House Judiciary vote on Pro-Gun bills Tues 3/18!

[mingomom]

Some comments to the above posts:



It's not "Mam", it's either "Ma'am" or "Madame".

I don't mean to be a stickler on grammar, but it's important to sound professional in correspondence to legislators.



HB1091 proposes a more strict minimum sentence on those carrying in Philadelphia without a license:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...type=B&bn=1091

HB1243 proposes that the PSP direct mental health records to NICS within 90 days of the passage of the bill.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...type=B&bn=1243

As far as comments go, my personal replies to the query you received would be:

- Just because the NRA isn't opposing a bill, doesn't mean the bill isn't worth opposing. The Assembly is supposed to represent and be listening to the people, not the lobbies. At least, that what we hear when it's a pro-gun bill. When an NRA sponsored pro-gun bill comes up, and a legislator doesn't want to vote for it, their excuse is that they're not hearing from their constituency. Now all of sudden they're supporting an anti-gun bill because the NRA isn't fighting it? Where's the logic there?

- HB1091: Redundant. It's already a crime to carry in Philly without a license, and in a city whose judiciary continues to practice a failed "catch and release" policy, making the sentence stronger does nothing. The judges will still allow for early release/parole, and those who would break the law will continue to do so. Until the city actually imposes the existing punishment on the books, adding larger pentalties will do nothing to reduce crime.

- HB1243: Politically, this seems like a "poison pill" bill. If we keep PICS and background checks within the state, there's no need to send mental health records to NICS, right? This bill seems like an attempt at bargaining away the PICS removal effort by threatening to send mental health records to the feds. Regardless of the politics, HB1243 is a privacy issue. I don't want the federal government in possession of any more health data on PA citizens than they already have.

These aren't exactly eloquent responses to legislators, so don't just copy-past these; they need some polishing up. But, I hope it helps in responding to the legislators.

Thank you. I thanked her for reading and analyzing voter mail and that I appreciated her questions. I rewrote what you had, and then added a little personal experience in how a wrong diagnosis can follow and disrupt a person (my nephew). Short, sweet, and to the point. I figure they don't have time for long-winded explanations. I really do appreciate that she took the time to ask the question. It was refreshing!

[ChamberedRound]

Anyone hearing anything yet? This meeting is supposed to be starting soon...

[bullrider718]

For anyone interested, there is a live stream here: http://media2.pahousegop.com:8080/hrvideo6

Looks like they are discussing HB 2011 now.

[bullrider718]

Update: Looks like HB 2011 just passed the committee!

[dunno]

921 just passed

[ChamberedRound]

Awesome. Did any of the other bills (1091, 1043) pass as well?

[dunno]

Sorry, I joined too late, Looks like 2011 & 921 closed the session.

[skylark]

So what happens next now that they have passed committee?

[tkim26]

The Bills goes to the House floor for a vote.

[ChamberedRound]

So what happens next now that they have passed committee?

Here's how pretty much ALL bills get passed at both the state and federal level:

1. Bill is submitted by a legislator, and designated either a House Bill (HB) or a Senate Bill (SB) depending on whether the sponsor is a Rep or Senator.
2. Bill is reviewed in it's respective committee, and is either voted YES, NO, or tabled
3. If voted YES, bill is moved out of committee for a full vote on the floor
4. During consideration on the floor, the bill can be amended
5. If the bill passes, it then moves on to the other half of the legislature (so a HB then moves to the Senate, and a SB moves to the House)
6. Repeat steps 2-4.
7. If the bill passes in the 2nd half of the legislature, it moves to the Governor's/President's desk for signature.

Note there's a bunch of details and parliamentary procedures specific to each side of the legislature (House and Senate), but the above is the general gist of things.

So to put this into perspective, HB921 and HB2011 are currently at Step 3.

EDIT: HB2011 is at Step3. HB921 was tabled and not discussed at today's House Judiciary Committee meeting.