should we be concerned?

[longcall911]

DC is so screwed up we can't get healthcare or tax reform, there's no way we'll get Nat Recip before those two (IMO). In the meantime we should be working on Nat Recip cosponsors. The magic number is 218 (50% + 1 in the house). We have 196, so we're close.

In PA the 3 GOP holdouts are Fitzpatrick (PA-8) Meehan (PA-7) & Costello (PA-6).

They are never-trumpers so don't expect to move them. A few of us are working on a building a coalition to replace them (example). Stay tuned. I expect things to come together over the next couple of months.

In the meantime, if you haven't already, please sign our petition which sends a fax to your US Congressman and both Senators.

As for state legislation, we have an anti-gun Gov. He won't sign pro-gun legislation. To him, he went as far as he would dare by signing semi-auto hunting.

We don't have a veto-proof majority in the state house. So, there is little that will happen without a grassroots groundswell. Don't hold your breath for that. Grassroots is staying home, uninvolved, unwilling to fight.

[vinnyg101]

Yes!

[fallenleader]

i was under the impression that co-signing is an absolute waste of time and didn't used to even be a thing.
even with over 100 co-signers, no one is pushing for a vote, im sure bills with less co-signers have gotten votes.
no?

[longcall911]

i was under the impression that co-signing is an absolute waste of time and didn't used to even be a thing.
even with over 100 co-signers, no one is pushing for a vote, im sure bills with less co-signers have gotten votes.
no?

That's what lawmakers will tell you because they don't want to cosign anything. When they do, one side or the other will begin harassing them.

Here is the standard circle jerk...

Committee chairs: "I won't send it out for a floor vote until I have enough cosponsors."

Lawmakers: "I won't cosponsor, but I'll support it if it goes to a floor vote."

Gee... I wonder why nothing is moving! :-)

Yes, we need cosponsors. Having them is no guarantee, but bills rarely move without major cosponsor support. (some bills move with few cosponsors, but leadership has exact headcounts on those and is executing a well defined plan)

[fallenleader]

That's what lawmakers will tell you because they don't want to cosign anything. When they do, one side or the other will begin harassing them.

Here is the standard circle jerk...

Committee chairs: "I won't send it out for a floor vote until I have enough cosponsors."

Lawmakers: "I won't cosponsor, but I'll support it if it goes to a floor vote."

Gee... I wonder why nothing is moving! :-)

Yes, we need cosponsors. Having them is no guarantee, but bills rarely move without major cosponsor support. (some bills move with few cosponsors, but leadership has exact headcounts on those and is executing a well defined plan)

so, it's the same for senate bills as house bills, state and fed, we need 50%+1 of whatever number of members there are?
i keep harassing people i know to take on a few phone calls and letters, i've gotten one person so far, which is like 10% of the people i know.
i have to schedule a meeting with my local rep, her office is right down the road and i figure it'll be more effective than calling. granted, i'm 6 months in to doing that now, but i can't convince anyone else and one person won't change her mind. but i can waste some time and breath at least. contacted her every other way so far.

how long is the governor here for again? i mean, maybe he'll choke to death on dinner but sadly that doesn't happen often enough.

[longcall911]

Gov is up in 2018. Sen Scott Wagner is running. Good man. Strong 2A supporter.

Who is your rep that you are trying to meet?

[fallenleader]

Gov is up in 2018. Sen Scott Wagner is running. Good man. Strong 2A supporter.

Who is your rep that you are trying to meet?

i think i saw wagner on facebook, i thought i saw negative but hey, strong 2a is what we need regardless. no one is perfect.

rep rosemary brown is who handles my area, her office is about 6 miles from me. which isn't far since i am 5 miles isolated from anything.
was hoping to explain hb170 in detail since i doubt she read my email, and the current lawsuit Vs sheriff running through the county should be an obvious 'we need this'

[longcall911]

i think i saw wagner on facebook, i thought i saw negative but hey, strong 2a is what we need regardless. no one is perfect.

rep rosemary brown is who handles my area, her office is about 6 miles from me. which isn't far since i am 5 miles isolated from anything.
was hoping to explain hb170 in detail since i doubt she read my email, and the current lawsuit Vs sheriff running through the county should be an obvious 'we need this'

Generally, she is good on guns. Face-to-face may help because lawmakers don't read mail regarding legislation. It gets recorded by their staff, but they rarely see it.

