The Second Amendment is now incorporated to cover state and local governments according to today’s opinion released in McDonald vs. Chicago. According to SCOTUS Blog, the decision has been released today, and we’ll have more details as the opinion is shared with the public.
In the meantime, please take a few minutes to thank the members of the legislative branches of government who worked on our behalf to encourage the Supreme Court toward this position. Read more
Yesterday, hundreds gathered outside the capitol to declare support for the 2nd Amendment. Speakers included Suzanna Gratia Hupp, Wayne LaPierre (NRA), Larry Pratt (GOA), Marinelle Thompson (2nd Amendment Sisters), and more.
Following the rally, participants formed over a dozen groups which visited the offices of state representatives. Dialoging with both pro-2nd Amendment and anti-gun legislators, seeking support for a number of pro-rights bills.
Articles reporting on the event:
Want to rally with hundreds (maybe thousands!) of your fellow gun owners? Are you ready to tell lawmakers that it’s time for action on important issues like Castle Doctrine and our transportation laws? Are you still trying to figure out your own transportation plan?
REGISTER NOW FOR THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS RALLY
PAFOA has created special discussion threads on our forums where you can organize with other gun owners for a ride share to Harrisburg. Whether you’ve got a full-sized van with rows of seating, a family sedan with a couple of spots around the baby seat, or a motorcycle with sidecar, you can find folks in your area who may be willing to share expenses and keep you company.
| Region | Counties | Forum Thread |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Erie Region | Crawford, Erie, Mercer & Venango Counties | Forum Thread |
| Allegheny National Forest Region | Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga & Warren Counties | Forum Thread |
| Valleys of the Susquehanna Region | Centre, Clinton, Columbia, Juniata, Lycoming, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder & Union Counties | Forum Thread |
| Pocono Mountain Region | Bradford, Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Wayne & Wyoming Counties | Forum Thread |
| Lehigh Valley & Philadelphia Region | Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton & Philadelphia Counties | Forum Thread |
| PA Dutch Country/Hershey Region | Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry & York Counties | Forum Thread |
| Laurel Highlands Region | Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Somerset & Westmoreland Counties | Forum Thread |
| Pittsburgh Region | Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence & Washington Counties | Forum Thread |
Oral arguments were heard today by the Supreme Court in McDonald v. City of Chicago, IL. At the center of the case is Chicago’s effective ban on handgun ownership. Several other issues are addressed in the petition as well. These include mandatory firearm registration, mandatory reporting of changes to registration status of any firearm, and the rule which renders any firearm whose registration has lapsed no longer eligible for registration.
Lawyers from both side were given the chance to argue their sides before the Justices today, but the overwhelming public opinion is that the Justices will side with the same division as the Heller opinion in a 5 to 4 decision. In Heller, Justices Scalia, Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas and Alito sided in favor of second amendment rights while the remaining Justices dissented. The case is important to both sides as it will have sweeping effects on the ability of states to restrict citizens second amendment rights.
Filed on the same day the Heller decision was decided, this case differs, if only slightly. Washington, D.C. , the center of the Heller case, is of direct federal jurisdiction rather than a city with local and state jurisdictions applying. During arguments today, the divide remained
Link to the case briefs: McDonald v. City of Chicago, IL, Docket No. 08-1521
The coverage is wide, but here are some relevant articles:
By its conclusion, it seemed plain that the court would extend a 2008 decision that first identified an individual right to own guns to strike down Chicago’s gun control law, widely considered the most restrictive in the nation.
New York Times: Supreme Court Still Divided On Guns
The Supreme Court seemed likely to rule for the first time that gun possession is fundamental to American freedom, a move that would give federal judges power to strike down state and local weapons laws for infringing on Second Amendment rights.
The Wall Street Journal: New Ammunition for Gun Rights
To no one’s surprise, the justices gave no sign that they’ve changed their minds in the past two years. Several talked as if the issue when they rule won’t be whether to restrain gun control nationwide but how much room to leave for “reasonable” state and local limits. And that, indeed, is the important question.
Our view on the Second Amendment: Extend gun rights, but leave room for reasonable limits
According to a report by the Philadelphia Daily News, police leadership and prosecutors are upset that law-abiding gun owners are seeking licenses to carry from states that are more strict and uniform in their issuing practices. In an effort to create controversy where little evidence exists, the Daily News embraces sensational hypotheticals that, when broken down, truly reflect upon the dysfunction within Philadelphia’s criminal justice system.
