But none of that matters right now because on Monday November 15th we have one last chance to pass Castle Doctrine, and we need your help to do it!

• If you believe that gun owners should be able to legally defend themselves anywhere they have a right to be, we need you to tell your legislators one more time.
• If you believe that gun owners shouldn’t be sued by their criminal attackers if they are forced to defend themselves, we need you to tell your legislators one more time.

All we need you to do is email Speaker Keith McCall immediately and politely urge him to to bring House Bill 1926 up for a vote on Monday November 15th and to vote for concurrence on it. Then if you want, you may follow your email with a phone call to his office (717-783-1375) on Monday morning.

Additionally, we strongly encourage you to email your state representative immediately and also call them on Monday morning, politely urging them to support a concurrence vote on HB1926. If you are not sure who your representative is, you can use PAFOA’s Politician Search Tool.

This has been a long journey with plenty of hard work, but with your help we can make it all pay off.

MAIG Mayor: John Callahan
In a surprising margin of 15 points, Bloomberg’s ally in Bethlehem went down to stinging defeat to NRA-endorsed Rep. Charlie Dent. Gun owners turned out big in this race thanks to the work of NRA’s campaign field representative program, and we made sure to protect our Congressman who stands up for the rights of the district’s sportsmen and gun owners. This seat was a priority for gun owners in Pennsylvania due to the outside funds flowing in to unseat Rep. Dent and replace him with an anti-gun extremist.

CeaseFire PA & Brady Campaign Voter Fund Backed: Bryan Lentz
What what expected to be one of the closest races in Pennsylvania resulted in an 11 point lead when gun owners worked to get out the vote for Pat Meehan who was endorsed by NRA. Lentz staked the end of his political career on calls for more gun control by trying to undermine concealed carry reciprocity and working with various anti-gun groups to advance their wishlist in the state house. Those groups were certainly hoping to bring that kind of cooperation up to Congress, but through the volunteer efforts of NRA members and other active gun owners, we made sure that his antics were stopped.

Bloomberg & CeaseFire PA Backed: Dan Onorato
Dan Onorato, no matter how many commercials he ran telling us how to say his name, couldn’t get any traction in his campaign. Even though he had an advantage of the most competitive primary back in March that resulted in more candidate forum appearances and news coverage, his campaign could not excite his Democratic base, independents, or crossover Republicans. In a desperate attempt to seem relevant again, Onorato jumped on board with Bryan Lentz’s crusade to attack gun owners. The nine point loss to NRA-endorsed Attorney General Tom Corbett who has a record of going after criminals who misuse guns speaks volumes as to how well that campaign tactic worked.

Bloomberg & Brady Backed: Joe Sestak
With the Brady Campaign actively campaigning for him, Mayor Bloomberg coming to Pennsylvania for him, and CeaseFire PA actively targeting his opponent, Joe Sestak was the poster child for the gun control representation in Pennsylvania’s 2010 elections. When debating Arlen Specter, Sestak wouldn’t even acknowledge self-defense as a lawful reason to own firearms – a position that clearly put him far out of the mainstream in legal circles and with voters. With NRA members turning out in droves to support Pat Toomey, we can now look forward to one more vote in the US Senate.

CeaseFire PA Backed: Paul Drucker
Once a proud supporter of CeaseFire’s extreme policies, Paul Drucker was sent back home by voters this week. During his short term, Rep. Drucker consistently voted against our self-defense rights in committee and on the floor. NRA members came out in support of his A- rated opponent, Warren Kampf, to drive him over the margin for victory. Gun owners in the district now have a friend of their rights in office to rally behind.

CeaseFire PA Backed: Rick Taylor
Defeating an incumbent is usually tough, but when NRA members know that their rights are on the line, they’ll turn out to get the job done against an anti-right lawmaker. When Rep. Taylor won by only 419 votes in 2008, there was an opportunity for a rematch. While NRA members didn’t know where Todd Stephens stood on their issue at the time, in 2010, we learned that he scored an A- on his questionnaire and earned the NRA’s endorsement. This year, we welcome Stephens to the legislature and look forward to his support.

