Kim Stolfer sent me his written testimony at this hearing, IF anyone would like a copy of all 69 pages send me a PM with your email address. You find interesting reading.
We do have a problem in Harrisburg, there is a whole flood of anti-gun bills getting ready to be voted on and I personally don't think people like Kim Stolfer are going to be able to stop them WITHOUT ALL OF OUR HELP IN THIS EFFORT
TESTIMONY OF
KIM STOLFER
CHAIRMAN VICE-CHAIRMAN
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE
ALLEGHENY COUNTY PA SPORTSMEN’S ASSOC.
SPORTSMEN’S LEAGUE
PUBLIC HEARING BEFORE
THE PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
ON
HOUSE BILL 21
HOUSE BILL 41
HOUSE BILL 1744
September 19, 2007
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I am Kim Stolfer, Chairman of the Legislative Committee of the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League and Vice-Chairman of the Pennsylvania Sportsmen’s Association. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today as we seek solutions to the violence plaguing our urban centers.
The legislation before us (House Bills 21, 41, and 1744) present a wide range of issues and, in our opinion, some significant concerns. President Lyndon B. Johnson is reported to have once said: "You do not examine legislation in light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered." This is the premise that we use to guide our analysis of legislation. All three of these bills contain unacceptable uncertainties that should be rectified prior to serious consideration.
House Bill 21 p.n. 46
Many informed sources have told us that the Philadelphia bond system is out of step with the rest of the state and is in need of reform. These inadequacies in turn manifest a cavalier attitude and are often inadequate to provide the necessary incentive for those charged with violent crimes to return for trial.
However, HB 21 is flawed legislation. Real bail reform should apply to violent criminals who commit the bulk of violent crime, not just people who possess firearms. This legislation singles out those who merely possess guns and makes ‘no’ distinctions between unintentional violations and career criminals. By mandating excessive bail for a person who has not committed a crime of violence and we envision this ensnaring the average citizen more often than the career recidivist criminal thus violating Article 1, sections 13 and 14 of the PA Constitution. We oppose this legislation.
House Bill 41 p.n. 66
This legislation purports to answer illegal firearms trafficking with yet another Bureau to investigate and, hopefully, prosecute those most responsible for trafficking in illegal firearms. It does not address the seeming conflict between law enforcement failing to take advantage of current procedures available from the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and district attorneys failing to apply the current firearms laws.
As an example a recent article in the Pittsburgh city paper [May 24, 2007] quoted an incident where in a drug addict provided seven firearms to her drug dealer. Once the firearms turned up in crime they were quickly tracked back to her. The following quote from the city paper article is illustrative of the larger problem:
•
P.T. pled guilty to seven counts each of illegal delivery of a firearm, making a false statement to a firearm dealer and falsifying a statement to authorities -- the latter charges stemming from the fraudulent information she entered on her Firearms Transaction Record. She is now serving a sentence of 10 years' probation and won't be allowed to buy guns again.
Interestingly the police officer who was quoted in this article has previously appeared before this committee to deliver testimony seeking harsher penalties for straw purchase sales firearms and yet in this article he does not criticize the light sentence because of the remorse shown by the perpetrator.
•
She didn't put up much of an argument, which [officer] Bielevicz says isn't unusual. Few straw purchasers are in the trade by choice, he says: "The drug users tend to be more remorseful because they're doing something they don't want to do."
What goes unsaid in this article, and is seemingly lost in much of the debate about violent crime, is the extent to which the courts routinely set aside the many overlapping laws and punishments that currently exist. This is one of the key issues that so infuriated Philadelphia chief of detectives Joe Fox when he chose the unorthodox method of writing his personal opinions in a letter to the editor of the Philadelphia newspaper to try to shed some light on these issues.
At the heart of this legislation is a creation of another Multi Jurisdictional Task Force targeting guns instead of criminals. To avoid the human element in all crime raises the specter of failure to address the real issues before it even leaves the starting line.
In addition while Pennsylvania has benefited from the current hard-working Attorney General Tom Corbett the ambiguous and ill-defined mission of this Bureau could be disastrous in the future for civil liberties. We oppose this legislation.
House Bill 1744
Our concerns with this legislation will be broken up into three separate categories.
Our first concern deals with the grading of theft offenses otherwise known as "Receiving Stolen Property". While we strongly support the prosecution of anyone who steals firearms especially those who would see them used in the commission of violent crime, we do not condone open-ended language that does not provide adequate protections against overzealous prosecution for unintentional or unknowing violations. Considering the past firearms sales protocols under previous versions of the uniform firearms act it is conceivable that this language could have a devastating impact on the average citizen. There should be some connection to the actual commission of a crime, mens rea, prior to the application of the heightened levels of punishment dictated here in.
Our next concern deals with changes from page 4 that will provide under subsection 6127 for the Attorney General to have the power to inspect and examine the inventory and records of a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer or licensed dealer "without reasonable cause or warrant". We are deeply troubled about this ambiguous language that provides enormous power to disrupt the lives and business dealings of legitimate firearms dealers with inadequate structure or application to the constitutional protections guaranteed to each citizen. Further this legislation does not provide any recourse for a dealer who may have his records removed from the premises, nor does it provide for a delineation of authority regarding the federal forms that each dealer must maintain. In other sections of the uniform firearms act the legislature has provided for mandatory procedures should a persons private property be seized by law enforcement and yet under this legislation and language gun dealers would not enjoy the same level of protection.
The last area of concern is that this legislation once again calls for another study of gun laws this time by the joint state government commission of multiple purchases of firearms. While we have every confidence in the joint state government commission this issue has already been well researched. In addition, this committee has already received extraordinarily detailed testimony that demonstrates that multiple purchase of firearms restrictions have failed in every location where they been applied. Earlier this year I testified that the National Academy of Sciences and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have both studied the majority of gun control concepts and have found them completely ineffective at impacting the criminal element or even achieving the objectives of their proponents. Today I have for the committee those very studies in the hopes that the members will find these reports of some benefit in achieving responsible public policy.
Overview
Pennsylvania has pursued a course of action legislatively that has added 76 pages to the booklet titled "Laws Relating to Guns", which now contains a total of 126 pages. It is obvious even to the layman that the addition of all of these laws has proven to be ineffective at best. In addition the very individuals that are targeted by these laws, criminals, routinely break laws as that is what criminals do. A recent ABC 2020 televised report on gun control showed a segment where they interviewed ardent career criminals from a local prison. Their response was that they didn't care what laws government passed as they would not interfere with them getting a firearm.
We would like to express to the members of this committee our deep concern over the continuing introduction of legislation that seeks to continue and strengthen the restrictions on law-abiding citizens constitutional freedoms thereby predicating them on the misdeeds of the very criminals referenced above.
It is time to focus the energy and resources of our Commonwealth on pragmatic and effective measures that will address the issues and violent crime rather than making victims of the law-abiding. In many areas of the Commonwealth overzealous law-enforcement is turning the lives upside down of the average individual who owns firearms. These are very real cases of prejudice and unfairness that reflect poorly on the traditions that we all hold dear. This legislation will not have a measurable impact on reducing crime but in the years to come will have a negative effect on the confidence of the people in a fair and responsible government.
On behalf of the organizations I represent I thank you for the opportunity to testify here today.
fyi P.T. that Kim is quoting is from Violet Law article "Over a Barrel" PAFOA post
http://www.pafoa.org/forum/pennsylva...er-barrel.html