A look back at Gun Control, the NRA, Grass Roots Activism and HCI circa 1995

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This was sent to me this morning via the First Freedom e-mail list run by Andy Barniskis as a look back at some of the history of gun control in PA. I thought it was an interesting read as in 1995, I was just getting into the Second Amendment fray and I remember a lot of the discussion about this and other things that went on then. I figure that many, if not most of our members here really don't know much about this, so I thought I'd share. This is a release from the PSA in regards to the infamous Act 17 and the NRA/HCI collusion and backstabbing to PA gun owners. IIRC, this was originally distributed sometime in 1995.

PSA DEBUNKS NRA's PENNSYLVANIA ACT 17 DISINFORMATION

Employees of the NRA-ILA have issued a two page refutation of grass roots criticisms of Pennsylvania's new gun law. Special Act 17 of 1995, then known as Special HB110, was endorsed by key NRA-ILA employees and was endorsed and applauded by Sarah Brady and her Handgun Control Inc. as well as local gun banners. We now reprint and refute the entire NRA document as it was downloaded from the NRA Computer Bulletin Board on 10-16-95 filename PAUFACT.95. Remember, we are rebutting the points that NRA-ILA employees chose to make in support of the law. There are many other major problems with Act 17 that NRA chose not to mention. This work is the product of the PSA's Legislative Action Committee, and is submitted by Harry Schneider, Chairman. We apologize for our lack of brevity. We must be thorough, the issue is important everywhere since - HCI and NRA are both on record as saying that the Pennsylvania Law will be a model for other states.

The Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association publishes the Pennsylvania Sportsmen's News. Our newspaper featured the "steamroller" on the cover of our special Act 17 issue. Our "steamroller" special edition is sold out, but our follow up Nov-Dec 95 issue is hitting the presses now and is
available $2 postpaid. The PSA was the first pro-gun organization to print Sarah Brady's now notorious press release praising NRA. Our new edition reprints Sarah's latest press release, proving that she is trying to save Act 17 from being repealed. So much for the veracity of the NRA employees
who told members and directors that Sarah got nothing in Act 17. We were also the first organization to obtain minutes of House floor debates and prove that pro-gun opposition to Special HB110 (now Act 17 was silenced by a legislator reading a list of supporting organizations. We proved that NRA employees created that list. We contacted those organizations and found that four of them did not support the bill. Some of those organizations wrote angry letters to legislators and to the NRA. Legislators have publicly apologized for voting for Act 17 and said that they did so because
the phony list included the highly esteemed Allegheny County Sportsmen's League.


The claims of NRA employees begin with NRA * while PSA refutations begin with PSA --.

PENNSYLVANIA UNIFORM FIREARMS ACT OF 1995

NRA * The Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act of 1995, which became law on October 11, is the result of six years of hard work by Pennsylvania sportsmen and the NRA. It replaces the state's waiting period on handgun purchases with an "instant check" that includes not only a criminal records
check but also checks of involuntary commitments to mental institutions and juvenile crimes of violence. The Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act of 1995 has received broad- based support, including that of the following organizations: the Pennsylvania Rifle & Pistol Ass'n, Pennsylvania State
Fish & Game Protective Ass'n, Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs, and Philadelphia Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs.

PSA -- As to the six year claim. The condensed history of Act 17 is as follows: The 1993-94 media hysteria about "assault weapons" caused the Pa. Legislature to consider an HCI backed 67 gun ban. Anti-gunners gave legislators a packet of 67 (8 1/2" by 11") pictures of semi-auto versions of assault rifles. NRA A+ rated Representative Matt Ryan panicked and countered with a 14 gun ban which quickly passed the House. In our "steamroller" edition we printed evidence that NRA and other moderate mainstream sportsmen's groups helped to draft the 14 gun list (all but one deny it). The 14 gun ban was defeated in the Senate when Mike Slavonic and Kim Stolfer of the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League (ACSL) took the HCI endorsed propaganda packet of 67 gun pictures and added facts to each page such as the fact that almost all of these types of guns have never been found to have been used in a homicide anywhere in the United States. HCI's inability to refute hard ACSL facts cooled the Senate and defeated the proposed ban. Gun banners had egg on their face. Some legislators came to mistakenly believe that the NRA employee who distributed the ACSL's work was responsible for it's creation - the stuff of myths.

