****PAFOA Representation**** Harrisburg Capitol Building, 9/24 and 9/25

[longcall911]

Email sent today from GOA.
Also posted at GOA website: https://gunowners.org/pa-attend-sena...trol-hearings/

18 September 2019

On Wednesday, September 25, 2019, the PA Senate Judiciary Committee will hold hearings on gun control legislation to include gun/magazine bans, "Red Flag" gun confiscation orders (GCOs), and universal background checks (UBCs). The hearing will be held in the Harrisburg State Capitol North Office Building, Hearing Room 1, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

I will be testifying on behalf of GOA members across the Commonwealth to stop the Bloomberg-funded anti-gun agenda. But we need to have a strong showing from our members and supporters on the 25th.

So, I am personally asking you to make every effort to come to Harrisburg on September 25th at 1 PM. Bring your friends. The opposition will be out in force.

As you may recall, Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee chairperson, Senator Lisa Baker (R-20), is going back on her previous promise to gun owners by holding gun control hearings in the wake of the El Paso and Dayton atrocities.

In an August 6, 2019 public statement, Senator Baker called these hearings a “prelude to action” and that they will examine “what can be constitutionally accomplished in respect to weapons and ammunition.” That sure sounds like gun control to me!

On May 6, 2019, Senator Baker promised me, elected officials and other grassroots activists assembled that she had “no plans” to take up gun control legislation.

So, please come to Harrisburg on Wednesday, September 25th and stand up for your gun rights. Click the red button above or below to RSVP via Facebook. But even if you don't have Facebook, please save the date and come anyway.

Sincerely,

Val W. Finnell, MD, MPH
Pennsylvania Director
Gun Owners of America
Follow me on Twitter: @DrFinnell

P.S. Please remember to attend the PA Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on gun control on Wednesday, September 25th at 1 PM. The location is the Harrisburg Capitol North Office Building, Hearing Room 1.
-

Not for nothin' but Val doesn't even mention 9/24. It seems to be all about him and his testimony, and the promises Sen. Baker made to him.

We need people there both days. Again, I'd argue that as far as media coverage is concerned and the perception of gun owner's response, day 1 is probably even more important. By day 2, the media will have lost most, if not all interest. I'm not saying that day 2 is not important, only that Val is kind of pissing me off now, the second time he's diminished the importance of day 1.

[cruzans]

I was going to copy this and bring some next week as "educational handouts" But I'm not sure of the source or accuracy. Thoughts?

Reality of Gun Control

This is super interesting !!!

Sadly very few of our citizens are aware of why our constitution permits us to be armed. These facts clearly illustrate why the Second Amendment is such an irritant to certain segments of our government. The news media including Fox News does a very poor job of informing our population. This email puts this issue in clear and undisputable perspective.

Reality of Gun Control

Good statistics.

EXCELLENT! STATS ON GUN VIOLENCE

Interesting statistics! This jives with the research of Prof. Lott at the University of Chicago, who is a noted expert on gun laws and stats.

Here are some facts.

There are 30,000 gun related death s per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed. The U.S. population is 324,059,091 as of June 22, 2016. Do the math: 0.00925% of the population dies from gun related actions each year. Statistically speaking, this is insignificant! What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:

65% of those deaths are by suicide, which would never be prevented by gun laws.

15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified.

17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – better known as gun violence.

3% are accidental discharge deaths.

So technically, “gun violence” is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Still too many? Now lets look at how those deaths spanned across the nation.

480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago

344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore

333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit

119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)

So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause.

This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example , California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1.

Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So, if all cities and states are not created equal, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths.

Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assaults are all done by criminals. It is ludicrous to think that criminals will obey laws. That is why they are called criminals.

But what about other deaths each year?

40,000+ die from a drug overdose–THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!

36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths.

34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities(exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide).

Now it gets good:

200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer walking in the worst areas of Chicago than you are when you are in a hospital!

710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It’s time to stop the double cheeseburgers! So, what is the point? If the liberal loons and the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.).

A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total number of gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides ……………. Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions! So, you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns?

It’s pretty simple:
Taking away guns gives control to governments. The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.

Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs . So, the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, look at these facts and remember these words from Noah Webster: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed.”

Sent from my iPhone

[alpacaheat]

The Fbook group 'Million Moms Against Gun Control' is going to post a copy of the PA flier as well.

Hey, if you want to carpool from Dover, let me know. I could drive, you can drive, I don't care. I'll pay for parking if I'm the passenger.

[alpacaheat]

I was going to copy this and bring some next week as "educational handouts" But I'm not sure of the source or accuracy. Thoughts?

Reality of Gun Control

This is super interesting !!!

Sadly very few of our citizens are aware of why our constitution permits us to be armed. These facts clearly illustrate why the Second Amendment is such an irritant to certain segments of our government. The news media including Fox News does a very poor job of informing our population. This email puts this issue in clear and undisputable perspective.

Reality of Gun Control

Good statistics.

EXCELLENT! STATS ON GUN VIOLENCE

Interesting statistics! This jives with the research of Prof. Lott at the University of Chicago, who is a noted expert on gun laws and stats.

Here are some facts.

There are 30,000 gun related death s per year by firearms, and this number is not disputed. The U.S. population is 324,059,091 as of June 22, 2016. Do the math: 0.00925% of the population dies from gun related actions each year. Statistically speaking, this is insignificant! What is never told, however, is a breakdown of those 30,000 deaths, to put them in perspective as compared to other causes of death:

65% of those deaths are by suicide, which would never be prevented by gun laws.

15% are by law enforcement in the line of duty and justified.

17% are through criminal activity, gang and drug related or mentally ill persons – better known as gun violence.