CeaseFire PA Backed: Mark Painter
With no history on our issue, it was unknown early in the campaign whether or not Painter would stand up for what is right or reach out to gun control advocates. He opted to refuse any questions from NRA members and reached out to CeaseFire PA, a move that won him no love from gun rights advocates in his district. Rep. Tom Quigly has a record, and earned the support of NRA in this race. NRA members made sure to reward his support and sent Mr. Painter back home.

CeaseFire PA Backed: Shannon Meehan
Gun control groups cannot bring out the votes for candidates, even in suburban Philadelphia. Meehan learned that lesson when he went up against NRA-endorsed Rep. Nicholas Micozzie. Eager to make sure that their Second Amendment rights and outdoor heritage were protected, NRA members helped Rep. Micozzie cruise to victory this week.

Other Losses for Mayor Bloomberg
Earlier this year, gun owners in the 14th Senate District sent Bloomberg ally Tom Leighton back to his hometown in his Democratic primary. They made sure that the Senate seat remains in pro-gun hands by electing Rep. John Yudichak. In the same corner of the state, one MAIG mayor realized that his affiliation with the gun control group tied him to far more restrictive policies than he would otherwise support. (With a C rating from NRA, he still wouldn’t be considered a regular ally of gun owners.) Bill Goldsworthy dropped out of the group when he sought higher office, but it was not enough to overcome the incumbent in Tuesday’s general election. However, with one less mayor fighting to advance Mike Bloomberg’s extreme agenda, gun owners are still better off.

These aren’t the only losses suffered by Bloomberg, his new group Americans United for Safe Streets, his old group Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the other group he’s funding CeaseFire PA, and his ally the Brady Campaign. However, this is just a sample to illustrate what gun owners can do when we work together.

Because of this we need you to contact your state representative and politely let them know you expect them to support the discharge petition and floor vote for H.B.40. If you are not sure who your state representative is you can find out using PAFOA’s Politician Search.

Your action on this matter is urgently necessary for us to pass these much needed reforms. Reforms that would protect law-abiding gun owners, like yourself, from prosecution and lawsuits should you ever be forced to defend yourself inside, or outside of your home.

Thank you,
Daniel Pehrson
Founder & President
Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
http://www.pafoa.org/

The truth behind the matter however is that most Pennsylvania residents who seek out-of-state permits do so not to avoid the law, but to avoid abuses by their issuing authority, namely the Philadelphia Police Department. It is well known among Philadelphia residents and anyone who is paying attention that Philadelphia only begrudgingly complies with state law when issuing LTCFs and does everything in it’s power to prevent Philadelphia residents from receiving them. They force you to apply in person and limit the hours they allow this to the middle of work days, they demand additional documentation not outlined in state law and require character witnesses to execute affidavits. If you can actually get this far it is not unlikely that the Philadelphia Police Department will look for any excuse to deny issuing your permit, such as in the case of one Korean War Vet who claims being denied for having admitted to “pointing guns and shooting at people” – in reference to his service record.

These abuses are just examples of what happens in the process of applying for a LTCF through the Philadelphia Police Department, should you actually receive one they will look for any excuse to revoke it. For example, if a criminal breaks into your house and steals a firearm, the Philadelphia Police will twist that into a justification to revoke your LTCF. As ridiculous as it sounds, this happens every day and may explain why Philadelphia County is responsible for 30-40% of all state-wide revocations each year.

The irony of House Bill 2536 is that in attempting to use poor arguments to push extreme legislation, anti-gun forces have simply shone a spotlight on abuses by issuing authorities throughout the Commonwealth. As a result gun owners need to be oppose House Bill 2536 in it’s current form (printer’s no. 3790) and demand reform to prevent subjective abuses by issuing authorities.

In addition to the vote on the important self-defense reforms, the committee is planning to vote on three anti-gun bills on the same day!

Contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee today. Tell them that you want their support on HB40 – the Castle Doctrine bill. This specific Castle Doctrine bill will ensure that law-abiding gun owners can feel safe knowing that they can defend themselves from attackers whether it is inside or outside your home. It also protects citizens from the expense of fighting civil lawsuits filed by criminals or their families when self-defense was justified.

But tell them that they must vote down the three gun control bills:

• HB1043 which would create a “Firearm Trafficking Czar” and lead to another bureaucratic agency looking for ways to restrict gun sales in Pennsylvania.
• HB1044 that would end preemption and allow cities to create their own gun bans and carry rules, and
• HB1045 that would arbitrarily ban certain semi-automatic firearms in the Keystone State.

Self-defense reform should not come with a price that includes gun bans, wasteful spending on a new government-funded anti-gun leader, and gutting our state’s gun laws.

Contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee today. Based on the response to Castle Doctrine in other states, we know that gun control groups will get involved in this fight, making it seem as if we will have gun fights on every street corner. As we know, such dire predictions have yet to come true. Make sure you voice is heard! Call, e-mail, or even tweet – just make sure your voice is heard!

« Email Judiciary Committee Members with two clicks! »

« Show support for Castle Doctrine on Twitter with two clicks! »

Below are the members of the committee who have not signaled clear support for our rights on these four bills. Please focus your efforts on contacting these lawmakers.

We’re very proud of some of the work of our individual members in helping to frustrate and defeat the passage of virtually all of the ordinances that have been introduced in the new year. First in Radnor, which has tabled the bill for now. On the same day CeaseFire Pennsylvania was pushing for the ordinance in Radnor, Mayors Against Illegal Guns pushed Lost and Stolen in Hatboro. Hatboro has rejected the ordinance in favor of a resolution, which they will be hearing Monday March 22nd. We still oppose the resolution, which urges the General Assembly to pass a statewide law, but we’ve made progress. Ambler Borough decided not to pursue an ordinance a few weeks ago. This week Swarthmore, Pennsylvania has decided to table its Lost and Stolen ordinance.

There is still much work to do here, but we just want to take time to thank our members who put so much time and energy into helping organize other gun owners to fight these ordinances. We particularly want to thank those members who were residents of these municipalities who showed up to speak out against the ordinance to their local elected officials. If we can replicate this excellent example of organization and motivation across the Commonwealth, perhaps we can begin to push Bloomberg’s Mayors group back to New York City where it belongs.

More info and list of parks per the National Park Service:
http://www.nps.gov/nero/firearms/PA/index.htm

Parks:

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Deshler-Morris House

Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Flight 93 National Memorial

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

Friendship Hill National Historic Site

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gloria Dei Church

Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site

Independence National Historical Park

Johnstown Flood National Memorial

Steamtown National Historic Site

Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

Valley Forge National Historical Park

But what does a special Senate election in Massachusetts have to do with local politics in Pennsylvania? Quite a lot, actually.

The anticipated struggle of incumbents and mood that independents could continue to break right-of-center this year means that retirements will likely kick into high gear over the next month or two. Already, we have witnessed the announcements of a handful of NRA A or A+ rated incumbents who will not seek re-election in the fall.

• Speaker of the House Keith McCall (D-122)
• Rep. Paul Clymer (R-105)
• Rep. Merle Phillips (R-108)
• Rep. Russ Fairchild (R-85)
• Rep. Katie True (R-41)
• Rep. Will Gabig (R-199)
• Rep. Don Walko (D-20)
• Rep. Craig Dally (R-138)
• Rep. Rich Grucela (D-137)
• Sen. Ray Musto (D-14)

Some may be retiring hoping that their seat is more likely to stay in the hands of their current party.  Others may anticipate challenges during either a primary or general election.  Regardless, the retirement announcements are not likely to let up anytime soon. At least four anti-gun incumbents (NRA D rated or lower) also plan to leave office in 2010.