PSA -- The issue was still not dead as legislators demanded to know if any other "assault weapons" do cause crime. Slavonic then obtained the legislation that created the Florida Assault Commission. Slavonic, who is also the only member of the NRA Board of Directors from Pennsylvania, gave the Florida legislation to NRA employee Alan Krug and Rep. Bob Godshall. Slavonic convinced them to introduce this legislation and told them that if the Commission does it's job, we will not need to revisit the assault issue. Thus was born the Pennsylvania "SELECT COMMITTEE TO STUDY THE USE OF
AUTOMATIC AND SEMIAUTOMATIC FIREARMS IN CRIME." NRA gave it to gun-banner Ryan, so that he could introduce it and allow NRA to let him keep his A+ rating. Slavonic discovered that NRA State and Local Affairs was not terribly interested in the Committee so he personally arranged for the top pro-gun academic authorities in the country to appear before the committee. The five Committee hearings were almost certainly the greatest massing of pro-gun expertise on this issue ever assembled. The Committee itself was balanced with mainstream groups like the NRA and HCI and their affiliates. Our then Governor (Casey) (elected with NRA A rating) was publicly supporting an assault ban and didn't like the facts being entered into evidence. Moderate pro-gun Committee members made no public stink when Casey derailed the direction of the Committee away from the "assault" issue. The Committee never produced a report, nothing of the significant facts presented to prove that the "assault weapon" issue was a non-issue.

PSA -- The Committee did introduce legislative recommendations for a gun control bill that had nothing to do with so-called assault weapons. Senator Fumo introduced the Committee's recommendations in the form of SB6 "The Fumo Bill" which HCI endorsed. NRA would not endorse SB6 so Fumo called the NRA "pigs." NRA took the "Fumo" Bill and removed some obvious anti-gun
features. NRA added a few pro-gun sections like Philadelphia carry reform and anti-gun features such as the now infamous 302 provision. NRA then introduced it as HB7, the "Godshall" Bill. NRA pushed the "Godshall Bill", and despite the public backing of moderate mainstream organizations like PRPA, Unified and the Federation, NRA was unable to whip up any grass roots enthusiasm. Meanwhile newly elected (NRA endorsed) Governor Tom Ridge (fresh from his three gun-banning votes as Congressman), was eager to appear tough on crime. Ridge called a "special session" on crime which needed some Democrat support, (Republicans control the House and Senate by one vote). Ridge got his crime bills including Special HB110 (now Act 17), which is a hybrid of the "Fumo" and "Godshall" Bills. HCI and NRA both backed 110.

PSA -- The PSA, GOA, and other pro-gun groups opposed the "Fumo" and the "Godshall" and Special HB110. We are thus branded as extremist, since we did not support any anti-gun bills. It rapidly is being forgotten that NO FINAL REPORT WAS ISSUED BY THE COMMITTEE in any form, much less a form justifying _any_ of the legislation offered first by Sen. Vincent Fumo, and subsequently landing in HB110. That official report could have ended the "assault weapon" issue nationwide and inflicted a major blow to the anti's.

PSA -- Special Act 17 (then called Special HB110) was passed because it was endorsed by NRA-ILA employees and by HCI. The combined NRA-HCI effort was so powerful that the bill passed the Pennsylvania Senate - unanimously – the same day it was introduced! A 44 page major overhaul of the state firearms code passed unanimously - in a state that has some very radical anti-gun senators. Anti-gun grass roots activists had advance notice and wrote advance letters to newspapers advocating passage, however, grass roots pro-gun activists were kept in the dark. Even after the bill passed the
senate, NRA field office employees were telling callers that they had no details on the bill that had just passed. So much for the six year story.

PSA -- DIRTY TRICKS - Pro-gun legislators were overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the combined HCI-NRA forces and false NRA claims (repeated on the Floor of the House) that the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, the Pennsylvania Gun Collector's Assn., the Pennsylvania Federation of Black
Powder Shooters and the Pennsylvania Trappers Assn. supported the bill along with Handgun Control Inc. These names (EXCEPT FOR HCI) appear on the early NRA literature supporting the legislation and they appear in the minutes of the floor debates when the act was debated, but they have been omitted from the NRA document we now rebut because this dishonesty was exposed when PSA
alerted the groups that their names had been used. The responsible NRA employee, Krug, had been chastised the year before by the Keystone Second Amendment Association for using it's name without permission to promote "crap". At Gunstock 94, Harry Schneider stood on the steps of the Lincoln
Memorial and asked Neal Knox to remove Krug because "we spend half of our time trying to undo the damage that he causes". Given the problems with Act 17, that was an underestimate. Given ILA's laudatory approval of Act 17, we can only assume that the responsible ILA employees were only following orders and that Tanya will promote Alan Krug and keep Randy Kozuch. Unless NRA Directors act quickly and decisively, other states had better watch out!