For example, Lt. Lisa King cites concerns that applicants to out-of-state licensing authorities might have been arrested, but never convicted of any crimes. To her, such a situation seemingly demands the denial of Constitutional rights without any effort by authorities to prove guilt. Fortunately for those of us who believe in the rule of law, our justice system is one based on a presumption of innocence until the state can prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury of our peers.
District Attorney Seth Williams, whose office frequently refuses to process cases of known criminals who are disqualified from owning – let along carrying – a gun, announced plans for his “legislation unit” to look into the matter. Residents of Philadelphia might ask why their tax dollars are being used to lobby rather than prosecute those who have actually committed crimes.
As initially mentioned to the Daily News reporter, PAFOA has firsthand accounts of those who have faced the abusive and arbitrary licensing requirements of the City. When licenses of the victims are regularly revoked simply because a home or car is broken into, it is clear that the Police Department would rather pick on easier targets – those who seek to follow the law – than investigate cases of actual criminals.
Attorney General Tom Corbett’s spokesperson came to the defense of those who opt for an out-of-state permit, noting that the requirements for Florida are actually more strict than Pennsylvania. Though that did not stop the anti-gun group, CeasefirePA from blaming him for the practice. In an admission to the paper, the organization said this is an opening salvo in a planned attack on the Attorney General in the upcoming gubernatorial elections.
Finally, the article does reveal that the Police Department plans to work closely with the District Attorney on the issue. One might assume this means they will work together to prosecute more cases against violent criminals. However, rather than concentrating on getting dangerous people off the streets of Philadelphia, King announced a plan to subpoena records from Florida in order to target the Philadelphia residents who have lawfully obtained a permit from the state. It speaks volumes that the City leaders would rather use resources and manpower to target those who can pass multiple background checks and have appropriate firearms training rather than focusing on putting more hardened criminals behind bars.
Many of you have no doubt seen this article in the Philadelphia Daily News, outlining the completely lawful practice of Pennsylvanians obtaining concealed carry licenses from the State of Florida, and using that license to carry in Pennsylvania, a “loophole.” We are currently working on a more detailed rebuttal to this article, but in the mean time we thought we would share with you our statement to the Daily News reporter when we were asked to comment on this issue:
As most gun owners in Pennsylvania know, owning or carrying a firearm in the city of Philadelphia can be risky given the history of abuses by the city’s police department. Under current PPD policy, law abiding carry license holders have had their license revoked for being victims of theft, including having their houses broken into. At PAFOA, we’ve also had reports of the police department illegally revoking permits of members issued by other counties when the victim’s car was broken into while visiting the city.
In fact, the abuse of license holders is reflected by the PPD’s inexplicable permit revocation rate of nearly 12%, while every other county (including Allegheny which contains Pittsburgh) is well below 1%. When the stats are run, Philadelphia is responsible for 30-40% of all carry permit revocations in the entire state each year.
As a result, it is not surprising that some gun owners may opt for the more uniform standards of another state license over the discriminatory abuses of the Philadelphia Police Department. In times of tighter budgets, some gun owners may also opt to carry only one license from a state which is more widely recognized than ours instead of getting multiple.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask.
Several of the gubernatorial candidates are political unknowns on the issue of gun control because they have not served in a capacity to be tested through votes or policy matters which are typically only handled at the state level. Last night, four candidates went on the record.
According to several Pennsylvania news sources, The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) is pushing for the standardization of the Pennsylvania “License to Carry Firearms”. Through additional research, PAFOA was able to determine that the PCCD is looking to begin a broader initiative to fulfill a state legislated mandate whereby The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency (PCCD) is required by PA Legislative Act 2005-66 to develop and deploy a statewide “modernized and standardized” license to carry system. In an active attempt to meet the state mandate, on December 21, 2009, the PCCD made available up to $1,000,000 in grants for upgrades to computer hardware, software and peripherals which will enable the each of the 67 counties in Pennsylvania to issue permits by a standard means. The grant available provides $15,000 to any approved agency to perform the upgrades. The deadline for application for the funds is January 26, 2010 and the terms of the program run from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011.
The goal of the License to Carry (LTC) program is to provide a statewide system to provide a standardized method of completing the application, submitting the information to PSP, obtaining confirmation of a successful transaction with PSP, and issuing the identification card for those individuals seeking a license to carry a firearm.
(source: License to Carry Standardization and Modernization, https://www.pccdegmis.state.pa.us/pccd_egmis/Public/OpenAnnouncements.aspx)
PA Legislative Act 2005-66 added section (h)(2) to 18 Pa.C.S. § 6109.
