[PAFOA Update] Gun Control defeated yet again in Pennsylvania - 11/21/07

[danp]

Ed Rendell's big anti-gun legislation day came and went in a blink, and we are pleased to report that he is probably not a very happy guy right now.

Here's a quick summary of what happened:

1. Ed Rendell addressed the Judiciary Committee with fancy looking colored graphs and charts and rolled out the age old last resort for gun prohibitionists: Saying that we all must sacrifice more of our rights to satisfy other people's fantasy world-view that criminals will follow THESE laws.
2. The Judiciary Committee decided to get the matter over with and vote on it.
3. The Judiciary Committee shot down "One gun a month" 17-12.
4. The Judiciary Committee shot down the removal of state pre-emption of firearm regulation 19-10
5. The Judiciary Committee tabled the criminalization of failure to report lost of stolen firearms (or as we like to call it, the "magically turn victims of crime into criminals bill")

That's pretty much the gist of it. This same committee rejected a similar measure earlier this year. It will likely have more refinement, and will reappear later.

Once again the citizens of Pennsylvania and the legislators who represent us have told the anti-gunners that we are really not interested in useless feel good legislation that will infringe our natural human rights just because certain cities can't keep their crime problem under control.

Once again we have made our voices heard that these problems are not gun problems, they are not hunting problems, they are not target shooter problems. They are criminal problems.

We can only hope that after this round of defeat the people who are truly interested in solving the crime problems that plague certain areas of our state will sever their ties to the gun-prohibitionist movement and focus their energy on solutions that can actually reduce crime and violence.

With that said, I, would like to personally thank every member of the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association for their continued support of the right to keep and bear arms and of course our organization.

To those who made phone calls and sent emails to your legislators urging them to resist the pressure of the gun prohibitionist movement and stand firm to the constitutional principles they swore to uphold, thank you. Today is a shining example of the power that the individual has to shape their own destiny with regards to government when motivated and informed. There is no question in my mind that the floods of emails and calls our legislators received got their attention and helped them understand the seriousness of the situation, and the depth of our commitment. One legislator said he received 400 emails in just over an hour, another said his blackberry was going off constantly.

I would also like to take this time to say thank you to the following organizations who work every day to protect all of our rights:

• Allegheny County Sportsmen's League (ACSL),
• Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs (PFSC),
• Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association (PSA),
• National Rifle Association (NRA),
• Gun Owners of America (GOA),
• Second Amendment Sisters (SAS),
• Pennsylvania Rifle and Pistol Association (PR&PA),
• Pennsylvania Gun Collectors Association (PGCA)
• Lehigh Valley Firearms Coalition,
• Philadelphia Federation of Sportsmen's Club,
• Pennsylvania Gun Owners Association (PGOA)
• Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania (Unified)
• National Association of Firearms Retailers (NAFR),
• Pennsylvania State Fish & Game Protective Association,
• The Pink Pistols
• OpenCarry.org
• National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSA)
• Western Pennsylvania 30 Caliber League, Inc
• Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA)
• Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) (Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC), the largest gun owners Political
  Action Committee (PAC) in Pennsylvania will record any support for any
  of this legislation, now or in the future, as an anti-gun vote.)

Lastly I would like to pass along the After Action Report from the Harry Schneider of the Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association and Kim Stolfer of the Allegheny County Sportsmen's Association:

AFTER ACTION REPORT HB 18, HB 22, HB 29

by Harry Schneider, PSA Legislative Chairman
Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association

and

Kim Stolfer, ACSL Legislative Chairman
Allegheny County Sportsmen's League

Harrisburg, November 20, 2007

Governor Rendell appeared before the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee
to testify in favor of HB 18, HB 22, HB 29.