PSA -- Sarah Brady was not the only person to praise NRA for passing Pennsylvania's new gun law. Many NRA and HCI affiliate organizations have also praised NRA for getting Act 17 passed. Lots of people supported Act 17 before it went into effect - all they knew about it was what NRA employees
told them.

PSA -- Then, the "October Surprise" happened, the law went into effect on October 11, and the state police issued plain English regulations. Sportsmen and dealers revolted. An emergency meeting was held at the Governor's office on October 17. House and Senate leaders who backed Act 17 were present, but pro-gun Representative Teresa Brown was refused admittance (before passage she warned House members not to vote for Act 17 because it is "44 pages of gun control". NRA and Federation employees who had assured the legislative leadership and the governor that sportsmen would support Act 17, were present, but none of the truly pro-gun leaders who warned that the bill was defective were invited.

PSA -- Following the meeting, Representative Godshall - the primary sponsor of Act 17 issued a two page letter to legislators listing many changes that will be quickly written into legislation. The exact wording of the proposed changes is a closely guarded secret at the time of this writing. The proposals haven't even been introduced, but legislative aids are already deceiving angry constituent callers by telling them that the problems with Act 17 have been fixed.

PSA -- On October 26 1995, the Pennsylvania State Grange Association concluded it's convention with representatives from 66 counties. By a vote of 356 to 6 the State Grange passed a Resolution to demand the repeal of major sections of Act 17.

PSA -- Some of the other groups advocating the repeal or gutting of Act 17 include: The Allegheny County Sportsmen's League, Bucks County Sportsmen's Coalition, Citizen's Committee For Constitutional Rights, Delaware County Chapter of the Unified Sportsmen, Gun Owners of America, Keystone Firearms Coalition, Keystone Second Amendment Assn., Pennsylvania Gun Owners Assn.,
Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Assn., the Warren County Gun Owners Assn. and the Washington County League of Sportsmen.


What the Uniform Firearms Act of 1995 Act Does:

NRA * Affirms the citizens' right "to bear arms in defense of themselves and this commonwealth" is a "fundamental constitutional right", which could be of exceptional importance in future firearms law cases.

PSA -- This provision is contained in the preamble to the law and thus has no force of law. These noble sounding words are followed by dozens of restrictions, this telling the courts that our fundamental right can be severely limited. For example, an NRA drafted Amendment to Act 17, introduced by Senator Robbins, (formerly part of the NRA's Godshall Bill) mandates lifelong loss of the right to possess any firearm on the basis of Section 302 accusation - without trial or even a Judge. It denies a right of appeal for five years and denies a right to public hearings. These are very dangerous precedents which also endanger other constitutional rights.

PSA -- Act 17 also creates an argument that the fundamental right to bear arms is really a privilege, not a right, in that it creates two new taxes, known in Pennsylvania as "NRA Tax". The NRA tax is a tax on those who exercise their right to buy a gun. [See sections 6111(b) (3) and 6111.2.]. In Murdock v Pennsylvania 319 US 105 decided May 3, 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a state can tax the exercise of a privilege, but is forbidden to tax the exercise of a Constitutionally protected right! Rights
cannot be taxed - only privileges can be taxed and privileges can be taken away. A poll tax is unconstitutional because it taxes those who seek to exercise a right. Therefore, the preamble, which has no force of law, declares a right, whereas the statutes, which do have force of law, indicate that buying guns is a privilege since it can be taxed and the right to bear any firearm can be revoked without judge or jury. NRA employees may be weakening the strength of future 2nd Amendment challenges by advocating legislation that asks states to tax the exercise of that right.


NRA * Provides that when the instant check system goes into effect, current federal and state waiting periods for handgun purchase will no longer be required. The instant records check system will be funded by a $3.00 fee on handgun and long gun purchases; the fee will be reviewed by the legislature every five years.