The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency shall implement, within five years of the effective date of this paragraph, a system in conjunction with the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association to standardize and modernize the process of issuing licenses to carry firearms. Upon implementation of the system under this paragraph, the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency shall publish notice thereof in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Deputy Sheriff’s Training Bulletin on the new License to Carry system (Search for: Deputy Sheriff Training Bulletin 89 July 2009.pdf)
PAFOA has been considering for a while the idea of building out a group of volunteer bloggers to help keep the PAFOA Blog up to date with fresh information important to Pennsylvania gun owners and the time has come to do it! We’re looking for a few good men or women who have some experience in operating a blog to step up and volunteer their time aggregating news and information about what is happening in the world that affects our lives as gun owners.
All applicants are required to:
Applicants will get bonus points for:
UPDATE: We have received a bunch of applications which we will be reviewing shortly and choosing the first round of bloggers. Thank you to everyone who volunteered, applications are no longer being accepted at this time.
Email blog@pafoa.org with the following information:
PAFOA thanks all applicants in advance and we look forward to hearing from you! Please keep in mind that we are not yet sure how many applications we are going to get, so depending on that not all applicants may be selected in the first round.
Hundreds of PAFOA members received emails this afternoon asking them to take action against gun control overreach in their own backyards. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s largest gun control campaign is a coalition of mayors he claims support his anti-gun agenda. His recruitment pitch assures mayors that they will not target lawful gun owners, instead his actions have called concealed carry permit holders criminals and attempted to undermine federal law enforcement investigations.
Pro-gun groups at every level have taken on this battle to educate mayors and reduce Bloomberg’s political force in the states. At PAFOA, our efforts have focused on a quiet education strategy. However, for those mayors who have so far refused to resign from the group, it is now time to turn up the grassroots pressure that has successfully convinced others to leave.
After a thorough analysis of the Pennsylvania coalition of mayors working with Bloomberg was posted by NRA Election Volunteer Coordinators in mid-August, we worked together to create a strategy to convince MAIG mayors to resign their membership in the organization.
View Bloomberg’s Anti-Gun Mayors in Pennsylvania on a map.
Looking at the map, we conducted detailed research into each of the towns and picked 15 starter cities based on the likely impact of PAFOA residents. Each PAFOA member who received an email this morning lives in a city where, if gun owners work together, they can make a difference for the Second Amendment.
In August, I sent each of the targeted mayors a letter in hopes that a simple explanation of the actions by Mayor Bloomberg in their name would inspire each of them to resign from the organization. In early September, NRA sent their members in key cities postcards calling for grassroots opposition to the members of MAIG. The response to these mailings has been tremendous. Of the original 15 mayors targeted by PAFOA, only two have resigned. Of the mayors NRA targeted in Pennsylvania, 15 have given up their membership. Here are the mayors who have parted ways with Mayor Bloomberg since that time:
Before this push began, former Williamsport Mayor Mary Wolf told Bloomberg in her resignation letter, “I have learned that the coalition may be working on issues which conflict with legal gun ownership, and that some actions on your behalf are dubious.” Since her defection in 2007, the condemnation by mayors who felt duped has grown louder. Keith Hoffman of East Berlin said, “They swindle you in and then put your name on the list.”
Many mayors around the country are now beginning to report that they knew nothing about joining the group and never recall signing any pledges to support Mayor Bloomberg’s anti-gun policies. Mayors from South Dakota, Texas, and Florida have publicly confirmed that Mike Bloomberg never sought their permission when signing their names to advertisements condemning concealed carry legislation.
In Pennsylvania, the imperative the encourage mayors to leave Bloomberg’s coalition is clear. In addition to Bloomberg’s attacks on concealed carry reform at the federal level a disturbing trend has emerged in the state level battles. Each of the cities to pass local gun control ordinances in challenges to the state preemption laws is lead by members of MAIG. Pittsburgh’s mayor, a longtime supporter of MAIG, has recently tried to breath life into a gun ban that the state Supreme Court previously struck down as illegal. Philadelphia’s Mayor Nutter has been an outspoken supporter of MAIG’s policies, and we don’t need to remind you of all of the gun control attempts the city has made under his watch.
If you received an email from PAFOA this morning asking you to call your mayor, please act soon. There is an opportunity to make a tangible difference in your local community, cut the reach of Michael Bloomberg’s gun control campaign, and stop the spread of anti-gun legislation here in Pennsylvania. The presence of that call to action in your inbox means we’ve crunched the numbers, and we believe you can make a difference for the Second Amendment.
If you did not receive an email, please confirm that we have your town or zip code on file. This information is what we use to analyze whether enough PAFOA members are likely to make a difference in the local battles. If you do have correct location information in your profile, keep an eye out for future calls to action.
