NRA Liason for PA, Hohenwarter: Q&A Session

[nightglider]

I don't know what NRA did or didn't do on HB40, but I've been involved with enough lobbying to know that "no compromise" won't get you toward your goal - think Ron Paul.

Why should you compromise for things you should already have?

[ChamberedRound]

Guys,

This is a long post, so bear with me.

I was one of the people who participated in the FOAC legislative event in Harrisburg, and I can give you my opinion of what I believed happened. I'm sure there are some who would disagree, but this is my interpretation. Take it FWIW.

Last month right after the House had passed HB40 as a clean bill, we were in Harrisburg to lobby the Senate to do the same thing. We insisted that HB40 be passed, because it had already been through the House clean, and it didn’t have to go back to them unless it was amended. While we were pushing HB40, instead of working WITH US, Hohenwarter convinced enough of the Senators while in Caucus to attach a similar Senate version of the Castle Doctrine bill (the Alloway Amendment) to HB1926, which was a Megan’s Law bill that had been passed by the House and was up for vote in the Senate.

The only potential advantage to the HB1926 route was that compared to HB40, it did have a better chance of getting signed by Rendell, as it would've been tougher for him to veto a Megan's Law bill than a standalone Castle bill. However, everyone there knew that the House would have to come back after the election for the HB1926 route to succeed, and that’s why we told John, vis-a-vis Kim, that we didn’t want to see him endorse that course of action. Sending HB1926 back to the House for concurrence, especially after the contentious House vote on HB40, was something we were concerned had no chance of succeeding; our collective opinion was that it was better to invest our energy in taking a stand on HB40 right there. We were especially insistent because earlier in the day many of the senior staffers we had been lobbying mentioned that Greenleaf might run HB40. It wasn’t a dead dog at the time.

Unfortunately, John seemed to have other plans, and as I said earlier, convinced the senators to amend HB1926 with the Alloway Amendment. Now, what EXACTLY took place between the Senators and John in caucus we don’t know, because while we were out in the hall, somehow he had access to the Caucus room and was popping in and out. One would think that having an NRA rep with such access would be a good thing, but in this case I’m not so sure.

The amendment to HB1926 passed, but left us where we are now, which is exactly what we feared would happen: a bill that passed, but no House days left for a concurrence vote. This tactic from the NRA gave the Senate the appearance of supporting the effort while giving them cover on the issue because, once passed, it wasn’t their fault if the House didn’t concur on the bill. It also gave the Senate opponents to the bill cover, because even though their amendments failed, the bill ultimately went no further.

If they had passed HB40 clean (and given that HB1926 had no other amendments attached other than Castle, HB40 would have run clean), it would’ve went right to the Governor’s desk for signature. Instead, Hohenwarter convinced them to take a course of action which was known to very likely be unsuccessful at the time because of the dependence on the House to concur. Now some might call this blaming John after the fact, but I was there and I know what I saw, and what I heard from his own mouth even after Kim objected on what were very valid grounds IMHO. There was little chance the House would reconvene to vote, and so far that's the case, leaving the bill in limbo.

Why this course of action was taken by the NRA, I can’t say for sure. One thing I can say, is that after seeing how the NRA treated our most important state-level grassroots organization, my faith in the NRA as a whole has been shaken, and I can see why more progress isn’t made. I do believe the NRA-ILA has HUGE value at the federal level, where quite frankly most of us can't make a difference. But at the state level, they either need to get along better with the state grassroots organizations and help us out, or get the hell out of the way.

FWIW, I believe there’s a good chance we’ll see this legislation get through next year if it is truly dead this year. And then, of course, the NRA can claim their 2010 election endorsements had something to do with all that, and that’s why we should keep sending them money…

Nothing like scuttling a legislative effort in the name of fundraising.

As far as Hohenwarter himself, we have a better chance of getting Constitutional Carry in PA than we do getting rid of him. IMHO the only way that's going to happen is to put pressure on the ILA, and show them that he's not only ineffective, but working against the NRA's interests. Given that he's likely doing exactly what they want him to, I'd say he's not going anywhere.

[tsor39]

I concur with CR.

I do believe that it was due to John that HB 40 did not move from committee, and as such, my NRA membership will not be renewed. When they call me, I will tell them exactly why.

My perception, and perception is reality, is that the NRA continued to press what they wanted (HB 1926) even after we heard that there was to be a suspension of rules and vote off the floor for HB 40.

NRA wants what is best for their paychecks and longevity. They will never get another cent from me. As a new member of FOAC, I was able to attend the Eastern PA meeting, and look forward to getting together with the guys that feel as I do. This is the group that I feel will press for our rights and deserves our support. If you are not a member, check them out.

[ehidle]

I'm not usually one to be a conspiracy nut, but I wonder if there wasn't a suitcase full of cash involved in getting him to torpedo the legislative effort...

[ChamberedRound]

Hey guys,

It seems Hohenwarter has agreed to a Q&A on Sebastian's Snowflakes in Hell blog:

See here:
http://forum.pafoa.org/pennsylvania-...q-session.html

[ChamberedRound]

Hey guys,

Just wanted to post an update on this you might be interested in.

The first-hand account I posted in the "How do we get rid of the NRA state liason" thread here:
http://forum.pafoa.org/pennsylvania-...ml#post1391984

was actually a paraphrasing of comments I had made on Sebastian's Snowflakes in Hell blog, after he had posted that Castle Doctrine was dead. Those comments turned into a discussion of what happened on the day FOAC and the rest of us were there lobbying, and why I felt the NRA worked more against us than with us.

Well, it seems the discussion spurred some talk between Sebastian and his contacts at the NRA, and John Hohenwarter has agreed to a Q&A on Sebastian's blog. Just wanted to put the call out there to anyone interested in asking John questions; according to Sebastian, topics are open, so click on the link above and ask away.

[Datalogger]

Great, this should turn out to be rather interesting. Thanks CR.

[AxiTech]

I only needed one more reason to quit the NRA. This was it! Money better spent elsewhere!

[tsafa]

Ok...

First question... Is the Bill Really Dead?

Second... How did it get that way?

Third... What's the next move for Pro Gun Rights in PA?


(My guess is that Pro Gun legislation is being postponed until we get the new governor sworn-in who has indicated he will support more gun rights. A bill going through in the next session could have even stronger pro-gun rights wording.)

[ChamberedRound]

Ok...

First question... Is the Bill Really Dead?

Second... How did it get that way?

Third... What's the next move for Pro Gun Rights in PA?


(My guess is that Pro Gun legislation is being postponed until we get the new governor sworn-in who has indicated he will support more gun rights. A bill going through in the next session could have even stronger pro-gun rights wording.)

Don't ask here, go to Sebastian's blog (see links above) and post the questions there.