Pennsylvania 2A UPDATE with GOA PA Director Col. Val Finnell

[tjl21]

Watched this last night. Jared from Guns & Gadgets talked w/ Dr. Val Finnell, the PA Director for Gun Owners of America. They covered the SASO movement gaining momentum here in PA, Gov. Wolf & his gun control agenda, how we can take action now so we don't end up in the same place as VA, & a few other things. Check it out if you haven't seen it already.

Very thankful that we have Dr. Finnell & GOA fighting for our constitutional rights here in the Keystone State.

[ar15_shooter]

Thanks for posting, will check it out tonight

[ItchyTick]

Good interview.

[gghbi]

Watched this last night. Jared from Guns & Gadgets talked w/ Dr. Val Finnell, the PA Director for Gun Owners of America. They covered the SASO movement gaining momentum here in PA, Gov. Wolf & gun control agenda, how we can take action now so we don't end up in the same place as VA, & a few other things. Check it out if you haven't seen it already.

Very thankful that we have Dr. Finnell & GOA fighting for our constitutional rights here in the Keystone State.

[Emptymag]

I'll have to watch later when I have more time. Thanks.

[mpyingling22]

a lot of arguments on Facebook over SASO.

https://www.facebook.com/36507185766...8980767942104/


"This will be this pages last post regarding Sanctuary in Pa. We will not discuss it here.. we will not argue about it here.

1 post or comment that goes against any strong 2A rep because they dont support it will be deleted. No more demeaning comments regarding Kim Stolfer or Joshua Prince either.

I am posting Kim's final response and we are done with this convo on this page. I hope we are clear.

From Kim:

I'm posting this comment because quite frankly I have had it with some of the comments that I've seen floating around by several individuals connected to the SASO movement!
What's more the attacks on my friends, especially Joshua Prince, are unconscionable and everyone who is taking this position should be ashamed of themselves!
So since everybody wants to seem to play with people's reputations let me set the facts and the record straight.
After Virginia slid into the abyss in November of last year I was watching the events very carefully and when I saw the sanctuary movement start to grow legs I spent over two months talking to many individuals. For those here who think you can cavalierly deal with politics when you're running a statewide organization I invite you to re-examine what it means to keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut until you know what you're talking about!
During that time of examination of this issue it included many individuals from different professions such as not only lawyers but also constitutional law professors, legislators, police officers, other activists and I came to the conclusion that this was an issue we were not going to get involved with due to the potential impact on all of our preemption lawsuits. Yes, kiddies, FOAC and Joshua Prince are the driving force behind protecting all of your rights by stopping local lawsuits and we've spent over a quarter of $1 million over the last 15 years doing it!
Then came the interview with the PA post publication and I stated not only our position but also my firm belief in the problems this whole issue of Second Amendment sanctuary ordinances would create! There are some who think they can make up facts as it goes along. All of the name-calling and the insults being hurled around started after the article by the PA post publication against me and numerous others like Joshua Prince and it's time for it to end. Because I spoke my mind post by several individuals that were denigrating and disrespectful and insulting were tolerated by others like Val Finnell because it pushed his agenda and came from individuals within the SASO movement!
You guys want to play these kind of games you do it to my face and have a little bit of guts and be a man instead of hiding behind the keyboard!
I'm going to be very direct here; Val Finnell is wrong as is the one attorney has working from out of state on these issues! Finnell does not know all of the law in Pennsylvania nor the changes we've made over the years that makes Pennsylvania a very different state. I am a court recognized expert in firearms law, Val Finnell is not! Goa and his out-of-state attorney has done nothing on preemption in Pennsylvania in the last 3+ decades.
For those of you think doing this has no consequences you'd better think again because judges do not operate in a vacuum and this issue has no case law precedent which means you're going to get the snowflakes in the appellate courts going to make these decisions up and who's going to fund those cases? Gunowners of America, Val Finnell, Mary Luna? Let's see you put that in writing right here that you're going to make yourselves personally & responsible as firearms owners against crime is!
Let's look at Val Finnell's record shall we! He was wrong about the writ of mandamus against district attorney Zappala! His actions in Harrisburg has tarnished the reputation of gun owners of America and cause such a separation in the second amendment debate that I haven't seen anything like it since Act 17 in 1995. For those of you who are newbies to this debate look that up, Act 17. Find out who was the driving force between changing the mistakes in the original bill, special session house Bill 110!
I didn't want this to turn into this kind of a debate but since everybody seems to want to take latitude with my reputation and what I've done I'm going to put out the facts! I'm not going to be bullied into avoiding the reality of what needs to be done in this critical election year by others who think we have to work with individuals who in many ways are clueless as the outcome and realities and responsibilities of what their advocating! I have always advocated for the passions of gun owners to get involved being the deciding factor in stopping many of the most egregious gun control laws there were pushed in Pennsylvania. You should know this, myself and the hard-working members of firearms owners against crime are the ones that of stopped virtually every gun control Bill in this state for the last 25 years and all of you negative Nelly's out there who don't know this should at least recognize the contributions that we have made the defending your rights!
So if you guys want to destroy my/our character and reputation hike up your shorts because it's going to be a long day! Joshua Prince Holly Delcampo Klint Macro"