She will likely give you reasons why she won't cosponsor, and will then say "if it comes to the floor I'll support it". If so, about all you can do (IMO) is call her out and ask why she doesn't have the courage to cosponsor. Tell her, "you know that Marsico wont bring it up for committee vote without a majority of sponsors, so we need you on the record".

"Marsico" is Rep Ron Marsico (marz-ick-oh) who is the judiciary committee chair. All firearms bills go through his committee. He is the gatekeeper.

After a committee vote with majority yes, it goes to the floor and waits to come up. Could be days, could be months, could be never if the clock runs out.

[fallenleader]

Generally, she is good on guns. Face-to-face may help because lawmakers don't read mail regarding legislation. It gets recorded by their staff, but they rarely see it.

She will likely give you reasons why she won't cosponsor, and will then say "if it comes to the floor I'll support it". If so, about all you can do (IMO) is call her out and ask why she doesn't have the courage to cosponsor. Tell her, "you know that Marsico wont bring it up for committee vote without a majority of sponsors, so we need you on the record".

"Marsico" is Rep Ron Marsico (marz-ick-oh) who is the judiciary committee chair. All firearms bills go through his committee. He is the gatekeeper.

After a committee vote with majority yes, it goes to the floor and waits to come up. Could be days, could be months, could be never if the clock runs out.

oh, i was making the mental list of things i need to print out for a ftf meeting. i'll need an article from the paper showing the lawsuit, the relevant sections of law, being the privacy violation, the whole berkheimer and monroe county reference crap. and then have to come up with a good detailed explanation for the difference between what you can do without ltcf, and with. as well as ensuring that i refrence the fact that this year i bought two firearms, two pics checks and the sheriff only provided one, 5 years ago.

again, you'd have to be an idiot to not see the writing on the wall. retarded regulation that relies on ineffective background checks, that has cost several counties major money in lawsuits due to violations by authorities. her own district, $40m estimated. i guess you could argue that if your father gave you a handgun and you carried it you could theoretically do so without an ltcf and shoot someone... but your father is liable for providing a firearm to someone who wasn't fit to own one.

anyway, i digress.
even if i managed to convince one rep, how many more need the same and who's going to help? i can't drive and meet them all.
libs don't work, they have all day every day to harass these people, more of us need to step up.

[longcall911]

even if i managed to convince one rep, how many more need the same and who's going to help? i can't drive and meet them all.
libs don't work, they have all day every day to harass these people, more of us need to step up.

BINGO!

I don't want to be a naysayer coz I hate naysayers, but reality is that it takes a huge effort to get a bill passed.

It is even worse in regard to constitutional carry because the 2A community has a significant percent who oppose. Yes, you read that right. I have encountered many gun owners who carry daily and who tell me that the state should require not only a license, but training. I'm like WTF?

Anyway, as for general process, this is why I built a petition system. In addition to National Reciprocity, I'm running a Disparity of Force petition. People don't have to do anything but provide a name, address, phone, & email. The system then figures out who their lawmakers are and emails them. Then a couple of us from PA4SP (statewide 2A org) go to Harrisburg and meet with 3 or 4 lawmakers in a given day with the goal of securing cosponsorship.

With that, we have to bring a list of all those in their district who signed the petition. Typically the lawmaker starts checking the list in front of us to see if they in fact received emails from these people. We make our arguments, but in the end, it is a political decision for them. It has little to do with logic, rights, or anything else.

This is why we must get 2A people into office. That is the only solution. There's a group of 2A House reps who cosign every pro-2A bill. We need 3 times that number of reps. But if the 2A community is not willing to fight for and fund 2A campaigners, we get what we get.

I've had it with complaining gun owners who don't do shit. Fuck them. They should move to NJ. LOL! :-)