Sitting beside the governor was his State police commissioner. Unlike real
police officers, commissioners serve at the pleasure of the governor just as
chiefs of police serve at the pleasure of mayors and city councils.
Commissioner Miller and the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association have
previously demonstrated a callous disregard for competitive target shooters
and American soldiers by supporting a ban on the very AR-15 H-BAR target
rifles and CAR-15 type carbines that are used in competition and in training
prior to deployment to supplement the inadequate training that is provided
by the Army. The troopers and officers who serve the public under such
leadership deserve our deepest sympathies, respect and support.

Governor Rendell gave an emotional speech in support of HB 18, HB 22 and HB
29, once again ignoring the real causes and solutions to violent crime and
falsely claiming that gun control is the answer - just as mainstream doctors
once prescribed bleeding as the answer to almost every ailment.

Governor Rendell and Chairman Caltagirone would not have scheduled HB 18, HB
22, HB 29 for a vote if they didn't think that their dog and pony show would
prevail. They were wrong.

THE VOTES

HB 18 was defeated 10-19
HB 22 was defeated 12-17
HB 29 was tabled 12-17

HB 29 was tabled so that a very minor amendment can be added before another
vote is taken. Even with the proposed amendment, it will be very bad and
dangerous legislation.

Another bad bill, HB 1744 was previously rushed out of Judiciary committee
because the NRA tweaked it and then withdrew its objections. The prime
sponsor of HB 1744 is Judiciary Chairman Caltagirone who voted for HB 18, HB
22, HB 29. HB 1744 was scheduled for a floor vote last Wednesday, but was
temporarily derailed because of an analysis drafted by the ACSL and PSA that
detailed numerous serious problems previously overlooked by the NRA. These
flaws were discussed in Appropriations Committee and on Harrisburg radio by
Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, Larry Pratt of GOA and Melody Zullinger of the
Federation.

Please go to the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League website for analysis of
these bills: http://www.acslpa.org/

http://www.acslpa.org/n-legislative/...ttack/pa_gun_o
wners_under_attack.htm


FREEDOM PREVAILED TODAY BECAUSE OF GRASS ROOTS ACTION

Thursday evening, the ACSL and PSA issued an alert that listed the following
organizations as being on record as opposing the legislation.
The ACSL/PSA alert was widely distributed. Chomping at the bit for its
first major legislative fight was the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners
Association http://www.pafoa.org/ The founder of the PAFOA is an expert in
internet communications and has assembled a very large email list of
dedicated Pennsylvania activists. Special thanks to Melody Zullinger of the
Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, Judy Brown of the Second
Amendment Sisters, Ken O'Donnell of West Shore Sportsmen's Association, Inc
and Jack Lee of the Pennsylvania Rifle and Pistol Association (PR&PA).
Each of them went above and beyond. They certainly did their part as did
the members and leaders of every organization listed below.

Allegheny County Sportsmen's League (ACSL).
Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs (PFSC).
Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association (PSA).
National Rifle Association (NRA).
Gun Owners of America (GOA).
Second Amendment Sisters (SAS).
Pennsylvania Rifle and Pistol Association (PR&PA).
Pennsylvania Gun Collectors Association (PGCA).
Lehigh Valley Firearms Coalition.
Philadelphia Federation of Sportsmen's Club.
Pennsylvania Gun Owners Association (PGOA).
Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania (Unified).
National Association of Firearms Retailers (NAFR).
Pennsylvania State Fish & Game Protective Association.
The Pink Pistols.
OpenCarry.org.
Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association (PAFOA).
National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
Western Pennsylvania 30 Caliber League, Inc.

Firearms Owners Against Crime (FOAC) the largest gun owners Political Action
Committee (PAC) in Pennsylvania will record any support for any of this
legislation, now or in the future, as an anti-gun vote.


THE RESPONSE:

The ACSL/PSA alert was issued Thursday evening and included the list of
organizations opposed and the email addresses of all committee members. On
Friday morning, one committee member reported that in just over an hour he
received more than 400 emails encouraging the defeat of the three bills.
Another said that he got so many email addresses that blackberry that it
sounded like a machinegun.