PSA -- Act 17 appears to end the waiting period, but does not. First – it may greatly extend the waiting period once instant check goes on line. If the computer is down, or is sabotaged, or if the state simply refuses to answer the phone, there will be no gun sales, even if the system is down for months.

PSA - Even if the computer is working and the state answers the phones, the waiting period is still in effect because of what is probably a technical drafting error which does not provide that the 48 hour waiting period shall end after instant check is established [See section 6111(a)(1)]. The 48 hour waiting period shall continue to be required unless the purchaser is either a police officer or possesses a valid license to carry a firearm [See section 611(f)(3)], or has an official statement signed by a district
attorney or the chief of police of Philadelphia stating that the transferee requires access to a firearm because of a threat to life [See section 6111(f)(4)]. The PSA offered a technical amendment that will, if
implemented, fix this typographical oversight. On the other hand, a waiting period - (exempting those with a concealed carry permit or an emergency letter from law enforcement) may be a lot less destructive than Pennsylvania type "instant check". Instant check was supposed to be a database of criminals. It has been perverted into a database of legitimate gun owners and their guns.

PSA -- To subsidize "instant check" NRA imposed not one, but two new taxes on the sale of handguns and rifles and shotguns. The first tax $3.00 is effective immediately (prior to instant check). This is the $3.00 "Firearm Ownership Surcharge." [See section 6111.2(a)-(d)]. An additional tax, not to exceed $2.00 will begin when instant check goes on line [See section 6111(b)(3)]. NRA was advised that the Pennsylvania State Police estimate that the actual cost of "instant check" will be $15.00 to $20.00 for each pistol, rifle and shotgun purchase and the total cost of the system is estimated to be $6.6 million. One time Federal "Brady" monies were used by the State for other purposes. In five years, there is no limit as to how high the $3.00 NRA tax can be raised.


NRA * Prohibits "any government or law enforcement agency or any agent thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearms ownership within this commonwealth." All information given by potential purchasers as well as juvenile and mental health information contained in state police records is entirely confidential. The improper access or unauthorized use of the instant check system or dissemination of its information is a third-degree felony.

PSA -- Bullfeathers. Act 17 does not prohibit the state from creating, maintaining or operating a registry of legitimate gun owners and their guns. [See section 6111.4]. The section that NRA quotes actually states "notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow any government or law enforcement agency or any agent thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearms ownership within this Commonwealth."

PSA -- The law does not use the word "prohibit" as NRA implies. The operative words are "chapter" and "allow" which ILA employees carefully edited out so as not to confuse members with truth. Under Pennsylvania law, political subdivisions, such as counties and cities, cannot do anything except what the state "allows". This provision of Act 17 does not prevent the State from maintaining a firearms registry. It does tell political sub-divisions that this "chapter" does not "allow" them to maintain their
own registries. Of course, they will be able to access the states central registry. The Act 17 reform debate in Harrisburg now centers around weather or not Act 17 only authorized the state to register handguns and handgun owners or if long gun owners can be included.

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PSA -- Act 17 may be of some limited use in stopping local gun registration such as the Pittsburgh Gun Task Force prototype gun registration database that is being developed with your tax dollars under a grant from Janet Reno's Just-us department using Carnegie Mellon University computer expertise. In reality, the Pittsburgh program apparently already violates the pre-Act 17 Pa. firearms preemption law and Federal law at 18 U.S.C. 926 and elsewhere - Act 17 is not needed to kill it. By the way - Mike Slavonic and Kim Stolfer of the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League are the persons responsible for the FOIA that uncovered this illegal scheme that endangers gun owners across America.

PSA -- Under Act 17, it is not a "third-degree felony" for the state or a political subdivision to maintain an illegal gun registry or to share this information with Janet Reno. The felony that NRA references is for gun dealers who use "instant check" to check out their daughters boyfriends.

PSA -- The NRA knows that the state intends to use gun buyers "instant check" money to computerize 60 years of accumulated handgun "Record of Sale" forms. These records contain the purchasers name, address, birthdate, social security number and the make, model, caliber and serial number of the handgun. These forms and an additional Act 17 form will continue and all of this information will, under Act 17, be "instantly" available to law enforcement when they get a call to any address or if they do a traffic stop or if it is time to round up guns and gun owners. By the way, "instant check" computers will be relational and networked. Under the NRA drafted "Instant check" amendment to the Brady Law, Janet Reno is mandated to select the hardware and to develop the software to network all instant check computers in America. Thanks Tanya.


