual threat that is spelled out.
In a press release put out on Friday, NOVA Armory said they are prepared to sue those who maliciously interfere with their business going forward:
Virginia Citizens Defense League is standing with NOVA Armory to fight these legislative bullies. What the legislators did was not illegal, but clearly an unethical abuse of power.
Below is a story on this sad state of affairs. In a previous VA-ALERT I had asked all 27,000 of you on this list to sign a petition in support of NOVA Armory, but only 500 did so. That was used against us in the article, noting that the other side had 3,000 signatures! We need to make sure that never happens again.
ACTION ITEM #1 of 2
Please, if you haven’t done so, sign this petition: https://www.change.org/p/bromptons-at-lyon-park-support-nova-armory-in-arlington or https://tinyurl.com/z5xk9zf
ACTION ITEM #2 of 2
I think the seven legislators should hear from ALL of us. Perhaps thousands of firm, BUT POLITE, emails would get their attention and make them think about the error of their ways. Doesn’t matter if you live in their districts or not.
Copy and paste this list of email addresses into the “To:” field of your email program:
DelMLevine@house.virginia.gov, DelPHope@house.virginia.gov, DelALopez@house.virginia.gov, DelRSullivan@house.virginia.gov, district31@senate.virginia.gov, district32@senate.virginia.gov, district30@senate.virginia.gov
Suggested Subject: Your actions against NOVA Armory
Suggested message:
I am appalled that you used your official title on General Assembly letterhead in an attempt to coerce and intimidate a landlord into breaking his lease with NOVA Armory, a lawful Virginia business.
You make unfounded claims that this lawful business complying with all federal, state, and local laws would somehow be a magnet for all sorts of criminal activities. This ridiculous claim of future unlawful-activity at and around that store, was also meant to defame NOVA Armory and its owners and to inflame other businesses in the area against NOVA Armory.
Your actions against NOVA Armory are despicable.
I demand that you immediately write a letter to NOVA Armory, their landlord, and cc’ing the same businesses you did in the original letter, and apologize for misusing your power as a legislator to interfere with a lawful business.
Let me know what you plan to do to make reparations to NOVA Armory for the damage to their business and their reputation that you have caused.
Sincerely,
[Just sign with your name WITH *NO* ADDRESS.]
About Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL):
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
For more information, visit: www.vcdl.org.