[Justin///M]

Very sad state of affairs in Pennsylvania right now.

[Gunsnwater]

Confusing

[eagleclaw]

We failed to defeat Bob Casey in 2018. There is hardly any push from these pro gun groups about PA Judicial elections. The GOP has virtually already thrown in the towel on the PA 2020 AG race. Yet they promote these 2A sanctuaries that will not affect PA at all. That is because our sheriffs are not used as local or county law enforcement. You either have local police or PSP coverage.

Unless they get a strategy to recruit good candidates to run and get those in favor of gun rights to get registered and vote Before gun bans are passed it's the same old stuff that will result in 4 more years of Shapiro.

[buckengr]

Unless [GOP] get a strategy to recruit good candidates to run and get those in favor of gun rights to get registered and vote Before gun bans are passed it's the same old stuff that will result in 4 more years of Shapiro.

This exactly.

I'm very glad to see the grassroots response that seems to be awakening in the PA 2A sanctuary movement and I think it is a clear response to the looming threat and the disaster we've witnessed in VA and elsewhere. Whether SASOs are the best strategy or not is unclear to me, as I am not a lawyer or legal strategist, and I don't fully grasp the perceived danger to preemption cases that some opponents of the PA SASO movement speak of. I do understand that a SASOs potential impact is limited, given the limited authority of PA sheriffs w.r.t law-enforcement powers. A 2A sanctuary resolution like those passed in VA similarly lack teeth in terms of penalties, yet those served a crucial secondary purpose in VA: engagement.

I do think it's absolutely critical to give PA citizens a productive outlet for this desire to respond, get engaged, and to start building a network that makes it easy to draw in their friends, family and neighbors in support of pro-gun initiatives. Contacting legislators and pushing them to pass pro-gun legislation now is important, and making sure they are all registered to vote and actually vote cannot be overstated, but I think there is something else missing.

In VA, the 2A sanctuary movement was so successful at drawing the grassroots crowd in part because it was local, it involved attending meetings in person, and was a relatively low bar for initial engagement. It was easy to invite their neighbors to attend a local meeting rather than drive all the way across the state to a rally. Once people were there, it was a great opportunity to meet one-another, to encourage and be encouraged by one-another, and to get connected to organizations that could inform and help direct their "fire" to important action alerts. It gave them the sense that they were doing something and that they could do something, and I believe this was a major factor in generating the large numbers of people necessary to send a message at the rally, through phone and email campaigns, and (hopefully) during the next election.

If SASOs are not the way, then another similar, easy to grasp initiative is needed that will build the network and attract the uninvolved public to take up the cause.

(It also didn't hurt to be able to point to the stats that 91 counties (96%), 15 cities, and 22 towns have all passed 2A sanctuary resolutions. I can't help but think that a blanket of local municipalities sending a message that the pro-gun crowd is sick of being a doormat might help get some fence-sitter (R) legislators off their ass in the affected districts and pass some pro-2A bills for a change.)