NRA * Removes from state law the prohibition against loaning a handgun, protecting innocent practices that formerly were technical violations of law.

PSA -- Pre-Act 17 statutes, said, in essence, that loaning handguns was legal as long as the person receiving the firearm was not legally prohibited from buying a firearm. A single (but important) draconian court decision declared that all loaning of handguns is a felony. We would have preferred
that Act 17 clarify and reimpose the law as it existed prior to that court case. Instead, Act 17 makes it clear that all loans of handguns are illegal unless one of the limited number of exceptions contained in section 6115 of Act 17 is applicable. A violation of this new law is a crime that, at a minimum, will cause the lender to lose all of his firearms rights for life. It is appalling that loans between husbands and wives and between parents and their children and grandparents and their grandchildren are not included
in the exemptions. Teach your spouse, parents, grandparents and children to say that you permanently gave or sold him/her the gun and never to use the word "loan." Even this imperfect defense will not work with your siblings. In law, transfer is permanent, loan temporary.

PSA -- Loaning handguns at NRA sanctioned shooting events is ok because NRA wrote a specific NRA event exemption into the law. IPSC, USPSA, IHMSA, BPSA and other sanctioned events are not specifically exempted. Competitors who loan guns at those events, are left to pioneer new legal defenses under vague provisions of the law. Gee sounds like an incentive to pay NRA to affiliate doesn't it? DVC


NRA * Requires that written notice citing a specific reason be given for denial of an application for or revocation of a license to carry a firearm.

PSA -- Act 17 also increases the number of specific reasons for denying someone's application for a license to carry a firearm by sixteen subsections and thirty-two enumerated offenses.


NRA * Provides for reciprocity between states issuing licenses to carry a firearm if agreed to by the respective state attorney generals.

PSA -- Under Act 17, Pennsylvania's Attorney General may enter into reciprocity agreements with other states. "May" - not shall! [See section 6109(k)]. Don't hold your breath waiting for these reciprocity agreements to be widespread. Meanwhile, back in the real world, listen up - you NRA
Directors who travel through Pennsylvania on your way to NRA Board meetings or to Camp Perry. Your NRA employees really took care of you with Act 17. In the past, concealed carry without criminal intent was a misdemeanor. The old law needed serious improvement, but Act 17 says:

"ANY PERSON WHO CARRIES A FIREARM CONCEALED ON OR ABOUT HIS PERSON OR IN A VEHICLE WITHIN THIS COMMONWEALTH WITHOUT A VALID AND LAWFULLY ISSUED LICENSE UNDER THIS SECTION COMMITS A FELONY OF THE THIRD DEGREE" Notice the absence of any distinction between criminal or lack of criminal intent. Vacationing out of state concealed permit holders, vacationing police officers, spouses without permits who take hubby's Bronko to the Stop and Go without first removing the gun in the console are treated the same as canvas coated gangbangers on their way to an innercity jurisdictional resolution event. Guess why your NRA employees didn't brag about this provision. By the way, the ACSL-PSA "Grass Roots" reform proposal, if enacted, makes a big distinction between criminal and non-criminal intent and for those with out of state permits or badges. We think that NRA should never have agreed to raise the penalty without getting those protections for good guys who carry guns. What do you think?


NRA * Increases criminal sanctions for unlawful gun sale or possession.

PSA-- It also fails to provide adequate protections for legitimate sellers and gun dealers. Dealers, if your clerk makes a couple of illegal sales, without your knowledge or approval, you could be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and civil penalties. The ACSL-PSA "Grass Roots" reform Proposal provides for those protections.


NRA * Makes mandatory penalties for the use of a replica firearm in the commission of a violent crime as for the use of a real firearm.

PSA--Rapists, muggers and gang members now will get five years less sentence if they use knives or acid instead of toy guns.


NRA * Allows licensed firearm dealers to conduct business at gun shows and meets. When the instant check system goes on line, dealers will be able to deliver as well as sell handguns to purchasers at gun shows.

PSA -- Dealers got along just fine at Pennsylvania gun shows before October 11, 1995 when they were "allowed" by Act 17. We could have been spared millions of dollars in new NRA taxes and been spared a computerized database of legitimate gun owners and their guns and enabled dealers to deliver
handguns on the spot just by exempting concealed carry permit holders from the waiting period.