We are very grateful for the cooperation of every person who took part in
this event. We only ask for help when legislative leaders ignore us and
decide to move bad legislation over our objections. The fact that so many
individuals quickly acted upon the information that we provided, proved to
legislators that they are concerned and will act. Even Committee Chairman
Caltagirone commented on the professional demeanor of the gun owners who
were present during the hearing. In short, everyone did what they needed
to do to defend freedom.

We are also very grateful to the majority of the members of the Judiciary
Committee who voted for freedom.

The hearing was broadcast live on PCN-TV cable. It may be rebroadcast, but
you will need to check them every day to find out.
http://www.pcntv.com/schedule.html look for "Firearm Regulations PA House
Judiciary Committee" Check with you own cable provider for your PCN-TV
channel.

We strongly believe that the legislature should NOT consider any additional
restrictions on Article 1 Section 21 unless they first demonstrate goodwill
by removing laws that have been studied and found to not reduce crime to a
measurable degree. The burden of proof must be on those who advocate
infringements, rather than on those of us who defend freedom.

The assumptions that justify most gun control laws have not withstood
independent study.

(2003) (CDC) Centers for Disease Control Task Force (2003) reported that
they reviewed 51 published studies about the effectiveness of eight types of
gun-control laws. The laws included bans on specific firearms or ammunition,
measures barring felons from buying guns, and mandatory waiting periods and
firearm registration. In every case the CDC Task Force found "insufficient
evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws reviewed
for preventing violence." It should be noted that prior to actually
studying the issue and producing this report, the Centers for Disease
Control used tax dollars to lobby for gun control laws as a public health
measure.

(2005) (NAS) National Academy of Sciences Review "Firearms and Violence, a
Critical Review "In summary, the committee concludes that existing research
studies and data . . . do not credibly demonstrate a causal relationship
between the ownership of firearms and the causes or prevention of criminal
violence or suicide. The issue of substitution (of the means of committing
homicide or suicide) has been almost entirely ignored in the literature . .
."

As further evidence, consider that Vermont has almost no gun laws and very
low crime. Clearly, if you want a solution to crime, you need to look
beyond scapegoating gun owners. Somehow the Governator forgot to cite those
studies in his address to the committee.


Harry Schneider, PSA Chairman
Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Assn.,
P.O. Box 2227
Cranberry Twp., PA 16066-1227
e-mail psa@pagunlaws.com


Kim Stolfer
Legislative Committee, Chairman
Allegheny County Sportsmen's League
activist@fyi.net www.acslpa.org


PS; as additional evidence that Governator Rendell is out of touch with real
police officers, read this letter to the editor:

The Philadelphia Tribune:
Tue, Apr. 10, 2007

Put the blame where it lies: The killers

We have to stop pointing the finger everywhere but at the very people who
prey on us each day. Over time we have allowed our value system to erode. We
refuse to hold people accountable for their actions and constantly make
excuses for their inexcusable behavior. The incessant cry for tougher gun
laws is a good example. Until we're ready to strictly enforce the current
laws there is no reason for tougher ones.

Yes, there is a need to work on the social ills at the core of much of the
unrest, but that does not mean we should accept those ills as a reason to
excuse the behavior. Those engaged in this violent lifestyle know exactly
what they're doing. They also know it is wrong. And they also know there are
no serious consequences for their actions. It's not a matter of not knowing
right from wrong, it's a matter of weighing the risk. And today they face
very little risk.

Time after time these budding killers are arrested with guns, only to be
returned to the streets with a slap on the wrist. Is it any wonder we have
trouble getting witnesses to speak up? Instead of holding vigils at murder
scenes, groups like Men United for a Better Philadelphia and Mothers in
Charge should throw a ring around the Criminal In-Justice Center and demand
that our judges hold the criminals accountable.

More than 80 percent of Philadelphia's cold-blooded killers have criminal
records. Most of those records are lengthy, many for violent crimes. Every
one of those arrests represents an opportunity to send a clear message,
before they take another life.

Joseph Fox

Chief of Detectives

Philadelphia Police Department

Philadelphia