3% are accidental discharge deaths.

So technically, “gun violence” is not 30,000 annually, but drops to 5,100. Still too many? Now lets look at how those deaths spanned across the nation.

480 homicides (9.4%) were in Chicago

344 homicides (6.7%) were in Baltimore

333 homicides (6.5%) were in Detroit

119 homicides (2.3%) were in Washington D.C. (a 54% increase over prior years)

So basically, 25% of all gun crime happens in just 4 cities. All 4 of those cities have strict gun laws, so it is not the lack of law that is the root cause.

This basically leaves 3,825 for the entire rest of the nation, or about 75 deaths per state. That is an average because some States have much higher rates than others. For example , California had 1,169 and Alabama had 1.

Now, who has the strictest gun laws by far? California, of course, but understand, it is not guns causing this. It is a crime rate spawned by the number of criminal persons residing in those cities and states. So, if all cities and states are not created equal, then there must be something other than the tool causing the gun deaths.

Are 5,100 deaths per year horrific? How about in comparison to other deaths? All death is sad and especially so when it is in the commission of a crime but that is the nature of crime. Robbery, death, rape, assaults are all done by criminals. It is ludicrous to think that criminals will obey laws. That is why they are called criminals.

But what about other deaths each year?

40,000+ die from a drug overdose–THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR THAT!

36,000 people die per year from the flu, far exceeding the criminal gun deaths.

34,000 people die per year in traffic fatalities(exceeding gun deaths even if you include suicide).

Now it gets good:

200,000+ people die each year (and growing) from preventable medical errors. You are safer walking in the worst areas of Chicago than you are when you are in a hospital!

710,000 people die per year from heart disease. It’s time to stop the double cheeseburgers! So, what is the point? If the liberal loons and the anti-gun movement focused their attention on heart disease, even a 10% decrease in cardiac deaths would save twice the number of lives annually of all gun-related deaths (including suicide, law enforcement, etc.).

A 10% reduction in medical errors would be 66% of the total number of gun deaths or 4 times the number of criminal homicides ……………. Simple, easily preventable 10% reductions! So, you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns?

It’s pretty simple:
Taking away guns gives control to governments. The founders of this nation knew that regardless of the form of government, those in power may become corrupt and seek to rule as the British did by trying to disarm the populace of the colonies. It is not difficult to understand that a disarmed populace is a controlled populace.

Thus, the second amendment was proudly and boldly included in the U.S. Constitution. It must be preserved at all costs . So, the next time someone tries to tell you that gun control is about saving lives, look at these facts and remember these words from Noah Webster: “Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed.”

Sent from my iPhone

It will take a while to verify the stats, but I wouldn't mind using them if they're reasonable. We need to spread the truth that guns protect, not destroy when in the hands of citizens.

The other side has been repeating "33,000 gun deaths a year" and "AR-15s ripping children in half every day" for years.

[stainless]

The most recent email from Ceasefire PA concerning this event:



We need you in this fight.

Next week, the PA Senate Judiciary Committee is holding two days of hearings (Tuesday at 9:00 am and Wednesday at 1:00 pm) on “behavioral health, the second amendment, and other gun issues.” We’ve been optimistic that there will be serious discussion about several life-saving policies, like Extreme Risk Protection Orders, background checks, lost and stolen reporting and safe storage. And, we’ve been counting on Judiciary Chair Baker’s announcement that the hearings are “a prelude to action.”

Yesterday, the House Judiciary Committee announced it was holding a voting meeting at the same time as the Senate hearings (Tuesday at 9:00 am). There will be no testimony and no expert presentations, just committee members (hopefully) debating and voting. And, none of the key policies mentioned above are on the agenda. Instead, the House Judiciary Committee is taking up the Sue Our Cities Bill, a bill to expand the ability of Pennsylvanians to transport firearms in their cars, and harsher penalties for those who commit crimes with guns. In other words, exactly what we’ve always seen from Harrisburg.

There are two things we need you to do:

Call House Judiciary Chair Rob Kauffman and ask him why the committee is failing to consider life saving measures and when those will be on his agenda. His number is (717) 264-3943.

Join us Wednesday Sept. 25 before the second day of the Senate hearings at 12 noon in the North Office Building for a press conference.

Thanks!

DONATE NOW!
CeaseFirePA
P..O. Box 60095
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102
215-923-3151
info@ceasefirepa.org

[alpacaheat]

OK, they're coming at noon? I was planning on arriving at 11.

[Berncly]

Not for nothin' but Val doesn't even mention 9/24. It seems to be all about him and his testimony, and the promises Sen. Baker made to him.

We need people there both days. Again, I'd argue that as far as media coverage is concerned and the perception of gun owner's response, day 1 is probably even more important. By day 2, the media will have lost most, if not all interest. I'm not saying that day 2 is not important, only that Val is kind of pissing me off now, the second time he's diminished the importance of day 1.

I agree we need to be there both days, and many of us will be there Sept 24-25.
But I agree with Val that if people can only do one day then it should be Sept 25.
Given the Ceasefire email Stainless printed, I think this approach is sensible.
Ceasefire is having a press conference in Hearing Room 1 at 12:00pm on Sept 25, and we should all be there to participate.

[lts1ow]

So which day is best to show if one can only come to one day?

[Berncly]

So which day is best to show if one can only come to one day?

2A people that can attend both days should be there Sept 24 and Sept 25.
2A people that can only attend one day but have flexibility should be there Sept 25.
2A people that can only attend Sept 24 and have no flexibility should be there Sept 24.

Any participation that people can do will help us protect the 2A.
Either day or both days, please attend these hearings.

[alpacaheat]

So which day is best to show if one can only come to one day?

25th for more bang for your buck.