NRA * Exempts a person with a valid license to carry from the instant check requirement.

PSA -- Permit holders are exempted from the waiting period, but not from the instant check. The instant check requirement will apply to everyone purchasing a rifle, shotgun or handgun from a licensed firearms dealer, manufacturer or importer [See section 6111(b)(3)]. No one will be exempt
when purchasing a handgun regardless of who is the seller or purchaser [See section 6111(c)] unless the transfer is between spouses, parent and child and grandparent and grandchild [See section 6110.1.(c)].


NRA * Frees Philadelphians from second-class citizen status, as they now are subject to the same criteria for issuance of a license to carry as all other Pennsylvanians.

PSA -- This is probably the only real gain in Act 17, that might not have been realized without selling out so many other gun rights. HCI didn't want this change. However, HCI got so much in Act 17 that they enthusiastically backed the bill even though it contained this provision.


NRA * Provides for a single state firearms dealer's license-- eliminating the need to obtain one in each county--and extends the dealer's premises to any "lawful gun show or meet."

PSA -- Prior to Act 17, Section 6113 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Code provided for essentially the same licensing of dealers for the fee of $10.00. [1972, Dec 6, P.L. 1482, No. 334, Sec. 1, effective June 6, 1973]. Other than the increase in the fee from $10.00 to $30.00, the only significant difference in the section is the specific mention of sales at lawful gun shows and meets. Sheriff's issue the "state" license to sell firearms and it has been reported that one sheriff attempted to sell his "state" license to out of county license holders attending a gun show in his county. While an improvement, this is nothing to brag about, when one factors the rather considerable new paperwork, expense, criminal liability and civil liability that Act. 17 has imposed on licensed dealers.


NRA * Exempts from the act's paperwork requirements transfers of handguns between spouses, parent and child and grandparent and grandchild.


NRA * What the Uniform Firearms Act of 1995 Act Doesn't Do:

NRA * Does not change the law regarding the buying, trading and selling of rifles and shotguns among non-licensed individuals.

PSA--Act 17 did change the law regarding private sales of rifles and shotguns. You are still allowed to make private sales, but even the strongest proponents of Act 17 admit that the only sure way to avoid the significant new criminal and civil liabilities is to make every transfer through a licensed dealer and thus register the gun.


NRA * Does not criminalize the possession of a pistol, rifle or shotgun without proof of purchase or an instant check receipt.

NRA * Does not make felons of parents who leave a handgun in the home in the "constructive possession" of their minor children. The portion of the law pertaining to the loaning of firearms addresses juveniles and states, "nothing in the section shall be construed to prohibit the loaning or giving of a firearm to another in one's dwelling or place of business if the firearm is retained within the dwelling or place of business."

PSA -- Section 6110.1. Possession of firearm by minor, is the law which controls when any handgun is possessed by or delivered to a minor. The portion of Act 17 which relates to the loaning of firearms does not address minors even when the firearm remains in the home [See section 6115(3)]. Section 6110.1, Possession Of A Firearm by Minor, would apply and it states that if an adult provides a firearm to a minor, that adult commits a felony of the third degree unless the person who is under 18 years of age is under the supervision of a parent, grandparent, legal guardian or an adult acting with the expressed consent of the minor's custodial parent or legal guardian [See section 6110.1.(b) and (c)]

PSA -- One of the reasons that the Act is so confusing, is that it has several different definitions for the word "firearm". On October 11 the State Police promulgated regulations that stretched the Act even further, incorrectly interpreting this prohibition to include rifles and shotguns (not just handguns).


NRA * Some Pennsylvania gun owners have expressed concern that the Uniform Firearms Act of 1995 was supported by Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI). In truth, HCI had one of two choices: jump on the train as it left the station or get run over by it. HCI got nothing it wanted in this law. What it did want was its usual Christmas tree of anti-gun measures: Semi-auto bans, bans on large-capacity magazines, firearm registration, retention of the waiting period after the instant check system goes on line, a requirement that all guns in the home be kept unloaded and locked, a $300 annual license fee for dealers and much more.

PSA -- If HCI got "nothing" as NRA employees just told you - then why do legislative records show that HCI lobbied for Act 17 before passage? Why did every anti-gun Senator in Pennsylvania vote for the bill? Why is Sarah Brady now fighting to block grassroots efforts to repeal the Act?