• Rep. Mario Civera (R-164)
• Rep. Barbara McIlvaine Smith (D-156)
• Rep. Kathy Manderino (D-194)
• Rep. Tony Melio (D-141)

The Pennsylvania election calendar gives incumbents some time to delay their announcements into the new year. Nominating petitions (to run on a party primary ballot) are not due until early March. If more incumbents get nervous, expect to see more retirement announcements through the next few weeks.

But before we get to voting booth, now is the time to make sure that your voter registration is up to date. If you have moved, even if you still reside in the same legislative districts, you will need to update your registration. Perhaps you haven’t voted in a while, it might be a good time to double check your registration status.

As a voter, you should also be reminded that Pennsylvania has a closed primary system – only voters registered with a specific party may vote in that party’s primary election. If you are currently a member of a minor party or unaffiliated with any party, you may switch your registration to participate in a major party primary race.

The primary races in Pennsylvania will be held on May 18, but you must be registered with a party by April 19. For more information about registering to vote, visit the Pennsylvania Department of State’s voter education website.

UPDATE: Word now comes that pro-gun Rep. Paul Clymer will run for re-election.

UPDATE II: And the retirements continue with Sen. Ray Musto and Rep. Will Gabig, two A rated voices in Harrisburg.

UPDATE III: I’ll stop updating this post at the end of January. In the meantime, anti-Second Amendment Rep. Anthony Melio is retiring from his Bucks County seat.

UPDATE IV: Thanks to collective efforts in the political blogosphere, we believe we’ve rounded out the list as of the end of January. This list now includes Reps. Don Walko, Craig Dally, and Rich Grucela. All held A ratings from NRA.

This specific Castle Doctrine bill will ensure that law abiding residents don’t have to retreat in their own homes before defending themselves from criminal attack. It also protects citizens from the expense of fighting civil lawsuits filed by criminals or their families when self-defense was justified. Here are key provisions of HB40:

• The bill eliminates the duty to retreat within one’s home, including attached structures like porches, decks and patios. There is an exception for people who are using their property to further a criminal activity. The provision also applies to vehicles, including non-motorized vehicles.
• The bill also eliminates the duty to retreat on the streets provided one is in fear of grave bodily injury or harm, and provided they are not engaged in criminal activity.
• It provides civil immunity for actions that are ruled self-defense. If the perpetrator sues anyway, it’s a loser pays system, so you can recover attorneys fees.
• HB40 clarifies the definition of loaded firearm to include magazines being secured in a separate pouch, rather than specifying a separate container, provided the magazine is secure, and the ammunition covered.

Contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee today. Based on the response to Castle Doctrine in other states, we know that gun control groups will get involved in this fight, making it seem as if we will have gun fights on every street corner. As we know, such dire predictions have yet to come true. Make sure you voice is heard! Call, e-mail, tweet, or even leave a note on their Facebook walls – just make sure your voice is heard!

Email 11 representatives with two clicks!

Show support for Castle Doctrine on Twitter with two clicks!

This bill stands a good chance of getting heard and passed out of committee if we look at the composition of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but only if we make our voices heard.  Below is a list of committee members with links to contact information, along with their NRA grades, to aid in messaging.

Majority (R)

• Greenleaf (chair), B rated
• White (vice chair), A rated
• Browne, A- rated
• Earll, A rated
• Gordner, A rated
• Orie, A rated
• Piccola, A+ rated
• Rafferty, A rated

Minority (D)

• Leach (minority chair), F rated
• Boscola, B+ rated
• Costa, C rated
• Fontana, not rated
• Stack, C- rated

Please contact the committee members, and ask that they support this bill.  The question will be where Stu Greenleaf is going to stand on this bill, and whether he’ll want to bring it up.  But pretty clearly, we have a lot of highly rated Republicans on this committee, and we could do worse with the Democrats, so it has a good chance.  Let’s get it passed, get it on Rendell’s desk.  Even if he vetoes it, we can make it a campaign issue in the 2010 Governor’s race.