ILA employees told NRA members what a hard fought victory it was to get Act 17 passed. They were angry with PSA when we obtained the minutes of Legislative floor debates which proved that HCI lobbied for Act 17 passage. They went ballistic when PSA obtained and published HCI's press release in which Sarah Brady said "Pennsylvania now has one of the most comprehensive lists of prohibitions on purchase, sale, transfer or possession of guns in the country...things...NRA has vehemently opposed in the past. This appears to be a shift in the N.R.A.'s no compromise approach to gun control." Do you really believe their story that HCI got "nothing"? Do you want to keep employees that lie to you?

PSA -- HCI did not get everything that it wanted. HCI asked for the moon, so that their actual gains would appear less significant. They have learned how to play the NRA.


NRA * There is no question that the right of law abiding Pennsylvanians is more secure today than it was before passage of the Uniform Firearms Act of 1995.

PSA --We disagree.


NRA * This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.

PSA -- the preceding was a servicing of NRA members by ILA employees.

WHY DID NRA DO IT? We don't know for sure, but NRA is in the news because of allegations of financial mismanagement, (NRA's D&B credit rating plummeted, IRS announced a two year audit etc.) While these allegations may be politically motivated, they do make photogenic celebrities and big money contributors nervous. NRA leaders may have felt the need to produce quick victories. Rumors spread that NRA would do anything for quick passage of "instant check" and "concealed carry" bills - since those names are widely regarded to be NRA legislative goals. In Pennsylvania, the easiest, quickest victory may have been a backroom deal to water down the more overtly brazen provisions of an HCI backed bill, add "instant check" and some genuine good things such as concealed carry reform for the City of Philadelphia. The bill passed with lightning speed and NRA employees proclaimed that they had achieved a "victory." Less spectacular compromises have reportedly marred "victories" in other states.

PSA WENT PUBLIC BECAUSE OF THE THREAT TO OTHER STATES. After passage of Act 17, NRA and HCI both proclaimed victory and both said that the Pennsylvania law will be a model for other states. Pennsylvania Senate Majority Whip Mike Fisher, told the Senate that the Pennsylvania law would be a model for other states and for the Federal Government. Senator Fisher's threat could not be taken lightly. Fisher is understood to be an important delegate to the powerful Council of State Governments (CSG), The CSG networks so-called model legislation.

Earlier this year, we saw a demonstration of CSG power when they simultaneously introduced identical legislation in 49 states. Within weeks, CSG members passed that controversial legislation in 14 states. This year, Fisher sponsored and passed (in the Pa Senate) a bill to give Federal ATF, IRS, DEA and FBI agents the right to enforce all Pennsylvania state criminal laws and give them immunities. Similar laws are quietly passing in many states - goodbye state and local jurisdiction. The combination of NRA-HCI and CSG would be an unstoppable force nationwide. The PSA could not sit silently and wait for some NRA-ILA employees to develop integrity. Legislators and the NRA told us that it would take years to try to fix the problems with Act 17 because the legislature had no interest in revisiting the gun issue. PSA had no choice but to go public.

Well compensated NRA employees are not the NRA. We, the membership are the NRA and we deserve the truth from our employees. Most PSA leaders are NRA Life Members. We are the NRA and we don't want to hurt our NRA. NRA must get back on track. We will not quit the NRA - we will reform it. PSA, Box 1225 Hermitage, PA 16148

Gun control forces nationwide are watching Pennsylvania. Please help us to help you. Please put pressure on NRA employees to shape up. We hold no grudges for their past mistakes. We will welcome NRA back into the pro-gun community when they get back on track. We have learned to trust the legislative judgment of the Gun Owners of America. Remember when NRA asked you to vote for 1488 when defects in that Federal bill would have greatly expanded the powers of ATF? GOA told you the truth. Please back legislation that GOA backs and oppose what GOA opposes.

PLEASE ACT NOW. Gun owners should contact their state representatives and demand that Act 17 be repealed or at least get recorded votes on all of the reforms in the ACSL-PSA "Grass Roots" reform proposal that was drafted by the Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association and the Allegheny County Sportsmen's League. Ask them to co-sponsor Representative Teresa Browns Act 17 reform bills. Pennsylvania residents are encouraged to contact their state senator and state representative and Senate Majority Whip Mike Fisher 717-787-5839 and Governor Tom Ridge 717-787-2500 Your local government building or library or League of Women voters can identify and tell you how
to contact your representatives.

PLEASE DON'T ABANDON US. We ask all Americans to support the PSA. Compared to the NRA and HCI we are mosquitoes fighting elephants. Exhausted and overworked, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other – hoping that others care enough to really help us preserve the liberties that our founders knew were essential. We need you to take action. Please send us a contribution (not tax deductible). Every penny is used to fight gun control. All of our leaders are unpaid volunteers. Our newspaper needs advertising. Advertising rates are $200 per page, $100 per half page and $50 per quarter page. We need donations of quality fax machines, IBM compatible computers, professional services etc. Membership with a newspaper subscription is $15 per year - we welcome out of state members and contributors. God save America and the NRA. Pennsylvania Sportsmen's Association, Box 1225, Hermitage, PA 16148. Please support sporting goods stores that contribute to the repeal of Act 17. DVC

[anonymouse]

I'm going to bump this, because it is really worth reading. It's quite fascinating how we ended up in the situation we're in today.

Read the entire thing when you get a few minutes.

Someone should write a book on the history of Pennsylvania gun laws

[renegadephoenix]

I'm going to bump this, because it is really worth reading. It's quite fascinating how we ended up in the situation we're in today.

Read the entire thing when you get a few minutes.

Someone should write a book on the history of Pennsylvania gun laws

i've been working on that for 5 months now.

[anonymouse]

i've been working on that for 5 months now.

Awesome! I can't wait to read it.

[renegadephoenix]

Awesome! I can't wait to read it.

it gives me a headache everytime i go to the state site and pull up all the laws relating to firearms from sessions gone by.

[anonymouse]

it gives me a headache everytime i go to the state site and pull up all the laws relating to firearms from sessions gone by.

Do you know when they started printing the "laws relating to firearms" books? Is there an older one than the 1995 one here: http://www.acslpa.org/LAWS-RelatingToGuns-PA-1995.pdf

[WOP2]

I've had the awful opportunity to listen to the ramblings of John Hohenwarter, the NRA Liaison to Pennsylvania. I suppose its safe to say that the easiest way to make sure you have a job tomorrow is create a mess today that "only you" can clean up. I've said this before, but its worth repeating. The NRA has no vested interest in making the gun issue go away, for if that were to happen, how would they get the ill-informed and the frightened to open their wallets. Case in point, the UN ATT (Arms Trafficking Treaty). Anyone who knows the current law (22CFR120-130) at the Federal level regarding exportation of small arms, and all things militaria, realizes that the USA trumped the UN back in 1976. It should be of no surprise whatever that the UN ATT, much talked about, never materialized. Perhaps Soros and Bloomberg didn't pay off the right crooks at the UN. In the meantime, how much ink did the NRA give to this non-existent document? How many folks dumped 25 bucks into NRA-ILA to fight this phantom?

If you love freedom, and feel strongly about the Second Amendment and Article I, Section XXI of the PA Constitution, join a grassroots organization such as PAFOA, FOAC, or even Pennsylvania GOA. They won't bust your balls for money, just for time and effort, an occasional call to your PA rep or senator, or helping a candidate to win election. Grassroots organizations don't have La Pierre's salary to pay, and they certainly don't have to pay Hohenwarter. While you're on line, look up "Heave Ho Hohenwarter". I'm not the only one who finds his actions detestable. Here's a link http://pgnh.org/heave_ho_hohenwarter Try not to barf when you read it.

[Curmudgeon]

Not to mention SAF, the Second Amendment Foundation, who along with Alan Gura have done more for the 2A in the last 5 years than the NRA has done in 70.

[MDJschool]

Not to mention SAF, the Second Amendment Foundation, who along with Alan Gura have done more for the 2A in the last 5 years than the NRA has done in 70.

Gave us incredibly half-assed, or perhaps even totally nominal, recognition in Heller and McDonald of the right to keep and bear arms that will ensure for 2 more centuries that our right to keep and bear arms remains nearly totally infringed? What did Gura and SAF do for Leonard Embody and Second Amendment again -- they said some people don't deserve their rights, that open carry is an affray, that regulating concealed carry is fine, police can do whatever they want when a gun is involved, and if you get in our way you'll be thrown under a bus.

The SAF is Sarah Brady's new friend on the block, and they'll get along quite nicely with the NRA whether they're together for tea, beer, or a scone.